The 51st Guards Mechanized Brigade () was a formation of the

Ukrainian Ground Forces The Ukrainian Ground Forces (SVZSU, ), also referred to as the Ukrainian army, is a land force, and one of the eight Military branch, branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It was formed from Ukrainian units of the Soviet Army after Declaratio ...

, stationed at

Volodymyr Volodymyr (, ; ) is a Ukrainian given name of Old East Slavic origin. The related Ancient Slavic, such as Czech, Russian, Serbian, Croatian, etc. form of the name is Володимѣръ ''Volodiměr'', which in other Slavic languages became Vladimi ...

Volyn Oblast Volyn Oblast () or simply Volyn (), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in northwestern Ukraine. It borders Rivne Oblast to the east, Lviv Oblast to the south, Poland to the west and Belarus to the north. Its Capital city ...

, on the border with

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. The Brigade drew its history from the

15th Guards Rifle Division The 15th Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in February, 1942, based on the 1st formation of the 136th Rifle Division, and served in that role until well after the end of the Great Patriotic War. The di ...

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 ...

, which was converted into the 15th Guards Motor Rifle Division in 1957. The division was renumbered as the 51st Guards Motor Rifle Division in 1965 and awarded the honorific Perekop in honor of the 51st Rifle Division of the

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

History

In late 1947 the

was relocated from the Austrian city of Vladimir-Volyn and Lyuboml. In the postwar years the unit's soldiers helped civilians rebuild postwar economy, harvest, were involved in the construction of irrigation systems in the Kuban and the Crimea. In September 1965, in an Order of the Minister of Defense of the Soviet Union commemorating the 51st Rifle Division оf the

, which staunchly took the first blows of the German-Soviet war, the 15th Guards Motor Rifle Division was given the number "51" and the honorary title of

Perekop Perekop ( Ukrainian & Russian: Перекоп; ; ) is a village located on the Perekop Isthmus connecting the Crimean peninsula to the Ukrainian mainland. It is known for the Or Qapi fortress, which served as the gateway to Crimea. The villa ...

, becoming the 51st Guards Motor Rifle Division (second formation; the previous 51st Guards Motor Rifle Division had been disbanded in 1960 and used to form the

29th Guards Rocket Division The 29th Guards Vitebsk Order of Lenin Red Banner Rocket Division is an intercontinental ballistic missile division of the Russian Strategic Rocket Forces. The division was formerly part of the Soviet Strategic Rocket Forces and has been active si ...

). It remained as part of the

13th Army (Soviet Union) The 13th Army (, ) was a name given to several field armies of the Soviet Union's Red Army. Later armies existed until the 1990s, and the army survived as part of the Ukrainian Ground Forces for some years. Russo-Finnish War The 13th Army was c ...

in the

Carpathian Military District The Red Banner Carpathian Military District (, ) was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces during the Cold War and subsequently of the Armed Forces of Ukraine during the early Post-Soviet period. It was established on 3 May 1946 on the ...

since the late 1940s (when it was reassigned from the disbanding

5th Guards Army The 5th Guards Army was a Soviet Guards formation which fought in many critical actions during World War II under the command of General Aleksey Semenovich Zhadov. The 5th Guards Army was formed in spring 1943 from the 66th Army in recognition o ...

) until the fall of the Soviet Union. In 1988 the division comprised the 170th Tank Regiment, 44th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment, 47th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment, 50th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment, 43rd Guards Artillery Regiment, and 59th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment, plus smaller units.

Independent Ukraine

On January 19, 1992, personnel of the division took the oath of allegiance to the Ukrainian people, after the

dissolution of the Soviet Union 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 ...

and the 1991

Declaration of Independence of Ukraine The Act of Declaration of Independence of Ukraine was adopted by the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR (''Verkhovna Rada'') on 24 August 1991.13th Army Thirteenth Army or 13th Army may refer to: * Thirteenth Army (Japan) * Japanese Thirteenth Area Army * 13th Army (Russian Empire), unit in World War I *13th Army (RSFSR), a unit in the Russian Civil War *13th Army (Soviet Union) The 13th Army (, ...

was redesignated the 13th Army Corps. On September 17, 1999, in the framework of the 800th anniversary of the Volyn-Galician Principality and to mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Division received from the President of Ukraine, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma Battle Flag and the honorary title of "Volyn" (Ukaz No. 1193/99). Some 400 reservists will be added to the brigade's personnel in time of war to bring troop numbers up to wartime strength. The median age of the reserves, which in 2005 consisted of 440 officers, sergeants, and soldiers, is 25–30 years old. The brigade was involved in the

war in Donbas The war in Donbas, or the Donbas war, was a phase of the Russo-Ukrainian War in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine. The war Timeline of the war in Donbas (2014), began in April 2014, when Russian separatist forces in Ukraine, Russian para ...

