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343rd Rifle Division (1941–43) 97th Guards Rifle Division (1943–57) 97th Guards Motor Rifle Division (1957–1992) 97th Mechanized Brigade (1992–2004)
Brigade Insignia
Active	August 1941 – November 2004
Country	Ukraine
Branch	Ukrainian Army
Type	Mechanized Brigade
Part of	13th Army Corps
Garrison/HQ	А-1766 Slavuta, Khmelnytskyi Oblast
Equipment	T-64 BMP-2 ZSU-23-4 2S3 Akatsiya 2S1
Engagements	World War II
Decorations	Order of the Red Banner Order of Suvorov Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky

The 97th Guards Mechanized Brigade (Ukrainian: 97-ма гвардійська мотострілецька дивізія, romanized: 97-ma hvardiys'ka motostrilets'ka dyviziya) was a rifle, and then a motor-rifle division of the Soviet Union's Army, before becoming a mechanized brigade of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, based in Slavuta in western Ukraine.

The full name of the division was the "97th Guards Poltava Motor-Rifle Division, Red Banner, Suvorov's, Bogdan Khmelnitsky". After the division became part of Ukrainian Armed Forces it was known as the "97th Separate Mechanized Brigade" [uk] (97-ma okrema mekhanizovana bryhada).

History

World War II

The division was formed in August–September 1941 as the 343rd Rifle Division near the city of Stavropol. Over the next twelve months it was assigned to the 56th, 6th, 9th, 21st, and 24th Armies. The division took part in the defensive operations at Rostov, then in the Rostov and Barvenko-Lozovaia offensive operations. Later, it fought in the Second Battle of Kharkov, then fled eastward to take part in defensive operations near Stalingrad. On July 17, 1942, when the 21st Army joined the Stalingrad Front, the division had 2,795 men and fewer than 20 artillery pieces. After October, 1942, it was assigned to the 66th Army, which later became the 5th Guards Army.

On May 4, 1943, the division was re-designated as the 97th Guards Rifle Division. Its order of battle was as follows:

• 289th Guards Rifle Regiment from 1151st Rifle Regiment
• 292nd Guards Rifle Regiment from 1153rd Rifle Regiment
• 294th Guards Rifle Regiment from 1155th Rifle Regiment
• 232nd Guards Artillery Regiment from 903rd Artillery Regiment
• 104th Guards Antitank Battalion from 567th Antitank Battalion
• 110th Guards Sapper Battalion from 620th Sapper Battalion
• 141st Guards Signal Battalion from 791st Signal Battalion
• 100th Guards Reconnaissance Company from 402nd Reconnaissance Company

The day before its re-designation the division was assigned to the newly-formed 33rd Guards Rifle Corps. On May 2, the commander of the division, Matvei Usenko, was promoted to the rank of Major General. Just ten days later he was killed after being blown up by a land mine while crossing a road in a vehicle.

The division took part in the Battle of Kursk, along with the rest of 5th Guards Army as part of the Steppe Front. Later, it fought in the liberation of left-bank Ukraine. In September, the division was awarded the 'Poltava' honorific, along with its sister divisions, the 13th and 95th Guards Rifle Divisions. In 1944 and 1945, it took part in the Kirovograd, Uman-Botoshany, Lvov-Sandomir, Sandomir-Silesia, Upper and Lower Silesia, Berlin, and Prague offensives. The division ended the war in 32nd Guards Rifle Corps, still in 5th Guards Army.

Postwar

After World War II, the division was stationed in Austria, with the Central Group of Forces, where it remained until 1946. During that time, the division belonged to the 5th Guards Army. After its relocation to Slavuta, it became part of the 13th Army. After it moved to Slavuta, the division was downsized into the 28th Separate Guards Rifle Brigade, but became a division again on 16 September 1949. In 1957, it was reorganized from a Rifle into a Motor Rifle division. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the division was reorganized into a Brigade, which continued to exist until November 2004, when it was disbanded.

