On 30 October 1903, the 8th East Siberian Rifle Brigade was formed with the 29th, 30th, 31st, and 32nd East Siberian Rifle Regiments, under the command of
Leonid Artamonov. The brigade became a division on 22 April 1904 and was based at
Krasnoyarsk. Its 1st Brigade at Krasnoyarsk included the 29th (
Achinsk) and 30th Regiments (Krasnoyarsk), and its 2nd Brigade at Krasnoyarsk and later
Kansk included the 31st (Krasnoyarsk) and 32nd Regiments (Kansk).
Vladimir May-Mayevsky was division chief of staff between 1904 and 1906. and the
Battle of Sandepu. The division was redesignated the 8th Siberian Rifle Division in 1910. In 1914, it was part of the
3rd Siberian Army Corps and also included the 8th Siberian Rifle Artillery Brigade. During
World War I, the division and its corps were transferred to the
Northwestern Front. The division fought in the
Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes in late February 1915. The division was the first unit of its corps to reach the important
Biebrza River crossing at
Sztabin. This enabled the 3rd Siberian Corps and the
26th Army Corps to cross the river and escape a German encirclement. Future
Red Army commander
August Kork served as a staff officer with the division in late 1915. The division was disbanded in 1918. == References ==