5th Guards Motor Rifle Division
Encyclopedia
The 5th Guards Zimovnikovskaya order Kutuzov II degree Motor Rifle Division (5gv.msd), named on the 60th anniversary of the USSR, was a military formation of the Soviet Ground Forces. It traces back to the 6th Mechanised Corps created in 1940, and destroyed in 1941 in the beginning of Operation Barbarossa
. The corps was reformed in November 1942 under the same name, but with a different organisational structure. For prowess in battle, the 6th Mechanised Corps was granted "Guards" status and became the 5th Guards Mechanised Corps. It became a 5th Guards Mechanised Division in 1945, and then subsequently a 5th Guards Motor Rifle Division. Perhaps its most noteworthy service since 1945 was in the Soviet war in Afghanistan
.
of the Red Army were set up just before World War II
. By June 1941, 29 existed in the Red Army
, although the degree of staffing they had significantly varied. One of these units was the 6th Mechanised Corps, which began to form 15th July 1940 in Bialystok (in the Western Special Military District
). It was attached to the 10th Army
in the Bialystok
fortified region. It was under the command of Major General M.G. Khatskilevichwhen the German Operation Barbarossa
began in June 1941.
The Corps initially comprised the 4th and 7th Tank Divisions and the 29th Mechanised Division, as well as smaller units. On 22nd June 1941, 6th Mechanised Corps consisted 32,382 men, 1131 tanks, 242 Armoured Cars, 162 Artillery Pieces, 187 mortars, 4779 Vehicles, 294 Tractors & 1042 Motorcycles including lighter models T-26, Bt-7 & Bt-5's, & T-28
's & 201 of the newer T-34
& KV-1 models in the 7th Tank Division & 151 in the 4th Tank Division.
Just like the 4th Mechanized Corps (Soviet Union), the 6th Mechanised Corps stood out of the remaining mechanised corps of the Red Army.
On 22nd June 1941 it was fully formed, and stationed not further than 100-150 kilometers from the border.
's 3rd Panzergruppe advancing at the vulnerable boundary line between Soviet Northwestern Front and Soviet Western Front
at Merkinė
. It is considered part of the larger Battle of Białystok–Minsk.
David Glantz states that the tank divisions of 6th Mechanised Corps on 24th June 1941 were committed piecemeal against the advancing German units often without infantry support and were relentlessly pounded by the German aircraft of Luftflotte 2
. Without adequate ammunition and with many tanks in a state of disrepair and sent to several different locations without fuel reserves, they were quickly immoblised. A Western Front report on 27th June noted that 6th Mechanised Corps had lost 20–26% of its tank strength in its 4th and 7th tank Divisions.
Solonin states that the only battle that 6th Mechanised Corps saw was an attack of 24th June, when it lost 2% of tanks. The corps dissipated soon without any other combat, with negligible losses to aircraft, and with distance traveled that hardly necessitated any fuel tanking or repairs. The corps scattered on 27th June near Krynki
, personnel retreating east in small groups, and the equipment has been abandoned or destroyed en masse.
Communication with the headquarters of Boldin was lost. Maj. Gen. Khatskilevich died on 25th June 1941.
Hoth's panzers had reached Vilnius
on the 23rd of June, then Grodno, and finally Minsk
by 26th June. By 25th June 1941 Guderian's
2nd Panzergruppe reached Slonim
and Vawkavysk and cut off the retreat of the greater part of the 10th
& 3rd Armies at Białystok encirclement. The Soviet armies could not retreat across the Shchara River
because Luftflotte 2
had destroyed the bridges. Guderian's "pincer" reached Vilnius
on the 27th June trapping the greater part of 13th
and 4th Armies in another encirclement at Minsk
.
6th Mechanised Corps was destroyed in the Białystok encirclement. It was formally dissolved in late July 1941.