Commanders

Division commanders included:

• General-mayor Matvei Usenko (4–12 May 1943)
• Colonel Vasily Yakovlevich Kashlyayev (13–30 May 1943)
• Colonel Ivan Ivanovich Antsiferov (1 June 1943–19 April 1944, general-mayor from 25 September 1943)
• Lieutenant Colonel Mikhail Ivanovich Lashkov (20 April–22 May 1944)
• General-mayor Ivan Ivanovich Antsiferov (23 May–8 October 1944)
• Colonel Yefrem Mikhailovich Golub (9 October–28 December 1944)
• Colonel Anton Prokofyevich Garan (29 December 1944–16 June 1945)
• General-mayor Leonid Kolobov (16 June 1945–20 March 1947)
• General-mayor Fyodor Zakharovich Borisov (20 March 1947–21 February 1948)
• General-mayor Vasily Ivanovich Shcherbenko (21 February 1948–12 September 1955)
• Colonel Vasily Poyarov (12 September 1955–2 July 1958, general-mayor from 27 August 1957)
• Colonel Pyotr Yegorovich Litvinenko (2 July 1958–19 December 1961, general-mayor from 9 May 1961)
• Colonel Stepan Aleksandrovich Fedorenko (19 December 1961–15 January 1966, general-mayor from 13 April 1964)
• Colonel Pyotr Timofeyevich Latuk (15 January 1966–unknown, general-mayor from 25 October 1967)
• Colonel Leonid Ivanovich Pinchuk (general-mayor from 28 October 1976)

Order of battle

During the late 1980s, the division included the following units.

• 110th Tank Regiment
• 289th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment
• 292nd Guards Motor Rifle Regiment
• 294th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment
• 232nd Guards Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment
• 1094th Guards Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment

Awards

• September 1943 received the honorific "Poltava"
• 19?? received Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky
• 19?? received Order of Suvorov
• 19?? received the Order of the Red Banner

References

1. Ukrainskiy Ofitsery Archived 2008-04-09 at the Wayback Machine (Ukrainian)
2. ^ Feskov et al 2013, p. 473.
3. ^ 97-ма Полтавська окрема механізована Archived 2011-07-18 at the Wayback Machine Article in Ukrainian, website of Ministry of Defense of Ukraine
4. "171 артилерійський снаряд часів Другої світової війни, які були виявлені на городі мешканця села Білопіль, що на Хмельниччині, знешкодили воїни-сапери 97-ої окремої механізованої бригади Західного оперативного командування" [97th Separate Mechanized Brigade soldiers defuse 171 WWII artillery shells] (in Ukrainian). Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. 8 May 2002. Archived from the original on 11 February 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2001-04-24. Retrieved 2008-02-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
6. ^ Bonn 2005, pp. 374–375.
7. ^ Sharp 1995, p. 84.
8. Aleksander A. Maslov, Fallen Soviet Generals, trans. and ed. D.M. Glantz, Frank Cass Publishers, London, 1998, p. 95
9. "Освобождение городов". www.soldat.ru. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
10. Feskov et al 2013, p. 471.
11. Feskov et al 2013, p. 149.
12. Feskov et al 2013, p. 472.
13. Vad777. "Дислокация частей украинской армии" [Bases of Ukrainian Army units] (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2 January 2013. Retrieved 21 January 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
14. Kalashnikov & Dodonov 2019, pp. 249–250.
15. ^ Feskov et al 2013, p. 166.

Sources

• Bonn, Keith E., ed. (2005). Slaughterhouse: The Handbook of the Eastern Front. Bedford, PA: Aberjona Press. ISBN 097176509X.
• Sharp, Charles C. (1995). "Red Guards", Soviet Guards Rifle and Airborne Units, 1941 to 1945, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, vol. IV. George F. Nafziger.
• 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.
• Kalashnikov, K. A.; Dodonov, I. Yu. (2019). Высший командный состав Вооруженных сил СССР в послевоенный период: Справочные материалы (1945-1975) (in Russian). Vol. 4, Part 1. Ust-Kamenogorsk: Media-Alyans. ISBN 9786017887315.

