205th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)

The 205th Rifle Division was twice formed as an infantry division of the Red Army after a motorized division of that same number was destroyed in the first days of the German invasion of the Soviet Union. The first formation was based on the shtat (table of organization and equipment) of July 29, 1941 and it then remained for nine months in the far east of Siberia training and organizing before it was finally sent by rail to the Stalingrad region in July 1942. It was assigned to the 4th Tank Army which was attempting to hold a bridgehead west of the Don River based on Kremenskaya and Sirotinskaya. This soon came under attack by elements of German 6th Army as a preliminary to its advance on Stalingrad itself and during August the division was encircled and destroyed.

In June 1943 the 1941 formation of the 186th Rifle Division was redesignated as the 205th in large part to eliminate confusion with the 1939 formation of the 186th which was concurrently in service. The new 205th remained in 26th Army of Karelian Front until late 1944 when the Continuation War with Finland was over, after which it was moved to the south and eventually assigned to the 19th Army of 2nd Belorussian Front which fought through East Pomerania in February and March 1945, winning a battle honor and a decoration in the process. While it saw little action in the Berlin campaign it was soon involved in the landings on the German-occupied Danish island of Bornholm under command of 43rd Army. The 205th remained there until it was returned to the mainland in May 1946 and was soon after disbanded.