On December 18th, 1942, 6th Mechanised Corps was assigned to the 2nd Guards Army of the Southern Front
, where it was involved in stopping the onset of Operation Winter Storm, the Manstein's attempted breakthrough to the Sixth Army encircled in Stalingrad. On January 8th, 1943, the Corps – participating in the counterattack – captured the Zimovniki
station (Rostov Oblast
), a vital point of the Luftwaffe
s munitions supply chain. For this reason the Corps was given the honorific Zimovnikovsky. Soon it was raised to the elite "Guards" status; thus it became the 5th Zimovnikovsky Guards Mechanised Corps.
The Corps participated in the Battle of Kursk
, as a part of 5th Guards Tank Army. On 1st August 1943, it comprised 10th, 11th and 12th Guards Mechanised Brigades, 24th Guards Tank Brigade, and smaller supporting units. Along other units, it fought in the southern part of salient against the elite 3rd SS Panzer Division Totenkopf and drove them out of Belgorod
. In 1944, the 5th Guards Mechanised Corps took part in the elimination of the Korsun-Shevchenko Pocket.
Later in 1944 5th Zimovnikovsky Guards Mechanised Corps fought in Moravia
and Upper Silesia
. As part of the 4th Guards Tank Army
it crossed the Oder and Neisse. Since April 30th, 1945, it was taking part in the Battle of Berlin
. After taking Berlin, on 5th May 1945 the Corps fought to capture Prague
. On May 8th, 1945, the 10th Mechanised Brigade of the Corps was the first to enter the Czech capital, for which the unit received the Prague honorific.
. In 1946 the division relocated to the Turkestan Military District
.
, from Kushka
, the 5th GMRD entered Afghanistan on the route Herat
Shindand
(a battalion from the 56th Guards Standalone Air Assault Brigade else on Dec. 26th took control of the pass Rabat Mirza, between Kushkov and Herat). On December 26th at 19:20, the Commander of the 5th GMRD, Major-General Yuri Shatalin, gave order to cross the Afghanistan border. Division was pulled out of the Kushka
, Tahta-Bazaar, and Iolotan. At the set time of one the 5th GMRD came out in the future points of the dislocation near the towns: - Herat
, Shindand
, Kandahar
, the division headquarters was located under the Shindand
. The first loss amounted to 2 people. But at the very beginning it was quite peaceful. Recalls the division commander, and in the future Commander in Chief of the Russian Internal Troops
, Colonel-General Yuri Shatalin:
Since the summer of 1980 5th GMRD began to participate in raids against the Afghan mujahadin. During the period of the Afghan war the division participated in 156 scheduled and unscheduled operations.
On 1st March 1980 the division was reorganised. The 373rd Guards Red Banner Order of Kutuzov and Bogdan Khmelnitsky Motor Rifle Regiment, stationed in pos.Adraskan, had formed part of the division on its arrival in the country. On 1st March 1980, the regiment was reorganised as the 70th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade (by reorganizing the staffing structure of departments and adding the 2nd Battalion of the 56th Guards Separate Air Assault Brigade). After the reorganisation the brigade was relocated to the city of Kandahar
.
From 1980 to 1982 the division was commanded by the future commander of the famous 40th Combined Arms Army
General Boris Gromov
.
On February 15th, 1989, the last units of the 40th Combined Arms Army, and with it the army commander, Colonel General Boris Gromov left Afghanistan. Withdrawal in the West direction is carried out by two methods: by air (carried - 5,142 people) and land (6,986 people). 10 colonies from 4 garrisons (Shindand
, Adraskan
, Herat
, Turgundi). Total conclusions 49 parts, totaling 11,907 people, 2,016 combat vehicles, 45 combat aircraft. The return march was on the same route Shindand - Turgundi, on their own.
During the Afghan war
four soldiers of the division were awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union, and 12,825 in total were awarded orders and medals. From May 1988 the division under the Geneva conventions began to prepare withdrawal from Afghanistan. The withdrawal of the 5th GMRD from the garrison Shindand
- Herat
Turugundi - Kushka
began as scheduled on Jan. 29th, 1989, and ended February 15th, 1989. The Division was relocated permanently to the city of Kushka
.
Total number of killed in the division from 27.12.1979 to 15.02.1989 was 1135 (910 of them in combat).
was established with the honorary title of "Turkmenbashi Saparmurat Niyazov's" located in the city of Kushka
.
