130th Rifle Division

The 130th Rifle Division was first formed as an infantry division of the Red Army in November 1939 in the Kiev Special Military District, based on the shtat (table of organization and equipment) of the previous September. At the start of the German invasion in June 1941 it was still in that District, part of the reserve 55th Rifle Corps. It quickly took up positions in prepared defenses west of Mohyliv-Podilskyi as it was incorporated into Southern Front. It remained defending along the Dniestr River into mid-July when it began falling back toward the Dniepr, avoiding being trapped near Uman in the process. The division remained in positions along that river until after the encirclement and destruction of Southwestern Front east of Kyiv left it vulnerable to a renewed German drive toward the Sea of Azov. It was overrun on the open steppe in early October and soon disbanded.

The 3rd Moscow Communist Rifle Division began forming on October 24 from worker's regiments in that city, now under immediate threat following Operation Typhoon. Once formed a few weeks later it took up fortified positions in the Moscow Defence Zone until January 1942 when it was redesignated as the new 130th Rifle Division and moved north to join the 3rd Shock Army of Kalinin Front near Kholm. After playing a secondary role in the fighting for that place it was transferred to Northwestern Front near Demyansk, where it soon joined 53rd Army. Until August it was largely involved in holding the line, after which it saw increasing action, eventually in the 1st Shock Army, although without any great success. Despite this, on December 8 it became the 53rd Guards Rifle Division.

The final 130th was formed near Rostov-on-Don from a pair of rifle brigades in 28th Army of Southern Front on May 1, 1943. It was soon moved to 44th Army of the same Front, and took part in both the July and August offensives to break into the Donbas region, helping to recapture Taganrog in late August and winning its name as an honorific. About 10 days later, as its advance continued, it was also awarded the Order of the Red Banner. After 44th Army was disbanded it returned to 28th Army, and as it continued to move through southern Ukraine it was also assigned to 5th Shock and 3rd Guards Armies in the now-renamed 4th Ukrainian Front. In March 1944 it was back in 5th Shock, now in 3rd Ukrainian Front, when it participated in the capture of Mikolaiv, for which it was awarded the Order of Suvorov. Almost immediately it was removed to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command and began moving north, again returning to 28th Army, where it would remain for the duration. This Army joined 1st Belorussian Front in May, in time to take part in Operation Bagration in Belarus, during which it received the unusual award of the Order of Lenin for its part in the fighting for the Belarusian capital. From there it continued to advance toward Baranavichy and Brest, eventually reaching the border of East Prussia. During the offensive into Poland and Germany in January 1945, as part of 3rd Belorussian Front, it took part in the fighting to reduce the German forces trapped southwest of Königsberg before again entering the Reserve of the Supreme High Command and being moved southwest with its Army to join 1st Ukrainian Front. Arriving after the start of the Berlin operation it helped encircle and reduce German 9th Army south of the German capital. Shortly after the German surrender it began moving back to the USSR, and it was disbanded at Slonim in February 1947.