The 19th Voronezh-Shumlinskaya Red Banner Order of Suvorov and Red Banner of Labor Motor Rifle Division (), is a division of the

Russian Ground Forces The Russian Ground Forces (), also known as the Russian Army in English, are the Army, land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Forces are the protection of the state borders, combat on land, ...

. It appears to have been formed originally in July 1922 at

Tambov Tambov ( , ; rus, Тамбов, p=tɐmˈbof) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Tambov Oblast, Central Federal District, central Russia, at the confluence of the Tsna River (Moksha basin), Tsna ...

in the

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 ...

as a territorial formation. In 1923, it was awarded the "Tambov" placename and renamed the 19th Voronezh Rifle Division. The division was downsized to a brigade in 2009 and reestablished as a division in 2020.

History

The current 19th Division was the first in the

Workers' and Peasants' Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

to be awarded the

Order of the Red Banner of Labor The Order of the Red Banner of Labour () was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to the Soviet state and society in the fields of production, science, culture, literature, the arts, education, sports ...

, and distinguished itself during the

Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front, also known as the Great Patriotic War (term), Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union and its successor states, and the German–Soviet War in modern Germany and Ukraine, was a Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II ...

, during which the unit fought in the

Battle of Moscow The Battle of Moscow was a military campaign that consisted of two periods of strategically significant fighting on a sector of the Eastern Front during World War II, between October 1941 and January 1942. The Soviet defensive effort frustrated H ...

, in battles for the cities of

Yelnya Yelnya () is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia. ;Urban localities * Yelnya, Yelninsky District, Smolensk Oblast, a town in Yelninsky District of Smolensk Oblast; administratively incorporated as Yelninskoye Urban Settlement ;Ru ...

and

Pskov Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=Ru-Псков.oga, p=psˈkof; see also Names of Pskov in different languages, names in other languages) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov O ...

. By the beginning 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 ...

, the unit consisted of the 32nd, 282nd, and 315th Rifle, 90th Artillery, and the 103rd Howitzer Artillery Regiment. The division entered combat against the Germans on July 19, 1941, near

as part of the 24th Army of the Western Front. It participated in the Elninskaya offensive, the

, Rzhev-Vyazma offensive operation in 1942, the Rzhev-Sychevka offensive, Kharkiv defensive operation in 1943, Belgorod-Khar'kov Offensive Operation (3 August 1943 - 23 August 1943). As part of the

7th Guards Army The 7th Guards Army was a field army of the Red Army during World War II and of the Soviet Army during the Cold War. History The 7th Guards Army was formed from the 64th Army on April 16, 1943. 64th Army had originally been formed from 1s ...

, it fought in the Poltava-Kremenchuk offensive, the Pyatihatskoy offensive, Bereznegovatoe-Snigirevskaya Offensive,

Odessa offensive The Odessa Offensive Operation (Russian language, Russian: Одесская Наступательная Операция, Odesskaya Nastupatel'naya Operatsiya), known on the German side as the Defensive battle of the 6th Army between Bug and Dni ...

, at Chisinau, Izmail offensive, Belgrade Offensive 1944 Derskoy offensive, Bratislava–Brno Offensive. It participated in the liberation of the cities Elnya, Ruza, Krasnograd, Bobrynets,

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

, Shumla liberated September 9, 1944. For exemplary performance of command assignments in Bulgaria it was given the honorary name "Shumlinskoy" on 27 September 1944. It crossed the

Seversky Donets The Seversky Donets () or Siverskyi Donets (), usually simply called the Donets (), is a river on the south of the East European Plain. It originates in the Central Russian Upland, north of Belgorod, flows south-east through Ukraine (Kharkiv ...

, Ingulets,

Dniester The Dniester ( ) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and then through Moldova (from which it more or less separates the breakaway territory of Transnistria), finally discharging into the Black Sea on Uk ...

Prut The Prut (also spelled in English as Pruth; , ) is a river in Eastern Europe. It is a left tributary of the Danube, and is long. Part of its course forms Romania's border with Moldova and Ukraine. Characteristics The Prut originates on the eas ...

Southern Bug The Southern Bug, also called Southern Buh (; ; ; or just ), and sometimes Boh River (; ),

Dnieper The Dnieper or Dnepr ( ), also called Dnipro ( ), is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. Approximately long, with ...

, and

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

rivers. During the Belgrade operation in October 1944 the division entered

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

, and in November, crossed the

Danube River The Danube ( ; see also other names) is the second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest south into the Black Sea. A large and historically important riv ...

near

Apatin Apatin ( sr-Cyrl, Апатин, , ) is a town and municipality located in the West Bačka District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. As of 2022 census, the population of the town is 14,613, while the municipality has 23,155 inhabita ...

and in difficult, forested terrain during

Battle of Batina The Battle of Batina or Batina Operation () was fought on the Syrmian Front of the Second World War between the units of the Red Army and the Yugoslav Partisans against the Wehrmacht and their allies. The battle took place from 11 to 29 Nov ...

led fierce battles with the Nazis on the left bank. In 1944 it fought through Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia, where it ended the war. For its courage in these battles and military skill the division was awarded the

Order of Suvorov The Order of Suvorov () is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named in honor of Russian Generalissimo Prince Alexander Suvorov (1729–1800). History The Order of Suvorov was originally a Soviet Union, Soviet award established on ...

