of the type used by the division during World War II The 2nd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division of the
Reserve of the Supreme High Command (RVGK) began forming on 31 October 1942 in the
Moscow Military District under the command of Lieutenant Colonel
Nikolay Nikitin. On 23 November, after completing its formation, the division arrived on the
Stalingrad Front south of
Stalingrad, and joined the
51st Army. It provided air defense for the 51st and
57th Armies during the creation of the outer encirclement line of the pocket formed by German troops trapped in the city, the counterattack towards
Kotelnikovo, and the attack towards
Salsk. From 12 December, when
Operation Winter Storm, a German relief attempt on the Stalingrad pocket, was launched in the Kotelnikovo area, the division helped repulse increased German air raids. The 2nd also downed or forced German transport planes off course, preventing aerial resupply of the trapped German troops. During the battle, the division was credited with downing 57 enemy aircraft, knocking out seven tanks, and killing up to a company of enemy soldiers. By 1 January 1943, it included the 1069th, 1113th, and 1117th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiments as part of 51st Army. Its 1086th Regiment was detached to the
Southwestern Front's
5th Shock Army at the time, and would remain there for several months. From January, the division provided air defense for the 51st Army during the
Southern Front's
Salsk-Rostov Offensive. Its regiments advanced alongside the army when it reached the
Don at
Kalach. Colonel
Alexander Mukharsky replaced Nikitin around March, during which the division provided air defense for Southern Front units against massive enemy airstrikes. In April, the 1086th rejoined the main body of the division, which was transferred to the
44th Army. The 1069th Regiment was directly subordinated to front headquarters in June. The entire division was transferred to the
28th Army in July. In August, the 1069th Regiment was detached to the
2nd Guards Army. The division transferred to the 2nd Guards Army in September, with the 1086th Regiment remaining with 28th Army. In October, the division was split, with the 1086th and 1113th Regiments detached to the 28th Army and division headquarters with the 1069th and 1117th Regiments remaining with the 2nd Guards Army. On 5 October, Lieutenant Colonel (promoted to colonel on 10 October)
Alexander Kovalyov replaced Mukharsky, who was transferred to another unit. The division was directly subordinated to the
4th Ukrainian Front (the former Southern Front) headquarters in November. In December, the division was operationally subordinated to the 4th Ukrainian Front's
3rd Guards Army. The 2nd provided air defense on the line of the
Dnieper from
Velikaya Lepetikha and
Malaya Lepetikha to Sergeyevka. In January 1944, the 1117th Regiment was detached to the 51st Army. The main body of the division (excluding the 1117th) was directly subordinated to the front headquarters in February. In March, the division headquarters with the 1086th and 1113th Regiments transferred to the 51st Army, while the 1069th Regiment remained directly subordinated to the front. From March, the division covered the crossing of Soviet troops into
Crimea over the
Sivash, then provided air defense for the army and front in the
Crimean Offensive. In April, the 1069th Regiment rejoined the rest of the division with the 51st Army. On 24 April the 2nd received the honorific Sivash. In May, after the end of the fighting in Crimea, the division was transferred to the RVGK. It became part of the
Separate Coastal Army in June, remaining behind in Crimea. From 4 August, the division was part of the
1st Baltic Front, operationally subordinated to the 2nd Guards Army, after relocated north into the Baltic region. In the fall, the division fought in the
Battle of Memel and the pursuit of German troops into the
Courland Pocket. In December, the 2nd transferred to the
4th Shock Army. In February 1945, the division transferred to the
11th Guards Army in the
Samland Group of Forces, besieging German troops trapped in the
Samland Peninsula. During April it transferred to the
3rd Belorussian Front, fighting in the
Battle of Königsberg. In May the 2nd was awarded the
Order of Kutuzov, 2nd class, for its actions. == Postwar ==