of the type used by the division during World War II The 5th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division of the
Reserve of the Supreme High Command (RVGK) began forming in early November 1942 as part of the
Voronezh Front under the command of Colonel
Vulf Shevelev, assigned commander on 14 November. By 1 January 1943, the division included the 670th, 743rd, 1119th, and 1181st Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiments. In March, the 670th Regiment was detached to the
21st Army. The entire division transferred to the
7th Guards Army in April; it served with the army for the rest of the war. On 28 May, Colonel
Mikhail Kudryashev was appointed division commander. Between 5 and 17 July the division covered the army's troops during the repulse of
Operation Citadel, the defensive phase of the
Battle of Kursk. Its 670th Regiment was credited with downing 33 German aircraft. The division transferred to the
Steppe Front (redesignated the 2nd Ukrainian Front on 20 October) on 18 July. In the offensive phase of the battle in July and August, the division covered the troops of the 7th Guards Army's
24th and
25th Guards Rifle Corps during their advance towards
Belgorod, the
Belgorod-Kharkov Offensive. It was credited with downing fifteen German aircraft near Belgorod, and in ground combat destroyed a
Tiger and four medium tanks. The division covered the crossing of the
Donets and fought in the capture of
Kharkov on the night of 23 August. In the capture of the latter city, 670th Regiment commander Major
Pyotr Kandaurov was killed leading his unit against German tanks on the Moskovsky Prospekt, and posthumously made a
Hero of the Soviet Union. In the advance into
Left-bank Ukraine, the division covered the 25th Guards Rifle Corps. It took part in the capture of
Krasnohrad. Reaching the
Dnieper southeast of
Kremenchug, the 5th covered the crossing of the river and the capture and expansion of a bridgehead at
Borodaivka on the right bank. 1181st Regiment commander Major
Grigory Dernovsky, battery commander Senior Lieutenant
Alexander Mikhailov, firing platoon commander Junior Lieutenant
Pavel Morozov, and gun commander Senior Sergeant
Alexander Zubarev received the title Hero of the Soviet Union for their actions in the fighting for the bridgehead. Morozov received the award posthumously. The 5th covered the corps during the
Kirovograd Offensive in the fall, at
Novoukrainka,
Pervomaisk,
Balta,
Rîbnița,
Bălți, and
Botoșani during the spring
Uman–Botoșani offensive, and
Hârlău in the
First Jassy–Kishinev offensive. Between November 1943 and July 1944, the division was credited with downing 151 enemy aircraft, destroying thirteen tanks and self-propelled guns, four halftracks, and ten pillboxes. The division fought in the
Jassy–Kishinev Offensive in August and was awarded the
Order of the Red Banner on 15 September for "exemplary fulfillment of command tasks", capturing
Roman,
Bacău,
Bârlad, and
Huși, and its "valor and courage". Colonel
Viktor Okorokov took command of the division in September after it was awarded the
Order of the Red Banner for its actions. The division covered the crossing of the
Tisza during the
Battle of Debrecen. On 20 October, Colonel
Matvey Gushin took command of the division, part of the 7th Guards Army. In the
Budapest Offensive, the 5th covered the troops of the army in the breakthrough of Axis defenses at
Abony, the advance northeast of
Budapest, the crossing of the
Danube, and the encirclement of Axis troops in Budapest. The division was awarded the
Order of Kutuzov, 2nd class, on 6 January 1945 in recognition of its performance in the breakthrough of the Axis defenses and the crossing of the Danube. The division then fought in the
Siege of Budapest until February 1945. 743rd Regiment battery commander Senior Lieutenant
Eduard Ayanyan was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union for his leadership of his battery in cooperation with infantry units in the Budapest street fighting. 1119th Regiment gun commander
Yefreytor Vasily Chernoshein was made a Hero of the Soviet Union for helping to repulse a counterattack with direct fire from his gun on 9 January in the
City Park area. The 5th fought in the
Bratislava–Brno Offensive in March and April. For helping to capture
Bratislava on 4 April, the division received the city's name as an honorific. The 5th ended the war in
Czechoslovakia. == Postwar ==