The 103rd Rocket Red Banner, Orders of Kutuzov and Bohdan Khmelnytskyi Brigade (103 RBr), is a tactical

surface-to-surface missile A surface-to-surface missile (SSM) is a missile designed to be launched from the ground or the sea and strike targets on land or at sea. They may be fired from hand-held or vehicle mounted devices, from fixed installations, or from a ship. They ar ...

formation of the Ground Forces of the Russian Federation. Its

Military Unit Number A Military Unit Number (Russian: войсковая часть, в/ ч; Ukrainian: військова частина, в/ ч) is a numeric alternate designation for military units in the armed forces and internal troops of post-Soviet ...

is 47130. It is equipped with the

9K720 Iskander The 9K720 Iskander (; NATO reporting name SS-26 Stone) is a Russian mobile short-range ballistic missile system. It has a range of . It was intended to replace the OTR-21 Tochka in the Russian military by 2020. The Iskander has several differ ...

tactical ballistic missile.

History

It traces its history to the creation of the 12th Breakthrough Artillery Division (Russian: 12-я артиллерийская дивизия прорыва) of the Reserve of the High Command in December 1942. The formation of the division began in the fall of 1942. It was created from November 1942 in the Chebarkul camp in the Chelyabinsk Oblast. The division's formation ended on December 17. On December 31, 1942, the division went to the front. December 15, 1942 was considered the day the division was formed, when Colonel Kurkovsky took command of the division. The 12th Breakthrough Artillery Division included the 32nd Howitzer, 41st Cannon, 46th Light, 89th Heavy Howitzer, and 104th Heavy Howitzer Brigades, the 11th Mortar Brigade, the 819th Separate Reconnaissance Artillery

Divizion {{army units A divizion (dywizjon) (a word in several European languages, mostly Slavic) is a military unit in some armed branches, usually artillery and cavalry, being an equivalent of battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically ...

(battalion), and smaller units. The division was part of the

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

, Belarusian,

2nd A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds, The Second, or (The) 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Minute and second of arc, ...

and

1st Belorussian Front The 1st Belorussian Front (, ''Pervyy Belorusskiy front'', also romanized " Byelorussian"), known without a numeral as the Belorussian Front between October 1943 and February 1944, was a major formation of the Red Army during World War II, bein ...

s. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

fifteen personnel of the division became

Heroes of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union () was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society. The title was awarded both t ...

. The division was at the front (part of the "operational army") from 31 December 1942 — 13 April 1944, 14 June 1944 — 9 May 1945. The first battle of the division took place on January 26-31, 1943. It helped in breaking through the defenses of the Wehrmacht advancing on the Kastornensky direction at the junction of the

Bryansk Bryansk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, situated on the Desna (river), Desna River, southwest of Moscow. It has a population of 379,152 at the 2021 census. Bryans ...

and

Voronezh Front The 1st Ukrainian Front (), previously the Voronezh Front (), was a major formation of the Red Army during World War II, being equivalent to a Western army group. They took part in the capture of Berlin, the capital of Nazi Germany. Wartime ...

s. The fire made it possible to crush the enemy and help the 182nd,

8th Eighth is ordinal form of the number eight. Eighth may refer to: * One eighth, , a fraction, one of eight equal parts of a whole * Eighth note (quaver), a musical note played for half the value of a quarter note (crotchet) * Octave, an interval b ...

, 15th and 307th Rifle Divisions advance. From 10 July 1944 to 31 July 1944 the division served with the

8th Guards Army The 8th Guards Order of Lenin Combined Arms Army (abbreviated 8th GCAA) was an army of the Soviet Army, as a successor to the 62nd Army of the Soviet Union's Red Army, which was formed during World War II and was disbanded in 1998 after being do ...

. It ended the war in

, with two brigades supporting

5th Shock Army The 5th Shock Army was a Red Army field army of World War II. The army was formed on 9 December 1942 by redesignating the 10th Reserve Army. The army was formed two times prior to this with neither formation lasting more than a month before bein ...

, but most of the remainder of the division supporting 69th Army. In August 1960 the division was reorganized as the 103rd Rocket Brigade stationed in the

Transbaikal Military District The Transbaikal Military District () was a military district of first the Soviet Armed Forces and then the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, formed on 17 May 1935 and included the Buryat Republic, Chita Oblast, and Yakutia. Chita was ...

as part of the 29th Combined Arms Army. Other sources trace its immediate existence to its formation at Nizhinernyy in

Gorky Oblast Nizhny Novgorod Oblast () is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Nizhny Novgorod. It has a population of 3,119,115 as of the 2021 Census. From 1932 to 1990 it was known as Gorky Oblast (). The oblast ...

Moscow Military District The Order of Lenin Moscow Military District () is a Military districts of Russia, military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Originally it was a district of the Imperial Russian Army until the Russian Empire's collapse in 191 ...

, in August 1960. It was initially assigned to the 13th Guards Army Corps. From 1979 the brigade was located at Divizionnaya ( 1 54 25N, 107 33 19E :ru:Дивизионная_(Улан-Удэ)), a suburb of

Ulan-Ude Ulan-Ude (; , ; , ) is the capital city of Buryatia, Russia, located about southeast of Lake Baikal on the Uda River, Buryatia, Uda River at its confluence with the Selenga River, Selenga. According to the Russian Census (2021), 2021 Census, 43 ...

in the Buryat Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. On January 15, 2012, the brigade received a new type of battle flag. Before the award ceremony, a ceremony was held to attach the banner to the staff, which took place at the Russian Drama Theatre. The battle flag was traditionally fastened with gilded nails. The brigade's home base is at Divizionnaya in

; it is part of the

36th Combined Arms Army The 36th Combined Arms Army is a combined arms ( field) army of the Russian Ground Forces, part of the Eastern Military District ( 05776). History The army was formed in 1997 from the 55th Army Corps at Borzya in the Siberian Military Dist ...

. It is participating in the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

. As part of the 36th Army, alongside the 5th Guards Tank and 37th Guards Motor Rifle Brigades, it was first deployed to Belarus and then participated in active operations, mainly in the area west of Kyiv. The brigade is equipped with

surface to surface missiles. The new missile had first been introduced into service in 2006, and by 2010, the brigade was one of five to operate the Iskander. Previously, the brigade was armed with the

OTR-21 Tochka OTR-21 ''Tochka'' () is a Soviet Union, Soviet tactical ballistic missile. Its GRAU designation is 9K79. Its NATO reporting name is the SS-21 Scarab. One missile is transported per 9P129 vehicle and raised prior to launch. It uses an inertial gu ...

surface to surface missile.

References

External links

* * Classified secre
Listings by month.
* * * {{Brigades of the Russian Ground Forces Theatre rocket brigades of Russia Theatre rocket brigades of the Soviet Union Military units and formations established in 1960 Military units and formations of Russia in the Russian invasion of Ukraine