The 63rd Mountain Rifle Division was formed as a specialized infantry division of the Red Army in July 1936, based on the 2nd Georgian Mountain Division. When the German invasion of the Soviet Union began it was in the Transcaucasus Military District and was soon assigned to the 47th Army for the invasion of Iran. Following this it was moved to the western Caucasus region where it joined the 44th Army of Crimean Front for amphibious operations against the Axis forces in the Crimea. In late December 1941 it landed at Feodosia as part of 9th Rifle Corps. Along with the remainder of the Corps the 63rd Mountain hindered but failed to block the retreat of Axis forces from Kerch, where the 51st Army had also made landings. After a German counteroffensive retook Feodosia in mid-January 1942 the division fell back to the Parpach Isthmus where it took part in trench warfare near the Black Sea coast into the spring, gradually losing strength. On May 8 it was caught up in the opening stage of Operation "Bustard Hunt" (Trappenjagd) and in a few hours was overwhelmed and largely destroyed by German air and artillery bombardment in support of infantry and armor attacks. Less than a week later it was stricken from the Red Army's order of battle and was never rebuilt.
Formation
The division was officially converted from the 2nd Georgian Mountain Division at Tbilisi in the Transcaucasus Military District in July 1936 following the decision of the STAVKA to abolish "national" divisions and other such formations. By 1940 it was stationed at Kirovakan in the Armenian SSR. Based on the prewar shtat (table of organization and equipment) for mountain rifle divisions, as of June 22, 1941 its order of battle was as follows: 63rd Mountain Rifle Regiment 251st Mountain Rifle Regiment 291st Mountain Rifle Regiment 346th Mountain Rifle Regiment 26th Artillery Regiment 76th Antitank Battalion 273rd Antiaircraft Battery (later 347th Antiaircraft Battalion) 53rd Cavalry Squadron 170th Sapper Battalion 51st Signal Battalion 116th Medical/Sanitation Battalion 33rd Artillery Park Battalion 283rd Chemical Protection (Anti-gas) Company 400th Motor Transport Company 20th Field Bakery (unknown number) Field Postal Station 230th Field Office of the State Bank From May 9, 1940 the division was under the command of Kombrig Aleksandr Markovich Krupnikov; this officer would have his rank modernized to major general on June 4. It inherited the Order of the Red Star that had been awarded to the 2nd Georgian on February 24, 1936 as well as the honorific "in the name of M. V. Frunze" that had been granted in April 1927. In common with other Soviet mountain divisions the 63rd had four regiments and no battalion structure. Instead each regiment had five rifle companies plus companies of supporting arms. This organization, designed for semi-independent operations in isolated mountain passes, also proved useful in amphibious operations.
Invasion of Iran
By the start of August 1941 the 63rd Mountain had been assigned to the new 47th Army in Transcaucasus Military District, joining the 76th Mountain (former Armenian Mountain) and 236th Rifle plus the 6th and 54th Tank Divisions. Under the impact of Operation Barbarossa it was vital to ensure the safety of Allied supply lines to the USSR, secure Iranian oil fields and limit German influence in Iran.
The Soviet forces attacked jointly with British forces on August 25. The Red Army attacked using three armoured spearheads, totalling over 1,000 tanks and motorised infantry; the Iranians had no tanks in the area. 47th Army broke through the border and moved from Soviet Azerbaijan into Iranian Azerbaijan. It then moved towards Tabriz and Lake Urmia and soon captured the city of Jolfa. Following a delay there the Army moved south, capturing Dilman ( west of Tabriz) and then Urmia (Oromiyeh). On August 29 the Iranian forces accepted a ceasefire and the Soviet forces halted their advance on September 1 short of Tehran. During the rest of the month the 63rd Mountain was stationed at Maku. On September 28 General Krupnikov was moved to the first of many staff assignments he would hold until his retirement in 1958, eventually reaching the rank of lieutenant general. He was replaced in command of the division the next day by Col. Semyon Georgievich Zakiyan. As of the beginning of December it was still in 47th Army in Transcaucasus Front along with the 138th Mountain and the 392nd and 394th Rifle Divisions. On December 25 Colonel Zakiyan handed his command to Lt. Col. Pyotr Yakovlevich Tsindzenevskii.