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
. The corps was reformed in November 1942 under the same name, but with a different organisational structure. For prowess in battle, the 6th Mechanised Corps was granted "Guards" status and became the 5th Guards Mechanised Corps. It became a 5th Guards Mechanised Division in 1945, and then subsequently a 5th Guards Motor Rifle Division. Perhaps its most noteworthy service since 1945 was in the Soviet war in Afghanistan
Soviet war in Afghanistan
The Soviet war in Afghanistan was a nine-year conflict involving the Soviet Union, supporting the Marxist-Leninist government of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan against the Afghan Mujahideen and foreign "Arab–Afghan" volunteers...
.
Creation of 6th Mechanised Corps
Mechanised CorpsMechanized Corps (Soviet)
A mechanised corps was a Soviet armoured formation used prior to the beginning of World War II.- Pre-war development of Soviet mechanised forces :...
of the Red Army were set up just before World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. By June 1941, 29 existed in the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
, although the degree of staffing they had significantly varied. One of these units was the 6th Mechanised Corps, which began to form 15th July 1940 in Bialystok (in the Western Special Military District
Belorussian Military District
The Byelorussian Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces. Originally in the times of Russian Civil War it formed as the Western Front, and in April 1924 it was renamed to the Western Military District. In October 1926 it was redesignated the Belorussian Military...
). It was attached to the 10th Army
10th Army (Soviet Union)
The 10th Army of the Soviet Union's Red Army was a field army active from 1939 to 1944.The Army was formed in September 1939 in the Moscow Military District, and then deployed to the Western Special Military District...
in the Bialystok
Bialystok
Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. Located on the Podlaskie Plain on the banks of the Biała River, Białystok ranks second in terms of population density, eleventh in population, and thirteenth in area, of the cities of Poland...
fortified region. It was under the command of Major General M.G. Khatskilevichwhen the German Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
began in June 1941.
The Corps initially comprised the 4th and 7th Tank Divisions and the 29th Mechanised Division, as well as smaller units. On 22nd June 1941, 6th Mechanised Corps consisted 32,382 men, 1131 tanks, 242 Armoured Cars, 162 Artillery Pieces, 187 mortars, 4779 Vehicles, 294 Tractors & 1042 Motorcycles including lighter models T-26, Bt-7 & Bt-5's, & T-28
T-28
The Soviet T-28 was among the world's first medium tanks. The prototype was completed in 1931 and production began in late 1932. It was an infantry-support tank intended to break through fortified defences...
's & 201 of the newer T-34
T-34
The T-34 was a Soviet medium tank produced from 1940 to 1958. Although its armour and armament were surpassed by later tanks of the era, it has been often credited as the most effective, efficient and influential design of World War II...
& KV-1 models in the 7th Tank Division & 151 in the 4th Tank Division.
Just like the 4th Mechanized Corps (Soviet Union), the 6th Mechanised Corps stood out of the remaining mechanised corps of the Red Army.
On 22nd June 1941 it was fully formed, and stationed not further than 100-150 kilometers from the border.
Defeat in Operation Barbarossa
The 6th Mechanised Corps was heavily involved in the first battles with Germans. At 23:40 on the day of German invasion, Pavlov ordered his Deputy Front Commander Lieutenant General Ivan Boldin to take command over what would be later called Boldin's group. The group's core was the 6th Mechanised Corps and the 6th Cavalry Corps, with 11th Mechanised Corps to be attached soon. The Boldin's group first and last mission was against German armoured forces of HothHermann Hoth
Hermann "Papa" Hoth was an officer in the German military from 1903 to 1945. He attained the rank of Generaloberst during World War II. He fought in France, but is most noted for his later exploits as a panzer commander on the Eastern Front...
