26th Guards Motorized Rifle Division

Named:

• from May 1936 - the 93rd Rifle "East Siberian" division ;
• from 04/20/1942 - 26th Guards "East Siberian" Rifle Division ;
• from 12.24.1943 - 26th Guards "East Siberian" Gorodok Rifle Division
• since 1957 - the 26th Guards "East Siberian" Gorodok Motorized Rifle Division .

Formation

The 26th Guards Motorized Rifle Division was transformed by Order of the People's Commissariat of Defense of the USSR No. 120, dated April 20, 1942, from the 93rd Infantry "East Siberian" Division.

• 93rd rifle "East Siberian" division (1 form)

The division was formed in 1936 in the Trans-Baikal Military District. The formation took place in the military city of Antipih ZabVO . The division was deployed on the basis of the 106th Siberian Rifle Regiment, which participated in the Civil War to defeat the White Guard gangs.

In October 1936 she was given the name "East Siberian".

In 1939, the 93rd Infantry Division of the ZabVO was partially mobilized on the basis of the former “poor regiment” ^[2] and in July 1939, the 93rd Infantry Division was transferred to Dauria Station in readiness to repel a possible Japanese offensive along the Manchurian branch. After the defeat of the Japanese samurai in October 1939, the division returned to Antipihu. The 266th Infantry Regiment , re-formed on June 6, 1939, under the conventional number of military unit 7177, was sent to the fighting area on Khalkhin Gol . Part of the forces (the infantry battalion of the 93rd regiment, 28.6.1939-16.9.1939) took part in the Soviet-Japanese conflict on the Khalkhin-Gol River in 1939 ^[3] . She took part in the war with Finland . In November 1939, a ski battalion was formed and sent to the Finnish front from the division. After returning to the division, the personnel of the battalion for heroic combat affairs included 77 soldiers and commanders who were awarded orders and medals ^[4] .

Submission

^[five]

During the war years

In October 1941, the 93rd East Siberian Rifle Division (51st, 129th, 266th joint venture, 100th ap, 128th hap) was transferred to the Western Front and focuses on the Kamenka line from October 24th - Bogorodskoye - Gorki (southwest of Podolsk), having the task of delaying the advance of the enemy, rapidly advancing along the Maloyaroslavsky highway to Moscow. On October 26, the division engages in battle with units of the enemy that broke through the river. Nara. In stubborn defensive battles, in cooperation with other formations, units of the division stopped the enemy offensive at this line.

In mid-December 1941, the division went on the offensive, together with other units of the 43rd and 33rd armies, broke through the enemy’s defenses and, overcoming its stubborn resistance, went to the river by the end of March 1942. Vorya.

04/20/1942 for the courage shown in the battles for the homeland, stamina, courage, discipline and organization of personnel, the division was awarded the honorary title "Guards" , and was transformed into the 26th Guards Motorized Rifle East Siberian Division .

From April 1943 to June 1946, it was part of the 8th Guards Rifle Corps of the 11th Guards Army.

Participated in the Moscow battle , in battles in the Spas-Demensky and Zhizdrinsky directions, in the Oryol , Bryansk , Gorodok , Belorussian , Gumbinnensky and East Prussian offensive operations .

The composition of the division at the beginning of the war:

• 51st Rifle Regiment
• 129th Infantry Regiment
• 266th rifle regiment
• 100th artillery regiment
• 128th howitzer artillery regiment (until 01/01/1942)
• 144th military police station, 272nd zenbatre (105th ozad), 55th rb, 107th sapp, 117th obs, 82nd medical battalion, 33rd arkhz, 91st atr (31st atb ), 63rd groin, 165th dvl, 250th pps, 824th pkg.
  • In the army: 10/23/1941 - 04/22/1944, 05/28/1944 - 05/09/1945

On October 22, 1941, the division under the command of Major General Konstantin Maximovich Erastov was concentrated in the Podolsk area of ​​the Moscow Region .

On October 24, 1941, the division received a combat order to detain an enemy advancing along the Warsaw highway. Having made a march of 45 km, the division on October 25, 1941 entered into battle with the fascist invaders at the line: Kamenka - Bogorodskoye - Gorki. In the battles on the near approaches to Moscow , the division participated in the period from 10/25/1941 to 04/08/1942, freeing Borovsk , Balabanovo , Ryzhkovo.

Breaking the enemy’s resistance, the guards fought forward with battles, liberating the lands of Belarus . Parts of the division participating in the Gorodok operation showed their best side. For exemplary actions, courage and courage in the battles for Gorodok , the division was awarded the honorary title Gorodokskaya.

