The 85th Leningrad-Pavlovsk
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 ...
Motor Rifle Division was an
infantry
Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...
division of the Soviet
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, after ...
converted to a motorised formation in 1957. It was 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 ...
until it was reorganised as the 32nd Separate Motor Rifle Brigade in 2009. In 2016, the 32nd Separate Motor Rifle Brigade was reorganised as the 228th Motor Rifle Regiment of the
90th Guards Tank Division.
The 85th was formed in 1941 as the 85th Rifle Division from the 2nd Guards People's Militia Division of the
Leningrad
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
People's Militia.
World War II
1st formation
The division was originally formed in 1931 in the Ural MD, seemingly at
Chelyabinsk
Chelyabinsk ( rus, Челя́бинск, p=tɕɪˈlʲæbʲɪnsk, a=Ru-Chelyabinsk.ogg; ba, Силәбе, ''Siläbe'') is the administrative center and largest city of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. It is the seventh-largest city in Russia, with a ...
. It seems to have been sent to
Belorussian Special Military District
, image = Soviet Union Belorussian Military District.svg
, image_size = 300px
, caption = The territory of the Byelorussian Military District in 1991.
, dates = 28 November 1918 – 6 May 1992
, country = (1918–1920) (1920–1991) (1922 ...
, soon to be the Western Special Military District, 1940. Assigned to 4th Rifle Corps,
3rd Army,
Soviet Western Front
The Western Front was a front of the Red Army, one of the Red Army Fronts during World War II.
The Western Front was created on 22 June 1941 from the Western Special Military District (which before July 1940 was known as Belorussian Special M ...
on outbreak of war, under the command of Major General
Aleksandr Bondovsky.
85th Rifle Division 2nd formation
After the division's first formation was destroyed, the division was reformed. In late 1941 it was reformed during the
Leningrad Strategic Defensive from the 2nd Guard People's Militia Division.
In early 1945 the division was operating as part of
122nd Rifle Corps
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. I ...
in the
2nd Baltic Front
The 2nd Baltic Front (russian: 2-й Прибалтийский фронт) was a major formation of the Red Army during the Second World War.
History
The 2nd Baltic Front was formed on October 20, 1943 as a result of the renaming of the Baltic ...
. On 10 March the division marched into the area of
Baloži
Baloži (; german: Rollbusch) is a town of Latvia situated in the Ķekava Municipality just 12 kilometres from the centre of Riga. In 2021, the city had a population of 6,746.
Baloži was founded soon after the Second World War; as a village a ...
and Kreyli. It attacked between the
43rd and
46th Rifle Divisions on 22 March, capturing Slugi and Meiri, where it ran into strong German counterattacks and went on the defensive until 30 April, when it was relieved by the 43rd and
56th Rifle Divisions. The division transferred to a new defensive line between Mengravil and Yatsy, relieving elements of the
11th Rifle Division.
By the end of the day on 7 May, the German troops began to retreat to the northwest. Units of the division pursued the retreating troops towards Lubenki, Rumbiniska, and Tseri and by 17:00 on 8 May reached the line of Myzi Gayta, Yurdi, and Kausi, where at 18:00 they accepted the German surrender.
Cold War
After fighting on the
Eastern Front, the division's second formation was relocated to Siberia in 1945. In September 1945, the division, part of the 122nd Rifle Corps, arrived in the city of
Novosibirsk
Novosibirsk (, also ; rus, Новосиби́рск, p=nəvəsʲɪˈbʲirsk, a=ru-Новосибирск.ogg) is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the Russian Census ...
in the
Siberian Military District
The Siberian Military District was a Military district of the Russian Ground Forces. The district was originally formed as a military district of the Russian Empire in 1864. In 1924 it was reformed in the Red Army. After the end of World War II the ...
, and was given barracks in a military town on Bogatkova street. In 1946, the division was reorganized as the 24th Rifle Brigade. In 1953, the brigade was upgraded and redesignated as the 85th Pavlovsk Rifle Red Banner Division once again. From 1957 the division became the 85th Motorised Rifle Division. Furthermore, the division exchanged regiments with the 74th Motor Rifle Division – the 103rd Motor Rifle Regiment was disbanded and replaced by the 228th Sevastopol Order of Alexander Nevsky Motor Rifle Regiment.
On 27 March 1967, the division was given the honorary name of Leningrad and it became known as the 85th Motor Rifle Leningrad-Pavlovsk Red Banner Division.
Around 1988 the division consisted of the 387th Tank Regiment, 141st, 59th, 228th MRRs, 167th Artillery Regiment, and the 1131st Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment.
In 1989 the 1131st Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment was disbanded, and was replaced by the 927th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment from the
Belorussian Military District
, image = Soviet Union Belorussian Military District.svg
, image_size = 300px
, caption = The territory of the Byelorussian Military District in 1991.
, dates = 28 November 1918 – 6 May 1992
, country = (1918–1920) (1920–1991) (1922 ...
.
