71st Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division (Soviet Union)

The 71st Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division (Russian: 71-я зенитная артиллерийская дивизия) was an anti-aircraft artillery division of the Soviet Union's Red Army (later the Soviet Army) during World War II and the early postwar period.

71st Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division
Active	October 1943–c. 1950s
Country	Soviet Union
Branch	Red Army (later Soviet Army)
Type	Anti-Aircraft Artillery
Engagements	World War II
Decorations	Order of Kutuzov, 2nd class
Battle honours	Berlin

Formed in the Volga Military District in late 1943, the division was moved forward to the Kiev Military District in May 1944. It was not sent to the front until February 1945, fighting in the Siege of Breslau and the Berlin Offensive in the last weeks of the war. The division was disbanded by the end of the 1950s.

World War II

A 37 mm AA gun of the type used by the division during World War II

The division began forming at the Penza Anti-Aircraft Artillery Training Camp around 23 October 1943, when Colonel Grigory Novikov was appointed commander.[1] It was part of the Volga Military District, and included the 1998th, 2002nd, 2006th, and 2010th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiments.[2] In March 1944, the camp was relocated to Zhitomir.[3] The division remained in the Volga Military District until May, when it transferred to the Kiev Military District.[4] From 25 August, Colonel Grigory Svet served as division commander, leading it for the rest of the war.[1]

The division remained in Kiev Military District until 25 February, when it was transferred to the 1st Ukrainian Front.[5] The 71st, alongside the 173rd Fighter Aviation Regiment of the 56th Fighter Aviation Division and later the 10th Air Defense Corps, carried out the aerial blockade during the Siege of Breslau. In March the 71st was transferred to the 6th Army,[6] but in April was directly subordinated to the front again.[7] It fought in the Berlin Offensive from 24 April,[8] receiving the Berlin honorific for its actions in the offensive.[9][10] On 4 June, the division was awarded the Order of Kutuzov, 2nd class, for its role in the Siege of Breslau.[11]

Postwar

Postwar, the 71st became part of the Central Group of Forces. Svet continued to command until September, when he transferred to command the 69th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division.[9] The division was among those anti-aircraft artillery divisions disbanded without being converted into another unit by the end of the 1950s.[12]

References

Citations

1. Main Personnel Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union 1964, p. 393.
2. Gurkin et al. 1972, p. 294.
3. Tsapayev, Vvedensky & Hayrapetyan 2014, p. 227.
4. Gurkin et al. 1988, p. 180.
5. Gurkin et al. 1990, p. 90.
6. Gurkin et al. 1990, p. 123.
7. Gurkin et al. 1990, p. 163.
8. Tkachev 2004, p. 15.
9. Tsapayev, Vvedensky & Hayrapetyan 2014, p. 281.
10. Dudarenko, Perechnyov & Yeliseyev 1985, p. 300.
11. Affairs Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union 1967, p. 361.
12. Feskov et al 2013, p. 287.

Bibliography

• Affairs Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union (1967). Сборник приказов РВСР, РВС СССР, НКО и Указов Президиума Верховного Совета СССР о награждении орденами СССР частей, соединениий и учреждений ВС СССР. Часть II. 1945 - 1966 гг [Collection of orders of the RVSR, RVS USSR and NKO on awarding orders to units, formations and establishments of the Armed Forces of the USSR. Part II. 1945–1966] (PDF) (in Russian). Moscow.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Dudarenko, M.L.; Perechnyov, Yu. G.; Yeliseyev, V.T. (1985). Освобождение городов: Справочник по освобождению городов в период Великой Отечественной войны 1941-1945 [Liberation of the Cities: A Handbook of the Liberation of Cities during the Great Patriotic War, 1941–1945] (in Russian). Moscow: Voenizdat.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Feskov, V.I.; Golikov, V.I.; Kalashnikov, K.A.; Slugin, S.A. (2013). Вооруженные силы СССР после Второй Мировой войны: от Красной Армии к Советской [The Armed Forces of the USSR after World War II: From the Red Army to the Soviet: Part 1 Land Forces] (in Russian). Tomsk: Scientific and Technical Literature Publishing. ISBN 9785895035306.
• Gurkin, V.V.; et al. (1972). Боевой состав Советской армии: Часть III (Январь — декабрь 1943 г.) [Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, Part III (January–December 1943)] (PDF) (in Russian). Moscow: Voenizdat.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Gurkin, V.V.; et al. (1988). Боевой состав Советской армии: Часть IV (Январь — декабрь 1944 г.) [Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, Part IV (January–December 1944)] (PDF) (in Russian). Moscow: Voenizdat.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Gurkin, V.V.; et al. (1990). Боевой состав Советской армии: Часть V (Январь—сентябрь 1945 г.) [Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, Part V (January–September 1945)] (PDF) (in Russian). Moscow: Voenizdat.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Main Personnel Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union (1964). Командование корпусного и дивизионного звена советских вооруженных сил периода Великой Отечественной войны 1941 – 1945 гг [Commanders of Corps and Divisions in the Great Patriotic War, 1941–1945] (in Russian). Moscow: Frunze Military Academy.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Tkachev, V.I. (May 2004). "ПВО фронтов в Берлинской наступательной операции" [Air defense forces of the front during the Berlin operation] (PDF). Voyenno-Istorichesky Zhurnal [Military History Journal] (in Russian) (5): 8–16.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Tsapayev, D.A.; et al. (2014). Goremykin, Viktor (ed.). Великая Отечественная: Комдивы. Военный биографический словарь [The Great Patriotic War: Division Commanders. Military Biographical Dictionary] (in Russian). 2. Moscow: Kuchkovo Pole. ISBN 978-5-9950-0341-0.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)