Regiments, as well as the 78th Light Artillery Regiment and the 109th Howitzer Regiment. Following the German invasion of the Soviet Union and a string of Soviet defeats early in the war, the division was alerted for movement to the front in late August. The division arrived at Ivanovo on September 11, where it received its heavy equipment. The 21st soon assumed defensive positions with the 7th Army along the Svir River between Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega, defending against the Finnish in Karelia in the Continuation War. For leading his platoon in repulsing Finnish attacks in early November, 326th Rifle Regiment Sergeant Vasily Poleshchuk was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. Due to the relatively quiet nature of the front, the division's 109th Howitzer Regiment became a separate 7th Army regiment in early 1942. Around the same time, like other divisions in the front, it formed a ski battalion for winter patrolling and security duties. The division remained in the area until March 1944, when it was moved to the Arctic theatre of operations, to Kandalaksha. As part of the 19th Army it took part in defeating a group of German forces in the area of Alakurtti and reached the pre-war Soviet-Finnish border. By October it was part of the 14th Army, pushing German troops out of Finland and into northern Norway. In January 1945 it was transferred to the 26th Army in Hungary, to defend against a German attack across the Leithain the final stages of the Budapest Offensive. Surrounded on January 20 in the vicinity of Aba and Jakabszállás, the following day it broke through and reached friendly lines. On January 28 it received reinforcements and took part in the Soviet counter-offensive between Leithe and Danube. It later took part in defence against the Balaton Offensive and then the Vienna Offensive, operating from the town of Nagykanizsa. On May 10 it linked up with American troops from the 80th Infantry Division of XX Corps at the Enns. Postwar Postwar, in October 1945, the division became the 20th Mechanized Division at Timișoara with the 57th Army. It soon moved to Arad. The division was originally intended to disband in the Southern Group of Forces. The order was changed and the 151st Rifle Division was disbanded instead. It later moved to Uryupinsk and became part of the 10th Mechanized Army. It disbanded on April 14, 1947. The