Transcaucasian Military District

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Transcaucasian Military District
Location of the Transcaucasian Military District (red) in the Soviet Union, 1991
Active1935 – September 1992 or December 1992
CountrySoviet Union
TypeMilitary district
Part ofSoviet Armed Forces
HeadquartersTbilisi
EngagementsWorld War II
Commanders
Notable
commanders

The Transcaucasian Military District, a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces, traces its history to May 1921 and the incorporation of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia into the Soviet Union. It was disbanded by being redesignated as a Group of Forces in the early 1990s after the Soviet Union collapse. The military district formed as a basis of the modern day armed forces of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia as well as unrecognized polities of Abkhazia, the Republic of Artsakh and South Ossetia.

History

The Transcaucasian Military District was originally formed from the

11th Soviet Red Army
, all joined the new district about this time.

In July 1936 the District's formations and units received designations according to the countrywide numbering scheme and became: the

77th Аzerbaijani Mountain Rifle Division, named for Grigoriy Ordzhonikidze.[1]

On 22 June 1941 the District consisted of the

77th Rifle, the 17th Mountain Cavalry Division and the 24th Cavalry Division, and three fortified regions.[2]

On 1 August 1941 the 46th Army was formed from the 3rd Rifle Corps headquarters. 45th Army was formed from the 23rd Rifle Corps. 45th and 46th Armies guarded the Turkish border. The 44th Army was formed from the 40th Rifle Corps and the 47th Army formed from the 27th Mechanized Corps. Both armies were deployed on the Iranian border. On 23 August, the military district became the Transcaucasus Front. District headquarters was subordinated to the front's military council and directed the formation of new units. It was disbanded on 14 September 1941.

On 28 January 1942, the military district was reformed when the

Caucasian Front was divided into the Transcaucasian Military District and the Crimean Front. The district was commanded by Ivan Tyulenev
and included the 45th and 46th Armies, as well as 4 rifle divisions and a rifle brigade. On 28 April 1942, the district became the second formation of the Transcaucasian Front.

On 9 July 1945, the Tbilisi and Baku Military Districts were formed from the Transcaucasian Front. Tbilisi Military District Headquarters was in Tbilisi and was formed from the Transcaucasian Front headquarters. The district controlled forces in the Georgian and Armenian SSRs. The district was commanded by Colonel General Sergei Trofimenko, former 27th Army commander. The headquarters of the Baku Military District was formed from 69th Army headquarters and was located in Baku. The district controlled forces in the Azerbaijan SSR and Dagestan ASSR. It was commanded by Colonel general Vladimir Kolpakchi, former 69th Army commander. In October 1945, Army General Ivan Maslennikov took command.[3] On 15 November 1945, control of forces in the Nakhichevan ASSR was transferred from the Tbilisi Military District to the Baku Military District. Lieutenant General Mikhail Ozimin became Tbilisi Military District commander in April 1946.[4] In May 1946, both districts became part of the Transcaucasus Military District (ZakVO), commanded by Maslennikov.[5]

Sometime in the first half of 1946, a new air army, the 7th, was established in the Baku Military District.

Baku Air Defence Region, and quickly thereafter became the 42nd Fighter Air Army of the Air Defence Forces
.

On 1 May 1955 Soviet forces opposite Eastern Turkey included 13th Mountain Rifle Corps in Georgia (two mountain, one rifle divisions); 7th Guards Combined Arms Army in Armenia with 19th Mountain Rifle Corps (two mountain divisions) and 22nd Rifle Corps with 26th Mechanised Division and two rifle divisions. Further away was 4th Combined Arms Army in Azerbaijan, with five more divisions, of which two were mechanised.[7]

In 1979 Scott and Scott reported the District' headquarters address as Tbilisi-4, Ulitsa Dzneladze, Dom 46. The District became part of the Southern Direction, headquartered in Baku and including the North Caucasus and Turkestan Military Districts, in the late 1970s and early 1980s.[8]

Commanders

Commanders of the Transcaucasian Military District (1935–1941)

