The 86th Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in April 1943, based on the 2nd formation of the 98th Rifle Division, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War and well into the postwar era.
It first saw action in July 1943 as part of the 2nd formation of the 1st Guards Rifle Corps of 2nd Guards Army in Southern Front during the Mius Offensive, which proved a failure. A month later it helped break the Mius-Front and began advancing through the southern regions of eastern Ukraine. In February 1944 it was transferred to the 28th Army in 3rd Ukrainian Front and it would serve under this Front command for the duration of the war. After crossing the Dniepr River and while advancing on Nikolaev the 86th Guards became part of the 10th Guards Rifle Corps, and would remain under this command, with few exceptions, for the duration of the war and into the 1950s. The division earned an honorific for its part in the liberation of Nikolaev and within weeks was also decorated with the Order of the Red Banner for its role in the liberation of Odessa, now as part of 5th Shock Army. In the fighting along the Dniestr River in April this Army was quickly fought to a standstill and the division remained in this area until August when it was transferred to 46th Army; it would remain under this command for the duration. During the summer offensive that destroyed the German 6th Army for the second time the 10th Guards Corps was a reserve formation and played an important role in the exploitation of the victory into the Balkan states. During the autumn and winter the 86th Guards assisted in the offensives that gradually encircled Budapest, helping to beat off several German attempts to break through to rescue the garrison trapped there; each of its rifle regiments would be honored or decorated for their roles in this fighting. In the spring of 1945 it advanced into Austria and ended the war there. The division continued to serve as part of the 10th Guards Corps until 1957 when it was reformed as a motor rifle division.
Formation At the beginning of March 1943 the 98th Rifle Division was part of the 1st Guards Rifle Corps of 2nd Guards Army in Southern Front.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1943, p. 66 On March 10 it was withdrawn to Sverdlovsk for rebuilding and while there on April 16 it was redesignated as the 86th Guards; it would receive its Guards banner on May 10. Once the division completed its reorganization its order of battle was as follows: 260th Guards Rifle Regiment (from 4th Rifle Regiment) 263rd Guards Rifle Regiment (from 166th Rifle Regiment) 265th Guards Rifle Regiment (from 308th Rifle Regiment) 191st Guards Artillery Regiment (from 153rd Artillery Regiment)Charles C. Sharp, "Red Guards", Soviet Guards Rifle and Airborne Units 1941 to 1945, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Vol. IV, Nafziger, 1995, p. 79 93rd Guards Antitank Battalion 89th Guards Reconnaissance Company 99th Guards Sapper Battalion 165th Guards Signal Battalion (later 119th Guards Signal Company) 91st Guards Medical/Sanitation Battalion 90th Guards Chemical Defense (Anti-gas) Company 92nd Guards Motor Transport Company 88th Guards Field Bakery 87th Guards Divisional Veterinary Hospital 1727th Field Postal Station 168th Field Office of the State Bank Col. Ivan Fedotovich Seryogin, who had commanded the 98th since September 1942, remained in command until May 27. He was then replaced by Col. Vasilii Pavlovich Sokolovskii who would remain in command for the duration of the war, being promoted to the rank of major general on September 13, 1944. Through June and into July the division remained in 1st Guards Corps, which also the contained the 24th and 33rd Guards Rifle Divisions.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1943, pp. 140, 166
Into Ukraine The new commander of Southern Front, Col. Gen. F. I. Tolbukhin, was directed to plan a new offensive to breach the German front along the Mius River which was held by the rebuilt but chronically understrength 6th Army. Tolbukhin chose to break the German defenses facing the center of his line with the 5th Shock and 28th Armies operating on a 16km-wide sector with the 2nd Guards Army in second echelon ready to exploit any initial success. The offensive opened on July 17, within days of the suspension of the German offensive at Kursk. The 28th and 5th Shock forced the river but were soon met by German armor from the southern wing of Army Group South which first contained the bridgehead and at the end of the month launched a powerful counterblow with four panzer divisions, a panzergrenadier division and two infantry divisions. On the evening of August 1 Tolbukhin reported the situation to the STAVKA and received permission to withdraw his forces to their old positions. While he attributed much of the failure on his premature commitment of 2nd Guards Army he was reassured by Marshal A. M. Vasilevskii that the offensive had successfully diverted German strength from more important axes.John Erickson, The Road to Berlin, George Weidenfeld and Nicolson, Ltd., London, UK, 1983, pp. 115-16
