The 104th Guards Airborne Division () was a division of the

Soviet Airborne Troops The Soviet Airborne Forces or VDV (from ''Vozdushno- desantnye voyska SSSR'', Russian: Воздушно-десантные войска СССР, ВДВ; Air-landing Forces) was a separate troops branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. First formed be ...

during the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

that briefly became part of the Russian Airborne Forces after the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

. It was originally formed as the

11th Guards Airborne Division The 11th Guards Airborne Division was the name of two separate airborne divisions of the Soviet Airborne Troops. The division was first formed in late 1943 from three airborne brigades and did not see action before its conversion to the 104th Guard ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In December 1944, the

became the 104th Guards Rifle Division. On 7 June 1946, the division was renamed the 104th Guards Airborne Division. It was reduced to the 31st Guards Airborne Brigade in May 1998.

History

The

was formed on 23 December 1943 from three Guards Airborne Brigades in the Moscow Military District. It was part of the

38th Guards Airborne Corps The 38th Guards Airborne Corps was an Airborne Corps (Soviet Union), airborne corps of the Soviet airborne. It was activated during World War II in August 1944 and became a rifle corps in December of that year. The corps fought in the Vienna Offens ...

. On 8 December 1944, it became the 104th Guards Rifle Division, part of the 9th Guards Army. In March 1945, the division was deployed to the

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

area. In fighting from 16 to 22 March, the division inflicted heavy losses on German troops. During the final stage of the Vienna Offensive, the division captured

Sankt Pölten Sankt Pölten (; Central Bavarian: ''St. Pödn''), mostly abbreviated to the official name St. Pölten, is the capital and largest city of the State of Lower Austria in northeast Austria, with 55,538 inhabitants as of 1 January 2020. St. Pölten ...

, thus closing off routes into

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. On 26 April, the division was awarded the

Order of Kutuzov The Order of Kutuzov (russian: орден Кутузова ''orden Kutuzova'') is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named after famous Russian Field Marshal Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov (1745–1813). The Order was established du ...

2nd class. On 12 May, the division reached the

Vltava Vltava ( , ; german: Moldau ) is the longest river in the Czech Republic, running southeast along the Bohemian Forest and then north across Bohemia, through Český Krumlov, České Budějovice and Prague, and finally merging with the Labe at M ...

, meeting American troops. On 7 June 1946, the division became the 104th Guards Airborne Division in Narva. It relocated to Ostrov in Pskov Oblast, becoming part of the

15th Guards Airborne Corps 15 (fifteen) is the natural number following 14 and preceding 16. Mathematics 15 is: * A composite number, and the sixth semiprime; its proper divisors being , and . * A deficient number, a smooth number, a lucky number, a pernicious num ...

. In 1960, the division was relocated to the

Transcaucasian Military District The Transcaucasian Military District, a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces, traces its history to May 1921 and the incorporation of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia into the Soviet Union. It was disbanded by being redesignated as a Grou ...

and was based in

Kirovabad Ganja (; az, Gəncə ) is Azerbaijan's third largest city, with a population of around 335,600.Azərbaycan Respublikası. — 2. Azərbaycan Respublikasının iqtisadi və inzibati rayonları. — 2.4. Azərbaycan Respublikasının iqtisadi və ...

(now Gyandzha), in the

Azerbaijani SSR Azerbaijan ( az, Азәрбајҹан, Azərbaycan, italics=no), officially the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic (Azerbaijan SSR; az, Азәрбајҹан Совет Сосиалист Республикасы, Azərbaycan Sovet Sosialist R ...

.Michael Holm
104th Guards Airborne Division
/ref> Elements were also based in

Shamkhor Shamkir ( az, Şəmkir), known historically as Annenfeld, is a city in and the capital of Shamkir District in western Azerbaijan, located in the northern foothills of the Lesser Caucasus, on the coast of the Chagirchay River on Tbilisi-Yevlakh h ...

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

, and

Kutaisi Kutaisi (, ka, ქუთაისი ) is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and the third-most populous city in Georgia, traditionally, second in importance, after the capital city of Tbilisi. Situated west of Tbilis ...

. Bases: *

Narva Narva, russian: Нарва is a municipality and city in Estonia. It is located in Ida-Viru County, Ida-Viru county, at the Extreme points of Estonia, eastern extreme point of Estonia, on the west bank of the Narva (river), Narva river which ...

, Estonian SSR, June 1946 – April 1947 * Ostrov, Pskov Oblast, April 1947 – June 1960 * Gyandzha (Kirovabad), Azerbaijan SSR, June 1960 – August 1992 0 43 09N, 46 23 07E*

Ulyanovsk Ulyanovsk, known until 1924 as Simbirsk, is a city and the administrative center of Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Volga River east of Moscow. Population: The city, founded as Simbirsk (), was the birthplace of Vladimir Lenin (born ...

, Ulyanovsk Oblast, August 1992 – May 1998. 4 21 16N, 48 34 50E Most of the division's personnel fought in the

Soviet–Afghan War The Soviet–Afghan War was a protracted armed conflict fought in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989. It saw extensive fighting between the Soviet Union and the Afghan mujahideen (alongside smaller groups of anti-Soviet ...

. The division was located in

during the events of the

Kirovabad pogrom The Kirovabad pogrom or the pogrom of Kirovabad was an Azeri-led ethnic cleansing that targeted Armenians living in the city of Kirovabad (today called Ganja) in Soviet Azerbaijan during November 1988. Pogrom An unidentified Armenian press ed ...