  • Mikhail Lewandowski
    (May 1935 – June 1937)
  • Komkor Nikolay Kuibyshev (June 1937 – February 1938)
  • Alexander Yegorov
    (February 1938)
  • Komkor (Komandarm 2nd Rank February 1939, Army General June 1940) Ivan Tyulenev (February 1938 – August 1940)
  • Lieutenant General
    Mikhail Yefremov
    (August 1940 – January 1941)
  • Lieutenant General Dmitry Kozlov (January–August 1941)
  • Lieutenant General Vladimir Lvov (August–September 1941)

Commanders of the Transcaucasian Military District (1946–1992)

Commanders of the Group of Russian Forces of the Transcaucasus

  • Reut, Fyodor (1993–1997), Colonel General
  • Andreyev, Vladimir (1997–2000), Colonel General
  • Zolotov, Nikolay (August 2000–), General Lieutenant[9]

Forces in the late 1980s

In 1988, dispositions within the District were as follows:

In addition, the 104th Guards Airborne Division of the Soviet Airborne Forces was stationed at Kirovabad, directly subordinated to VDV Headquarters.[18][19] The division was withdrawn to Ulyanovsk and this process was in progress by spring 1993.

The 75th Motor Rifle Division was reassigned to the

KGB Border Guards
in January 1990. On September 23, 1991, on the basis of the directive of the General Staff of August 28, 1991 No. 314/3/042Sh, it was returned to the Ministry of Defence.

In February 1992, Russian President

Rear Services (combat service support) units of the Fourth Army.[20]

34th Air Army

The Soviet Air Forces' presence in the district consisted of the 34th Air Army, established in 1949, redesignated the Air Forces of the Transcaucasian Military District (VVS ZKVO) in 1980, and then given the name 34th Air Army again in 1988. It was made up of the 36th Bomber Aviation Division, 283rd Fighter Aviation Division and six independent aviation regiments, totaling twelve aviation regiments.[21] The formation's Military Unit Number was 21052.

Army composition[22]:[23]

The

19th Army of Air Defence Forces
located in the District.

Russian Transcaucasus Group of Forces

Russian troops leaving Georgia in 2007

By Ukaz No. 260 of the

Russian Federation.[25]

On 26 September 1992 the district was disbanded.[5][26] Another, earlier report said on 1 January 1993, the District became the Group of Russian Forces in the Transcaucasus (Russian Группа российских войск в Закавказье – ГРВЗ; GRVZ).[27] After many of the divisions listed above had disbanded[28] or become part of the former republics' armed forces, in the mid 1990s the GRVZ's dispositions were:

  • Headquarters, Tbilisi
  • 12th Military Base, Batumi, Adjara AR, Georgia
  • 62nd Military Base,
    Samtskhe-Javakheti
    , Georgia. Former 147th Motor Rifle Division. In October 1999, the base had: – personnel – 1,964 servicemen – equipment – 41 MBT, 114 AIFV/APC (BMP and BTR); 46 various military vehicles; 61 artillery systems; and 2 pontoon-bridging vehicles. The base includes the 409th and 412th motor-rifle regiments; the 817th artillery regiment; the 889th communication battalion; and the 65th artillery detachment.
  • 102nd Military Base, Gyumri, Armenia
  • 137th Military Base,
    171st Guards District Training Centre) In October 1999, it was reported to have the 405th Motor Rifle Regiment with 773 servicemen; 31 MBT; 70 AIFV/APC; 16 artillery systems; and one pontoon-bridging vehicle; the 566th communication battalion – 193 servicemen; 5 mobile radio stations P-145BM; and the 311th Separate Helicopter Squadron – 161 servicemen, 5 Mi-24 attack helicopters and 5 Mi-8MT transport helicopters. The 405th MRR had been absorbed from the 10th Guards Motor Rifle Division formerly headquartered in Kutaisi
    .
  • 142nd Tank Repair Factory, Tbilisi. In October 1999, it was reported to have 20 servicemen; and equipment including 28 MBT (T-72), 103 AIFV/APC and two self-propelled howitzers 2C3 "Acatsia".[29]
  • Khelvachauri-based (Adjaria) military depot. In October 1999, it had 56 servicemen. 29 AIFV – 5 BMP-1 and 24 BMP-2 – were stored there.
  • Other smaller formations and units, including an independent helicopter squadron

General Major Aleksander Studenikin, former deputy commander of the Moscow Military District's 20th Army, commanded the Group in 2004 with General (Major?) Andrei Popov as his deputy.[30]

The Russian presence at Vaziani was withdrawn in the late 1990s and an agreement over the withdrawal of the 12th and 62nd Bases by 2007–08 was made in 2005.