Service in the Russian Ground Forces
In 1992, the 74th Guards Tank Valga Order of Lenin Red Banner, Orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov and Bogdan Khmelnitsky Regiment relocated from
Schwerin
Schwerin (; Mecklenburgisch dialect, Mecklenburgian Low German: ''Swerin''; Latin: ''Suerina'', ''Suerinum'') is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Germany, second-largest city of the northeastern States of Germany, German ...
in Germany and joined the division. The 74th had previously been assigned to the 94th Guards Motor Rifle Division, which, reduced in status to the
74th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade, had been relocated nearby to
Yurga
Yurga (russian: Юрга́) is a town in Kemerovo Oblast, Russia, located on the Tom River and the Trans-Siberian Railway. Population:
History
It was founded in 1886. Work settlement status was granted to it in 1942; town status was granted i ...
.
From December 1994 to 27 April 1995 the division sent personnel to the
: 82 officers, 43 corporals, and 373 soldiers and sergeants. The division's troops, part of the Northern Group of Russian Forces, operated with the 74th Brigade. The division's troops cleared Chechen fighters from the administrative and residential buildings in
Grozny
Grozny ( rus, Грозный, p=ˈgroznɨj; ce, Соьлжа-ГӀала, translit=Sölƶa-Ġala), also spelled Groznyy, is the capital city of Chechnya, Russia.
The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the 2010 census, it had a pop ...
, defended a strategically important bridge over the
Sunzha
Sunzha (russian: Сунжа, Sunzha; inh, Шолжа-Пхье, Šolža-Pꜧe; is a town and the administrative center of the Sunzhensky District of the Republic of Ingushetia Russia. Before 2016 it was called Ordzhonikidzevskaya ( inh, Ордж ...
on the outskirts of the village of Peter, and defended the approaches to the village of Ilinskoe from an invasion of Chechen rebels from
Gudermes
Gudermes (russian: Гудерме́с; ce, Гуьмсе, ''Gümse'' or , ''Guthermajas'') is a town in the Chechen Republic, Russia, located on the Sunzha River east of Grozny, the republic's capital. Population: 32,000 (1970).
History
Gude ...
.
In 2003 Major General Vladimir Ashitok was named as the divisional commander. Previous commanders included Major Generals
Vasily Lunev,
Anatoly Makushin, and
Igor Puzanov
Igor may refer to:
People
* Igor (given name), an East Slavic given name and a list of people with the name
* Mighty Igor (1931–2002), former American professional wrestler
* Igor Volkoff, a professional wrestler from NWA All-Star Wrestling
* ...
(between 1983 and 1986).
From September 2000, the division fought in the
Second Chechen War
The Second Chechen War (russian: Втора́я чече́нская война́, ) took place in Chechnya and the border regions of the North Caucasus between the Russia, Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, from Augus ...
. The 228th Motor Rifle Regiment, the only Russian regiment to be fully equipped with the
BMP-3
The BMP-3 is a Soviet and Russian infantry fighting vehicle, successor to the BMP-1 and BMP-2. The abbreviation BMP stands for ''boevaya mashina pehoty'' (, literally "infantry combat vehicle").
Production history
The design of the BMP-3 ('' O ...
, was reequipped with
MT-LB
The MT-LB (russian: Многоцелевой Тягач Легкий Бронированный, translit=Mnogotselevoy tyagach legky bronirovanny, literally "multi-purpose towing vehicle light armored") is a Soviet multi-purpose, fully amphib ...
armoured personnel carriers in 2000 because a six-month tour in Chechnya had reduced the service life of the vehicles by half. In other words, maintenance problems were much greater when the vehicles were conscript-crewed.
Around 2007 to 2009 the composition of the division was reported as:
*59th Motor-Rifle Regiment
*141st Motor-Rifle Regiment
*228th Motor-Rifle Regiment
*74th Guards Valga Order of Lenin, Red Banner, Order of Suvorov, Kutuzov and Bogdan Khmelnitsky Tank Regiment (Shilovo,
Novosibirsk Oblast
Novosibirsk Oblast (russian: Новосиби́рская о́бласть, ''Novosibirskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast) located in southwestern Siberia. Its administrative and economic center is the city of Novosibirsk ...
, Т-72B)
*167th Artillery Regiment (Shilovo)
*1131st Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment
*121st Separate Reconnaissance Battalion
*581st Separate Battalion
*279th Separate Engineer Battalion
The division appears to have been reorganised as the 32nd Separate Motor Rifle Brigade, formed from the 228th Motor Rifle Regiment (possibly at Shilovo) as part of the Russian Ground Forces' reorganisation in early 2009. In 2016, the brigade was used to form the new 228th Motor Rifle Regiment of the
90th Guards Tank Division. The 228th inherited the honors and traditions of the 85th Motor Rifle Division.
Notes
References
*
*
External links
*http://samsv.narod.ru/Div/Sd/sd085/default.html
*http://www.rkka.ru/handbook/reg/85sd31.htm
{{Soviet Union divisions
085
Military units and formations established in 1941
Military units and formations disestablished in 2009
Wikipedia articles needing cleanup after translation from Russian
Military units and formations awarded the Order of the Red Banner
ru:85-я стрелковая дивизия