The 385th Guards "Odesskaya

Red Banner Red Banner (russian: Красное знамя) was a symbol of revolutionary struggle used late Russian Empire, in Soviet Russia, and in the USSR and the background of the Soviet state flag and other similar flags. Military units, instit ...

Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky" Artillery Brigade (

Military Unit Number A Military Unit Number (Russian: Войсковая часть) is a numeric alternate designation for military units in the armed forces and Internal Troops, internal troops of post-Soviet states, originally used by those of the Soviet Union. Fo ...

32755) (

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

: 385-я гвардейская артиллерийская бригада) is an

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

formation Formation may refer to: Linguistics * Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes * Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes Mathematics and science * Cave formation or speleothem, a secondar ...

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 ...

. It traces its history to the establishment of the 44th Guards Cannon Artillery Brigade (Russian: 44-я гвардейская пушечная артиллерийская бригада) on 20 May 1944, during World War II. From 24 May 1944 to 5 September 1944 it fought as part of the 5th Shock Army of the

3rd Ukrainian Front The 3rd Ukrainian Front (Russian: Третий Украинский фронт) was a Front of the Red Army during World War II. It was founded on 20 October 1943, on the basis of a Stavka order of October 16, 1943, by renaming the Southwester ...

; it was then withdrawn into the

Reserve of the Supreme High Command The Reserve of the Supreme High Command (Russian: Резерв Верховного Главнокомандования; also known as the '' Stavka'' Reserve or RVGK ( ru , РВГК)) comprises reserve military formations and units; the Sta ...

on 6 September 1944; and then from 30 October 1944 to 9 May 1945 it fought again with the 5th Shock Army, but by this time the 5th Shock Army was under the command of the

1st Belorussian Front The 1st Belorussian Front (Russian: Пéрвый Белорусский фронт, ''Perviy Belorusskiy front'', also romanized " Byelorussian") was a major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to a Western army ...

. A VGK order of 19 April 1944 gave it the honorific name "Odessa." It is located at

Totskoye Totskoye (russian: То́цкое) is a rural locality (a '' selo'') and the administrative center of Totsky District of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. Population: During World War I, it was the site of a prisoner-of-war camp that became notorious ...

Orenburg Oblast Orenburg Oblast (russian: Оренбургская область, ''Orenburgskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Orenburg. From 1938 to 1957, it bore the name ''Chkalov Oblast'' () ...

, in the

Central Military District The Central Military District (Russian: Центральный военный округ) 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 c ...

, currently part of the 2nd Guards Combined Arms Army. From 1945 to 1992, the brigade was part of the

3rd Shock Army The 3rd Shock Army (russian: Третья ударная армия) was a field army of the Red Army formed during the Second World War. The "Shock" armies were created with the specific structure to engage and destroy significant enemy forces ...

, which became the 3rd Red Banner Combined Arms Army in 1954. The brigade in its present form was established in August 1981 from the previous 98th Guards Cannon Artillery Regiment. It returned from

Planken Planken is a municipality in Oberland, Liechtenstein. It has four exclaves, two enclaves and a population of 473. Thus by population it is the smallest municipality of Liechtenstein. Geography It is located on the western slope of Drei Schwest ...

in East Germany to

in 1993. The brigade is now fighting as part of the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

,{{cite web , title=The Russian army has broken all possible records for the massive deployment of troops , url=https://en.topcor.ru/24021-rossijskaja-armija-pobila-vse-vozmozhnye-rekordy-po-massovosti-perebroski-vojsk.html , access-date=19 July 2022 as part of the group of forces deployed from the Central Military District.

References

Artillery units and formations of the Soviet Union Artillery brigades of the Russian Federation Ground Forces brigades of the Soviet Union Orenburg Oblast Military units and formations established in 1981