, in which Soviet Army forces were used to restore order. According to

CFE Treaty The original Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) was negotiated and concluded during the last years of the Cold War and established comprehensive limits on key categories of conventional military equipment in Europe (from the Atla ...

data, on 11 November 1990, the division was equipped with 219 BMD-1 and 93 BMD-2 airborne

infantry fighting vehicle An infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle (MICV), is a type of armoured fighting vehicle used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct-fire support. The 1990 Treaty on Conventional Armed Forc ...

s, 107

BTR-D The BTR-D is a Soviet airborne multi-purpose tracked armoured personnel carrier. It was introduced in 1974 and first seen by the West in 1979 during the Soviet–Afghan War. BTR-D stands for ''Bronetransportyor Desanta'' (БТР-Д, Бронет ...

armoured personnel carrier An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Acc ...

s, 72

2S9 Nona S9 may refer to: Transportation * SIAI S.9, a 1918 Italian flying boat * Aircraft registration prefix of São Tomé and Príncipe * USS ''S-9'' (SS-114), a 1920 S-class submarine of the United States Navy * County Route S9 (California) * Ran ...

self-propelled gun Self-propelled artillery (also called locomotive artillery) is artillery equipped with its own propulsion system to move toward its firing position. Within the terminology are the self-propelled gun, self-propelled howitzer, self-propelled mo ...

s, 36 BTR-RD anti-tank missile carriers, 42 BTR-ZD self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, and 6 D-30

howitzer A howitzer () is a long- ranged weapon, falling between a cannon (also known as an artillery gun in the United States), which fires shells at flat trajectories, and a mortar, which fires at high angles of ascent and descent. Howitzers, like ot ...

s. In 1993, the division was relocated to

. From 1994 to 1996, the 104th Guards Airborne fought in the

First Chechen War The First Chechen War, also known as the First Chechen Campaign,, rmed conflict in the Chechen Republic and on bordering territories of the Russian FederationФедеральный закон № 5-ФЗ от 12 января 1995 (в реда� ...

. Due to a reorganization of the Russian Airborne Forces spurred by reductions in personnel strength, the division was reduced to the 31st Guards Airborne Brigade, which inherited its colors, awards, and lineage, on 1 May 1998. In June 2015, it was announced that the 31st Guards Airborne Brigade would be upgraded to the 104th Guards Airborne Division. The new division would include three regiments at Ulyanovsk,

Orenburg Orenburg (russian: Оренбу́рг, ), formerly known as Chkalov (1938–1957), is the administrative center of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Ural River, southeast of Moscow. Orenburg is also very close to the Kazakhstan-Russia bor ...

and

Engels Friedrich Engels ( ,"Engels"
''

State Duma The State Duma (russian: Госуда́рственная ду́ма, r=Gosudárstvennaja dúma), commonly abbreviated in Russian as Gosduma ( rus, Госду́ма), is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, while the upper house ...

Vladimir Shamanov reiterated that the division would eventually be reformed, but stated that no final decision had been made on the timing.

Composition

104th Guards Rifle Division

The 104th Guards Rifle Division included the following units. * 328th Guards Rifle Regiment * 332nd Guards Rifle Regiment * 346th Guards Rifle Regiment

104th Guards Airborne Division

The 104th Guards Airborne Division included the following units in 1947. * 328th Guards Airborne Regiment * 346th Guards Air-landing Regiment * 82nd Guards Artillery Regiment On 1 October 1948, the 346th Guards Air-landing Regiment was used to create the

21st Guards Airborne Division The 21st Guards Airborne Division was an airborne division of the Soviet airborne from 1948 to 1955. It was based in Valga and was formed from a regiment of the 104th Guards Airborne Division. It was disbanded in 1955, with two regiments being ...

, and was replaced by the 337th Guards Air-landing Regiment.

Commanders

The following officers commanded the 11th Guards Airborne Division, 104th Guards Rifle Division, and 104th Guards Airborne Division: * Major general Vasily Ivanovich Ivanov (1943–1944); * Major general Alexey Redchenko (21 February – 26 March 1945); * Major general Ivan Fedotovich Seryogin (27 March – 5 November 1945); * Major general

Nikolai Tavartkiladze Nikolai or Nikolay is an East Slavic variant of the masculine name Nicholas. It may refer to: People Royalty * Nicholas I of Russia (1796–1855), or Nikolay I, Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855 * Nicholas II of Russia (1868–1918), or Niko ...

(1945–1950); * Lieutenant colonel Alexander Startsev (1950); * Colonel Pyotr Khvorostenko (1950–1954); * Major general Alexei Rudakov (1954–1955); * Major general Fyodor Dranishchev (1955–1961); * Colonel Ivan Sineoky (1961–1963); * Colonel Yuri Potapov (1963–1964); * Major general Nikolai Guskov (1964–1967); * Major general Anatoly Spirin (1968–1975); * Major general Alexander Khomenko (1975–1981); * Major general Nikolai Serdyukov (1981–1984); * Major general Evgeny Semyonov (1984–1987); * Major general

Viktor Sorokin The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

(1987–1989); * Major general Valery Shcherbak (1990–1993); * Major general

Vadim Orlov Vadim (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Вадим) is a Russian, Ukrainian, Romanian, Slovene masculine given name derived either from the Persian ''badian'' (anise or aniseed), or from the Ruthenian word ''volod'' (russian: волод), meaning ''to r ...

(1993–1998).

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * {{Soviet Union divisions 1957–1989 Airborne divisions of the Soviet Union Airborne divisions of Russia Military units and formations established in 1946 Military units and formations disestablished in 1998 Army divisions of the Soviet Union