The 127th
Order of Kutuzov Motor Rifle Division () 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
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 ...
.
Formation and World War II
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
The Soviet invasion of Manchuria, formally known as the Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation or simply the Manchurian Operation () and sometimes Operation August Storm, began on 9 August 1945 with the Soviet Union, Soviet invasion of the Emp ...
. On 9 August 1945 the division began operations as part of
35th Army, advancing 12 kilometers, having forced the
Songacha River in northern
Heilongjiang
Heilongjiang is a province in northeast China. It is the northernmost and easternmost province of the country and contains China's northernmost point (in Mohe City along the Amur) and easternmost point (at the confluence of the Amur and Us ...
. The division fought on the
Ussuri River at
Khotunsky (Хотунского), Mishan,
Border
Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...
(Пограничного), and
Duninsky (Дунинского)
fortified districts, capturing the cities of
Mishan,
Jilin
)
, image_skyline = Changbaishan Tianchi from western rim.jpg
, image_alt =
, image_caption = View of Heaven Lake
, image_map = Jilin in China (+all claims hatched).svg
, mapsize = 275px
, map_al ...
, Jantszy, and
Harbin
Harbin, ; zh, , s=哈尔滨, t=哈爾濱, p=Hā'ěrbīn; IPA: . is the capital of Heilongjiang, China. It is the largest city of Heilongjiang, as well as being the city with the second-largest urban area, urban population (after Shenyang, Lia ...
. 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
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 ...
medals, 1266 awards, and 2838 medals were given to the division's personnel.
Postwar
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. On 30 March 1970 the division became the 277th Motor Rifle Division.
[Feskov 2013, p. 589]
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.
The 702nd Motor Rifle Regiment was disbanded and replaced by the 114th Machine-Gun Artillery Regiment. 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. 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
Ussuriysk () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Primorsky Krai, Russia, in the valley of the Razdolnaya River. The city is north of Vladivostok, the administrative center of the krai, and about from both the China–Russia bo ...
(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 from the main body of the division, equipped with BMPs, and the 60th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade at
Lipovtsy,
Primorsky Krai
Primorsky Krai, informally known as Primorye, is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (a krais of Russia, krai) of Russia, part of the Far Eastern Federal District in the Russian Far East. The types of inhabited localities in Russia, ...
from the 218th Tank Regiment of the division, also equipped with BMPs.
Reform and structure (2018)
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. The division now has the
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 ...
(V/Ch, в/ч) 44980.
Key bodies of the division now include:
* Staff and headquarters at Sergeevka in
Pogranichny District,
Primorsky Krai
Primorsky Krai, informally known as Primorye, is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (a krais of Russia, krai) of Russia, part of the Far Eastern Federal District in the Russian Far East. The types of inhabited localities in Russia, ...
(Military Unit Number 44980);
*
114th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment (
:ru:114-й гвардейский мотострелковый полк), V/Ch 24776, formed from the
70th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade, located at
Ussuriysk
Ussuriysk () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Primorsky Krai, Russia, in the valley of the Razdolnaya River. The city is north of Vladivostok, the administrative center of the krai, and about from both the China–Russia bo ...
;
*
394th Red Banner Motor Rifle Regiment at Sergeevka, V/Ch 25573;
*
218th Tank Regiment, V/Ch 82588, Lipovtsy,
Primorskiy Krai;
* 872nd Self-Propelled Vitebsk-Khingan Order of Aleksandr Nevsky Artillery Regiment, V/Ch 75234;
* 1171st Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment at
Ussuriysk
Ussuriysk () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Primorsky Krai, Russia, in the valley of the Razdolnaya River. The city is north of Vladivostok, the administrative center of the krai, and about from both the China–Russia bo ...
, V/Ch 65484.
The division was committed to action during 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 ...
.
Notes
References
*
*Michael Holm
2nd Tank Division
{{Russian divisions
Infantry divisions of Russia
Military units and formations established in 2018
Military units and formations of Russia in the Russian invasion of Ukraine