Rian.ru
.

Even after the GRVZ was totally withdrawn, Russian troops continue to remain in peacekeeping roles in

UNOMIG) and a battalion in South Ossetia. According to the Russian authorities, the Gudauta
military base is also now used by the peacekeeping forces, but no international monitoring has ever been allowed there.

See also

References

  1. ^ A.G. Lenskii (А. Г. Ленский), Сухопутные силы РККА в предвоенные годы. Справочник. — Санкт-Петербург Б&К, 2000, p.151-2.
  2. ^ Orbat.com/Niehorster, Administrative Order of Battle, Transcaucasus Military District, 22 June 1941
  3. ^ Holm, Michael. "Baku Military District". ww2.dk. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  4. ^ Holm, Michael. "Tbilisi Military District". ww2.dk. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  5. ^ a b Holm 2016a.
  6. ^ Anokhin V. A., Bykov M. Yu. All Stalin's fighter regiments. The first complete encyclopedia. — Popular science edition. - M. : Yauza-press, 2014. - 944 p. - 1500 copies. — ISBN 978-5-9955-0707-9; A.G. Lensky, M.M. Tsybin. Part I // Soviet Air Defense Forces in the Last Years of the USSR. Directory". - St. Petersburg: INFO OL, 2013. - 164 p. (Organization of troops).
  7. ^ Feskov et al. 2013, p. 526.
  8. ^ William E Odom, The Collapse of the Soviet Military, Yale University Press, 1998, p.29
  9. ^ Scott and Scott, Russian Military Directory 2002, 181.
  10. ^ Holm, Michael. "100th Guards Training Motorised Rifle Division". ww2.dk. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  11. ^ Holm, Michael. "7th Guards Combined Arms Army". ww2.dk. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  12. ^ Holm, Michael. "91st Motorised Rifle Division". ww2.dk. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  13. ^ Holm, Michael. "23rd Guards Motorised Rifle Division". ww2.dk. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  14. ^ Holm, Michael. "75th Motorised Rifle Division". ww2.dk. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  15. ^ Holm/Feskov 2015,31st Army Corps, accessed 2015
  16. ^ Holm, Michael. "325th Independent Helicopter Squadron". ww2.dk. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  17. ^ Holm, Michael. "793rd Independent Helicopter Squadron". ww2.dk. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  18. ^ Holm, Michael. "104th Guards Airborne Division". ww2.dk. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  19. ^ Schofield, The Russian Elite, Greenhill Books, 1993, 249.
  20. ^ a b Gorman 1993.
  21. ^ Feskov, Kalashnikov & Golikov 2004, p. 144.
  22. ^ Feskov, Kalashnikov & Golikov 2004.
  23. ^ Holm, Michael. "34th Air Army". ww2.dk. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  24. ^ Holm, Michael. "36th Fighter-Bomber Aviation Division". ww2.dk. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  25. ^ Указ Президента РФ от 19.03.1992 № 260 «О переходе Закавказского военного округа и Каспийской флотилии Военно-морского флота временно под юрисдикцию Российской Федерации» Archived 31 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  26. ^ Feskov et al. 2013, pp. 527, 529.
  27. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 25 March 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  28. ^ Feskov et al. 2013, p. 528.
  29. ^ Army and Society in Georgia October 1999
  30. ^ Nino Kopaleishvili, 'Bomb Injures Russian Military Official', Tbilisi Messenger, 8 April 2004, p.5
  31. ^ http://www.businesspravo.ru/Docum/DocumShow_DocumID_109038.html
  32. ^ Russia Transfers Akhalkalaki Military Base to Georgia. Archived 6 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine Civil Georgia. 27 June 2007. Retrieved 29 June 2007.
  33. ^ 'Zvezda was transferred to Georgia', Georgian MOD website, www.mod.gov.ge/?=E&id=10, accessed 29 October 2005.
  34. ^ Lenta.ru (10 October 2006). "Российские войска досрочно покинут Тбилиси". Lenta.ru. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  35. ^ "Russia pulls military out of Georgian capital". ABC News. 26 December 2006. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
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