85th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)
Encyclopedia
The 85th Leningrad-Pavlovsk Red Banner
Motor Rifle Division was a infantry
division of the Soviet Red Army
active from 1931 and converted to a motorised formation in 1957. It is now part of the Russian Ground Forces
.
The division was originally formed in 1931 in the Ural MD, seemingly at Chelyabinsk
. It seems to have been sent to Belorussian Special Military District, soon to be Western Special Military District, 1940. Assigned to 4th Rifle Corps, 3rd Army, Soviet Western Front
on outbreak of war. Narod.ru seems to indicate that the division was formed twice, in 1931 and 1941.
After the division's First Formation was disbanded or destroyed, the division was reformed.
On 10 March 1945 the division marched into the area Balozi, Kreyli and 22.03.1945 March, stepping into the junction between the 43rd Infantry Division and 46 Infantry Division seized the servants, Meira, where it met strong enemy counterattacks, held on defense until 30.04.1945.
On 30 April 1945 the Division, passing occupied Rebezha 43rd Rifle Division and the 56th Rifle Division, took a new line of defense Mengravil, Yatsy, replacing part of the 11th Rifle Division.
By the end of the day on 07.05.1945, the German troops began to retreat in a north-west direction. Parts of the division pursued the retreating enemy in the direction Lubenko, Rumbiniska, Zeri and 17.00 08.05.1945 year went to the line of Grange Gaito, Yurdi, Cowes, where at 18.00 on 08.05.1945 the division accepted the surrender of enemy units.
After fighting on the Eastern Front
, the division's Second Formation was relocated to Siberia in 1945. In September 1945, the division, part of the 122nd Rifle Corps arrived in the city of Novosibirsk (Siberian Military District
), and was given barracks in a military town in the street Bogatkova. In 1946, the division was reorganized as the 24th Infantry Brigade. In 1953, the brigade was upgraded and redesignated the 85th Pavlovsky Rifle Red Banner Division once again. From 1957 the division became the 85th Motorized Rifle Division. Furthermore, the division exchanged regiments with the 74th Motor Rifle Division - 444th Regiment (formerly 103rd) (for the?) 228th Sevastopol Order of Alexander Nevsky Regiment.
On March 27, 1967, the division was given the honorary name of Leningrad and it became known as the 85 th Motor Rifle Leningrad-Pavlovskaya Red Banner Division. At the end of the 1980s the division consisted of the 387th Tank Regiment, 141st, 59th(?), 228th MRRs, 167th Artillery Regt, and the 1133rd Anti-aircraft Rocket Regiment. In 1992, the division received the 74th Guards Tank Valginsky Order of Lenin Red Banner, Order of Suvorov, Kutuzov and Bogdan Khmelnitsky regiment which had returned from Schwerin
in Germany. The 74th GTR had previously been assigned to the 94th Motor Rifle Division, which, reduced in status to the 74th Motor Rifle Brigade, had been relocated nearby to Yurga
.
From December 1994 to April 27, 1995 the division sent personnel to the First Chechen War
: 82 officers, 43 corporals, 373 soldiers and sergeants. The division's troops, part of the Northern Group of Russian Forces, operated with the 74 Brigade. The division's troops cleared Chechen fighters from the administrative and residential buildings in Grozny; defended a strategically important bridge over the river Sunzha on the outskirts of the village of Peter; and defended the approaches to the village Ilinskoe from an invasion of Chechen rebels from Gudermes.
In 2003 Gen Maj Vladimir Ashitok was named as the divisional commander. Previous commanders have included (late 1990s-e2000s) Lunev, Vasiliy Gen Maj; M akushkin, Anatoliy Gen Maj; commanded by Gen. Igor Puzanov 1983-86.
Since September 2000, the division has been involved in the Second Chechen War
.
The 228th 'Sevastopol' Motor Rifle Regiment, 85 MRD, the only Russian regiment to be fully equipped with the BMP-3
, was reequipped with MT-LB
armoured personnel carriers in 2000 because a six-month tour in Chechniya had reduced the service life of the vehicles by half. In other words, maintenance problems were much greater when the vehicles were conscript-crewed.
Around 2007-2009 the composition of the division was reported as:
The division appears to have been reorganised as the 32nd Separate Motor Rifle Brigade at Shilov as part of the Russian Ground Forces' reorganisation in early 2009.
Red Banner
Red Banner was a symbol of the USSR associated with the Soviet state flag.Military units, institutions and organizations awarded with the Order of the Red Banner are referred to with the honorific title "of the Red Banner" Red Banner was a symbol of the USSR associated with the Soviet state...
Motor Rifle Division was a infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
division of the Soviet 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...
active from 1931 and converted to a motorised formation in 1957. It is now part of the Russian Ground Forces
Russian Ground Forces
The Russian Ground Forces are the land forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, formed from parts of the collapsing Soviet Army in 1992. The formation of these forces posed economic challenges after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and required reforms to professionalize the force...
.
The division was originally formed in 1931 in the Ural MD, seemingly at Chelyabinsk
Chelyabinsk
Chelyabinsk is a city and the administrative center of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located in the northwestern side of the oblast, south of Yekaterinburg, just to the east of the Ural Mountains, on the Miass River. Population: -History:...
. It seems to have been sent to Belorussian Special Military District, soon to be Western Special Military District, 1940. Assigned to 4th Rifle Corps, 3rd Army, 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...
on outbreak of war. Narod.ru seems to indicate that the division was formed twice, in 1931 and 1941.
After the division's First Formation was disbanded or destroyed, the division was reformed.