Southern Front returned to the offensive on August 18, this time finally smashing the Mius-Front with the fire of over 5,000 guns and mortars on the German defenses. By the end of the month Tolbukhin's armies had taken Taganrog and Hitler finally authorized 6th Army, "if necessary", to pull back to the Kalmius River.Erickson, The Road to Berlin, p. 124 During September the 86th and 24th Guards Divisions were transferred to the 55th Rifle Corps, still in 2nd Guards Army.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1943, p. 254 Through September and well into October Southern Front (as of October 20 4th Ukrainian Front) made slow progress against 6th Army from the Dniepr to the Sea of Azov with orders to destroy the German Melitopol grouping, seize crossings over the Dniepr and then shut the German 17th Army into the Crimea. The offensive made little progress until October 9 but by October 23, led by forces of the 51st Army, the Front finally ground its way into the city.Erickson, The Road to Berlin, p. 139 During the month both the 86th and 24th Guards returned to 1st Guards Corps.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1943, p. 282 In the first days of November the 51st and 28th Armies attempted to seize the Crimea from off the march but were narrowly unsuccessful.Robert Forczyk, Where the Iron Crosses Grow, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, UK, 2014, p. 245-46 This left the former containing 17th Army in the peninsula while by the start of January 1944 the 2nd Guards Army had advanced to the mouth of the Dniepr at Kherson.Earl F. Ziemke, Stalingrad to Berlin, Center of Military History United States Army, Washington, DC, 1968, p. 239 In February the 86th Guards was transferred to the 28th Army as a separate division; this Army was now part of the 3rd Ukrainian Front.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1944, p. 78 Into Western Ukraine During the first days of February the German 6th Army began evacuating the bridgehead it held on the east bank of the Dniepr based on Nikopol. 28th Army had been facing the southern flank of this bridgehead near Bolshaya Lepatikha. The last German troops crossed the Dniepr on February 7 with the goal of forming a new line behind the Ingulets River. Due in part to an unusually mild winter the pace of operations on both sides remained slow through the rest of the month.Ziemke, Stalingrad to Berlin, pp. 239, 242-44
The Front commander, Army Gen. R. Ya. Malinovskii, began a new offensive on March 4 with the objectives of crossing the Bug and Dniestr rivers prior to forcing the border into Romania. The center of 6th Army was struck by the 4th Guards Mechanized Corps and the 8th Guards Army, which made slow initial progress before breaking into the clear on March 7, advancing 40km and liberating Novy Bug. Malinovskii now faced the choice of striking due south toward Nikolaev or to drive west to get over the Bug behind 6th Army. Attempting to do both he gave the German forces an opportunity to escape.Ziemke, Stalingrad to Berlin, pp. 273-74, 277-78, 282-83 Despite this miscalculation Nikolaev was liberated and the division, which was now part of 10th Guards Rifle Corps in 28th Army, earned an honorific:Within days the division was transferred again, along with 10th Guards Corps, to 5th Shock Army; the Corps also contained the 109th Guards and the 320th Rifle Division.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1944, p. 108 Odessa Offensive Immediately following the victory at Nikolaev the left (south) wing of 3rd Ukrainian Front continued its advance on the city of Odessa, which was expected to be taken at the earliest around April 5. This was led by Pliyev's Cavalry-Mechanized Group, followed by the 8th Guards and 6th Armies to envelop the city from the northwest and west while the 5th Shock was to advance on its defenses directly from the east.David M. Glantz, Red Storm Over the Balkans, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2007, pp. 110, 114-15, 119
On April 4 Pliyev's Group and the lead elements of 37th Army signalled the beginning of the final phase of the Odessa offensive by capturing the town of Razdelnaia, 60km northwest of the city, thus once again splitting German 6th Army into two distinct parts. Once this was accomplished Malinovskii ordered Pliyev to race south as fast as possible to cut the withdrawal routes of the German forces from the Odessa region. At the same time the three combined-arms armies were to move in to take the city. After heavy fighting on its northern and eastern approaches the forward detachments of 5th Shock entered its northern suburbs on the evening of April 9. Overnight the remaining Soviet forces approached Odessa's inner defenses from the northwest and west. With the trap closing shut the remainder of the defending LXXII Army Corps began breaking out to the west, allowing the Soviet forces to occupy the city's center at 1000 hours on April 10 after only minor fighting.Glantz, Red Storm Over the Balkans, pp. 120-22 For its part in the liberation of Odessa, on April 20 the 86th Guards would be awarded the Order of the Red Banner. First Jassy-Kishinev Offensive Following the battle for Odessa, the STAVKA ordered Malinovskii's Front to mount a concerted effort to force the Dniestr, capture Chișinău, and eventually occupy all of eastern Bessarabia. 5th Shock and 6th Armies were engaged in mopping up Odessa and were unable to join the pursuit for at least a week, when they were to reinforce the forward armies wherever required. The initial efforts to force the river were only partially successful, with a series of small and tenuous bridgeheads being seized. On the night of April 12/13 it was decided to reinforce 8th Guards Army with part of the 5th Shock's forces, but this would not take place until April 18-20 due to the state of the roads. The Army was expected to be required to overcome German strongpoints at Cioburciu and Talmaza before advancing westward.Glantz, Red Storm Over the Balkans, pp. 122-23, 142-44