104 Airborne Division Marines "Wild Division"

Participation in The Great Patriotic War
Suppression of the Hungarian uprising, 1956, Operation Whirlwind.
Karabakh war
First Chechen war
Second Chechen War

On June 4, 2015, the RF Ministry of Defense decided to re-establish the 104th Guards Airborne Assault Division of the three-regiment based on the 31st Ulyanovsk Airborne Brigade. The reconstituted compound will have three regiments in combat, which are planned to be deployed in Ulyanovsk, Engels and Orenburg.

History

The history of the division begins in 1944, with the formation of the 1st and 2nd separate airborne brigades, from which the formation of the division began.

After 1946, the milestone in the history of the division is the time of its deployment in the Transcaucasian Military District, in the Azerbaijan SSR, the city of Kirovabad (Ganja) and the city of Shamkhor.

The personnel of the division took part in the hostilities in Chechnya, carried out a peacekeeping mission in the Republic of Abkhazia, as well as as part of the UN peacekeeping forces in the former Yugoslavia. The military equipment of the division can always be identified by the symbol of the division drawn on board - the scorpion.

In August-September 1992, 345 RAPs were redeployed to the Republic of Abkhazia and removed from the division. In 1993, the division was withdrawn from Azerbaijan and completely redeployed to the city of Ulyanovsk and the village of Polivna (the 1180th Guards Artillery Regiment), where it was located until the reduction in 1998. Since 1998, history begins, with its memorable dates, achievements and victories.

Having adopted the slogan of the division “Myself is Honor, Glory to the Motherland”, the 31st Separate Guards Airborne Assault Order of the Kutuzov Brigade continues with honor the glorious history of the division, performing combat missions in Dagestan and Chechnya in the 2000s.

Composition

Before withdrawing from Azerbaijan in 1993:

• 328th Guards Parachute Regiment (Ganja);
• 337th Guards Parachute Airborne Order of Alexander Nevsky 2nd Degree Regiment (Ganja);
• 345th Separate Guards Parachute Airborne Vienna Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Regiment named after the 70th anniversary of the Lenin Komsomol (ganja);
• 1180th Guards Artillery Regiment (Shamhor town);
• 110th separate reconnaissance company (Ganja city);
• 103rd separate anti-aircraft missile and artillery division;
• 729th separate communications battalion (Ganja city);
• 132nd separate engineering and combat engineer battalion (Ganja city);
• 24th separate repair and restoration battalion;
• 611th Separate Airborne Support Battalion;
• 1684th separate battalion of material support;
• 180th separate medical battalion;
• 116th Separate Military Transport Aviation Squadron;
• separate company of chemical protection (Ganja city)
• Separate commandant company (Ganja city)
• 422nd postal service courier station.
  • Composition Note:

December 6 is one of the three festive dates of the Ulyanovsk Separate Airborne Assault Brigade. On this day in 1944, the Division was assigned the number 104. Which the Division proudly carried until 1998.
Emblem: a scorpion personifying mortal danger and unpredictability of actions on his part; the scorpion is distinguished by the fact that at any moment it is capable of delivering an irresistible blow to the enemy, which is characteristic of the fighting style of this division. The emblem also reflects the specifics of the combat training of the 104th Guards for operations in the mountainous-desert area, where the unit was deployed for more than 45 years.
So glorious 104 guards. VDD

On December 6, 1944, the 11th Guards Airborne Division was reorganized into the 104th Guards SD (borough of Slutsk, Belarus, completed by January 3, 1945). As such, the division in the 3rd and 2nd Ukrainian fronts participated in the Vienna and Prague operations.

The division receives hordes. Kutuzov 2nd st .; 346th regiment - hordes Alexander Nevsky.

Subsequently, on April 7, 1946, by the directive of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, the Infantry Division is reorganized into the Airborne. Division Headquarters - Narva, Estonia. Dislocation of parts - in the district of years. Rakvere, Nykhvi (Yehvi), Narva, mz. Hive.

In 1960 104 guards airborne forces relocated to Azerbaijan in the city of Kirovabad (Ganja) and the city of Shamkhor.

In 1974 and 1990, the division was awarded the pennants of the Minister of Defense for courage and military prowess. In 1993, 104 guards. The VDD was redeployed from the city of Ganja (Azerbaijan) to Ulyanovsk.

