The 127th Red Banner Order of Kutuzov Motor Rifle Division () is a

division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

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 was reformed from the 59th Separate and 70th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigades in 2018, and was the 127th Machine-Gun Artillery Division (127 пулемётно-артиллерийская дивизия) from 1990 to 2009. The division traces its history to the 66th Rifle Division of

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 ...

Formation and World War II

The division was originally formed on 14 May 1932 in village of Lutkovka-Medveditskoye in the Shmakovsky raion of the Ussuriisk Oblast,

Far Eastern Military District The Far Eastern Military District (russian: Дальневосточный военный округ; Dalʹnevostochnyĭ voennyĭ okrug) was a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In 2010 it was merged with the Pacific ...

, as the 2nd Collective Farm Division. It was renamed the 66th Rifle Division on 21 May 1936. The division formed part of the 35th Army of the

Maritime Group of Forces The Maritime Group of Forces was a front of the Red Army during World War II in the Far East. It was split off from the Far Eastern Front in March 1945 and renamed the 1st Far Eastern Front on 5 August 1945. Its composition included: 1st Red Bann ...

in the Far East in May 1945. In August 1945 the division, as a part of 1st Far East Front, participated in the

Soviet invasion of Manchuria The Soviet invasion of Manchuria, formally known as the Manchurian strategic offensive operation (russian: Манчжурская стратегическая наступательная операция, Manchzhurskaya Strategicheskaya Nastu ...

. On 9 August 1945 the division began operations as part of 35th Army, advancing 12 kilometers, having forced the Songacha River in northern

Heilongjiang Heilongjiang () formerly romanized as Heilungkiang, is a province in northeast China. The standard one-character abbreviation for the province is (). It was formerly romanized as "Heilungkiang". It is the northernmost and easternmost province ...

. The division fought on the

Ussuri River The Ussuri or Wusuli (russian: Уссури; ) is a river that runs through Khabarovsk and Primorsky Krais, Russia and the southeast region of Northeast China. It rises in the Sikhote-Alin mountain range, flowing north and forming part of the ...

at Khotunsky (Хотунского), Mishan,

Border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...

(Пограничного), and Duninsky (Дунинского)

fortified district A fortified district or fortified region (russian: Укреплённый район, Укрепрайон, ukreplyonny raion, ukrepraion) in the military terminology of the Soviet Union, is a territory within which a complex system of defense fo ...

s, capturing the cities of

Mishan Mishan () is a county-level city in the southeast of Heilongjiang Province, China, bordering Russia's Primorsky Krai to the south and southeast. It is under the jurisdiction of the prefecture-level city of Jixi. History Early medieval histor ...

Jilin Jilin (; alternately romanized as Kirin or Chilin) is one of the three provinces of Northeast China. Its capital and largest city is Changchun. Jilin borders North Korea (Rasŏn, North Hamgyong, Ryanggang and Chagang) and Russia (Prim ...

, Jantszy, and

Harbin Harbin (; mnc, , v=Halbin; ) is a sub-provincial city and the provincial capital and the largest city of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China, as well as the second largest city by urban population after Shenyang and largest ...

. For its valour in combat and courage on 19 September 1945 the 66th Rifle 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 ...

, Second Degree. Three

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 ...

medals, 1266 awards, and 2838 medals were given to the division's personnel.

Postwar

On 29 November 1945 it was reorganised as the 2nd Tank Division, but was renamed again in 1957 as the 32nd Tank Division and in 1965 as the 66th Tank Division. On 30 March 1970 the division became the 277th Motor Rifle Division.Feskov 2013, p. 589 In May 1981 the division headquarters was relocated to

Sergeyevka Sergeyevka ( kk, Сергеев, ''Sergeev'') is a town and the administrative center of Shal akyn District in North Kazakhstan Region of Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located m ...

. On 1 June 1990 the 277th Motor Rifle Division was reorganised as the 127th Machine Gun Artillery Division. The 702nd Motor Rifle Regiment was disbanded and replaced by the 114th Machine-Gun Artillery Regiment. It incorporated the 114th and 130th Machine Gun Artillery Regiments, the 314th Motor Rifle Regiment, 218th Tank Regiment, 872nd Artillery Regiment, and 1172nd Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment. In mid-2008 the division, under a new commander, Sergey Ryzhkov, replaced some of its former cadre units with higher-readiness units. A regiment arrived from Sergeevka and two regiments of constant readiness from

Kamen-Rybolov Kamen-Rybolov (russian: Ка́мень-Рыболо́в) is a rural locality (a '' selo'') and the administrative center of Khankaysky District of Primorsky Krai, Russia, located on the shores of Lake Khanka. Population: History It was founded ...

(438th Motor Rifle Regiment?) on the western shore of

Khanka Lake Lake Khanka (russian: о́зеро Ха́нка) or Lake Xingkai (), is a freshwater lake on the border between Primorsky Krai, Russia and Heilongjiang province, Northeast China (at ). Etymology On the Delisle map of 1706, the lake is named ...

, and

Ussuriysk Ussuriysk (russian: Уссури́йск) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Primorsky Krai, Russia, located in the fertile valley of the Razdolnaya River, north of Vladivostok, the administrative center of the krai, and about ...

(the 231st Motor Rifle Regiment). These changes effectively made the division a motor rifle formation though its designation was still that of a static defence formation. In 2009, as part of the

' transition to brigades, the division appears to have been reorganised as the 59th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade at Sergeevka from the main body of the division, equipped with BMPs, and the 60th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade at Lipovtsy,

Primorsky Krai Primorsky Krai (russian: Приморский край, r=Primorsky kray, p=prʲɪˈmorskʲɪj kraj), informally known as Primorye (, ), is a federal subject (a krai) of Russia, located in the Far East region of the country and is a part of the ...

from the 218th Tank Regiment of the division, also equipped with BMPs.

127th Motor Rifle Division (2018)

According to a

Krasnaya Zvezda ''Krasnaya Zvezda'' (russian: Кра́сная звезда́, literally "Red Star") is the official newspaper of the Soviet and later Russian Ministry of Defence. Today its official designation is "Central Organ of the Russian Ministry of Defen ...

article, the division was reformed by 1 December 2018 from the 59th and the 60th Motor Rifle Brigades and began combat training in March 2019. The division now has the

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 ...

(V/Ch, в/ч) 44980. Key bodies of the division now include its staff and headquarters at Sergeevka in

Pogranichny District Pogranichny District (russian: Пограни́чный райо́н) is an administrativeLaw #161-KZ and municipalLaw #184-KZ district (raion), one of the twenty-two in Primorsky Krai, Russia. It is located in the southwest of the krai. The area ...

(Military Unit Number 44980); the 114th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment ( :ru:114-й гвардейский мотострелковый полк), V/Ch 24776, formed from the 60th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade, located at

; the

394th Red Banner Motor Rifle Regiment 394th may refer to: * 394th Bombardment Group, unit of the New York Air National Guard, stationed at Francis S. Gabreski Air National Guard Base *394th Combat Training Squadron, United States Air Force unit assigned to the 509th Operations Group * ...

at Sergeevka, V/Ch 25573; the 218th Tank Regiment, V/Ch 82588, Lipovtsy, Primorskiy Krai; the 872nd Self-Propelled Vitebsk-Khingan Order of Aleksandr Nevsky Artillery Regiment, V/Ch 75234; and the 1171st Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment at

, V/Ch 65484. The division was committed to action during 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 ...

Notes

References

* *Michael Holm

{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2013 Infantry divisions of Russia Military units and formations established in 2018