On 10 March 1945 the division marched into the area Balozi, Kreyli and 22.03.1945 March, stepping into the junction between the 43rd Infantry Division and 46 Infantry Division seized the servants, Meira, where it met strong enemy counterattacks, held on defense until 30.04.1945.
On 30 April 1945 the Division, passing occupied Rebezha 43rd Rifle Division and the 56th Rifle Division, took a new line of defense Mengravil, Yatsy, replacing part of the 11th Rifle Division.
By the end of the day on 07.05.1945, the German troops began to retreat in a north-west direction. Parts of the division pursued the retreating enemy in the direction Lubenko, Rumbiniska, Zeri and 17.00 08.05.1945 year went to the line of Grange Gaito, Yurdi, Cowes, where at 18.00 on 08.05.1945 the division accepted the surrender of enemy units.
After fighting on the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
, the division's Second Formation was relocated to Siberia in 1945. In September 1945, the division, part of the 122nd Rifle Corps arrived in the city of Novosibirsk (Siberian Military District
Siberian Military District
The Siberian Military District was a Military district of the Russian Ground Forces. In 2010 it was divided between the two newly formed Central and Eastern Military Districts.- History :...
), and was given barracks in a military town in the street Bogatkova. In 1946, the division was reorganized as the 24th Infantry Brigade. In 1953, the brigade was upgraded and redesignated the 85th Pavlovsky Rifle Red Banner Division once again. From 1957 the division became the 85th Motorized Rifle Division. Furthermore, the division exchanged regiments with the 74th Motor Rifle Division - 444th Regiment (formerly 103rd) (for the?) 228th Sevastopol Order of Alexander Nevsky Regiment.
On March 27, 1967, the division was given the honorary name of Leningrad and it became known as the 85 th Motor Rifle Leningrad-Pavlovskaya Red Banner Division. At the end of the 1980s the division consisted of the 387th Tank Regiment, 141st, 59th(?), 228th MRRs, 167th Artillery Regt, and the 1133rd Anti-aircraft Rocket Regiment. In 1992, the division received the 74th Guards Tank Valginsky Order of Lenin Red Banner, Order of Suvorov, Kutuzov and Bogdan Khmelnitsky regiment which had returned from Schwerin
Schwerin
Schwerin is the capital and second-largest city of the northern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The population, as of end of 2009, was 95,041.-History:...
in Germany. The 74th GTR had previously been assigned to the 94th Motor Rifle Division, which, reduced in status to the 74th Motor Rifle Brigade, had been relocated nearby to Yurga
Yurga
Yurga is a town in Kemerovo Oblast, Russia, located on the Tom River. Population: It was founded in 1886. Work settlement status was granted to it in 1942; town status was granted in 1949....
.
From December 1994 to April 27, 1995 the division sent personnel to the First Chechen War
First Chechen War
The First Chechen War, also known as the War in Chechnya, was a conflict between the Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, fought from December 1994 to August 1996...
: 82 officers, 43 corporals, 373 soldiers and sergeants. The division's troops, part of the Northern Group of Russian Forces, operated with the 74 Brigade. The division's troops cleared Chechen fighters from the administrative and residential buildings in Grozny; defended a strategically important bridge over the river Sunzha on the outskirts of the village of Peter; and defended the approaches to the village Ilinskoe from an invasion of Chechen rebels from Gudermes.
In 2003 Gen Maj Vladimir Ashitok was named as the divisional commander. Previous commanders have included (late 1990s-e2000s) Lunev, Vasiliy Gen Maj; M akushkin, Anatoliy Gen Maj; commanded by Gen. Igor Puzanov 1983-86.
Since September 2000, the division has been involved in the Second Chechen War
Second Chechen War
The Second Chechen War, in a later phase better known as the War in the North Caucasus, was launched by the Russian Federation starting 26 August 1999, in response to the Invasion of Dagestan by the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade ....
.
The 228th 'Sevastopol' Motor Rifle Regiment, 85 MRD, the only Russian regiment to be fully equipped with the BMP-3
BMP-3
The BMP-3 is a Russian amphibious infantry fighting vehicle, successor to the BMP-1 and BMP-2. BMP stands for Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty .- Production history :...
, was reequipped with MT-LB
MT-LB
The MT-LB is a Soviet multi-purpose fully amphibious auxiliary armoured vehicle which was first introduced in the late 1960s...
armoured personnel carriers in 2000 because a six-month tour in Chechniya had reduced the service life of the vehicles by half. In other words, maintenance problems were much greater when the vehicles were conscript-crewed.
Around 2007-2009 the composition of the division was reported as:
- 59th Motor-Rifle Regiment;
- 141st Motor-Rifle Regiment;
- 228th Motor-Rifle Regiment;
- 74th Guards Валгинский Order of Lenin, Red Banner, Order of Suvоrov, Кутузова и Богдана Хмельницкого Tank Regiment;(Shilovo, Novosibirsk OblastNovosibirsk OblastNovosibirsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia located in southwestern Siberia. Its administrative and economic center is the city of Novosibirsk. Population: -Overview:...
, Т-72B) - 167th Artillery Regiment;(Shilovo)
- 1131st Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment;
- 121st Separate Reconnaissance Battalion;
- 581st Separate Battalion;
- 279th Separate Engineer Battalion
The division appears to have been reorganised as the 32nd Separate Motor Rifle Brigade at Shilov as part of the Russian Ground Forces' reorganisation in early 2009.
External links
- http://samsv.narod.ru/Div/Sd/sd085/default.html
- http://www.rkka.ru/handbook/reg/85sd31.htm