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The 15th Guards Mozyr Red Banner Order of Suvorov Tank Division (15 gv. td) (Russian: 15-я гвардейская танковая Мозырская Краснознамённая ордена Суворова дивизия (15 гв. тд)) was a tank division of the Soviet Army during the Cold War that became part of the Russian Ground Forces after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

The division was initially stationed in Belarus postwar, but remained as part of the permanent Soviet garrison in Czechoslovakia after its participation in the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. The division was withdrawn to Chebarkul when Soviet forces departed Czechoslovakia and disbanded the during force reductions of the 1990s.

From 1968 the division headquarters Military Unit Number (V/Ch) was 58539.

History

The 12th Guards Mechanized Division was reorganized from the 15th Guards Mozyr Red Banner Order of Suvorov Cavalry Division in 1945–1946 at Brest, and became part of the 28th Army. In September 1954, the 12th Guards Mechanized Division and the 50th Guards Rifle Division as part of the 128th Rifle Corps participated in the Totskoye nuclear exercise, in which they conducted a mock attack through the hypocenter of a nuclear blast on 14 September to demonstrate the capabilities of armor in nuclear war to Soviet military leadership. The infantry and tanks of the division's 41st Guards Mechanized Regiment were the first to advance through the hypocenter, protected only by gas masks. During the 1957 reorganization of the Soviet Army, the 12th Guards Mechanized Division was reorganized as the 33rd Guards Tank Division. The division was redesignated as the 15th Guards Tank Division in 1965 to restore its World War II number. In August 1968, the 15th Guards Tank Division, commanded by Major General Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Zaytsev, and the 30th Guards Motor Rifle Division were sent from the 28th Combined Arms Army to participate in Operation Danube, the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. Attached to the 38th Combined Arms Army on the Carpathian Front, the division was echeloned behind the 31st Tank Division towards the Carpathian mountain passes into Czechoslovakia.

Both remained in Czechoslovakia as part of the Central Group of Forces after the end of the invasion. The 15th Guards was headquartered at Milovice, the base for the 29th, 239th, and 244th Guards Tank Regiments, the 295th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment, 81st Separate Reconnaissance Battalion, 215th Separate Guards Communications Battalion, 517th Separate Chemical Defense Battalion, 142nd Separate Repair and Recovery Battalion, 119th Separate Medical Battalion, and 910th Separate Material Support Battalion. The 914th Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment was at Trutnov, the 282nd Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment at Lázně Bohdaneč, and the 535th Separate Missile Battalion and 152nd Separate Guards Engineer-Sapper Battalion at Zduchovice.

As a frontline division based in Europe, the 15th Guards was maintained at near full strength until the end of the Cold War, and fielded 325 T-62 tanks according to 1974 US intelligence data. According to 1985 CIA data, the division had a strength of 9,800 men with 37 T-62 and 282 T-72M tanks, 230 BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles, seventeen BTR-60, seven BTR-60 or 70, 36 122 mm 2S1 Gvozdika, 36 122 mm howitzer D-30, and 36 2S3 Akatsiya.

The 535th Separate Missile Battalion was transferred to the new 442nd Missile Brigade along with the other divisional missile battalions of the Central Group of Forces on 28 August 1988. In July 1989, the 360th Tank Regiment was transferred from the 18th Guards Motor Rifle Division to the 15th Guards Tank Division. The 244th Guards Tank Regiment was renamed the 721st Guards Motor Rifle Regiment in late 1989. In 1990, the division began withdrawing to Chebarkul in the Volga–Ural Military District as Soviet forces pulled out of Europe.

The 721st Guards Motor Rifle Regiment and 81st Separate Reconnaissance and Electronic Warfare Battalion were the last units of the division remaining at Milovice as the division withdrew. According to data released under the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, the 721st Guards fielded 29 T-72, 118 BMP (70 BMP-2, 41 BMP-1, seven BRM-1K), 18 2S1 Gvozdika, 12 2S12 Sani, 9 BMP-1KSh, 2 PRP-3, 1 PRP-4, 1 R-145BM, 1 R-156 BTR, two PU-12, two BREM-2, 2 MT-55A, 24 MT-LBT. The 81st fielded 21 BMP (14 BMP-2 and 7 BRM-1K), 1 R-145BM, 1 R-156 BTR, and two MT-LBT. The division was originally planned to disband on the completion of the withdrawal, but was retained by the Russian Ground Forces.

The withdrawal of the 15th Guards Tank Division to Chebarkul was completed in early 1991.

Major General Alexey Maslov, previously deputy division commander, commanded the division between 1994 and 1998.