May 1, 1998 104 guards. VDD reorganized in the 31st Guards. a separate airborne brigade with the transfer of Battle Banners, pennants of the Minister of Defense, order, historical form, which belonged to the 104th Guards Airborne Division and paratrooper regiments.

From 1994 to 1996 104 guards VDD and from 1999 to 2001 31 guards Ovdbr participated in operations against terrorists in the republics of Chechnya and Dagestan. For courage and heroism 10 servicemen were awarded the title of Hero of Russia, including 4 posthumously, more than 4,000 were awarded orders and medals.

Among the natives of this compound are many famous people in the country. For example, Colonel General Valery Vostrotin. In Afghanistan, paratrooper Vostrotin became a Hero of the Soviet Union. He commanded in the 104th VDD and company and regiment. In the same division at the time, the regiment was also commanded by the current commander of the Airborne Forces Hero of Russia Vladimir Shamanov.

In April 2001, 31 Guards. The Brigade Department of Internal Affairs was removed from the combat zone of the Republic of Chechnya to a permanent deployment center in Ulyanovsk, where it is currently located. Since December 1, 2006 it was renamed 31 Guards. ODShBr.

Currently, 31 Guards. ODSHBr is a reserve of the Supreme Commander of the RF Armed Forces. The brigade occupies one of the leading places in combat and mobilization readiness, combat training, military discipline, among the formations and units of the airborne forces and in general in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

In July - August 2006, the brigade took part in two large-scale exercises with mass deployment of troops and equipment near Ryazan and in the Orenburg region at the exercises “Southern Shield - 2006”, where it was highly appreciated by the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation.

The unofficial name of the 104th Guards Airborne Division is the “Wild Division”, which is due to the specifics of training personnel for participation in hostilities in the mountains and desert areas. The symbol reflecting the specifics of the division is a scorpion.

The Guards Airborne Assault Red Banner Regiment 104, the Airborne Division, in other words, the military unit 32515, is deployed in the village of Cheryokha, near Pskov. The unit performs combat missions, destroys and captures the enemy from the air, robs him of ground weapons, cover, and destroys his defense. This regiment also acts as a quick reaction unit.

History

A regiment was formed in January 1948 as part of units of the 76th, 104th and 346th Guards Airborne Divisions. For excellent combat training in 1976, the regiment became the Red Banner, and from 1979 to 1989, all personnel and officers fought in Afghanistan. In February 1978, the regiment mastered new weapons and for its valiant use it was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. From 1994 to 1995, the Red Banner Regiment 104 (Airborne Division) was part of the 76th division, and therefore actively participated in the First Chechen War, and in 1999 and in 2009 carried out an anti-terror mission in the North Caucasus.

In early 2003, the regiment was partially transferred to a contract basis, at the same time the reconstruction of military unit 32515 began. Regiment 104, the Airborne Division, received reconstructed old and erected new residential premises and facilities on its territory, thanks to this work, living and material conditions of service have become much better. The barracks took a cubic view with hallways, showers and cabinets for personal belongings, with a gym and a relaxation room. Both officers and soldiers of regiment 104 (Airborne Division) eat in a common dining room, located separately. The food is the same for everyone, eat together. Civilians work in the dining room, on cleaning the territory and in the barracks.

Training

All fighters of such a famous unit as the Pskov Airborne Division, 104th regiment especially, spend a lot of time on airborne and general physical training at any time of the year. Mandatory activities for the landing: improving camouflage skills, forcing fire and water barriers and, of course, parachuting. First, training takes place with the help of the airborne complex on the territory of the military unit, then comes the turn of the five-meter tower. If everything is learned correctly, then fighters equipped with groups of ten people make three jumps from airplanes: first from the AN, then from the IL.

Unregulated relations and hazing in this unit have never been present. Now, this would not be possible, if only because recruits, senior employees and contract soldiers live separately and are extremely busy each with their own business. The oath of the Pskov Airborne Division, 104th regiment, fighters, recruits take on Saturdays at ten in the morning, rarely due to circumstances beyond the control of the commanders, it can be transferred an hour ago or forward. After taking the oath, servicemen receive a leave of absence until 20.00. By the way, on holidays, fighters also get dismissal. On Monday, following the taking of the oath, the command distributes the new fighters among the companies.

To relatives

Of course, parents, relatives and friends are bored and worried about the health and pastime of those who are just starting their military service. The command warns relatives that their beloved sons, grandchildren, brothers and best friends, having entered the service in regiment 104 (Pskov Airborne Division), cannot be constantly in touch.

