The 104th Rifle Division was originally formed as a mountain infantry division of the Red Army in March 1939, in the Leningrad Military District, based roughly on the shtat (table of organization and equipment) for mountain divisions of that period, due to its intended deployment in the Arctic. During the Winter War with Finland it was part of 14th Army in the Kola Peninsula and initially struck west into the Rybachy Peninsula, quickly taking it from limited Finnish forces, then pushed down the Arctic Highway from Petsamo toward Rovaniemi where it was planned to link up with the 122nd Rifle Division. Due to Finnish resistance and mid-winter Arctic conditions it only reached halfway to this objective before halting for the duration of the war. At the start of the Continuation War against Germany and Finland it was paired up with the 122nd, still in 14th Army. Beginning on July 1, 1941, the German XXXVI Mountain Corps launched an offensive against the 104th and 122nd, with the objective of reaching Kandalaksha and cutting the railway from Murmansk to the rest of the USSR. The divisions conducted a successful retrograde action over the following months, holding the German/Finnish forces well short of the railway when the offensive ended in September. In April 1942 both divisions were transferred to 19th Army. The 104th would remain on these lines into the autumn of 1944, briefly engaging German troops withdrawing into Lapland following the Finnish surrender. Karelia was now a strategic dead end, and in November 19th Army was removed to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command for reassignment of its units to the south. The division was first assigned 2nd Ukrainian Front in Romania, and then to 26th Army in 3rd Ukrainian Front for operations in Hungary. It arrived south of Budapest in mid-January 1945 and was quickly involved in the last German effort to relieve its besieged garrison. After helping to defeat the last German offensive in March it advanced, now with 57th Army, through the Hungarian oil fields. It was disbanded soon after the German surrender.
Formation The division was formed during March - June 1939 in and near Murmansk on an altered establishment as a mountain rifle division. The cadre was the 162nd Rifle Regiment of the 54th Rifle Division. The mountain establishment was chosen due to the lack of roads in the high Arctic, making the movement of heavy weapons difficult or impossible. Kombrig Vladimir Ivanovich Shcherbakov was immediately appointed as commander, with Col. Ivan Ivanovich Vnukov as chief of staff. The division completed its formation on June 30 and in early September deployed to Titovka, the Sredny Peninsula and the Rybachy Peninsula for further training. Winter War
The invasion of Finland began on November 30. The Finnish command had not expected any large scale attacks between Kitelä and Petsamo due to the extreme winter weather and the lack of roads. The defenders initially consisted of the 10th Separate Company (10.Er.K) in Parkkina and the 5th Separate Battery (5.Er.Ptri, four 76mm field cannons, from year 1887) in Liinahamari; half of the shells for these guns would prove to be duds. In comparison, the 14th Army deployed three divisions, the 104th, 52nd, and 14th Rifle Divisions, although the latter would simply occupy the Liinahamari harbor area. This move was largely to prevent any landing by Britain or France in support of the Finns.Allen Chew, The White Death: The Epic of the Soviet-Finnish Winter War, Michigan State University Press, 1971, pp. 7–8
The 104th quickly occupied the Finnish part of the Rybachy Peninsula and on December 1 its 242nd Mountain Rifle Regiment took Parkkina. The attack on Petsamo was mostly by land but included landings by sea supported by naval gunfire of the White Sea Fleet and coastal artillery on the approaches to Murmansk. From here the division was intended to advance along the Finnish Arctic Highway toward the capital of Lapland, Rovaniemi, which was to be taken by December 12. This plan seemed reasonable, given a numerical advantage of some 42 to one. Given the remoteness from any Finnish population centers and the proximity of Murmansk there was no prospect of defending Petsamo. The defenders were part of the Lapland Group, under command of Maj. Gen. K. M. Wallenius. His troops had no alternative but to retreat south and carry out delaying actions as the flat and treeless terrain offered few defensive positions. The main hope was that even more severe weather would slow or stop the advance. Meanwhile, a "scorched earth" campaign was carried out to destroy or carry off anything that might provide shelter, warmth, or sustenance to the 104th.William M. Trotter, A Frozen Hell, Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 1991, pp. 53, 172-73
As the advance began on December 3 two junior leaders of the 14th Rifle Division's 95th Rifle Regiment, which was attached to the 104th, distinguished themselves in the battle for Luostari. Lt. Pavel Fyodorovich Porosenkov was in the company led by Lieutenant Golovin in the regiment's first echelon. After coming under machine gun fire from a fortified position Porosenkov used a DP-28 light machine gun to suppress or destroy it, after which the company continued to advance. During an attack near a monastery near Luostari, while Porosenkov was leading his squad, the company captured three Finnish artillery pieces and two heavy machine guns. This led to counterattacks by superior forces. Political instructor Vladimir Dmitrievich Kapustin was now in command of the company and formed a perimeter defense on Hill 260.0. Despite two wounds he led several bayonet charges, but was later captured and stabbed to death. Porosenkov now took command of the remaining 24 men and maintained the partly encircled position while sending a messenger to the rear for reinforcements. These eventually arrived and Luostari was taken. The 95th was now moved back to the Rybachy for the duration of the war. Porosenkov and Kapustin were both made Heroes of the Soviet Union on February 5, 1940. Porosenkov went on to serve in the 322nd Rifle Division during the Soviet-German War but was severely wounded in March 1942 and had both legs amputated. He died on January 3, 1976.https://warheroes.ru/hero/hero.asp?Hero_id=2848. In Russian, English translation available. Retrieved September 21, 2026.https://warheroes.ru/hero/hero.asp?Hero_id=5719. In Russian, English translation available. Retrieved September 20, 2026.