's 3rd Panzergruppe advancing at the vulnerable boundary line between Soviet Northwestern Front and Soviet Western Front
Soviet Western Front
The Western Front was a Front of the Red Army, one of the Red Army Fronts during the Second World War. This sense of the term is different from the more general usage of military front which indicates a geographic area in wartime, although a Soviet Front usually operates within designated...
at Merkinė
Merkine
Merkinė is a town in Dzūkija National Park in Lithuania, located at the confluence of the Merkys and Neman Rivers.First mentioned in 1359, Merkinė is one of the oldest Lithuanian settlements. It received the Magdeburg rights in 1569. The town is the location of The Mount of Queen Bona, a mound...
. It is considered part of the larger Battle of Białystok–Minsk.
David Glantz states that the tank divisions of 6th Mechanised Corps on 24th June 1941 were committed piecemeal against the advancing German units often without infantry support and were relentlessly pounded by the German aircraft of Luftflotte 2
Luftflotte 2
Luftflotte 2 was one of the primary divisions of the German Luftwaffe in World War II. It was formed February 1, 1939 in Braunschweig and transferred to Italy on November 15, 1941...
. Without adequate ammunition and with many tanks in a state of disrepair and sent to several different locations without fuel reserves, they were quickly immoblised. A Western Front report on 27th June noted that 6th Mechanised Corps had lost 20–26% of its tank strength in its 4th and 7th tank Divisions.
Solonin states that the only battle that 6th Mechanised Corps saw was an attack of 24th June, when it lost 2% of tanks. The corps dissipated soon without any other combat, with negligible losses to aircraft, and with distance traveled that hardly necessitated any fuel tanking or repairs. The corps scattered on 27th June near Krynki
Krynki
Krynki is a town in northeastern Poland, located close to the Belarusian border in Podlaskie Voivodeship. Krynki is famous for its history and its old buildings. It lies approximately south-east of Sokółka and east of the regional capital Białystok....
, personnel retreating east in small groups, and the equipment has been abandoned or destroyed en masse.
Communication with the headquarters of Boldin was lost. Maj. Gen. Khatskilevich died on 25th June 1941.
Hoth's panzers had reached Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
on the 23rd of June, then Grodno, and finally Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
by 26th June. By 25th June 1941 Guderian's
Heinz Guderian
Heinz Wilhelm Guderian was a German general during World War II. He was a pioneer in the development of armored warfare, and was the leading proponent of tanks and mechanization in the Wehrmacht . Germany's panzer forces were raised and organized under his direction as Chief of Mobile Forces...
2nd Panzergruppe reached Slonim
Slonim
Slonim is a city in Hrodna Voblast, Belarus, capital of the Slonim District. It is located at the junction of the Shchara and Isa rivers, 143 km southeast of Hrodna. The population in 2008 was 50,800.-Etymology and historical names:...
and Vawkavysk and cut off the retreat of the greater part of the 10th
10th Army (Soviet Union)
The 10th Army of the Soviet Union's Red Army was a field army active from 1939 to 1944.The Army was formed in September 1939 in the Moscow Military District, and then deployed to the Western Special Military District...
& 3rd Armies at Białystok encirclement. The Soviet armies could not retreat across the Shchara River
Shchara River
Shchara River is a river in Belarus, a left tributary of the Neman River. It is 325 km in length.Shchara flows through Slonim.- Main tributaries :Right: Lipnyanka, Myshanka, Lakhazva, Usa, Padyavarka. Left: Vedma, Grivda, Lukonitsa, Sipa....
because Luftflotte 2
Luftflotte 2
Luftflotte 2 was one of the primary divisions of the German Luftwaffe in World War II. It was formed February 1, 1939 in Braunschweig and transferred to Italy on November 15, 1941...
had destroyed the bridges. Guderian's "pincer" reached Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
on the 27th June trapping the greater part of 13th
13th Army (Soviet Union)
The 13th Army was a name given to several field armies of the Soviet Union's Red Army, first created during the Russian Civil War...
and 4th Armies in another encirclement at Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
.
6th Mechanised Corps was destroyed in the Białystok encirclement. It was formally dissolved in late July 1941.
