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The Western Rifle Division ((ポーランド語:Zachodnia Dywizja Strzelców)) was a Red Army infantry division that served during the Russian Civil War.〔M. K. Dziewanowski, ''The Foundation of the Communist Party of Poland'', American Slavic and East European Review, Vol. 11, No. 2. (Apr., 1952), pp. 106-122. p.115 (JSTOR )〕〔 (Zachodnia Dywizja Strzelców ). WIEM Encyklopedia. Last accessed on 9 April 2007〕 The division also served between the Civil War and WWII as the 52nd Rifle Division. After the first formation of the division was promoted to Guards status as the 10th Guards Rifle Division in late December, 1941, a second formation of the division fought on for the duration in several Fronts. == 1st Formation == The Western Division was formed in the summer of 1918 at the initiative of Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania (SDKPiL) and the Polish Socialist Party-Left (PPS-Lewica). A Polish communist regiment, the ''Red Regiment of Revolutionary Warsaw'' (Czerwony Pułk Rewolucyjnej Warszawy) made up its cadre, and in the beginning it was mostly composed of Polish volunteers.〔 According to its order of battle (below) each of its brigades consisted of two battalions of infantry and one battalion of cavalry. It first fought in the Southern Front against the White Cossacks of Pyotr Krasnov; later against the forces of Anton Denikin and Pyotr Wrangel. During the Polish-Soviet War it was part of the Western Army, and it fought against the Lithuanian and Belarusian Self-Defence units and later the Polish Army of the newly created Second Polish Republic in the opening phase of the Polish-Soviet War. Spearheading the Russian westward offensive of 1918-1919 ('Target Vistula') it took Wilno in January 1919; it sustained heavy losses during the fights at Baranowicze against forces of Gen. Stanisław Szeptycki (part of Operation Wilno, a Polish counteroffensive).〔 Following these losses, in June 1919 the division was heavily reinforced with Russians, Belarusians and Ukrainians and lost its Polish character; it was then (9 June) renamed as 52nd Rifle Division of the Red Army.〔 Commanders of the division were commissars Stanisław Bobiński and Stefan Żbikowski.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Western Rifle Division」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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