42nd Motor Rifle Division
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The 42nd Guards "Evpatoriyskaya Red Banner" Motor Rifle Division (
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 ...
27777, until 1987 MUN 29410; until 2009 MUN 28320)Michael Holm
42nd Guards Training Motor Rifle Division
accessed February 2015.
is a Russian military unit. The division was formed originally as the 111th Rifle Division in
Vologda Vologda ( rus, Вологда, p=ˈvoləɡdə) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the river Vologda (river), Vologda within the watershed of the Northern Dvina. ...
in 1940, and became the 24th Guards Rifle Division in March 1942. It was based in the
North Caucasus The North Caucasus, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, ...
following
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 ...
; it became 42nd Guards MRD on 10 June 1957, while at
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 ...
. It became 42nd Guards Training Motor Rifle Division, part of the 12th Army Corps, on 18 October 1960.


Second World War

The division was formed in July 1940 in Vologda as the 111th Rifle Division on the basis of the 29th Reserve Brigade of the
Arkhangelsk Military District The Arkhangelsk Military District () was a regional military district of the Red Army which oversaw the North-Western part of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. The district was formed in 1940 during a reorganisation of the Army, ...
. In the active army from June 22, 1941 to March 17, 1942. On July 16, 1940, the division was fully formed (which became the division's anniversary). Until March 1941, the 111th Rifle Division only held 3,000 personnel. According to the "Reference on the deployment of the Armed Forces of the USSR in the event of a war in the West", prepared by N.F. Vatutin on May 13, 1941, the 111th Rifle Division was supposed to join the 28th Army. From June 10 to June 20, 1941, the 111th Rifle Division was brought up to strength with 6,000 assigned personnel. The peacetime ''shtat'' No. 4/120 in the spring of 1941 was 5900 personnel. The division met the beginning of the war in the Vinnitsa region. On June 22, 1941, the 111th Rifle Division was in field camps at the
Kushchuba Kushchuba (russian: Кущуба) is a rural locality (a station) in Staroselskoye Rural Settlement, Vologodsky District, Vologda Oblast, Russia. The population was 27 as of 2002. Geography Kushchuba is located 62 km west of Vologda Volog ...
training center, 50 km from Vologda. From June 24 to June 30, 1941, the 111th Rifle Division was included in the 41st Rifle Corps of 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 Di ...
. The division was redeployed through Yaroslavl and Leningrad and then departed for the North-Western Front. On June 30, 1941, the corps arrived in the region of the city of Ostrov,
Pskov Oblast Pskov Oblast (russian: Пско́вская о́бласть, ') is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the west of the country. Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, ...
, to engage in defense in the Ostrovsky and Pskov fortified areas. Under enemy fire, parts of the division unloaded at the stations of Pskov, Cherskaya, Ostrov and moved directly from the railway into battle. On July 10, the first commander of the division, Colonel I. M. Ivanov, died.


Training Centre 1987-1992

On 14 September 1987 it became 173rd Guards District Training Centre. In 1991 it comprised the 70th, 71st and 72nd Motor Rifle Regiments; the 392nd Tank Regiment at Shali; the 50th Guards Training Artillery Regiment; and the 1203rd Anti-aircraft Rocket Regiment. In November 1990 it had a total of 219 tanks, 187 being
T-55 The T-54 and T-55 tanks are a series of Soviet main battle tanks introduced in the years following the Second World War. The first T-54 prototype was completed at Nizhny Tagil by the end of 1945.Steven Zaloga, T-54 and T-55 Main Battle Tanks ...
s. From September to December 1991, part of the Training Centre's equipment and weapons were withdrawn from Chechnya by rail. In 1992, the Training Centre was disbanded. By Directive of the General Staff of the Armed Forces No. 314/3/0159 dated January 4, 1992, the 173rd Guards District Training Centre was to be disbanded, and weapons and military equipment were to be removed. In accordance with a cipher telegram from the Minister of Defense of Russia, General of the Army P. S. Grachev, dated May 20, 1992, the commander of the North Caucasus Military District was allowed to transfer to the
Chechen Republic of Ichkeria The Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (; ce, Нохчийн Республик Ичкери, Nóxçiyn Respublik Içkeri; russian: Чеченская Республика Ичкерия; abbreviated as "ChRI" or "CRI") was a ''de facto'' state that ...
50 percent of military equipment and weapons from the Training Centre. In early January Major General P. Sokolov, the commander of the Training Centre, issued an order to issue personal weapons to officers and ensigns, in order to protect them and other Soviet personnel from Chechen attacks. Much of the Training Centre's armament and military equipment, and other military units, through robbery and extortion, passed into the hands of Chechen separatists. Only 400 thousand small arms fell into the hands of Dzhokhar Dudayev, which was in warehouses and bases. In the village of Shali, where the tank regiment was stationed, all armored vehicles remained completely. The separatists also received 42 tanks, 34 infantry fighting vehicles, 14 armored personnel carriers, 139 artillery systems, 101 anti-tank weapons, 27 anti-aircraft guns and installations, two helicopters, 27 wagons of ammunition, 3,050 tons of fuel and lubricants, 38 tons of clothing, 254 tons of food. In 1992, when the division was disbanded, the following were transferred to the Chechen Republic: 44 MT-LBs, 57,000 small arms, and 27 wagons of ammunition.