Second Formation
The idea of mechanised corps were revived in the spring of 1942. The second formation of 6th Mechanised Corps was done in November 1942. On the basis of Headquarters' 14th Tank Corps, the 6th Mechanised Corps was reformed on Nov. 26, 1942 at the station Kostereva in accordance with NKO directive number 11905907ss and GABTU number 1105723 dated November 26th, 1942. Major General of Armored Forces Semyon Ilyich Bogdanov was appointed the commander of the 6th Mechanised Corps.On December 18th, 1942, 6th Mechanised Corps was assigned to the 2nd Guards Army of the Southern Front
Southern Front
The Southern Front is a geographical area where armies are engaged in conflict* The Soviet Southern Front was one of the Soviet Fronts in WWII*Southern Front...
, where it was involved in stopping the onset of Operation Winter Storm, the Manstein's attempted breakthrough to the Sixth Army encircled in Stalingrad. On January 8th, 1943, the Corps – participating in the counterattack – captured the Zimovniki
Zimovnikovsky District
Zimovnikovsky District is an administrative and municipal district , one of the 43 in Rostov Oblast, Russia....
station (Rostov Oblast
Rostov Oblast
Rostov Oblast is a federal subject of Russia , located in the Southern Federal District. Rostov Oblast has an area of and a population of making it the sixth most populous federal subject in Russia...
), a vital point of the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
s munitions supply chain. For this reason the Corps was given the honorific Zimovnikovsky. Soon it was raised to the elite "Guards" status; thus it became the 5th Zimovnikovsky Guards Mechanised Corps.
The Corps participated in the Battle of Kursk
Battle of Kursk
The Battle of Kursk took place when German and Soviet forces confronted each other on the Eastern Front during World War II in the vicinity of the city of Kursk, in the Soviet Union in July and August 1943. It remains both the largest series of armored clashes, including the Battle of Prokhorovka,...
, as a part of 5th Guards Tank Army. On 1st August 1943, it comprised 10th, 11th and 12th Guards Mechanised Brigades, 24th Guards Tank Brigade, and smaller supporting units. Along other units, it fought in the southern part of salient against the elite 3rd SS Panzer Division Totenkopf and drove them out of Belgorod
Belgorod
-Twin towns/sister cities:Belgorod is twinned with: Wakefield, England, United Kingdom Herne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia Opole, Poland Vyshhorod, Ukraine Kharkiv, Ukraine-External links:...
. In 1944, the 5th Guards Mechanised Corps took part in the elimination of the Korsun-Shevchenko Pocket.
Later in 1944 5th Zimovnikovsky Guards Mechanised Corps fought in Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
and Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia. Since the 9th century, Upper Silesia has been part of Greater Moravia, the Duchy of Bohemia, the Piast Kingdom of Poland, again of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown and the Holy Roman Empire, as well as of...
. As part of the 4th Guards Tank Army
4th Tank Army (Soviet Union)
The 20th Guards Army, , is a field army, since 1991, part of the Russian Ground Forces.-1st Formation :It was first formed within the Stalingrad Front from July 1942 and...
it crossed the Oder and Neisse. Since April 30th, 1945, it was taking part in the Battle of Berlin
Battle of Berlin
The Battle of Berlin, designated the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, was the final major offensive of the European Theatre of World War II....
. After taking Berlin, on 5th May 1945 the Corps fought to capture Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
. On May 8th, 1945, the 10th Mechanised Brigade of the Corps was the first to enter the Czech capital, for which the unit received the Prague honorific.
Postwar
After the war, on 10th June 1945, the 5th Guards Mechanised Corps became 5th Guards Mechanised Division, and after a brief period as 53rd Guards Motor Rifle Division (GMRD) from 1957 to 1965, it became the 5th Guards Motor Rifle Division. Later it was named also after "The 60th anniversary of the USSR". On 28th June 1945, the division was awarded the Order of Kutuzov of II degreeOrder of Kutuzov
The Order of Kutuzov is a Soviet and Russian military award, named after famous Russian Field Marshal Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov ....
. In 1946 the division relocated to the Turkestan Military District
Turkestan Military District
The Turkestan Military District was a military district of both the Imperial Russian Army and the Soviet Armed Forces, with its headquarters at Tashkent. The District was first created during the 1874 Russian military reform when by order of Minister D.A. Milyutinym the territory of Russia was...
