100th Guards Rifle Division The 100th Guards Rifle Division was an elite Red Army airborne infantry division during World War II . Creation . From the beginning of the war , the Soviet Army strongly emphasized the development of airborne forces and their use behind enemy lines . Paradrops were often conducted in multi - regimental strengths , the most notable of these being the Vyaz ' ma paradrop in 1942 and the Dnieper - Bukrinsk paradrop in 1943 . The 15th Guards Airborne Division ( Russian : " 15 - я гвардейская воздушно - десантная дивизия " ) was created in June 1943 and initially deployed in the cities of Ramenskoye and Zvenigorod . It incorporated three airborne brigades ( 9th , 10th and 12th airborne brigades ) and was commanded by Major General Vasilii Andreevich Leshchinin . In January 1944 , the division was renamed the 100th Guards Rifle Division and its component brigades renamed the 298th , 301st and 304th Guards Rifle Regiments . In addition to this core strength , the division had two artillery regiments and various complementary contingents , including communications . By mid - 1944 , its strength reached 12 , 000 men . This number was unusually high for a formation of this type , as Red Army divisions usually had strengths of about 6 , 000 to 7 , 000 . Combat history . In June 1944 , the division was sent to the Karelian Front to take place in an operation aimed at clearing Karelia of Finnish forces . The attack started on June 21 , 1944 , with the 100th Guards Rifle Division performing a force - crossing of the Svir River . After three days of violent attacks , Finnish defenses were overrun and the Leningrad Oblast completely liberated . The offensive resumed shortly afterwards , and had to pass through the former Mannerheim Line , reinforced between 1941 and 1944 . Taking heavy casualties , the division advanced north and arrived to the shore of Vidlitsa river on July 1 , 1944 . A day later , the river was crossed in force and the division resumed its offensive . However , it was stopped three days later by another river coupled with extensive defensive fortification . After yet another assault crossing and heavy fight , the offensive stopped on July 14 , 1944 and the division assumed a defensive stance until mid - August . The operation lasted in total for 40 days , with the division advancing more than 200 kilometers starting from its initial positions around Leningrad . The Svir River , crossed in force by the division , would later give its name to the unit . In August 1944 , the division was relocated to Kalinin and renamed the 100th Guards Svir Airborne Division , only to be renamed back to 100th Guards Svir Rifle Division a few months later . After receiving reinforcements and a new commander , Major General Ivan Alekseevich Makarenko , the division was transported to Hungary in January 1945 and integrated into the 9th Guards Army . Starting from mid - February , the division was part of the Soviet reserve force during the German Operation Frühlingserwachen , east of Lake Balaton , in which the 6th SS Panzer Army was trying to get through Soviet defenses . On March 16 , 1945 , the Wehrmacht ' s offensive was stopped , and an offensive on Vienna was launched immediately afterwards . The 100th Division had the task of " cleaning up " encircled pockets of German resistance . On April 2 , 1945 , the division started its march towards Vienna . Five days later , the troops arrived within sight of Vienna , which was turned into a fortress defended by the II SS Panzer Corps and ad hoc training and anti - aircraft units . The operation aimed at capturing Vienna started on April 7 , 1945 . The division occupied the southern outskirts of the city , and then executed an enveloping maneuver westwards , going around the city through the Vienna woods , engaging in heavy combat in the center of the city , seizing key targets such as the railway terminal and the parliament , and force - crossing the Danube . After five days of violent urban warfare , Vienna fell on April 13 , 1945 . By early May , the division was committed to the offensive towards Prague , still in the hands of the Wehrmacht . It crossed the Czech border on May 10 , meeting American forces advancing from the west . Post - war . After the war , the division moved from Czechoslovakia to Hungary and was located there until April 1946 . In 1946 , it was relocated to Belaya Tserkov ' and there on 7 June 1946 renamed the 100th Guards Svir Red Banner Airborne Division ( " 100 - я гвардейская Свирская Краснознамённая воздушно - десантная дивизия " ) . In 1947 , it was yet again relocated to the cities of Kremenchug and Kirovograd . In 1955 , following a program of reduction in strength of the Red Army , the division was disbanded .