144th Guards Motor Rifle Division
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The 144th Guards Yelnya Red Banner Order of Suvorov Motor Rifle Division () is a motorized infantry division of the
Russian Ground Forces The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска ВSukhoputnyye voyska V}), also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Forces ...
, reestablished in 2016 with its headquarters at
Yelnya Yelnya (russian: Ельня) 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 Ur ...
,
Smolensk Oblast Smolensk Oblast (russian: Смоле́нская о́бласть, ''Smolenskaya oblast''; informal name — ''Smolenschina'' (russian: Смоле́нщина)) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative centre is the city o ...
. The division traces its lineage back to the
32nd Rifle Division The 32nd Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army and later of the Soviet Army, formed three times. Interwar period According to the order RVSR number 1086/181 of 25 May 1922, 2nd Saratov separate Infantry Brigade and 81st Infant ...
(First formation) of the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
's
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...
, first formed in 1922 and converted into the 29th Guards Rifle Division in 1942 for its actions in the Battle of Moscow 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 opposing ...
. Postwar, it was stationed in the Estonian SSR and redesignated as the 36th Guards Mechanized Division in 1946 and the 36th Guards Motor Rifle Division in 1957. To perpetuate the lineage of the disbanded
8th Guards Motor Rifle Division The 8th Guards Motor Rifle Panfilov Division (russian: 8-я гвардейская Панфиловская дивизия; ) originally the 316th Rifle Division, is a motorized infantry division of the Armed Forces of the Kyrgyz Republic. Formed ...
, the 36th Guards was redesignated as the former and adopted its history in 1960. When the 8th Guards Motor Rifle Division was transferred to Central Asia in 1967, the 144th Motor Rifle Division was formed at
Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...
to replace it and redesignated as the 144th Guards Motor Rifle Division to inherit the traditions of the 36th Guards later that year. After the withdrawal of Soviet troops from the Baltics following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the division became part of the
Russian Ground Forces The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска ВSukhoputnyye voyska V}), also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Forces ...
and was sent to Yelnya, where it was reduced to a storage base in 1993, which disbanded during the mid-2000s. As part of a Russian military buildup in the mid-2010s, the division was reformed as the 144th Motor Rifle Division in 2016 at Yelnya, and redesignated as the 144th Guards Motor Rifle Division to become the official successor of the previous formation of the same name in 2018.


World War II

The 32nd Division's part in the battle of Moscow did not escape the notice of the Soviet high command and it was given the title 29th Guards Rifle Division and the 17th Rifle Regiment received the
Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of t ...
. Its regiments were given new
Guards unit Guards units (russian: Гвардия, translit=Gvardiya) were elite units and formations in the Soviet Armed Forces that continue to exist in the Russian Armed Forces and other post-Soviet states. These units were awarded Guards status after di ...
numberings as the 87th, 90th, and 93rd Guards Rifle Regiments. In October 1944 it was moved to the
Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages * Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...
area and was the first Soviet division into Riga. It ended the war as part of
10th Guards Army The 10th Guards Army was a Soviet Guards formation which fought against Germany during World War II under the command of several generals. Formed in 1943, the army fought under various headquarters and ended the war besieging cut-off German force ...
still in the Baltic region.


