2nd Guards Motor Rifle Division

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2nd Guards M. I. Kalinin Taman Motor Rifle Division
2-я гвардейская мотострелковая Таманская ордена Октябрьской Революции Краснознаменная ордена Суворова дивизия имени М. И. Калинина
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
Decorations
Battle honoursTaman
Commanders
Current
commander
Colonel (Guards) Sergey Viktorovich Medvedev

The 2nd Guards M. I. Kalinin Taman Motor Rifle Division (Russian: 2-я гвардейская мотострелковая Таманская ордена Октябрьской Революции Краснознаменная ордена Суворова дивизия имени М. И. Калинина, romanized2-ya gvardeyskaya motostrelkovaya Tamanskaya ordena Oktyabr'skoy Revolyutsii Krasnoznamennaya ordena Suvorova diviziya imeni M. I. Kalinina), commonly known as the Tamanians or Taman Division, is a Guards mechanised infantry division of the Russian Ground Forces. Its Military Unit Number is 23626.

The 2nd Guards Motor Rifle Division was formed in 1941, seeing extensive combat during

1st Guards Tank Army of the Western Military District, and most of its units are based in the town of Kalininets, Moscow Oblast, 45 kilometers (28 mi) south-west of Moscow
.

The division took a small part in the

. It is unknown which elements were used and for how long or whether they had a passive role altogether.

History

The 127th Rifle Division was formed 8 June 1940 in

23rd Rifle Division which was just transferred to participate in the imminent Soviet occupation of the Baltic states (1940)
.

The division was initially garrisoning Kharkiv, Chuhuiv and Bohodukhiv. It was transferred to Rzhyshchiv in May 1941. The 127th Rifle Division was with

Dnieper River 13 km south of Yartsevo as part of the general Soviet retreat. Afterwards, it was relieved of front line duty and sent to Dorogobuzh
for replenishment, where it received the 875th Rifle Regiment from the 158th Rifle Division.

As the 2nd Guards Rifle Division

For distinguished combat service, the division was renamed as the 2nd Guards Rifle Division on 18 September 1941, attaining

"Guards" status. At the end of September 1941, it fought in Hlukhiv area, retreating toward Kleven river as part of General Arkady Yermakov's operational group of the Bryansk Front. Transferred to the Kursk area on 3 October 1941, it fought a defensive battle around the town of Tim
.

On 22 December 1941, the division started to advance during the

. By 28 January 1942, the division was located in Stary Oskol.

As the 2nd Guards Tamanskaya (Motor) Rifle Division

After participating in the

Kerch-Eltigen Operation in northern Yenikale (Ganikale) beachhead, under the command of the 56th Army
.

During the

East Prussian Offensive, ending the war in middle April 1945 on the Baltic Sea coast north of Primorsk
.

In September 1945, while it was serving with the 11th Guards Rifle Corps, the division was moved back into the Moscow Military District.[6]

Postwar

On 2 July 1946, the division received the honorific "named after M. I. Kalinin."

The division was called to Moscow for security duties following the death of Joseph Stalin on 5 March 1953.

In December 1953, the division was renamed to 23rd Guards Tamanskaya Mechanised Division, and it joined the

1st Guards Rifle Corps
. In March 1957, the division was renamed to 23rd Guards Tamanskaya Motor Rifle Division. In November 1964, the division was renamed to 2nd Guards Tamanskaya Motor Rifle Division.

On 4 May 1990 the 406th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment reverted to its

Second World War number as the 15th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment.[7]
The same year the 73rd Guards MRR returned to its Second World War numbering, becoming the 1st Guards Motor Rifle Regiment.

From 1991

The division has played a prominent role in two of the major political crises of recent Soviet and Russian history. In 1991, it was one of the divisions deployed in Moscow as part of the

hardline coup attempt against the Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev; however, it was a tank unit attached to the division that switched sides at the decisive point in the coup's course. Boris Yeltsin
delivered a speech standing on top of tank no. 110, strengthening his own position significantly, both domestically and abroad.

A soldier of the Tamanskaya division, 1992

Two years later, the division once again came to Yeltsin's rescue, during the

Parliament building, where the Parliament's supporters were barricaded. This episode consolidated Yeltsin's power; it was the deadliest street fighting
in Moscow since 1917.