On May 25, 1944, the division (under the command of Major General Chernov) received a combat order to complete a maneuver . From June 11, 1944 to August 10, 1944, the division took part in the Vitebsk-Orshan operation and goes to the state border with the Suvalk region .

In the battles of Orsha, an immortal feat was performed by the guards, Private Smirnov Yuri Vasilievich . In a night attack on tanks , he was heavily wounded and captured in an unconscious state as part of a landing . During the torturous interrogation, Yuri Smirnov did not utter a single word about the intelligence objectives of his unit .

By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Yu. V. Smirnov was posthumously awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union .

For the liberation of Belarus, she was declared five thanks to the Supreme Commander . The division was among the first to reach the borders of East Prussia .

From April 3 to 9, 1945, the division participated in the assault on the city and the Königsberg fortress.

From 04/22/1945 to 04/26/1945 the division is fighting to capture the city of Pillau

1942

(as of April 20, 1942):

• 75th Guards Rifle Order of the Suvorov Regiment ,
• 77th Guards Rifle Order of the Suvorov Regiment ,
• 79th Guards Rifle Red Banner Regiment ,
• 57th Guards Artillery Order of Kutuzov Regiment,
• 25th Separate Guard Anti-Tank Fighting Division (until 04/15/1944) ^[6] ,
• 25th Separate Guards Self-propelled Artillery Division (from 15.04.1944)
• 24th guards anti-aircraft battery (until 07/07/1943),
• 9th Guards Mind (until 10/20/1942),
• 19th Separate Guards Reconnaissance Company,
• 30th Separate Guards Engineer Battalion,
• 38th Separate Guard Communications Battalion,
• 394th (21) Health Battalion ,
• 27th Separate Guards Chemical Defense Company,
• 575th (22) motor transport company for the supply of fuels and lubricants,
• 550th (30) field bakery,
• 525th (20) Division Veterinary Hospital
• 250th Field Postal Station
• 824th box office of the State Bank.

^[7]

1990

• control
• 290th Motor Rifle Regiment - Gusev , military unit No. 31790
• 291st Guards Motorized Rifle Orders of Suvorov and Alexander Nevsky Regiment - Gusev, military unit No. 20719
• 668th Motor Rifle Regiment - Gusev, military unit No. 89549
• 73rd Guards Tank Svirsky Red Banner Orders of the Suvorov and Kutuzov Regiment - Gusev, military unit No. 52798
• 57th Guards Artillery Order of the Kutuzov Regiment - Nesterov (?), Military unit No. 08660
• 853 anti-aircraft missile and artillery regiment - Gusev, military unit No. 78266
• 70th separate reconnaissance battalion - the city of Gusev, military unit No. 03290
• 30th Separate Guard Engineer-Battalion - Gusev, military unit No. 30653
• (?) Separate Guard Communications Battalion - Gusev, military unit No. 36439
• (?) a separate chemical protection company - Gusev
• (?) separate repair and restoration battalion - Gusev city, military unit No. 26327
• (?) separate medical battalion - Gusev, military unit No. 66570
• 401 separate battalion of material support - Gusev, military unit No. 02287.

Since 05/05/1945, the Special Military District (Friedrichsdorf, Finkonhor , Gallau) has been concentrated in the Königsberg area, where parts of the division are engaged in combat training. After the war, the 79th Guards Rifle Regiment was transferred to the 1st Panzer Division ( Kaliningrad ). The 77th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment was transferred to the 107th Motor Rifle Division ( Vilnius ). The 75th Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment was transferred to the 40th Guards Tank Division ( Sovetsk )

• In 1957, it was reorganized into a motorized rifle division and had the name 26th Guards Motorized Rifle Division, part of the 11th Guards Army of the Baltic Military District , (deployed in Gusev ).
• Division composition:
• 250th motorized rifle regiment,
• 291st Guards Motorized Rifle Orders of Alexander Nevsky and Suvorov Regiment ,
• 77th Guards Motor Rifle Order of the Suvorov Regiment,
• 73rd Guards Tank Svirsky ^[8] Red Banner Order of the Suvorov Regiment,
• 57th Guards Artillery Order of Kutuzov Regiment,
• ? anti-aircraft missile and artillery regiment
• 36th Separate Guard Communications Battalion,
• 30th Separate Guards Engineer Battalion,
• and other parts.

