The 54th Guards Rifle Division was created on Dec. 16, 1942 from the second formation of the 119th Rifle Division, in recognition of that division's leading role in Operation Uranus, the breakthrough that led to the encirclement of the German/Rumanian forces at Stalingrad, and the subsequent elimination of the 3rd Rumanian Army. The 54th Guards continued a record of distinguished service through the rest of the Great Patriotic War.