194th Rifle Division
The 194th Rifle Division was a Red Army division active from 1939 to 1946 under several designations. It was first formed as a motorized rifle division in the autumn of 1939, part of the first group of such divisions created by the Red Army. After brief service in the war against Finland it was moved to the Central Asian Military District where it was reorganized as a mountain rifle division. It was still in this configuration when the German invasion began on June 22, 1941, and it was soon moved into 49th Army of Reserve Front west of Moscow where it was again reorganized as a regular rifle division, based on the shtat (table of organization and equipment) of September 13, 1939, before seeing any combat. When the final German offensive on Moscow began the 194th was caught flat-footed in the process of being transferred by rail behind the front toward Bryansk. As a result its various subunits became separated as they were forced to disembark at several points along the route. 194th Mountain Rifle Division The 194th Motorized Division was originally formed in September and October of 1939 in the Siberian Military District. After serving briefly against Finland during