Mobile phones are allowed to be used only one hour before the end of the call, the rest of the time the commander stores the gadgets at his place and gives the soldier only as a last resort, and after he is noted in a special magazine. Field exercises in the unit take place year-round, regardless of the weather, sometimes trips last up to two months. The fighters are famous for their military training, and without constant training they would not have won such fame for the 104th regiment of the 76th division (the city of Pskov) of the Airborne Forces.

Helpful information

First of march

The whole country remembered the day of the great feat of the soldiers of the sixth company of the second battalion of the hundred and fourth parachute regiment of the seventy-sixth Pskov Airborne Division. Year 2000 Since the beginning of February, the largest group of militants after the fall of Grozny retreated to the Shatoi district, where it was blocked. After air and artillery preparation, a battle ensued after Chatoy. The militants nevertheless broke through in two large groups: Ruslan Gelayev to the north-west to the village of Komsomolskoye, and Khattab - to the north-east through Ulus-Kert, where the main battle took place.

The federal forces consisted of one company of regiment 104 (Airborne Division) - 6 companies, heroically killed, commanded by Guard Lieutenant Colonel Mark Nikolayevich Evtyukhin, fifteen soldiers from 4 companies of the same regiment under the command of Major Guard Alexander Vasilievich Dostalov and 1st company of the first battalion of that the same regiment under the command of Major Guard Sergei Ivanovich Baran. There were more than two and a half thousand militants: groups of Idris, Abu Valid, Shamil Basaev and Khattab.

Mount Isty Kord

On February 28, the commander of the 104th regiment, Colonel Sergei Yuryevich Melentyev, who briefly survived his sixth company, ordered the occupation of the height of Ista-Kord, which dominated the area. The sixth company, headed by Major Sergei Georgievich Molodov, immediately advanced and managed to occupy only 776 altitude, four and a half kilometers from the designated mountain, where twelve reconnaissance paratroopers were sent.

The height planned by the commander was occupied by Chechen fighters, with whom the intelligence entered the battle, retreating to the main forces left behind. The commander Molodov joined the battle and was mortally wounded, on the same day he died on February 29. Command took

The Brotherhood of War

But only four hours ago, Chatoy fell under the blow of the federal troops. The militants violently broke out of the ring, not looking at the loss. Here they were met by the sixth company. Only the first and second platoons fought, since the third was destroyed by the militants on the slope. By the end of the day, company losses amounted to one third of the total personnel. Thirty-one people - the number of dead paratroopers in the first hours of the battle with a dense environment by the enemy.

By morning, soldiers from the fourth company, led by Alexander Vasilievich Dostalov, broke through to them. He violated the order, leaving well-fortified lines at a nearby height, took with him only fifteen fighters and came to the rescue. Also comrades from the first company of the first battalion rushed to their aid. They crossed the Abazulgol River, were ambushed there and fixed on the shore. Only on the third of March did the first company break through to the position. All this time, the battle has not abated everywhere.

Argun Gorge

The night of March 1, 2000 claimed the lives of eighty-four paratroopers who never missed the Chechen bandits. The death of the sixth company is the heaviest and largest in the Second Chechen War. In Cheryokha, at home, at his native checkpoint, a stone is reminded of this date, on which is carved: "The sixth company went into immortality from here." The last words of Lieutenant Colonel Yevtyukhin were heard by the whole world: “I call fire on myself!” When the militants made an avalanche breakthrough, it was 6.50 in the morning. The bandits didn’t even shoot: why spend bullets on twenty-six wounded paratroopers, if there were more than three hundred selected militants.

But hand-to-hand combat nevertheless ensued, although the forces were unequal. The guardsmen did their duty. Everyone who could still hold weapons, and even those who could not, entered the fray. Twenty-seven dead enemies fell on each of the half-dead paratroopers remaining there. The bandits lost 457 best-choice militants, but they could not break through either to Selmentauzen or further to Vedeno, after which the road to Dagestan was practically open. All roadblocks were removed by high order.

Khattab may not have been lying when he stated on the radio that he had bought a passage for five hundred thousand dollars, but it didn’t work out. They attacked the company with waves, in a dushmanish manner. Knowing the area well, the militants were getting close. And then the bayonet-knives, butts and just fists came into play. Twenty hours the Pskov paratroopers held the height.