The advance slowed in the cold, including gale-force blizzards, and perpetual darkness where the men of the 104th rarely saw an opponent but faced sniper fire from men who had hunted in this terrain for decades. Their supply line became more vulnerable with each kilometre. By January 1940 the road to Petsamo was only being kept open by regular patrols by light tanks and armored cars between blockhouses that had been established every 8km. The division finally reached the tiny village of Nautsi, close to the border with Norway, but could go no farther. Furthermore, while the 122nd Rifle Division had taken Salla in early December on its way to link up with the 104th at Rovaniemi, it had been counterattacked and forced back by the Lapland Group, effectively halting the entire Soviet effort in Lapland. Shcherbakov's troops remained stretched out along the Arctic Highway until after the ceasefire on March 13,Trotter, A Frozen Hell, pp. 173-74, 178-79 and as part of the peace settlement withdrew to Petsamo and the Rybachy, which remained in Soviet hands.
Continuation War Shcherbakov had his rank modernized to major general on June 4, and soon after his division was officially redesignated as the 104th Rifle Division. He remained in command until January 17, 1941, when he left to take command of 50th Rifle Corps in the Karelian Isthmus. After leading the 42nd and 8th Armies in late summer he was wounded, but returned to command 14th Army from March 1942 into the postwar, becoming a lieutenant general on April 28, 1943. He was replaced by Maj. Gen. Stepan Ilich Morozov, who had previously served as a military advisor in China and as an instructor at the Frunze Military Academy.
At the time of the German invasion of the USSR the 104th and 122nd Divisions formed the 42nd Rifle Corps of 14th Army under Northern Front.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, p. 7 The 104th's order of battle was as follows: 217th Rifle Regiment 242nd Rifle Regiment 273rd Rifle Regiment 290th Artillery Regiment 502nd Howitzer Artillery Regiment (until October 14, 1941) 161st Antitank BattalionCharles C. Sharp, "Red Legions", Soviet Rifle Divisions Formed Before June 1941, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Vol. VIII, Nafziger, 1996, p. 53 391st Antiaircraft Battery (later 359th Antiaircraft Battalion, until May 29, 1943) 369th Mortar Battalion (from October 14, 1941 until November 9, 1942) 163rd Reconnaissance Battalion (later 163rd Company) 276th Sapper Battalion 234th Signal Battalion (later 831st Signal Company) 352nd Medical/Sanitation Battalion 25th Chemical Defense (Anti-gas) Platoon 202nd Motor Transport Company (later 161st) 171st Field Bakery (later 183rd Motorized Field Bakery) 243rd Divisional Veterinary Hospital 26th Divisional Artillery Workshop 280th Field Postal Station (later 52555th) 194th Field Office of the State Bank The division was positioned near Kestenga, covering the secondary route to Kandalaksha.Sharp, "Red Legions", p. 53 It was manned and equipped with 8,373 personnel, 8,959 rifles, 360 light machine guns, 156 heavy machine guns, 64 45mm antitank guns, 33 76mm cannons and howitzers, 34 122mm howitzers, 12 152mm howitzers, 141 mortars of all calibres, 127 wheeled motor vehicles and 50 tractors, plus 1,766 horses. Operation Arctic Fox
During August 1940 the Finnish government permitted German troops to enter its country. In April 1941 Hitler ordered Gen. E. Dietl to Berlin to plan operations in the Murmansk region. Hitler's preferred option was to attack Murmansk directly, a distance of some 100km from Petsamo. Dietl, who was familiar with the arctic tundra of the area, expressed grave doubts, and proposed an alternative plan to attack farther south via Salla to Kandalaksha, where the terrain was less extreme and there were at least a few roads and railways. In the event, Hitler's plan would be implemented as Operation Platinum Fox, while Dietl's would proceed as Operation Arctic Fox (also translated as Polar Fox).John R. Elting, Battles for Scandinavia, Time-Life Books Inc., Chicago, IL, 1981, p. 118, 121
Lt. Gen. H. Feige was delegated to command Arctic Fox. His force consisted of the XXXVI Mountain Corps, consisting of the 169th Infantry Division and SS Battlegroup Nord, as well as the Finnish 6th Infantry Division. The German force numbered roughly 40,600, with the Finns contributing another 12,000. 42nd Corps had some 20,000 effectives, spread across a broad front, with the 104th to the south and the 122nd to the north. Nord, largely composed of 8,000 former police and security men, was well equipped, including a battalion of light tanks, but highly deficient in training and experience. Feige planned an advance on four axes: one German regiment would attack on the direct road to Salla; two regiments would strike from the north; Nord would push from the south; and the 6th Division would attempt to reach the Soviet rear from a position 80km to the south.Elting, Battles for Scandinavia, p. 125