The 184th Red Banner

Red Banner

Red Banner was a symbol of the USSR associated with the Soviet state flag.Military units, institutions and organizations awarded with the Order of the Red Banner are referred to with the honorific title "of the Red Banner" Red Banner was a symbol of the USSR associated with the Soviet state...

 Rifle Division was a Soviet Red Army division

Division (military)

A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...

 during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 (till 1940 – 2nd Division of Lithuania). It was with 29th Rifle Corps of Eleventh Army on June 22, 1941, as part of the Baltic Military District

Baltic Military District

The Baltic Military District was a military district of the Soviet armed forces, formed briefly before the German invasion, and then reformed after World War II and disbanded after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991....

. Most of the soldiers rebelled and joined the cause of the Lithuanian Activist Front

Lithuanian 1941 independence

The June Uprising was a brief period in the history of Lithuania between the first Soviet and Nazi occupations in June 1941. Approximately one year earlier, on June 15, 1940, the Red Army invaded Lithuania and the unpopular Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic was soon established. Political...

. Some of its remnants went to make up the Second Formation of the 16th Rifle Division

16th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)

The 16th Rifle Division , was a formation in the Red Army created during the Second World War. The division was formed twice, and was given the title 'Lithuanian' during its second formation. It was originally established at Novgorod in October 1939. It was wiped out at Mga in 1941...

. Its Second Formation was activated in October 1941, a redesignation of the 4th NKVD

NKVD

The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....

 Rifle Division, which had been active in the Crimea since September 1941. The Division fought as part of the 62nd Army

62nd Army (Soviet Union)

The 62nd Order of Lenin Army was a field army established by the Soviet Union's Red Army during the Second World War. Formed as the 7th Reserve Army as part of the Stavka Reserve in May 1942, the formation was designated as the 62nd Rifle Army the following month...

 during the Battle of Stalingrad under Colonel Koida from July 17 to September 15, 1942.

Among most notable division members was Roza Shanina

Roza Shanina

Roza Yegorovna Shanina was a Soviet sniper during World War II, credited with 54 confirmed kills, including 12 snipers during the Battle of Vilnius. Praised for her shooting accuracy, Shanina was capable of firing precise semi-automatic shots on moving enemy manpower...

. On July 12, 1944 the division liberated Trakai

Trakai

Trakai is a historic city and lake resort in Lithuania. It lies 28 km west of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. Because of its proximity to Vilnius, Trakai is a popular tourist destination. Trakai is the administrative centre of Trakai district municipality. The town covers 11.52 km2 of...

 jointly with the 45th Rifle Corps. During the counter-offensive in Eastern Prussia the division hoisted the flag of the Soviet Union

Flag of the Soviet Union

The flag of the Soviet Union consisted of a plain red flag, with a setting or cross-peen hammer crossed with a sickle and a red star in the upper canton...

 on the Soviet state border. It was then transferred to the Far East and fought as part of 45th Rifle Corps, 5th Army, during the invasion of Manchuria.

On June 8, 1946 on the basis of the 184th Rifle Division and the 18th Machine Gun Artillery Brigade, the 18th Machine-Gun Artillery Division was created in Primorski Krai, comprising the 38, 40, and 49th Machine-Gun Artillery Regiments. But the division at this number was already deployed in the end of 1970s on Kuriles

Commanders

Name	Date
Brigadier-General Vladas Karvelis	August 30, 1940 - ????
Colonel Samuil Koyda	March 15, 1942 - January 18, 1943; February 11, 1943 - March 1, 1943
Major Pavel Galuza	January 23, 1943 - February 10, 1943
Colonel Stepan Khoteyev	March 18, 1943 - May 23, 1943
Colonel Samuil Tsukaryov	May 24, 1943 - December 12, 1943
Colonel Aleksandr Belov	December 13, 1943 - June 1, 1944
Major-General Basan Gorodovikov	June 10, 1944 - December 11, 1944; February 19, 1945 - September 3, 1945
Colonel Ivan Mayskiy	December 12, 1944 - January 15, 1945
Major-General Rakhim-Sagib Maksutov	January 17, 1945 - February 18, 1945