The 8th Guards Airborne Division was formed on 8 December 1942 from the
10th Airborne Corps in the
Moscow Military District. The personnel of the airborne division received training in airborne tactics.
Major general Alexander Kapitokhin, commander of the 10th Airborne Corps, became the division's first commander. In February 1943, the division was transferred to the
Northwestern Front, where it became part of the
68th Army, fighting in the
Demyansk Offensive. On 24 April 1943, the division was withdrawn from the front and moved to
Voronezh as part of the
Central Front . At the beginning of May, the division became part of the
20th Guards Rifle Corps and from 3 October became part of the
21st Guards Rifle Corps. The division fought in the last part of the
Battle of Kursk and the
Chernigov-Poltava Offensive. From the area of
Kotelva it advanced to the northwestern part of
Poltava, establishing contact with the
5th Guards Army. On the night of 5 October, it crossed the
Old Dnieper and crossed the
Dnieper on the next night, capturing a bridgehead on the right bank near the village of Voronovka. On 19 October, the division was transferred to the
7th Guards Army on the
Steppe Front. It fought in defensive battles on the
Inhulets River during early December. The 8th Guards Airborne took part in battles west of
Kirovohrad until March 1944. In March 1944, the division was on the left wing of the
2nd Ukrainian Front during the
Uman–Botoșani Offensive. It advanced towards
Kompaniivka. At Semyonovka village, the division reached the left bank of the
Southern Bug. On 22 March, the 22nd and 27th Guards Airborne Regiments, in conjunction with the
36th Guards Rifle Division's 108th Guards Rifle Regiment, crossed the
Southern Bug near the village of
Myhiya, seizing a bridgehead at Grushevka village in
Pervomaisk Raion. Fighting the German
106th Infantry Division and
282nd Infantry Division, it reached the outskirts of
Pervomaisk. At this time, the 25th Guards Airborne Regiment crossed the Southern Bug in the area north of Semyonovka together with the
81st Guards Rifle Division capturing the villages of Romanova Balka, Ivanovka and Sokolovka. These units created a threat to the Germans holding Pervomaisk, which caused them to retreat. For its part in taking the city, the division was awarded the honorary title "Pervomaisk". On 24 August, the division transferred to
Kirzhach for resupply. On 27 December 1944, it was reorganized as the 107th Guards Rifle Division. On 8 July 1946, it became airborne again, joining the
Soviet Airborne Troops, and was disbanded in 1959. == Composition ==