The 413th Rifle Division was formed as an infantry division of the Red Army in the summer of 1941 in the Far Eastern Front. It was considered to be a "sister" division to the 415th, and was one of the divisions of Siberians sent west to help defend Moscow during the winter of 1941–42. It was assigned to the 50th Army and originally saw action in the defense of the city of Tula before going over to the counteroffensive in December, suffering massive casualties in the process. It spent much of the next year along the lines it gained over the winter, southwest of the capital, before beginning to push westward as part of Western Front's 1943 summer offensive. During the winter of 1943-44 it was in Belorussian Front (later 1st Belorussian Front) gradually gaining ground towards the Dniepr River to the east of Rogachev. At the start of Operation Bagration the 413th was in the 3rd Army but was soon reassigned to the 65th Army where it remained for most of the rest of the war. The division was awarded a battle honor for its role in the liberation of Brest in July and in 1945 received both the Order of the Red Banner and the Order of Suvorov as it advanced into Poland and Germany with 2nd Belorussian Front. The 413th had a distinguished career as a combat unit, ending its combat path north of Berlin. It was disbanded in the summer of 1946.
Formation
The 413th Rifle Division began forming on August 6, 1941, entirely from assets in the Far Eastern Front. Soldiers and officers came from the South Kazakhstan and Blagoveshchensk Infantry Schools, the Khabarovsk Infantry and Military-Political Schools, and the Vladivostok Artillery Academy. Command cadre came from the staffs of the 1st and 2nd Red Banner Armies, and included many veterans of the Lake Khasan and Khalkhin-Gol fighting. Its order of battle, based on the first wartime shtat (table of organization and equipment) for rifle divisions, was as follows: 1320th Rifle Regiment 1322nd Rifle Regiment 1324th Rifle Regiment 982nd Artillery Regiment 291st Antitank Battalion (from January 19, 1942) 519th Mortar Battalion (until October 10, 1942) 207th Reconnaissance Company 425th Sapper Battalion 487th Signal Battalion (later 487th Signal Company) 350th Medical/Sanitation Battalion 347th Chemical Protection (Anti-gas) Company 212th Motor Transport Company (later 486th Motor Transport Battalion) 524th Field Bakery 159th Divisional Veterinary Hospital 960th Field Postal Station 270th Field Office of the State Bank At the time of its formation its personnel were noted as being mostly Siberian and Kazakh. Maj. Gen. Alexei Dmitrievich Tereshkov was appointed to command on the day the division began forming. The division was considered to be ready for combat by October 1, and over the course of the month was railed westward to join Western Front on October 31, and was then assigned to 50th Army, near Tula, on November 5. It was one of six divisions transferred from Far Eastern Front to the fighting front from September to November. Contrary to the German understanding at the time, there were no wholesale transfers from the far east to the Moscow front.
Battle of Moscow
The 413th first went into action less than a week after joining its Army, which was in Bryansk Front. At this time it had a personnel strength of about 12,000 troops and about 100 artillery pieces and mortars of all types, making it quite a strong front-line division for that period. In the Army's plan for the defense of Tula the division was to launch a counterblow as soon as it de-trained against the forces of the German 2nd Panzer Army from the Volokhov area in the direction of Novyi Tulskii, from five to 15 km southeast of the city. Subsequent operations were to continue the advance towards Shchyokino to link up with 3rd Army. Upon arrival the division consolidated with two rifle regiments along the line from Nizhnie Prisady to Dubovka and the third in Dedilovo, where the 299th Rifle Division was also concentrating.