Valerii Yevnevich commanded the Taman division during the events of October 3-4, 1993 in Moscow. Many media outlets claim that he personally supervised the actions of tank units that conducted targeted fire at the White House building[1][2]. On October 7, 1993, Boris Yeltsin awarded him the title “Hero of the Russian Federation” for his participation in the storming of the White House[2].

Around 1998-2000, the division numbered around 12,000 soldiers.[8]

Since then, the division has seen service in

Argun Gorge after the end of major combat operations to maintain security. In 2004, it was visited by a delegation of foreign military attaches. The Kalininets base has also recently provided the venue for the Miss Russian Army
contest.

The division was located near

northwest of the town. The two most important 'sub-bases' in the area are Kalininets and Kobyakovo.[10]
It was one of the Russian Army's 'constant readiness' divisions, meaning that it was required to have at least 80% manpower and 100% equipment strength at all times; it was thus intended to be readily deployable.

Rearmament in 2007

Chest badge for Russian Guards troops.

On 22 January 2007, the Russian

self-propelled howitzers and 'C2' command and control systems. Bakin also said that the regiment's 3rd Battalion had begun re-equipping with the BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicle
, of which the regiment as a whole was due to receive 129 by the end of the year.

Furthermore, according to Interfax: "Bakin stated that the First Guards Regiment had already undergone training for operating new materiel. "The regiment was the first in the Russian army to successfully master new arms and materiel. Last year, the regimental personnel were graded highly on their performance, he said."[11]

This rearmament may represent the first publicly known deployment of the T-90 in the Russian Army outside of the 5th Guards 'Don' Tank Division, based at Kyakhta in the Siberian Military District, which has been entirely equipped with such tanks in recent years. There have been rumours in circulation for some time now that all the T-90s currently in service were to be accumulated in the Tamanskaya Division, but these rumours lack reliable sources. If any such move is to occur, it may take place in 2007, but January's partial rearmament of the division does not seem to signal the beginning of such a move, since the T-90s and other modern armoured vehicles now with the division are newly purchased ones.

The division has been slated for disbandment in 2009, with two brigades being created from its existing subunits.

Chechnya. The 8th Separate Guards Mountain Motor Rifle Brigade was formed from the 1st Guards Tank Regiment of the division, relocated without its tanks to Borzoy in Chechnya from Alabino.[13]

As the 5th Guards Tamanskaya Motor Rifle Brigade

The division was disbanded in mid-2009, being split into two new motor rifle brigades. After 2009, the main successor of the division was the 5th Guards Separate, Order of the October Revolution, Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Brigade named after Kalinin, which inherited the traditions of the 2nd Guards Motor Rifle Division.

2nd formation (2013)

2nd Guards Motor Rifle Division

The division was re-formed in 2013 by order of Russian defence minister

4th Guards Kantemirovskaya Tank Division
was also reinstated under the same order.

As of June 2015, the Russian Armed Forces planned to rebuild the famous Soviet era

1st Guards Red Banner Tank Army by including the 2nd Guards Motor Rifle Division, 4th Guards Tank Division, as well as one tank and rifle brigade.[18] The decree providing for the reformation of the force was enacted in the winter of 2014, and it became a part of the Western Military District. Unlike the original 1st GTA, the 2nd Guards Motor Rifle Division forms a part of the revived army, based in Moscow Oblast. By December 2016, a new 1st Guards Tank Regiment was formed as part of the division, inheriting the traditions of the old 1st Guards Tank Regiment.[19]

persons from the Caucasus.[14] Selyatino has the hospital for the units at Kalininets.[14] The Taman Division will deploy in May 2018.[14]

Invasion of Ukraine

The division formed part of

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. It took part in the failed February to April 2022 Siege of Chernihiv. Reportedly having suffered heavy losses, the Division retired to Belarus for replenishment, receiving mobilised soldiers and reequipping with older material taken from warehouses. Retraining was required until re-deployed to the Luhansk Oblast in January 2023.[21][22]

Subordinated units and fighting strength

Its principal vehicles were the T-90 and T-80 main battle tanks, BTR-80 armoured personnel carrier and the BMP-2 and BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicles.

1st Guards Tank 'Chertkovsky' Regiment

From January 1992 until 2009, the 1st Guards Tank Chertkovsky Regiment was part of the 2nd Tamanskaya Guards Motor Rifle Division.[23] During the reforms of Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, the 1st Guards Tank Regiment along with the Taman Division was disbanded.[23]

In 2020, the 1st Guards Tank Chertkovsky Regiment (formed late 2016

T-72B3.[23][24]

The 1st Guards Tank Chertkovsky Regiment has always been at the point of the spear taking on the most difficult situations. Many officers from the Chertkovsky Regiment subsequently take top positions in the Ministry of Defence.[23]

In popular culture

In Tom Clancy's 1986 novel Red Storm Rising, the division offers token resistance to a coup d'état by the Soviet Army and the KGB against the Politburo.