Only six survived. Two were saved by the commander, who covered their jump from the cliff with automatic fire. The bandits took the rest of the survivors for the dead, but they were alive and after some time crawled out to the location of their troops. Company of heroes: twenty-two soldiers posthumously became Heroes of Russia. Streets in many cities of the country, even in Grozny, were named after eighty-four paratroopers.

104 Airborne Division (Ulyanovsk)

This connection of the USSR Airborne Forces lasted until 1998 as the 104th Guards Airborne Division, founded in 1944. In June 2015, the Russian Ministry of Defense decides to recreate the famous military unit. The composition of the 104th Airborne Division is three regiments based on the 31st Ulyanovsk Airborne Brigade, which are located in Orenburg, Engels and Ulyanovsk.

Glory of the Airborne Forces

Airborne troops originate in August 1930, and this is the only branch of the country in the country where divisions are all up to one guard. Each of them earned his own fame in battle. Ancient Pskov is rightfully proud of its oldest military unit - the 76th Guards Red Banner Airborne Division, which heroically proved itself in all the wars in which it participated. The tragic death of a brave, courageous, staunch sixth company of the 104th regiment will never be forgotten not only in the country, but also in the world.

Ulyanovsk has its own historical pride: the personnel of the 104th Guards Airborne Division stationed there took part in battles in Chechnya and Abkhazia, and was part of UN peacekeepers in Yugoslavia. And every resident of the city knows that military equipment with a scorpion on board is the 104th Guards Airborne Division named after Kutuzov converted from the brigade of the Airborne Forces.

Day 104 Guards VDD

December 6 - Formation Day 104 Guards. VDD. The militarypro is a large-scale overview of the history and military path of the 104th Guards. airborne division before reorganization in 1998.

How was the 104th Airborne Forces formed?

Even before the end of World War II, the leaders of the warring parties realized that the airborne operations could cause significant damage to the enemy on its territory. Therefore, it was decided to allocate the Airborne Forces as a separate branch of the army so that it would be possible to purposefully prepare fighters for such actions. The formation of the 104th Airborne Division took place in early December 1944.

The Red Army was already advancing throughout Hungary, bringing an end to the aggressive plans of the Third Reich. Therefore, in a liberated country, they not only restored infrastructure, but also created new military units. The year of creation of the 104th Airborne Forces is sometimes mistakenly indicated by the 1946th, but in fact the date refers to the reorganization of the Guards Rifle Division into an airborne assault.

The history of the 104th Airborne Forces began with participation in the Vienna and Prague operations of the Red Army, which culminated in the liberation of two European capitals from Nazi troops. For the successful completion of combat missions, the division received the Order of Kutuzov 2nd degree. After the war ended, the division was renamed the air assault and established the city of Narva of the Estonian SSR as the place of permanent deployment.

Here the division stayed for 14 years, after which it was transferred to another region, where the paratroopers were much more needed. Before the move, the soldiers managed to take part in the suppression of the Hungarian uprising in 1956, which was stopped only by the Red Army.

In 1960, the 104th Airborne Forces were stationed in Kirovabad, Azerbaijan SSR. Here the paratroopers stayed until the collapse of the Soviet Union. The soldiers took classes in conditions as close as possible to the military, so that their level of training has always remained very high. The guys from all corners of the union dreamed of getting into the airborne forces, but they took here only the strongest and most trained recruits. The 104th Airborne Division in Ganja, as Kirovabad later became known as, remained until 1993.

The command of the Russian army decided to house the 104th Airborne Forces in Ulyanovsk. So began the story of the service of paratroopers in the armed forces of the Russian Federation.

Fighting Path 104th Guards. VDD

The Afghan war could not ignore the 104th Airborne Division, since the very specifics of the conduct of hostilities consisted mainly of airborne assault operations. Although Kirovobad paratroopers were not directly involved in the war, in 1989, the 345th Guards Parachute Regiment, which had been performing the command of the DRA for 10 years, entered the division.

The 104th Guards Airborne Division took part in the settlement of the Abkhaz conflict as part of the peacekeeping mission. The paratroopers guarded key objects from the militants, and more than once had to do this with weapons. During a peacekeeping mission, during one of the battles, the guard sergeant Vitaly Aleksandrovich Wolf, who received the posthumous title Hero of the Russian Federation, died.

The 104th Guards Airborne Division also participated in the peacekeeping mission in Yugoslavia. The collapse of the country was very turbulent, and almost always the separation of the next state was accompanied by bloodshed, so the help of the Russian army was a salvation for the civilian population.