.Ukrainian army death toll in Volnovakha soars to 18

Interfax-Ukraine Interfax-Ukraine () is a Ukrainian news agency. Founded in 1992, the company publishes in Ukrainian, Russian, English and German. The company owns a 50-seat press centre. The staff of the agency is 105 people (as of the end of February 2022) ...

(23 May 2014)They began to know the names of six soldiers killed near Volnovaha

Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' is a Ukrainian socio-political online media outlet founded by Heorhii Gongadze in April 2000. After Gongadze’s death in September 2000, the editorial team was led by co-founder Olena Prytula, who remained the editor-in ...

(22 May 2014) It suffered 18 deaths after being ambushed near

Volnovakha Volnovakha ( Ukrainian and Russian: , , ; ) is a city in Donetsk Oblast, eastern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Volnovakha Raion within the oblast. As of January 2022, it had a population of The train station is a railway h ...

on 22 May 2014. In late July 2014, 40 men from the brigade crossed into Russian territory. By the first week of August, they returned to Ukraine of their own free will. Some of them were charged with desertion. During August 2014, the brigade made three unsuccessful attempts to retake

Ilovaisk Ilovaisk (, ; ) is a city in Donetsk Raion, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine; residence of Ilovaisk urban hromada. The city is ''de facto'' annexed by Russia and administered by the Donetsk People's Republic. The city is known as a major regional ra ...

. On 25 August, brigade soldier Andrei Krupa was captured by Russian troops and released a month later. In October 2014, President

Petro Poroshenko Petro Oleksiiovych Poroshenko (born 26 September 1965) is a Ukraine, Ukrainian politician and Oligarchy, oligarch who served as the fifth president of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019. He served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Ukraine), Minister ...

ordered the disbandment of the brigade. Elements of the brigade judged to have performed well in combat became the new

14th Mechanized Brigade The 14th Mechanized Brigade named after Prince Roman the Great (, abbreviated ) is a unit of the Ukrainian Ground Forces formed in December 2014. It is based in Volodymyr as part of Operational Command West. The brigade has been actively particip ...

Brigade Order of Battle

* 50th Separate Armor Battalion * 44th Mechanized Regiment * 47th Mechanized Regiment * 170th Mechanized Regiment * 11th Engineer Battalion (

Brovary Brovary (, ; ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city in Kyiv Oblast, northern Ukraine, situated to the east of the capital Kyiv and part of the Kyiv metropolitan area. It serves as the administrative centre of Brovary Raion. Brovary hosts t ...

) * 21st Separate Reconnaissance Battalion * 309th Combat Service Support Battalion * 43rd Artillery Regiment * 59th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment * 25th Signal Battalion * 24th Field Training Site (Range)

Awards

*1942 received the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

*??? received the

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner () was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. It was the highest award of S ...

(2) *??? received 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 ...

*??? received the

Order of Kutuzov The Order of Kutuzov ( ''orden Kutuzova'') is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named after famous Russian Field Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov, Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov (1745–1813). The Order was established during World War II t ...

Past Commanders

*(??? – 2009) Colonel Volodymyr Kravchenko *(10.2009 – 10.2012) Lieutenant Colonel Zaluzhnyi Valery Fedorovych *(10.2012 – 05.2014) Colonel Yatskiv Volodymyr Vasyliovych *(05.2014 – 08.2014) acting Colonel Pivovarenko Pavlo Vasyliovych, died on August 29, 2014, in a battle near Ilovaisk.

References

Sources and external links

*Feskov et al., The Soviet Army during the Period of the Cold War,

Tomsk Tomsk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Tomsk Oblast in Russia, on the Tom (river), Tom River. Population: Founded in 1604, Tomsk is one of the oldest cities in Siberia. It has six univers ...

University, 2004 *http://www.mil.gov.ua/index.php?part=armament&lang=en *http://www.volyn.com.ua/?rub=32&article=0&arch=657 {{Soviet Union divisions Mechanized brigades of Ukraine Military units and formations established in 2004 Military units and formations of Ukraine in the war in Donbas