Cold War

The 29th Guards Rifle Division was reorganised into the 36th Guards Mechanised Division, and then on 25 June 1957 the division became the 36th Guards Motor Rifle Division. Three years later, on 23 June 1960, the division was disbanded by being renamed the 8th Guards Rezhitskaya Order of Lenin Red Banner order of Suvorov Motorised Rifle Division "Major-General I.V. Panfilov". By this time, the 87th Guards Rifle Regiment had become the 282nd Guards Motor Rifle Regiment; it was dispatched to Kyrgyzstan with the division, and, many years later, eventually after the dissolution of the Soviet Union became a Kyrgyz motor rifle brigade. On 18 February 1967, the 144th Motor Rifle Division was formed in
Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...
, Estonian SSR,
Baltic Military District The Baltic Military District () was a military district of the Soviet armed forces in the Baltic states, formed briefly before the German invasion during the World War II. After end of the war the Kaliningrad Oblast was added to the District's con ...
, replacing the
8th Guards Motor Rifle Division The 8th Guards Motor Rifle Panfilov Division (russian: 8-я гвардейская Панфиловская дивизия; ) originally the 316th Rifle Division, is a motorized infantry division of the Armed Forces of the Kyrgyz Republic. Formed ...
, which was about to transfer to Frunze,
Kyrgyz SSR The Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic (Kirghiz SSR; ky, Кыргыз Советтик Социалисттик Республикасы, Kyrgyz Sovettik Sotsialisttik Respublikasy, ky, Кыргыз ССР, Kyrgyz SSR, russian: Киргизск ...
. Ten months later, on 23 December 1967, the division was given the traditions, honors and awards of the 36th Guards Motor Rifle Division, which had been disbanded in 1960. It was therefore renamed the 144th Guards Motor Rifle Division. Holm 2015 and Feskov et al. 2013 list the regiments of the division in 1970 as follows: *254th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment (Tallinn, Estonian SSR) - from the 8th Guards Motor Rifle Division *482nd Motor Rifle Regiment ( Klooga, Estonian SSR) *488th Motor Rifle Regiment (Klooga, Estonian SSR) *228th Tank Regiment (
Keila Keila (german: Kegel) is a town and an urban municipality in Harju County in north-western Estonia, 25 km southwest of Tallinn. Keila is also the location of administrative buildings of the surrounding Keila Parish, a rural municipality se ...
, Estonian SSR) *450th Artillery Regiment (Klooga, Estonian SSR) *1259th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment (Klooga, Estonian SSR) Holm writes that the division was maintained as a Not Ready Division - Cadre Low Strength (US terms: Category III) - manning was 15% (2000 men).


Russian Ground Forces service

After the fall of the Soviet Union it was withdrawn to
Yelnya, Yelninsky District, Smolensk Oblast Yelnya (russian: Е́льня) is a town and the administrative center of Yelninsky District in Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Desna River, from Smolensk, the administrative center of the oblast. The population was Etymology Yelnya's ...
in the
Moscow Military District The Order of Lenin Moscow Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The district was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1968. In 2010 it was merged with the Leningrad Military D ...
and was reorganised as the 4944th Base for Storage of Weapons and Equipment. It was planned that in a crisis it would be capable of being brought back to up to full division strength. The 4944th Guards Weapons and Equipment Storage Base was disbanded in 2007. The 144th Motor Rifle Division was reformed in 2016 as part of the
20th Guards Army The 20th Guards Combined Arms Army (originally designated as the 4th Tank Army, 4th Guards Tank Army in 1945, 4th Guards Mechanised Army in 1946, and the 20th Guards Army in 1960 within the Soviet Ground Forces) is a field army. In 1991, after t ...
. By a decree of Russian President
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
on 30 June 2018, it inherited the lineage of the 29th Guards Rifle Division and its successors. Its reported composition in 2020 includes: * Headquarters (
Yelnya, Yelninsky District, Smolensk Oblast Yelnya (russian: Е́льня) is a town and the administrative center of Yelninsky District in Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Desna River, from Smolensk, the administrative center of the oblast. The population was Etymology Yelnya's ...
) ** 1259th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment; ** 148th Reconnaissance Battalion, V/Ch 23872 (Smolensk); ** 673rd Anti-Aircraft Rocket Battalion; ** 1281th Anti-Tank Artillery Battalion (Yelnya); ** 150th Medical Battalion (Pochep); ** 295th Engineer-Sapper Battalion (Yelnya); ** 686th Signals Battalion (Smolensk); * 59th Guards Tank Regiment - "Lublin Twice Red Banner, Orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov" (Yelyna) * 254th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment named for "
Alexander Matrosov Alexander Matveyevich Matrosov (russian: Алекса́ндр Матве́евич Матро́сов, ba, Шәкирйән Юныс улы Мөхәмәтйәнов, uk, Олександр Матвійович Матросов; February 5, 1924 ...
" V/Ch 91704 ( Zaymishche,
Klintsy Klintsy (russian: Клинцы́) is a town in Bryansk Oblast, Russia,located on the Turosna River, southwest of Bryansk. Population: 60,000 (1972). Administrative and municipal status Within the framework of administrative divisions, Kl ...
,
Bryansk Oblast Bryansk Oblast (russian: Бря́нская о́бласть, ''Bryanskaya oblast''), also known as Bryanshchina (russian: Брянщина, ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Bryansk. As of th ...
); * 488th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment - "Simferopol Red Banner, Order of Suvorov named for Sergo Ordzhonikidze," V/Ch 12721 (
Klintsy Klintsy (russian: Клинцы́) is a town in Bryansk Oblast, Russia,located on the Turosna River, southwest of Bryansk. Population: 60,000 (1972). Administrative and municipal status Within the framework of administrative divisions, Kl ...
); * 856th Guards Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment - "Kobrin Red Banner, Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky", V/Ch 23857 ( Pochep,
Bryansk Oblast Bryansk Oblast (russian: Бря́нская о́бласть, ''Bryanskaya oblast''), also known as Bryanshchina (russian: Брянщина, ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Bryansk. As of th ...
.) The Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky was awarded in July 1945.


