The 31st Guards Airborne Division was an airborne division of the

Soviet airborne The Soviet Airborne Forces or VDV (from ''Vozdushno-Parachuting, desantnye voyska SSSR'', Russian: Воздушно-десантные войска СССР, ВДВ; Air-landing Forces) was a military branch, separate troops branch of the Soviet A ...

from 1948 to 1959. Originally part of the 39th Guards Airborne Corps, it was directly subordinated to Soviet airborne headquarters after the corps was disbanded in 1955. The division's only combat occurred in Operation Whirlwind, the suppression of the

Hungarian Revolution of 1956 The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hunga ...

History

The 31st Guards Airborne Division was formed on 15 October 1948 from the 298th Guards Airborne Regiment of the 100th Guards Airborne Division in

Novohrad-Volynskyi Zviahel (, ; translit. ''Zvil'') is a city in the Zhytomyr Oblast (province) of northern Ukraine. Originally known as ''Zviahel'', the city was renamed to ''Novohrad-Volynskyi'' () in 1795 after annexation of territories of Polish–Lithuanian ...

, part of the 39th Guards Airborne Corps. The division inherited 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 ...

from the regiment. Its 381st Guards Air Landing Regiment was converted to an airborne regiment at some point. The division's Separate Air Landing Security Company was disbanded in 1949. On 15 November 1953, its 716th Separate Guards Communications Company became a battalion, along with the Separate Medical & Sanitary Company. The Separate Guards Antitank Battalion and Separate Guards Reconnaissance Company were disbanded on the same date. On 30 April 1955, the

109th Guards Airborne Regiment 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...

became part of the division after its original parent unit, the 100th Guards Airborne Division was disbanded. The 152nd Separate Tank Destroyer Battalion was activated on the same day. Due to the

, two regiments of the division were placed on alert. On 1 November, the 114th and 381st Guards Airborne Regiments of the division landed at

Veszprém Veszprém (; german: Weißbrunn, sl, Belomost) is one of the oldest urban areas in Hungary, and a city with county rights. It lies approximately north of the Lake Balaton. It is the administrative center of the county (comitatus or 'megye') of ...

airport and

Tököl Tököl ( sh, Tukulja) is a town in Pest County, Hungary. Demography The majority of residents are Hungarians, with a minority of Bunjevci. Hungarian Uprising An Budapest-Tököl airfield (47 20 35 N / 18 59 20 E) was built during World War ...

airport, along with the

7th Guards Airborne Division , image = Great emblem of the 7th Guards Mountain Air Assault Division.svg , image_size = 200 , caption = 7th Guards Mountain Air Assault Division great emblem , dates ...

. It helped suppress the Hungarian uprising during Operation Whirlwind and took part in fighting in

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 ...

between 4–7 November. The division left Hungary in late November. During Operation Whirlwind, the division was commanded by P.M. Ryabov. 24 soldiers from the division were killed during the crushing of the Hungarian uprising. 114th Guards Airborne Regiment company commander Mikhail Zinukov, 381st Guards Airborne Regiment deputy company commander

Nikolai Muravlev 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 ...

, and 381st Guards Airborne Regiment platoon commander Pyotr Volokytin were posthumously awarded the title

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...

for their actions. The division was relocated to

Chernivtsi Chernivtsi ( uk, Чернівці́}, ; ro, Cernăuți, ; see also other names) is a city in the historical region of Bukovina, which is now divided along the borders of Romania and Ukraine, including this city, which is situated on the upp ...

after leaving Hungary, with its 1295th Artillery Regiment in

Kolomyia Kolomyia, formerly known as Kolomea ( ua, Коломия, Kolomyja, ; pl, Kołomyja; german: Kolomea; ro, Colomeea; yi, ), is a city located on the Prut River in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast (province), in western Ukraine. It serves as the admi ...

. On 30 April 1959, the 31st Guards Airborne Division was disbanded.

Composition

In 1955, the division was composed of the following units. *

* 114th Guards Airborne Regiment * 381st Guards Airborne Regiment * 1295th Guards Artillery Regiment * 95th Separate Self-Propelled Artillery Battalion * 764th Separate Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion * 152nd Separate Antitank Artillery Battalion * 716th Separate Guards Communications Battalion * 157th Separate Guards Engineering Battalion

References

* {{Soviet Union divisions 1945{{endash57, state=collapsed Airborne divisions of the Soviet Union Military units and formations established in 1948 Military units and formations disestablished in 1959