In Frederick Forsyth's 1996 novel Icon (novel), the tank division prevents success of a coup d'état by the main antagonist.

References

  1. ^ "Экипажи Т-72Б3 и БМП-2 Таманской мотострелковой дивизии выполнят упражнения учебных стрельб в Подмосковье". Пресс-служба Западного военного округа (in Russian). 2016-12-07. Archived from the original on 2016-12-22. Retrieved 2016-12-22.
  2. ^ a b "Таманская дивизия отметила 75-ю годовщину со дня формирования". Пресс-служба Западного военного округа (in Russian). 2015-07-21. Archived from the original on 2016-12-22. Retrieved 2016-12-22.
  3. ^ "Сдали без боя" (in Russian). lenta.ru. 2008-10-28. Archived from the original on 2016-12-22. Retrieved 2016-12-22.
  4. ^ "Участник боевых действий в Сирии понес посильное наказание". 19 May 2017. p. 6. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2018 – via Kommersant.
  5. ^ BSSA, June 22, 1941, http://www.tashv.nm.ru/BoevojSostavSA/1941/19410622.html Archived 2010-03-06 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ Feskov et al 2013, 499.
  7. ^ Michael Holm (2015). "2nd Guards Tamanskaya order of the October Revolution Red Banner order of Suvorov Motorised Rifle Division imeni M.I. Kalinin 2-я гвардейская мотострелковая Таманская ордена Октябрьской Революции Краснознаменная ордена Суворова дивизия имени М.И. Калинина". Soviet Armed Forces Order of Battle.
  8. ^ Federation of American Scientists, Russian Military Districts Archived 2007-05-26 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ "Moscow MD". fas.org. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  10. ^ "warfare.be". warfare.be. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  11. ^ http://www.xignite.com/xWorldNews.aspx?articleid=CEP20070122950266[permanent dead link]
  12. ^ "Таманскую мотострелковую дивизию расформируют". lenta.ru. Archived from the original on 20 September 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  13. ^ Ramm, Aleksey (27 September 2016). "Минобороны возрождает легендарную «чеченскую дивизию»" [Ministry of Defense revives legendary "Chechen Division"]. Izvestia (in Russian). Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  14. ^ a b c d e "Taman Division" (in Russian). Golitsyno website. Archived from the original on 2018-03-21. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  15. Gazeta.ru
    (04 May 2013)
  16. ^
    Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation
    (04 May 2013)
  17. ^ "Президент возродил Семёновский полк" Archived 2013-12-04 at the Wayback Machine (Russian), Komsomolskaya Pravda (16 April 2013)
  18. ^ "Russia has recreated the famous Soviet era Tank Army". Al-Masdar News. June 11, 2015. Archived from the original on June 12, 2015. Retrieved June 13, 2015.
  19. ^ Khokhlov, Aleksandr (21 December 2016). "Танки маршала Катукова снова готовы к бою" [Marshal Katukov's tanks ready for battle again]. Vechernyaya Moskva (in Russian). Archived from the original on 6 August 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  20. ^ "RUSSIAN REGULAR GROUND FORCES ORDER OF BATTLE" (PDF). October 2023.
  21. ^ "Beaten Twice In Ukraine, Russia's Elite 1st Guards Tank Army Is Poised To Attack Yet Again". 28 January 2023.
  22. ^ "'It doesn't count as a war crime if you had fun'". 16 June 2023.
  23. ^ a b c d e Surkov, Nicolai (12 May 2017). "Первые «Арматы» получат таманцы: Танки нового поколения начнут поступать на вооружение после 2020 года" [The first "Armata" will be Taman: Tanks of the new generation will begin to enter service after 2020] (in Russian). Izvestia. Archived from the original on 20 October 2017. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  24. ^ a b "В Московской области сформирован новый танковый полк – преемник легендарного соединения времён Великой Отечественной войны" [In the Moscow region, a new tank regiment was formed – the successor to the legendary connection of the times of the Great Patriotic War] (in Russian). Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (Ministry of Defense of Russia). 21 December 2016. Archived from the original on 9 March 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2018.

Further reading