.
Afghanistan War
In the night of 27/28 December, AfghanistanAfghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, from Kushka
Serhetabat
Serhetabat is a small town in the Mary Province in Turkmenistan, located in the valley of the Kushka River. Population: 5,200 ....
, the 5th GMRD entered Afghanistan on the route Herat
Herat
Herāt is the capital of Herat province in Afghanistan. It is the third largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of about 397,456 as of 2006. It is situated in the valley of the Hari River, which flows from the mountains of central Afghanistan to the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan...
Shindand
Shindand
Shindand may refer to:*Shindand, Herat, Afghanistan**Shindand Air Base, north of the city*Shindand, Farah, Afghanistan*Shindand, Pakistan, village in FATA, Pakistan...
(a battalion from the 56th Guards Standalone Air Assault Brigade else on Dec. 26th took control of the pass Rabat Mirza, between Kushkov and Herat). On December 26th at 19:20, the Commander of the 5th GMRD, Major-General Yuri Shatalin, gave order to cross the Afghanistan border. Division was pulled out of the Kushka
Kushka
Kushka may refer to:*Serhetabat, Turkmenistan*Kushka, Balkh, Afghanistan...
, Tahta-Bazaar, and Iolotan. At the set time of one the 5th GMRD came out in the future points of the dislocation near the towns: - Herat
Herat
Herāt is the capital of Herat province in Afghanistan. It is the third largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of about 397,456 as of 2006. It is situated in the valley of the Hari River, which flows from the mountains of central Afghanistan to the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan...
, Shindand
Shindand, Herat
Shindand is a town and the center of the Shindand District, Herat Province, Afghanistan. It is located at at 1066 m Altitude. Near the town is Shindand Airbase ....
, Kandahar
Kandahar
Kandahar is the second largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of about 512,200 as of 2011. It is the capital of Kandahar Province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m above sea level...
, the division headquarters was located under the Shindand
Shindand
Shindand may refer to:*Shindand, Herat, Afghanistan**Shindand Air Base, north of the city*Shindand, Farah, Afghanistan*Shindand, Pakistan, village in FATA, Pakistan...
. The first loss amounted to 2 people. But at the very beginning it was quite peaceful. Recalls the division commander, and in the future Commander in Chief of the Russian Internal Troops
Internal Troops (Russia)
Internal Troops, full name Internal Troops of the Ministry for Internal Affairs is a paramilitary national guard like force in the now-defunct Soviet Union and its successor countries, particularly, in Russia and Ukraine. Internal Troops are subordinated to Internal Affairs Ministries of the...
, Colonel-General Yuri Shatalin:
"It happened at dawn on December 27th. Surprised: 5:00 am, and the streets full of people with flowers. It turned out, meet the shuravi, as we were called, the Soviet soldiers. A similar meeting was warm and in other towns and villages in the north of Afghanistan."
Since the summer of 1980 5th GMRD began to participate in raids against the Afghan mujahadin. During the period of the Afghan war the division participated in 156 scheduled and unscheduled operations.
On 1st March 1980 the division was reorganised. The 373rd Guards Red Banner Order of Kutuzov and Bogdan Khmelnitsky Motor Rifle Regiment, stationed in pos.Adraskan, had formed part of the division on its arrival in the country. On 1st March 1980, the regiment was reorganised as the 70th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade (by reorganizing the staffing structure of departments and adding the 2nd Battalion of the 56th Guards Separate Air Assault Brigade). After the reorganisation the brigade was relocated to the city of Kandahar
Kandahar
Kandahar is the second largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of about 512,200 as of 2011. It is the capital of Kandahar Province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m above sea level...
.
From 1980 to 1982 the division was commanded by the future commander of the famous 40th Combined Arms Army
40th Army (Soviet Union)
The 40th Army of the Soviet Union's Red Army was an army-level command active from 1941 to 1945 and then again from 1979 to circa 1990.It was first formed, after Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, had commenced, from elements of the 26th and 37th Armies under the command...