During the First Chechen War, soldiers from the division were detached to serve in Chechnya with the 276th and 324th Motor Rifle Regiments of the 34th Motor Rifle Division. As the 34th was a low-readiness division with few personnel (the 324th had only four personnel permanently assigned), both regiments had to draw on personnel from the entire Ural Military District before deploying to Chechnya. At Chebarkul, a motor rifle regiment of the 15th Guards Tank Division was used to form one of the two motor rifle battalions of the 276th Motor Rifle Regiment in December 1994. A reconnaissance company commander of the division sent to Chechnya with the 276th, Major Vladimir Korgutov, was made a Hero of the Russian Federation for his leadership in Chechnya.

The division was disbanded in December 1999 with seven of its units at Chebarkul becoming part of the 34th Motor Rifle Division.

The 239th Guards Vitebsk Order of Suvorov Tank Regiment of the division continued to exist as of 7 June 2001, when it was commanded by Colonel N. Shabaldeyev.

A T-72 from the division is on display at the UMMC Military Museum in Verkhnyaya Pyshma.

References

Citations

1. ^ Feskov et al. 2013, pp. 417–419.
2. Drogovoz 2003, pp. 137–138.
3. Mayorov 1998, p. 179.
4. Lensky & Tsybin 2001, p. 126.
5. Holm, Michael. "15th Guards Tank Division". www.ww2.dk. Retrieved 2022-05-29.
6. Holm, Michael. "Equipment levels 1.12.85". www.ww2.dk. Retrieved 2022-05-29.
7. Selected Data on Soviet and Non-Soviet Warsaw Pact Ground Forces Maneuver Divisions in the Atlantic-to-Urals Zone (PDF). 1986. p. 39. Retrieved 29 May 2022 – via CIA Freedom of Information Act Electronic Reading Room.
8. Feskov et al. 2013, pp. 218, 224, 417–419.
9. Lensky & Tsybin 2001, pp. 107–108.
10. Lensky & Tsybin 2001, p. 180Citing Krasnaya Zvezda, 20 March 1991 and 23 April 1995
11. "Что такое современная армия России". www.kommersant.ru (in Russian). 2005-02-21. Retrieved 2022-05-29.
12. Sokolov, Alexey (16 May 2013). "Война в Чечне глазами командира взвода" [The war in Chechnya through the eyes of a platoon commander]. Krasnaya Zvezda (in Russian). Retrieved 29 May 2022.
13. "324-й мотострелковый полк". chechnya.genshtab.ru (in Russian). 2002. Archived from the original on 2 February 2009. Retrieved 2 February 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
14. Belolugov, Vadim. "Боевой путь 276-го мотострелкового полка (11.12.1994 – 20.06.1995)" (in Russian). Almanakh Voyenny Korrespondent. Archived from the original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
15. "Коргутов Владимир Александрович". warheroes.ru. Retrieved 2022-05-29.
16. ""О войне сам предпочитаю не вспоминать, я долго отходил от нее"". www.hse.ru. 2020-12-09. Retrieved 2022-05-29.
17. "Чебаркульский гарнизон - историческое место дислокации воинских частей". PUTI-shestvuy. Retrieved 2022-05-29.
18. Fakhrutdinov, Oleg (7 June 2001). "Письма в "Красную звезду"" [Letters to Krasnaya Zvezda]. Krasnaya Zvezda (in Russian). Retrieved 29 May 2022.
19. "Основной боевой танк Т-72 15-й гвардейской танковой дивизии". PUTI-shestvuy. Retrieved 2022-05-29.

Bibliography

• Drogovoz, Igor (2003). Танковый меч страны Советов [Tank Sword of the Soviet country] (in Russian). Moscow: AST. ISBN 9851311332.
• Feskov, V.I.; Golikov, V.I.; Kalashnikov, K.A.; Slugin, S.A. (2013). Вооруженные силы СССР после Второй Мировой войны: от Красной Армии к Советской [The Armed Forces of the USSR after World War II: From the Red Army to the Soviet: Part 1 Land Forces] (in Russian). Tomsk: Scientific and Technical Literature Publishing. ISBN 9785895035306.
• Lensky, A.G.; Tsybin, M.M. (2001). Советские сухопутные войска в последний год Союза ССР [The Soviet Ground Forces in the Last Years of the USSR] (in Russian). St Petersburg: B&K Publishers. ISBN 5-93414-063-9.
• Mayorov, A. M. (1998). Вторжение. Чехословакия, 1968: свидетельства командарма [Invasion: Czechoslovakia, 1968: An army commander's testimonies] (in Russian). Moscow: Prava Cheloveka. ISBN 5771200824.