Reformed

Following the beginning of 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 division was designated in December 1999 as the permanent garrison force for
Chechnya Chechnya ( rus, Чечня́, Chechnyá, p=tɕɪtɕˈnʲa; ce, Нохчийчоь, Noxçiyçö), officially the Chechen Republic,; ce, Нохчийн Республика, Noxçiyn Respublika is a republic of Russia. It is situated in the ...
and various military districts started raising its regiments separately in 2000. The division was intended to have a strength of 15,500 men. Its headquarters was established at
Khankala Khankala (russian: Ханкала, ce, Хан-ГӀала, translit=Ẋan-Ġala) is a settlement in Groznensky District of the Chechen Republic, Russia, located to the east of Grozny, the republic's capital. Population: The settlement is the lo ...
outside
Groznyy 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 ...
, with the 71st Motor Rifle Regiment also at the same base; the 71st MRR was raised in the Volga Military District. 70th Motor Rifle Regiment was formed in the Urals MD and located at Shali. 72nd MRR, raised from the 2nd Guards Tamanskaya Motor Rifle Division 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 Di ...
was established at Kalinovskaya, and 291st Motor Rifle Regiment, originating in the
Leningrad Military District The Leningrad Military District was a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In 2010 it was merged with the Moscow Military District, the Northern Fleet and the Baltic Fleet to form the new Western Military District. Hi ...
, was set up at Borzoy. On 1 July 2000, the Russian military leadership announced that a different place had been selected for stationing one of the regiments of the 42nd Division. Deputy Defence Minister for the construction and quartering of troops, Colonel-General Aleksandr Kosovan ( :ru:Косован, Александр Давыдович) said that the MOD had decided on the area of the Borzoy settlement instead of the planned Itum-Kale for its motor rifle regiment. He also said that three of the regiments of the 42nd Division were going to be equipped "to the maximum" by the end of the year. The writer Michael Orr, noted that the 291st Motor Rifle Regiment had been relocated 'when the tactical vulnerability of the position riginally Itum-Kalewas appreciated.' The division was equipped with
T-62 The T-62 is a Soviet Union, Soviet main battle tank that was first introduced in 1961. As a further development of the T-54/T-55, T-55 series, the T-62 retained many similar design elements of its predecessor including low profile and thick ...
tanks, with at least one regiment having
BMP-1 The BMP-1 is a Soviet amphibious tracked infantry fighting vehicle, in service 1966–present. BMP stands for ''Boyevaya Mashina Pyekhoty 1'' (russian: link=no, Боевая Машина Пехоты 1; БМП-1), meaning "infantry fighting ...
IFVs (infantry fighting vehicles). The 42nd Division included two Chechen battalions, the ''Vostok'' and ''Zapad'' units. The two battalions were apparently
GRU The Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, rus, Гла́вное управле́ние Генера́льного шта́ба Вооружённых сил Росси́йской Федера́ци ...
Spetsnaz Spetsnaz are special forces in numerous post-Soviet states. (The term is borrowed from rus, спецназ, p=spʲɪtsˈnas; abbreviation for or 'Special Purpose Military Units'; or .) Historically, the term ''spetsnaz'' referred to the So ...
units but under the operational command of the 42nd Division. Units of the division fought in the
Russo-Georgian War The 2008 Russo-Georgian WarThe war is known by a variety of other names, including Five-Day War, August War and Russian invasion of Georgia. was a war between Georgia, on one side, and Russia and the Russian-backed self-proclaimed republics of Sou ...
2008. Following the
2008 Russian military reform The Serdyukov reform (), named after its originator, Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, was a major structural reorganisation of the Russian Armed Forces that began in 2009. Significant reforms of the Russian Armed Forces were announced in Oc ...
, the division was downsized into the
18th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade The 18th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade (Military Unit Number 27777) was a formation of the Russian Ground Forces. The brigade was formed in late 2008 from the 42nd Guards Motor Rifle Division and stationed in two bases near Grozny. The brigade was inv ...
. The division was reestablished in 2016, based on the 18th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade as well as additional units. Already in November 2021 units of the division were deployed to Crimea. The division took part in 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 ...
with three of its Motor Rifle Regiments (70th, 71st, and 291st). The 70th Motorized Rifle Regiment suffered substantial losses in the South-Eastern war theatre.


Notes


References

* * {{Russian divisions
042 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...
042 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...
Military units and formations established in 1957 Military units and formations disestablished in 2009 Military units and formations established in 2016