2nd degree (January 6, 1945). During the war it served successively with the 24th, 43rd, 5th, 20th, 3rd Guards Tank, 57th, 37th, 7th Guards, and 46th Armies. In 1945, the division arrived in the Stavropol Military District and was stationed in

Vladikavkaz Vladikavkaz, formerly known as Ordzhonikidze () or Dzaudzhikau (), is the capital city of North Ossetia–Alania, Russia. It is located in the southeast of the republic at the foothills of the Caucasus, situated on the Terek (river), Terek River. ...

. In May–June 1946, the division was reorganised into the 11th Separate Rifle Brigade. All battalions of the brigade were stationed in Ordzhonikidze (which was renamed Vladikavkaz in 1990). On 1 July 1949 the 11th Separate Rifle Brigade was reorganised as the 19th Mountain Rifle Division, 12th Mountain Corps. On May 31, 1954, the 19th Mountain Division was renamed the 19th Rifle Division. In March 1957 the 19th Rifle Division was reorganized as the 92nd Motor Rifle Division. According to the USSR Minister of Defense Order No. 00147 of November 17, 1964, in order to preserve the martial traditions, the 92nd Motor Rifle Division was renamed the 19th Motor Rifle Division. Thus in 1965 it became again the 19th Motor Rifle Division. It arrived in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

region by the mid-1950s and has been stationed for many years at

. In the late 1980s it was part of the 42nd Army Corps at

Volgograd Volgograd,. formerly Tsaritsyn. (1589–1925) and Stalingrad. (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area of , with a population ...

and consisted of the 397th Tank Regiment, and the 201st, 429th, and 503rd Motor Rifle Regiments.

Chechen Wars

After the

collapse of the USSR The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

, the division took part in the first and the second Chechen war. During the winter of 1994-1995, the division, as part of the "West" group stormed Grozny in

First Chechen War The First Chechen War, also referred to as the First Russo-Chechen War, was a struggle for independence waged by the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria against the invading Russia, Russian Federation from 1994 to 1996. After a mutually agreed on treaty ...

as part of the "West" group under the command of Major General Valery Klimovich Petruk. The group "West" also included paratroopers from the 21st Airborne Brigade battalion and the 76th Guards Airborne Division combined regiment. At 7:30 on January 2, the vanguard of the 693rd regiment of Colonel Kandalin entered the city of Grozny and until 12:00 the regiment did not encounter any resistance from Dudayev's men. Due to a number of serious mistakes made by the division commander, the 693rd regiment was stopped in the market area and attacked by superior Chechen forces; under their pressure, the regiment retreated to the Lenin Park of Culture and Recreation. By 18:00, during a fierce battle, the 693rd regiment was surrounded in the area of Lenin Park, where contact with it was lost. On February 22, 1996, a battle took place in the Assinskoye Gorge. A battalion of the 693rd Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment, which had left Vladikavkaz for Chechnya to rotate troops (according to other sources,with the task of capturing the settlement of Bamut), was attacked by militants in Ingushetia in the area of the settlements of Galashki and Arshty. The fighting continued between February 22 and 24. Among the dead was the battalion commander, Major Eduard Tinikashvili. On March 21, 1996, the 693rd Regiment stormed the settlement of Stary Achkhoy. From March 5 to March 22, 2000, the 503rd Guards Motor Rifle Regiment of the 19th Motor Rifle Division took part in the

battles A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force c ...

for the village of Komsomolskoye.

Wars in Ossetia and Ukraine

On August 8, 2008, elements of the 19th Motor Rifle Division (at least 503rd Motor Rifle Reg.) entered

South Ossetia South Ossetia, officially the Republic of South Ossetia or the State of Alania, is a landlocked country in the South Caucasus with International recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, partial diplomatic recognition. It has an offici ...

. In 2009, as part of the wider restructuring of the

the division became the 19th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade which was formed from the

503rd Guards Motor Rifle Regiment 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. Humans, and many other animals, have 5 digits on their limbs. Mathematics 5 is a Fermat pri ...

of the 19th Motor Rifle Division. The 4th Guards Military Base was formed on the basis of the 693rd and

135th Motor Rifle Regiment 135th may refer to: *135th (2/1st South Western) Brigade, formation of the Territorial Force of the British Army * 135th (Limerick) Regiment of Foot, infantry regiment of the British Army, created and promptly disbanded in 1796 * 135th (Middlesex) ...

s in the territory of the Republic of

. The brigade inherited all the awards, honorary titles and military glory of the 19th Motorized Rifle Division, formed in 1922. As a result, the brigade celebrated its anniversaries on

July 22 Events Pre-1600 * 838 – Battle of Anzen: The Byzantine emperor Theophilos suffers a heavy defeat by the Abbasids. *1099 – First Crusade: Godfrey of Bouillon is elected the first Defender of the Holy Sepulchre of The Kingdom of ...