After the war, the division included:

• He possibly received the 73th Guards Tank Regiment, the honorary name "Svirsky" and the Order of the Red Banner and Suvorov from the 339th Guards Heavy Self-propelled Artillery Regiment.
• The 291st Guards Motor Rifle Regiment, which received its awards from the 61 Guards Cavalry Regiment of the 2nd Guards Cavalry Corps disbanded in 1945.

In the postwar years, the division was deployed in the cities of Gusev and Nesterov, Kaliningrad region . Along with intense combat training, the personnel actively helped the population in the formation and development of the region's economy.

• For his great services in defending the Fatherland and the high results achieved in combat training in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Soviet Armed Forces, the 11th Guards Army was awarded the Order of the Red Banner by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of February 22, 1968.

The personnel of the division demonstrated their military skills during the major exercises "Neman-79", "West-81" and "Commonwealth".

• In 1989, the 26th Guards Motorized Rifle Division was disbanded. Some of its units joined the 18th Guards Motorized Rifle Division, which returned from Czechoslovakia to Gusev.
• In 1997, some units of the 26th Guards Motorized Rifle Division as part of the 11th Guards Combined Arms Army were transformed into the Ground and Coastal Forces of the Baltic Fleet ^[9] .

• 10/31/1936 assigned the name "East Siberian"
•   04/20/1942 transformed into the 26th Guards Rifle Division
• 12/24/1943 by order of the Supreme Commander was awarded the honorary name "Gorodokskaya" to commemorate the victory and for the difference in the battles to liberate the city of Gorodok.
•   By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 07/10/1944 for the exemplary performance of command missions at the front of the battle against the German invaders (when crossing the Berezina River and defeating the enemy in the area of ​​the city of Borisov ) and showing valor and courage, the division was awarded the Order of the Red Banner . ^[ten]
•   By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of February 19, 1945, for the exemplary performance of command missions at the front of the battle against the German invaders (in battles with the enemy’s Insterburg group) and the valor and courage shown, the division was awarded the Order of Suvorov, II degree . ^[ten]

Division Awards:

• By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated 06/19/1945, the 79th Guards Rifle Regiment was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for the possession of the city of Pillau .
• By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated 05/28/1945 for the possession of the city and the Koenigsberg fortress were awarded:

- the Order of Suvorov, III degree, the 75th Guards Rifle Regiment and the 77th Guards Rifle Regiment .
- Order of Kutuzov III degree 57th Guards Artillery Regiment .

Division commanders:

• before 02/08/1938 brigade commander A. Meshkov (arrested, died 06/02/1942 in the Saratov prison)
• 08/14/1939 - 03/30/1942 brigade commander, from 04/04/1940 Major General Erastov, Konstantin Maximovich
• 03/31/1942 - 01/09/1944 colonel , from 11/27/1942 guard Major General Korzhenevsky, Nikolai Nikolaevich died on 01/09/1944 during shelling of the enemy, was buried in the town of Gorodok in the Vitebsk region ^[11]
•   01/10/1944 - 05/09/1945 Colonel , from 17/01/1944 Guard Major General Chernov, Grigory Ivanovich ^[12]

Chiefs of Staff:

• Sinyakin, Stepan Borisovich, Guard Major, Guard Lieutenant Colonel, (? - August 1943 - August 1944 -?)
• Zotkin Joseph Ivanovich, Guard Colonel, (? - January 1945 -?)
• Dyukov Konstantin Pavlovich, guard colonel, (? - June 1945)

Division Artillery Commanders:

• Yevtushenko, Fedor Antonovich, Guard Colonel (? - December 1943 -?)
• Shvedov Grigory Iustinovich, Guard Colonel, (? - March, April 1945 -?)
• Kamisov Ivan Ivanovich, guard colonel, (? - July 1945)

Post War Command

• 1982-1984 Guard Colonel Belnikov, division commander
• 1984- Guard Colonel Nikolaev A., Chief of Staff of the Division

About 11 thousand of its soldiers were awarded orders and medals, 10 were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union . ^{[13] [14]}

Awarded at least the following orders of the USSR:

• Order of Lenin - 14
• Order of the Red Banner - 385
• Order of Suvorov II degree - 1
• Order of Kutuzov II degree - 1
• Order of Suvorov III degree - 6
• Order of Kutuzov III degree - 4
• Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky III degree - 5
• Order of Alexander Nevsky - 46
• Order of the Patriotic War I degree - 413
• Order of the Patriotic War II degree - 810
• Order of the Red Star - 2301
• Order of Glory II degree- 67
• Order of Glory III degree - 926

(The data on the awards are taken from the orders of the 26th Guards Rifle Division, 8th Guards Rifle Corps, 11th Guards Army, Western, Bryansk, 1 Baltic, 3 Belarusian Fronts and decrees of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR posted on the website "Electronic Document Bank" Feat of the People in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945 ”of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation).

