The 391st Rifle Division was raised in 1941 as an infantry division of the Red Army, and served for the duration of the Great Patriotic War in that role. It began forming in August 1941, in the Central Asian Military District. It was first assigned to Southwestern Front but on its arrival it was seen to be far from combat-ready and so was moved north to the Moscow area for further training. It was finally assigned to the 3rd Shock Army in Kalinin Front and took part in the battle for the Kholm Pocket. Following this the division was moved to 1st Shock Army and took part in the dismal fighting for the Demyansk salient until it was finally evacuated by the German forces in March, 1943. The division moved on into the gradual advance across the Baltic states through 1943 and 1944, winning a battle honor along the way, until February, 1945, when it was transferred with its 93rd Rifle Corps to 1st Ukrainian Front as part of 59th Army. In the last weeks of the war the 391st was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for its service in Upper Silesia, and ended the war advancing on Prague, but despite its distinguished record it was selected as one of the many divisions to be disbanded during the summer of 1945. Formation The 391st began forming on August 19, 1941 at Alma-Ata in the Central Asia Military District, Its order of battle was as follows: 1024th Rifle Regiment 1278th Rifle Regiment 1280th Rifle Regiment 951st Artillery Regiment 404th Antitank Battalion 450th Reconnaissance Company 668th Sapper Battalion 839th Signal Battalion (184th Signal Company) 473rd Medical/Sanitation Battalion 466th Chemical Protection (Anti-gas) Company 503rd Motor Transport Company 255th Field Bakery 818th Divisional Veterinary Hospital 1420th Field Postal Station 759th Field Office of the State Bank Col. Dmitrii Anatolevich Kovalenko was assigned to command of the division on August 28, and he would remain in command until March 8, 1942. In September the division's personnel were noted as being mostly Kazakh. These men had practically no time to train before they were ordered to the front. They arrived in the Volga Military District in mid-November and the division was briefly assigned to the 61st Army that was forming there, but instead of sending the raw unit into combat with that Army it was reassigned to the Moscow Defence Zone for more than