General Boris Gromov
Boris Gromov
Boris Vsevolodovich Gromov is a prominent Russian military and political figure. Since 2000, he has been the Governor of Moscow Oblast.-Biography:...
.
On February 15th, 1989, the last units of the 40th Combined Arms Army, and with it the army commander, Colonel General Boris Gromov left Afghanistan. Withdrawal in the West direction is carried out by two methods: by air (carried - 5,142 people) and land (6,986 people). 10 colonies from 4 garrisons (Shindand
Shindand, Herat
Shindand is a town and the center of the Shindand District, Herat Province, Afghanistan. It is located at at 1066 m Altitude. Near the town is Shindand Airbase ....
, Adraskan
Adraskan
Adraskan is an old town in western Afghanistan, mentioned in 13th and 14th century geographies as one of four prominent towns in the district of Sabzwar, the Green Place, which, now called Shindand . Now the town is the center of Adraskan District in Herat Province, Afghanistan. It is located on ...
, Herat
Herat
Herāt is the capital of Herat province in Afghanistan. It is the third largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of about 397,456 as of 2006. It is situated in the valley of the Hari River, which flows from the mountains of central Afghanistan to the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan...
, Turgundi). Total conclusions 49 parts, totaling 11,907 people, 2,016 combat vehicles, 45 combat aircraft. The return march was on the same route Shindand - Turgundi, on their own.
During the Afghan war
Soviet war in Afghanistan
The Soviet war in Afghanistan was a nine-year conflict involving the Soviet Union, supporting the Marxist-Leninist government of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan against the Afghan Mujahideen and foreign "Arab–Afghan" volunteers...
four soldiers of the division were awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union, and 12,825 in total were awarded orders and medals. From May 1988 the division under the Geneva conventions began to prepare withdrawal from Afghanistan. The withdrawal of the 5th GMRD from the garrison Shindand
Shindand
Shindand may refer to:*Shindand, Herat, Afghanistan**Shindand Air Base, north of the city*Shindand, Farah, Afghanistan*Shindand, Pakistan, village in FATA, Pakistan...
- Herat
Herat
Herāt is the capital of Herat province in Afghanistan. It is the third largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of about 397,456 as of 2006. It is situated in the valley of the Hari River, which flows from the mountains of central Afghanistan to the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan...
Turugundi - Kushka
Serhetabat
Serhetabat is a small town in the Mary Province in Turkmenistan, located in the valley of the Kushka River. Population: 5,200 ....
began as scheduled on Jan. 29th, 1989, and ended February 15th, 1989. The Division was relocated permanently to the city of Kushka
Serhetabat
Serhetabat is a small town in the Mary Province in Turkmenistan, located in the valley of the Kushka River. Population: 5,200 ....
.
Total number of killed in the division from 27.12.1979 to 15.02.1989 was 1135 (910 of them in combat).
Order of battle
In Afghanistan, the 5th GMRD comprised:- Divisional Headquarters - ShindandShindandShindand may refer to:*Shindand, Herat, Afghanistan**Shindand Air Base, north of the city*Shindand, Farah, Afghanistan*Shindand, Pakistan, village in FATA, Pakistan...
.- Agitotryad.
- Headquarters company.
- Bakery.
- 795th Station courier mail service.
- 251st Battery Management and artillery reconnaissance.
- 814th military fire brigade.
- 582nd-second bath and laundry item
- Field establishment of the State Bank of the USSR
- 164th Separate flame thrower Company(before March 1985 - 164th Separate Company of Chemical Protection).
- 101st Motor Rifle Regiment - HeratHeratHerāt is the capital of Herat province in Afghanistan. It is the third largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of about 397,456 as of 2006. It is situated in the valley of the Hari River, which flows from the mountains of central Afghanistan to the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan...
- 371st Guards Berlin Orders of Suvorov and Bogdan Khmelnitsky Motor Rifle Regiment - ShindandShindandShindand may refer to:*Shindand, Herat, Afghanistan**Shindand Air Base, north of the city*Shindand, Farah, Afghanistan*Shindand, Pakistan, village in FATA, Pakistan...
