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127th Motor Rifle Division (Russia)

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2nd Collective Farm Rifle Division (1932–1936)
66th Rifle Division (1936–1946)
2nd Tank Division (1946–1957)
32nd Tank Division (1957–1965)
66th Tank Division (1965–1974)
277th Motor Rifle Division (1974–1990)
127th Machine Gun Artillery Division (1990–2009)
59th Motor Rifle Brigade (2009–2018)
127th Motor Rifle Division (2018–present)
Sleeve patch of the 127th Motor Rifle Division
Active1932–present (as 127th MRD)
Country Soviet Union (until 1991)
 Russia
Branch Soviet Army (until 1991)
 Russian Ground Forces
TypeMechanized infantry
SizeDivision
Part of5th Combined Arms Army
Garrison/HQSergeyevka, Pogranichny Raion, Primorsky Krai [ru]
EngagementsWorld War II

Russian invasion of Ukraine[1]

Decorations

The 127th Order of Kutuzov Motor Rifle Division (Russian: 127-я мотострелковая дивизия) is a division of the Russian Ground Forces. It was reformed from the 59th Separate and 70th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigades in 2018, and was the 127th Machine-Gun Artillery Division (127 пулемётно-артиллерийская дивизия) from 1990 to 2009. The division traces its history to the 66th Rifle Division of World War II.

Formation and World War II

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The division was originally formed on 14 May 1932 in village of Lutkovka-Medveditskoye in the Shmakovsky raion of the Ussuriisk Oblast, Far Eastern Military District, as the 2nd Collective Farm Division. It was renamed the 66th Rifle Division on 21 May 1936.

The division formed part of the 35th Army of the Maritime Group of Forces in the Far East in May 1945. In August 1945 the division, as a part of 1st Far East Front, participated in the Soviet invasion of Manchuria. On 9 August 1945 the division began operations as part of 35th Army,[3] advancing 12 kilometers, having forced the Songacha River in northern Heilongjiang. The division fought on the Ussuri River at Khotunsky (Хотунского), Mishan, Border (Пограничного), and Duninsky (Дунинского) fortified districts, capturing the cities of Mishan, Jilin, Jantszy, and Harbin. For its valour in combat and courage, the 66th Rifle Division was awarded the Order of Kutuzov, Second Degree, on 19 September 1945. Three Hero of the Soviet Union medals, 1266 awards, and 2838 medals were given to the division's personnel.

Postwar

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On 29 November 1945 it was reorganised as the 2nd Tank Division, but was renamed again in 1957 as the 32nd Tank Division and in 1965 as the 66th Tank Division.[4] On 30 March 1970 the division became the 277th Motor Rifle Division.[5]

In May 1981 the division headquarters was relocated to Sergeyevka. On 1 June 1990 the 277th Motor Rifle Division was reorganised as the 127th Machine Gun Artillery Division.[5] The 702nd Motor Rifle Regiment was disbanded and replaced by the 114th Machine-Gun Artillery Regiment.[6] It incorporated the 114th and 130th Machine Gun Artillery Regiments, the 314th Motor Rifle Regiment, 218th Tank Regiment, 872nd Artillery Regiment, and 1172nd Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment.

In mid-2008 the division, under a new commander, Sergey Ryzhkov, replaced some of its former cadre units with higher-readiness units.[7] A regiment arrived from Sergeevka and two regiments of constant readiness from Kamen-Rybolov (438th Motor Rifle Regiment?) on the western shore of Khanka Lake, and Ussuriysk (the 231st Motor Rifle Regiment). These changes effectively made the division a motor rifle formation though its designation was still that of a static defence formation.

In 2009, as part of the Russian Ground Forces' transition to brigades, the division appears to have been reorganised as the 59th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade at Sergeevka[8] from the main body of the division, equipped with BMPs, and the 60th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade at Lipovtsy, Primorsky Krai from the 218th Tank Regiment of the division, also equipped with BMPs.[9]

127th Motor Rifle Division (2018)

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According to a Krasnaya Zvezda article, the division was reformed by 1 December 2018 from the 59th and the 60th Motor Rifle Brigades and began combat training in March 2019.[10] The division now has the Military Unit Number (V/Ch, в/ч) 44980.

Key bodies of the division now include:

The division was committed to action during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[11]

Notes

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  1. ^ "Bato Basanov Reportedly Killed By Ukrainian Forces". newsnaira.net. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  2. ^ Mappes, Grace; Wolkov, Nicole; Stepanenko, Kateryna; Barros, George; Clark, Mason. "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, June 11, 2023". Institute for the Study of War. Archived from the original on 12 June 2023. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  3. ^ Niehorster, Dr. Leo. "35th Army, 1st Far Eastern Front, Far East Command, 09.08.45". niehorster.org. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  4. ^ "2nd Tank Division". ww2.dk. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  5. ^ a b Feskov 2013, p. 589
  6. ^ Feskov 2013, p. 590
  7. ^ Информация soldat.ru (in Russian) 7 April 2008
  8. ^ Holm, Michael. "277th Motorised Rifle Division". ww2.dk. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  9. ^ Specnaz specnaz.pbworks.com (subscription required) Retrieved October 2009
  10. ^ "В Приморье появилась новая мотострелковая дивизия". regnum.ru. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  11. ^ "Bato Basanov Reportedly Killed By Ukrainian Forces". Retrieved 1 June 2022.

References

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  • Feskov, V.I.; Golikov, V.I.; Kalashnikov, K.A.; Slugin, S.A. (2013). Вооруженные силы СССР после Второй Мировой войны: от Красной Армии к Советской [The Armed Forces of the USSR after World War II: From the Red Army to the Soviet: Part 1 Land Forces] (in Russian). Tomsk: Scientific and Technical Literature Publishing. ISBN 9785895035306.
  • Michael Holm, 2nd Tank Division
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