The 236th Rifle Division was formed as an infantry division of the Red Army after a motorized division of that same number was reorganized in the first weeks of the German invasion of the Soviet Union. It was based on the shtat (table of organization and equipment) of July 29, 1941, although it was briefly redesignated as a mountain rifle division prior to making an amphibious landing at Feodosia in late December. This overly ambitious undertaking by Crimean Front's 44th Army led to a disaster when a German counterattack retook the port, destroying much of the division's personnel and equipment. The remnants of the division were forced to evacuate the Crimea in the wake of the German counteroffensive in May.