. - 12th Guards Red Banner Order of Kutuzov and Bogdan Khmelnitsky Motor Rifle Regiment - HeratHeratHerāt is the capital of Herat province in Afghanistan. It is the third largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of about 397,456 as of 2006. It is situated in the valley of the Hari River, which flows from the mountains of central Afghanistan to the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan...
. - 24th Guards Prague Orders of Suvorov and Bogdan Khmelnitsky Tank Regiment - ShindandShindandShindand may refer to:*Shindand, Herat, Afghanistan**Shindand Air Base, north of the city*Shindand, Farah, Afghanistan*Shindand, Pakistan, village in FATA, Pakistan...
. - 1060th Artillery regiment ShindandShindandShindand may refer to:*Shindand, Herat, Afghanistan**Shindand Air Base, north of the city*Shindand, Farah, Afghanistan*Shindand, Pakistan, village in FATA, Pakistan...
. - 1122nd Sevastopol Redflag Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment - ShindandShindandShindand may refer to:*Shindand, Herat, Afghanistan**Shindand Air Base, north of the city*Shindand, Farah, Afghanistan*Shindand, Pakistan, village in FATA, Pakistan...
. - 1377th Separate Antitank Artillery Battalion ShindandShindandShindand may refer to:*Shindand, Herat, Afghanistan**Shindand Air Base, north of the city*Shindand, Farah, Afghanistan*Shindand, Pakistan, village in FATA, Pakistan...
. - 650th separate Prague Order of Alexander Nevsky reconnaissance battalion. ShindandShindandShindand may refer to:*Shindand, Herat, Afghanistan**Shindand Air Base, north of the city*Shindand, Farah, Afghanistan*Shindand, Pakistan, village in FATA, Pakistan...
. - 68th Guards separate engineering battalion. pos. Adraskan.
- 388th separate battalion. ShindandShindandShindand may refer to:*Shindand, Herat, Afghanistan**Shindand Air Base, north of the city*Shindand, Farah, Afghanistan*Shindand, Pakistan, village in FATA, Pakistan...
. - 307th separate missile division. HeratHeratHerāt is the capital of Herat province in Afghanistan. It is the third largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of about 397,456 as of 2006. It is situated in the valley of the Hari River, which flows from the mountains of central Afghanistan to the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan...
. - 177th separate repair battalion of recovery ShindandShindandShindand may refer to:*Shindand, Herat, Afghanistan**Shindand Air Base, north of the city*Shindand, Farah, Afghanistan*Shindand, Pakistan, village in FATA, Pakistan...
. - 375th independent battalion of material support ShindandShindandShindand may refer to:*Shindand, Herat, Afghanistan**Shindand Air Base, north of the city*Shindand, Farah, Afghanistan*Shindand, Pakistan, village in FATA, Pakistan...
. - 46th separate medical-sanitary battalion HeratHeratHerāt is the capital of Herat province in Afghanistan. It is the third largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of about 397,456 as of 2006. It is situated in the valley of the Hari River, which flows from the mountains of central Afghanistan to the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan...
.
After the withdrawal from Afghanistan
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, based on the 5th Guards Motor Rifle Division 'Zimovnikovskoy,' a unit of Turkmenistan's Ministry of DefenseMilitary of Turkmenistan
The armed forces of Turkmenistan consist of an Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Border Troops, and Internal Troops, and a National Guard. After the fall of the Soviet Union, significant elements of the Soviet Armed Forces Turkestan Military District remained on Turkmen soil...
was established with the honorary title of "Turkmenbashi Saparmurat Niyazov's" located in the city of Kushka
Kushka
Kushka may refer to:*Serhetabat, Turkmenistan*Kushka, Balkh, Afghanistan...
.
Heroes of the Soviet Union of 5th Guards Motor Rifle Division
Source:- Kuchkin captain Gennady Pavlovich, Hero of the Soviet Union
- Colonel Vladimir Neverov Lavrentyevich, Hero of the Soviet Union
- Captain Fyodor Ivanovich Pugachev, Hero of the Soviet Union
- Captain Sergey Gushin, Hero of the Soviet Union