On 6 July 1919, 3rd Army commander Sergey Mezheninov issued Order No. 158, forming the 51st Rifle Division, part of the Northern Expeditionary Unit. The formation took place in Tyumen, where the 151st, 152nd and 153rd Brigades were formed. The organization of the division was completed by 15 August, when division commander Vasily Blyukher issued his first order, defining the divisional structure. The division included headquarters, the political department, logistics and other services, three brigades of three infantry regiments each (numbered from 450th to 458th), communications and engineering battalions, and armored car detachments. Blyukher himself arrived in Tyumen on 19 August and established his headquarters in the house of the merchant Kolokolnikov.