68th Mountain Rifle Division
The 68th Mountain Rifle Division (Russian: 68-я горнострелковая дивизия) was a mountain infantry division of the Red Army before and during World War II.
| 68th Mountain Rifle Division | |
|---|---|
Late 1920s battle flag of the type issued to the division with unit designation to the left of the globe | |
| Active | 1919–1946 (68th Mountain Rifle Division from 1936) |
| Country |
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| Branch | Red Army |
| Type | Mountain infantry (from 1929), previously infantry |
| Engagements |
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| Decorations | Honorary Revolutionary Red Banner |
| Honorifics | named for the Central Executive Committee of the Tajik ASSR (removed) |
Formed in late 1919 during the Russian Civil War as the 3rd Turkestan Rifle Division, it served with the Turkestan Front in the defeat of White Cossack forces for the next several months. The division began participating in the suppression of the Basmachi movement in late 1920, and was briefly renumbered as the 2nd Turkestan Rifle Division between 1921 and 1922. The division was stationed in the Dushanbe area from 1923 and eliminated the last remnants of the Basmachi in that area within a year. It was awarded the Honorary Revolutionary Red Banner in 1928 and converted to a mountain division a year later before being redesignated as the 3rd Turkestan Mountain Rifle Division.
It became the 68th Mountain Rifle Division in 1936. The division fought in the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran in August and September 1941 and remained in Iran for the rest of World War II as part of the Soviet occupation force in the northern part of the country. It was disbanded postwar in 1946 when Soviet troops withdrew from northern Iran.