. On December 1, 2020, the brigade was reorganized into the 19th motorized rifle division as part of the 58th Combined Arms Army,

Southern Military District The Order of the Red Banner Southern Military District () is a military district of Russia. It is one of the five military districts of the Russian Armed Forces, with its jurisdiction primarily within the North Caucasus region of the country ...

. Its permanent deployment point is the city of

in the Republic of North Ossetia. It was reportedly planned to re-equip the division with

T-90 The T-90 is a third-generation Russian main battle tank developed from, and designed to replace the T-72. It uses a 125mm 2A46 smoothbore main gun, the 1A45T fire-control system, an upgraded engine, and gunner's thermal sight. Standard p ...

M main battle tanks. 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 ...

, members of the division's 503rd Motor Rifle Regiment were captured in the village of Malynivka in the

Zaporizhzhia Oblast Zaporizhzhia Oblast (), commonly referred to as Zaporizhzhia (), is an oblast (region) in south-east Ukraine. Its administrative centre is the city of Zaporizhzhia. The oblast covers an area of , and has a population of The oblast is an import ...

in March 2022 by Ukrainian territorial defense fighters.

Structure

2009

* 429th Motor Rifle Regiment * 503rd Guards Motor Rifle Regiment (equipping with 10 BTR-82A armored personnel carriers as of 2021) * 693rd Guards Motor Rifle Regiment * 292nd Self-propelled Artillery Regiment * 481st Air-Defence Missile Regiment * 141st Tank Battalion * Engineer Battalion * Military Intelligence Battalion * Signal Battalion * Chemical Battalion * Supply Battalion * Maintenance Battalion * Medical Battalion

Personnel and equipment

The 19th Motor Rifle Division currently has approximately 11,000 personnel in active service. Equipment SummaryNorth Caucasus Military District
warfare.ru, Russian Military Analisis. Retrieved on September 1, 2008.

Commanders

* 12/20/1958 - 09/21/1961 - Colonel Allenykh, Sergei Ivanovich * 12/19/1961 - 07/27/1966 - colonel, from 02/22/1963 major general Rykalov, Fedor Ivanovich * 07/27/1966 — 12/06/1971 — Colonel, from 10/25/1967 Major General Myakushko, Vladimir Yakovlevich * 01/13/1972 — 11/27/1975 — Colonel, from 11/4/1973 Major General Kashin, Aleksandr Alekseevich * 11/27/1975 — 1983 — Colonel, from 10/27/1977 Major General Shipilov, Vladimir Petrovich * 1983-1985 — Colonel Roshchin, Viktor Mikhailovich * 1989-1992 — Major General Petruk, Valery Klimovich * 1992-1994 — Major General Bozhko, Stanislav Vasilyevich * 1994-1995 — Colonel Kandalin, Gennady Ivanovich * 1995-1996 — Major General Prizemlin, Vasily Vasilyevich * 1997-2000 — Colonel (from 02/17/1999 - Major General) Bugaev, Dmitry Leonidovich * 2000-2001 - Major General Titov, Vladimir Mikhailovich * 2001-2003 - Major General Dvornikov, Alexander Vladimirovich * 2003-2004 - Major General Kulakhmetov, Marat Minyurovich * 2004-2007 - Major General Tonkoshkurov, Vasily Petrovich * 2007-2008 - Major General Sudakov Sergey Gennadievich * 2009-2010 - Colonel Davydov Denis Vladimirovich * 2010-2014 - Colonel (since 13.06.2013 — Major General) Kisel, Sergei Aleksandrovich * 2014-2017 - Colonel Abachev, Esedulla Abdulmuminovich * 2017-2020 - Colonel Vyazovsky, Roman Yuryevich * 2021 - present - Major General Uskov, Dmitry Ivanovich

Gallery

File:FieldTraining2019-01.jpg File:FieldTraining2019-02.jpg File:FieldTraining2019-03.jpg File:FieldTraining2019-04.jpg

Notes

* * Michael Holm
19th Motor Rifle Division

References

* Michael Avanzini and Craig Crofoot, 'Armies of the Bear' * Aberjona Press, 'Slaughterhouse: The Handbook of the Eastern Front', 2005 {{Russian divisions 019 019 Military units and formations established in 1965 Military units and formations disestablished in 2009 1922 establishments in Russia Military units and formations awarded the Order of the Red Banner Military units and formations of Russia in the Russian invasion of Ukraine