v t e Divisions of the Soviet Union 1945–1957
Airborne	11 13 21 31 76 98 99 100 103 104 105 106 107 114
Artillery	Gun 4 7 8 9 10 27 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 1 2 3 3 4 5 5 6 6 7 10 12 16 17 26 30 81 Antiaircraft 2 3 4 4 6 13 17 22 23 31 32 44 47 48 57 62 63 66 69 86 97 101 102 103 Machine Gun 1st 2nd 3rd 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 15th 16th 17th 18th 20th 21st 22nd 24th 25
Cavalry	1 3 4 5 6 Separate 7 Separate
Rifle	4th 6th 9th 12th 14th 16th 18th 19th 20th 22nd 23rd 24th 26th 29th 30th 32nd 33rd 34th 35th 36th 37th 39th 40th 41st 43rd 44th 45th 46th 47th 48th 49th 50th 52nd 53rd 54th 57th 60th 61st 62nd 63rd 67th 68th 69th 71st Mountain 73rd 74th 75th 77th 78th 79th 85th 89th 91st 94th 96th 101st 116th 117th 121st 144th 145th 146th 147th 148th 152nd 179th 180th 188th 194th 198th 201st 203rd 207th 215th 216th 255th 261st 270th 272nd 277th 295th 341st 344th 355th 372nd 376th Mountain 414th 417th Guards 1st 2nd 3rd 5th 8th 10th 15th 16th 17th 19th 24th 25th 26th 28th 29th 38th 39th 42nd 43rd 45th 48th 50th 51st 55th 57th 59th 64th 66th 69th 70th 72nd 77th 81st 86th 87th 94th 95th 97th 109th 110th 112th 113th 115th 117th 118th 120th 123rd 124th 128th
Mechanised	1st 1st Guards 2nd Guards 3rd Guards 4th Guards 5th Guards 6th Guards 7th Guards 7th 8th Guards 8th 9th Guards 9th 10th 10th Guards 11th 11th Guards 12th Guards 12th 13th Guards 13th 14th 14th Guards 15th Guards 15th 16th Guards 16th 17th Guards 17th 18th Guards 18th 19th Guards 19th 20th Guards 20th 21st Guards 21st 22nd 22nd Guards 23rd Guards 23rd 24th Guards 24th 25th Guards 25th 26th Guards 26th 27th Guards 27th 28th Guards 28th 29th Guards 30th Guards 31st Guards 32nd Guards 33rd Guards 34th Guards 35th Guards 36th Guards 37th Guards 38th Guards 39th Guards 39th 43rd 61st 62nd Guards 63rd 64th Guards 65th 66th Guards 67th 68th 69th 70th Guards 71st 72nd Guards 73rd 74th
Tank	1st Guards 1st 2nd Guards 2nd 3rd Guards 3rd 4th Guards 5th Guards 5th 6th Guards 7th Guards 8th Guards 9th 9th Guards 10th Guards 10th 11th Guards 11th 11th Guards 12th Guards 13th 14th Guards Heavy 15th 16th 17th Heavy 18th Guards Heavy 18th 19th Guards 19th 20th 21st Guards 23rd 24th Heavy 25th 29th 31st 61st 111th
Other	OMSDON
Guards units marked in bold.

v t e Divisions of the Soviet Union 1957–1989
Airborne	7 31 44 Training 76 98 103 104 105 106 107
Artillery	2 15 20 Training 26 34 51 55 81 110 149
Aviation	1 6 12 16 22 36 55 95 Mixed 95 Fighter 119 326
Motor Rifle	Guards 1st – 18th 1 2 3 4 5 6 8 9 10 11 14 15 16 17 18 20th – 39th 20 21 23 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 42nd – 66th 42 45 47 48 50 51 (I) 51 (II) 53 55 57 59 62 63 64 66 70th – 97th 70 72 77 81 83 86 87 90 92 93 94 97 109th – 144th 109 112 113 114 115 120 122 123 128 144 Training 2 16 34 37 42 53 62 63 66 80 92 100 112 4th – 27th 4 9 12 13 15 18 19 21 22 24 27 32nd – 49th 32 33 35 40 41 43 44 46 47 48 49 52nd – 69th 52 54 56 58 60 61 62 65 67 68 69 71st – 99th 71 73 74 75 78 79 80 82 84 85 88 89 91 92 93 95 96 99 100th – 119th 100 101 102 108 110 111 114 116 117 118 119 121st – 135th 121 124 125 126 127 129 130 131 134 135 145th – 199th 145 146 147 148 149 150 152 155 157 164 180 192 197 198 199 201st – 295th 201 203 207 213 242 245 254 265 266 270 272 295 Training 43 56 61 67 78 121 129 150
Rocket	4 7 8 10 13 14 18 19 23 24 27 28 29 35 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 49 54 62
Tank	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 19 20 21 22 23 24 Training 25 28 29 30 31 32 34 36 37 40 41 42 44 Training 45 Training 47 48 Training 51 60 75 78 79 90 117 Training 193
Other	OMSDON
Guards units marked in bold unless they are in a Guards section.

• Tank divisions of the Soviet Union
• Tank divisions of Russia
• Military units and formations disestablished in 1999