104th Guards Airborne Division in Chechnya

The 104th Airborne Forces in Chechnya was already directly involved from 1994 to 1996. The paratroopers carried out the most difficult tasks of the command to capture the key fortified areas of the militants in order to disperse and destroy them in small groups. It was the Airborne Forces detachments that landed at dominant heights, which had to be captured and held for the unhindered passage of columns of the main forces.

The 104th Airborne Division in Chechnya and Dagestan received more than 4 thousand state awards, ten soldiers became Heroes of the Russian Federation (four posthumously).

The holiday of the 104th VDD was traditionally celebrated on December 6th. In early May 1998, the division was reorganized into the 31st Guards. a separate airborne brigade with a reduction in the number of staff. The successor continued the glorious traditions of the division and also repeatedly defended the homeland. The paratroopers proved to be the most capable combat unit in many conflicts.

The new formation of the 104th Guards. Airborne Division (Ulyanovsk)

On June 4, 2015, a decision was made to restore the 104th Airborne Division in Ulyanovsk. And now the connection will have a three-regiment structure with dislocation in Ulyanovsk itself, as well as Engels and Orenburg. Therefore, in a short time, a set of contract soldiers will be carried out for service in the restored division.

Structure of the 104th Airborne Division

The 104th Airborne Division included the following units:

• 328th Guards RAP;
• 337th Guards RAP Ord. Alexander Nevsky;
• 345th Guards DDPA Vienna Red Banner, Horde. Suvorov, named after the 70th anniversary of the Lenin Komsomol;
• 1180th Guards AP;
• 110th ORR 104th VDD;
• 103rd ORDER;
• 578th self-propelled artillery division of the 104th VDD;
• 729th OBS;
• 132nd AISS;
• 24th ARDS;
• 611th OBDO;
• 1684th WMO;
• 180th OMedB;
• 116th OVTAE;
• 422nd SFPS.

Commanders of the 104th Airborne Forces:

1. Guards Gen. M. IN AND. Ivanov from 1943 to 1944.
2. Guards Gen. M. OH. Redchenko in the 1945th year.
3. Guards Gen. M. I.F. Seregin from 1945 to 1946.
4. Guards Gen. M. N.T. Tavartkiladze from 1946 to 1950.
5. Guards post office A.A. Startsev in the 1950th year.
6. Guards pk P.M. Hvorostenko from 1950 to 1954.
7. Guards Gen. M. A.P. Rudakov from 1954 to 1955.
8. Guards Gen. M. F.P. Dranishchev from 1955 to 1961.
9. Guards pk I.I. Blue-eyed from 1961 to 1963.
10. Guards pk Yu.M. Potapov from 1963 to 1964.
11. Guards Gen. M. N.N. Guskov from 1964 to 1967.
12. Guards Gen. M. A.A. Spirin from 1968 to 1975.
13. Guards Gen. M. A.G. Khomenko from 1975 to 1981.
14. Guards Gen. M. N.I. Serdyukov 1981 to 1984.
15. Guards Gen. M. E.A. Semenov 1984 to 1987.
16. Guards Gen. M. V.A. Sorokin from 1987 to 1989.
17. Guards Gen. M. V.V. Scherbak from 1990 to 1993.
18. Guards Gen. M. IN AND. Orlov from 1993 to 1998.

Over the years, paratroopers have received several thousand state awards. There are Heroes of the USSR in the 104th VDD, who received their orders for performing combat missions on the territory of the Soviet Union and beyond. After the collapse of the country, the paratroopers continued to bravely serve the Russian Federation and earned many glorious victories on the battlefields to defend their homeland from enemies.

Marines "Wild Division"

The emblem of the 104th Airborne Division, in addition to the traditional parachute, also contains a scorpion. This insect in military circles is always associated with courage in battle and a willingness to go to the end. Many fighters who happened to be in "hot spots" make a tattoo of a scorpion as a keepsake. In the jargon, the hundred and fourth was often called the “wild division” because of the specifics of preparing soldiers for war in the mountainous and desert areas. So the scorpion on the emblem is quite appropriate.

To help the paratroopers mark the day of the 104th Airborne Division, it’s worth going to the electronic catalog of Voentpro military products and choosing interesting gifts and souvenirs there. The assortment is huge, so for everyone there is some interesting accessory that can please the paratrooper.

You can leave comments about your service in the ranks of the VDD in the comments.