87th Rifle Division
The 87th Rifle Division was formed in 1929. The 13th Guards Rifle Division itself was formed on 19 January 1942, when the 87th Rifle Division was awarded Guards status and re-designated as the 13th Guards Rifle Division.
The 87th Rifle Division had seen action fighting against the Poles in the Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939. Later that year, the division was sent northwards to Finland to serve as reinforcements in the Winter War. As the division was transferred to the Finnish Front, it escaped the fate of many Red Army units during the conflict with Finland. After the war, the unit was transferred to Ukraine in early 1940.
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