The 95th Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in May 1943, based on the 1st formation of the 226th Rifle Division, and served in that role until well after the end of the Great Patriotic War. It ended the war on the approaches to Prague and continued to serve well into the postwar era in the Central Group of Forces.
The 226th had distinguished itself in the Battle of Stalingrad and following the German surrender there it was moved north to the central part of the front. At about the same time its Army was redesignated 5th Guards Army it was itself redesignated as the 95th Guards; it would soon be assigned to the 33rd Guards Rifle Corps and it would remain under this Army for the duration of the war. At the beginning of July 1943 it was in Steppe Front and in the latter part of the Battle of Kursk it was brought forward to help defend the Red Army's positions around Prokhorovka. Shortly after it joined the summer offensive through eastern Ukraine where it won a battle honor. In August it was first assigned to the 32nd Guards Rifle Corps and would serve under this distinguished command for most of the rest of the war. During the battles along the Dniepr River and west bank Ukraine the 95th Guards distinguished itself sufficiently to be awarded both the Order of the Red Banner and the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky. In the early summer of 1944 it was transferred with its Army to the 1st Ukrainian Front where it remained for the duration. It played a limited role in the Lvov–Sandomierz offensive but a significantly larger one in the Vistula-Oder offensive and the advance through southern Poland and into Silesia, during which it won the Order of Lenin and its subunits received several honorifics and decorations. In the final offensive south of Berlin the 95th Guards fought across the Neisse River before driving west toward Dresden. Along with its Front it then advanced south toward Prague in the final days before the fighting ended. With its distinguished record of service the division was retained into postwar service, finally being disbanded in September 1955.
Formation
In April the 226th was still in 66th Army in the Reserve of the Supreme High Command. In the first days of May that Army was redesignated as the 5th Guards Army and on May 4 the division officially became the 95th Guards; it would receive its Guards banner on May 11. Once the division completed its reorganization its order of battle was as follows: 284th Guards Rifle Regiment (from 985th Rifle Regiment) 287th Guards Rifle Regiment (from 987th Rifle Regiment) 290th Guards Rifle Regiment (from 989th Rifle Regiment) 233rd Guards Artillery Regiment (from 875th Artillery Regiment) 103rd Guards Antitank Battalion 99th Guards Reconnaissance Company 109th Guards Sapper Battalion 140th Guards Signal Battalion (later 19th Guards Signal Company) 104th Guards Medical/Sanitation Battalion 100th Guards Chemical Defense (Anti-gas) Company 102nd Guards Motor Transport Company 96th Guards Field Bakery 97th Guards Divisional Veterinary Hospital 986th Field Postal Station 833rd Field Office of the State Bank The division remained under the command of Maj. Gen. Nikolai Stepanovich Nikitchenko who had led the 226th since August 15, 1942. On June 29 he left command and was replaced by his deputy commander Col. Andrei Nikitovich Lyakhov. As of the beginning of June 5 Guards Army was still in the Steppe Military District of the Reserve of the Supreme High Command and the division had been assigned to 33rd Guards Rifle Corps. It was still there as the German summer offensive began.