•   . Guard sergeant Babakhin, Kalistrat Ivanovich , squad leader 30 separate Guards Engineer Battalion. Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of March 24, 1945. Gold Star Medal No. 5006.
•   . Guard Private Minin, Alexander Alexandrovich , scout of the 77th Guards Rifle Regiment . Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of March 24, 1945.
•   . Guard Lieutenant Redkin, Nikolai Efimovich , platoon commander of the 30th separate guards combat engineer battalion. Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of March 24, 1945. Gold Star Medal No. 8806.
•   . Guards Major Sergeev, Anatoly Andreyevich , commander of the infantry battalion of the 77th Guards Rifle Regiment . Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of March 24, 1945 (posthumous).
•   . Guard junior sergeant Smirnov Yuri Vasilievich , commander of the 77th Guards Rifle Regiment . Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of October 6, 1944 (posthumous). Forever enlisted in the lists of personnel of the 77th Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment.
•   . Guard sergeant Snoplyan, Amayak Artynovich , commander of the 77th Guards Rifle Regiment . Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of March 24, 1945.
•   Guards Senior Lieutenant Sufyanov, Sufiy Khazievich (1914-1999), commander of a rifle company of the 79th Guards Rifle Regiment . Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of March 24, 1945. Gold Star Medal No. 4207.
•   . Guard Major General Chernov, Grigory Ivanovich , division commander. Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of April 19, 1945. Gold Star Medal No. 5039.
•   . Guard Private Shakirov, Astanakul , reconnaissance platoon reconnaissance officer of the 75th Guards Rifle Regiment . Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of March 24, 1945. He died in battle on January 11, 1945.
•   . Guards Major Shelkovy, Sergei Epifanovich (1912-1979), commander of the 79th Guards Rifle Regiment . Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of March 24, 1945. Gold Star Medal No. 4202.

Marshal of the Soviet Union A.M. Vasilevsky on the feat of Yu. V. Smirnov

In my memoirs, I cannot give many examples of the heroism of Soviet soldiers. But about one case of amazing courage that shocked us then, I still want to tell.
In the battles for Orsha, a member of the tank landing guard, Private Yu.V. Smirnov, was seriously wounded and captured. We learned about the future when ours entered the city. In one of the dugouts they found the body of a young man nailed to a cross. In the dugout lay staff documents thrown by the Nazis and the interrogation protocol. Here were a soldier’s book and a Komsomol ticket of the guardsman Yuri Vasilyevich Smirnov. He did not answer a single question from the enemy and died as a hero. A citizen of the Soviet Union, Komsomolets Smirnov did not give out military secrets and remained faithful to the Fatherland until his last breath. He was posthumously awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union ....

- Twice Hero of the Soviet Union Marshal of the Soviet Union A.M. Vasilevsky . The business of a lifetime. - M: Politizdat, 1975 .-- S. 463.

• Hero of the Soviet Union, Kirillov, Mikhail Petrovich , guard captain, commander of a rifle battalion of the 79th guards rifle regiment (? - August 1943 -?)

• V.I. Feskov, K.A. Kalashnikov, V.I. Golikov. “The Red Army in the victories and defeats of 1941–45.” Part I.
• The book "Military personnel in the Second World War", 1963
• Soviet Military Encyclopedia: [In 8 volumes] / Prev. ch. ed. Commission A. A. Grechko - M .: Military Publishing, 1976. V.2 "Babylon - Civil." 1976 .-- 640 p., Ill. - Article “East Siberian Gorodok Rifle Division”, p. 381.

• Guard divisions
• List No. 5. Rifle, mountain-rifle, motor-rifle and motorized divisions
• The list of troops of the army in the years of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945,
• "The combat structure of the Soviet Army. Part III. (January - December 1943)., Moscow, Military Publishing House of the Ministry of Defense, 1972 ,
• 26th Guards Rifle Red Banner East Siberian Gorodok Division
• The list of associations, formations, units and divisions that were part of the army in the area of ​​the river. Khalkhin Gol in 1939
• 93rd SD
• Tabakov Gennady Alexandrovich: Guardsmen of Pervomaisky (79th guards. MSP)
• Site "Heroes of the country"