2022 invasion of Ukraine

When, on 24 February 2022, Russia
invaded An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...
Ukraine, the unit was deployed as part of the grouping detailed to capture Ukraine's capital
Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Kyi ...
by invading Ukraine from neighboring
Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...
. The unit reportedly suffered heavy losses in the Kyiv campaign, and early April 2022 the campaign was disbanded altogether by Russia. The unit retreated back across the Russian and Belarusian borders and was reinforced in order to return to the front. The 488th Motor Rifle Regiment attacked
Kharkiv Oblast Kharkiv Oblast ( uk, Харківська́ о́бласть, translit=Kharkivska oblast), also referred to as Kharkivshchyna ( uk, Ха́рківщина), is an oblast (province) of eastern Ukraine. The oblast borders Russia to the north, Luhan ...
on 5 March 2022. By July, the unit received the honorific 'Guards' status. In the September
2022 Ukrainian Kharkiv counteroffensive The 2022 Ukrainian eastern counteroffensive is a counteroffensive by the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory of Kharkiv Oblast, Donetsk Oblast, and Luhansk Oblast, that was launched on 6 September 2022. Following t ...
the unit again suffered heavy losses, reportedly losing at least half of its 200
T-80 The T-80 is a main battle tank (MBT) that was designed and manufactured in the former Soviet Union and manufactured in Russia. The T-80 is based on the T-64, while incorporating features from the later T-72. The chief designer of the T-80 was S ...
tanks. The surviving members of the unit failed their objective to stop the Ukrainian army from crossing the Oskil river. It was reported on 23 September that the commander of the 144th division, Major General Oleg Yuryevich Tsokov, was wounded in Svatovo and was evacuated.


Commanders

* - 2022 Major General Vladimir Vitalyevich Sleptsov * 2022 - Major General Oleg Yuryevich Tsokov, wounded


See also

*
List of infantry divisions of the Soviet Union 1917–1957 This is a list of infantry divisions of the Soviet Union 1917–1957. It lists infantry divisions in the Soviet Union from the Russian Revolution to the reorganization of the Soviet Army in the aftermath of the Stalinist era. Mechanized Di ...


Notes


References

*
John Erickson John Erickson may refer to: * John E. Erickson (Montana politician) (1863–1946), American politician from Montana * John E. Erickson (basketball) (1927–2020), American basketball coach and executive, Wisconsin politician * John P. Erickson ...
''The Road to Stalingrad: Stalin's War with Germany'' Phoenix Press, 2002. *


External links

* Russiandefencepolicy.co
New Tank Regiment? Posted on June 13, 2019
{{Russian divisions
144 144 may refer to: * 144 (number), the natural number following 143 and preceding 145 * AD 144, a year of the Julian calendar, in the second century AD * 144 BC, a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar * 144 (film), ''144'' (film), a 2015 Indian com ...
Military units and formations established in 1967 Military units and formations disestablished in 1993 Military units and formations established in 2016 Infantry divisions of Russia