The 8th S. I. Morozov Guards Rovno Red Banner Order of Suvorov Cavalry Division (Russian: 8-я гвардейская кавалерийская Ровенская Краснознамённая ордена Суворова дивизия имени С.И.Морозова) was a cavalry division of the Red Army during World War II. Postwar, it was stationed in Ukraine as the 10th Guards Mechanized Division, which was reorganized as the 83rd Guards Motor Rifle Division in 1957 before being disbanded in 1959.
The division was formed as the 89th Cavalry Division in Chkalov in accordance with an order dated 11 August 1941. Before the war, the 11th Morozov Cavalry Division had been based in Chkalov, so the 89th Division command petitioned for the renaming of the division to the 11th Cavalry Division named for Morozov. The petition was accepted and on 29 September the division was officially renamed. The 11th Cavalry Division was reorganized as the 8th Guards Cavalry Division on 19 January 1943.[1] The division was awarded the Order of the Red Banner on 14 November 1944, the Order of Suvorov 2nd class on 17 May 1945, and the Rovno honorific on 7 February 1944.[2]
The division was reorganized as the 10th Guards Mechanized Division on 1 August 1945, to include the following elements:[1]
36th Guards Orders of Kutuzov and Bogdan Khmelnitsky 2nd class Mechanized Regiment
37th Guards Red Banner Order of Suvorov 3rd class Mechanized Regiment
38th Guards Orders of Aleksandr Nevsky and Bogdan Khmelnitsky 2nd class Mechanized Regiment
123rd Guards Gatchina Red Banner Orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov Tank Regiment
100th Guards Novgorod Red Banner Order of Suvorov 3rd class Heavy Tank-Self Propelled Artillery Regiment
689th Molodechno Howitzer Artillery Regiment
116th Guards Mortar Regiment
1732nd Debrecen Order of Kutuzov 3rd class Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment
4th Separate Guards Lvov Red Banner Order of Kutuzov 2nd class Mortar Battalion
213th Separate Guards Order of the Red Star Communications Battalion
12th Separate Guards Brandenburg Order of Aleksandr Nevsky Motorcycle Battalion
150th Separate Guards Sapper Battalion
623rd Medical-Sanitary Battalion
33rd Auto Transport Battalion
260th Mobile Tank Repair Base
89th Separate Training Tank Battalion
The division relocated to Rovno in July 1945, becoming part of the 27th Rifle Corps of the 13th Army.[3] In accordance with a directive dated 25 April 1953, the division was reorganized to a reduced table of organization and equipment, reorganizing the 116th Guards Mortar Regiment to the 945th Guards Howitzer Artillery Regiment, the 12th Separate Guards Motorcycle Battalion to the 12th Separate Guards Reconnaissance Battalion, and the 102nd Guards, 206th Guards, and 157th Separate Tank Battalions of the mechanized regiments into tank battalions (not separate). The 414th Separate Chemical Defense Platoon was formed as a result of the reorganization. As a result of unit renumberings on 4 March 1955, the 1732nd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment became the 488th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment, and the 623rd Separate Medical-Sanitary Battalion the 111th. The 945th Guards Artillery Regiment and 256th Artillery Repair Workshop were disbanded. The 27th Rifle Corps headquarters was disbanded in August 1956 and the division came under direct army control.[3] The division relocated to Lutsk in September 1956.[1]
Between 15 June and 15 July 1957 the division was reorganized as the 83rd Guards Motor Rifle Division, to include the following elements:[1]
Kalashnikov, K. A.; Dodonov, I. Yu. (2019). Высший командный состав Вооруженных сил СССР в послевоенный период: Справочные материалы (1945-1975) (in Russian). Vol. 4: Командный состав Сухопутных войск (армейское и дивизионное звенья). Часть первая. Ust-Kamenogorsk: Media-Alyans. ISBN9786017887315.
Divisions of the Soviet Union 1945–1957