Further reading

• I.A. Samchuk, “Guards from Poltava" (Moscow, Voenizdat, 1965) (Russian)
• "World War II, Soviet Encyclopaedia, 1985, p. 573
• Феськов В. И., Калашников К. А., Голиков В. И. Глава 2. Стрелковые и воздушно-десантные войска, укрепленные районы Красной Армии в годы Великой Отечественной войны // Красная Армия в победах и поражениях 1941-1945 гг.. — Томск: Издательство Томского университета, 2003. — 619 с. — ISBN 5-7511-1624-0.
• Чуйков В. И. Сражение века. — М.: Советская Россия, 1975. — 317 с.
• Жадов А. С. Четыре года войны. — М.: Воениздат, 1978. — 334 с.
• Военный энциклопедический словарь. — под. ред. Н. В. Огаркова. — Военное издательство, 1983. — С. 573. — 863 с. — ISBN ББК 68я2 В63.
• Родимцев А. И., Гвардейцы стояли насмерть, 2 изд., М., 1973

External links

• Matvei Alekseevich Usenko

v t e Ukrainian Ground Forces
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Corps	9th Army Corps 10th Army Corps 11th Army Corps
Strategic Groups	Pivnich: (Sumy, Chernihiv, Kiyv, Volyn) Khortytsia: (Kharkiv, Lyman, Soledar, Chasiv Yar) Tavria: (Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv, Kryvyi Rih) Odesa: (Kherson, Dunay, Vinnitsia) Aleksandriya: (Kakhovka, Primorye)
Brigades	Army Aviation 11 12 16 18 Infantry Presidential 3rd Assault 5th Assault 10th Mountain Assault 14 21 22 23 24 28 30 31 32 33 41 42 43 44 47 53 54 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 65 66 67 68th Jaeger 72 92nd Assault 93 100 110 115 116 117 118 128th Mountain Assault 141st Infantry 142nd Infantry 143rd Infantry 144th Infantry 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 Infantry 158 Infantry 159 160 Artillery 26 38 40 43 44 45 47 48 49 55 Reconnaissance 15 Missile 19 Rocket 27 107 Tank 1 3 4 5 14 17 Engineering 47th 48th 49th Assault Engineering 704th CBRN Protection
Regiments	Tank 300th Training Mechanized 354 Training 355 Training Anti-Aircraft Missile 38 39 1039 1121 1129 Artillery 356 Training Engineering Operational Support 12 16 70 91 703 Maintenance 31 50 145 146 532 Pontoon bridge 210 808 Signal 5 7 55 121
Battalions	Motorized Infantry 1st Assault 1 2 3 3rd Mechanized 4 6 9 10 11 12 13 15 16 17 20 21 22 23 24th Assault 25 25th Assault 33rd Assault 34 40 42 43rd Territorial Defense 46th Assault 48th Assault 49th Assault 97th Mechanized 108th Assault 117th Assault 214th OPFOR 225th Assault 425th Assault Tank 12 Mountain 8 15 108 109 Reconnaissance 54 74 120 129 130 131 143 Rifle 1 2 3 4 5 7 8 9 10 11 12 14 16 17 19 20 21 22 23 25 26 27 28 29 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 44 45 46 48 50 51 52 (Airmobile) 53 54 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 64 65 66 67 68 70 210th Special Purpose 211th Special Purpose 403 405 407 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 451 Infantry 452 Infantry 453 Infantry 454 Infantry 455 Infantry 456 Infantry 457 Infantry 459 460 468 Engineering 308 309 310 311 321 507 534 Pontoon bridge 11 Electronic Warfare 20 520 Others 78 181 182 183 224 225 226 227 307 718
Educational Institutions	National Academy Sergeant Military College Odesa Military Academy Military Institute of Tank Forces
Training Centers	49 143 151 169 179 180 184 190 197 201 205 239
International Units	Lithuanian–Polish–Ukrainian Brigade Multinational Engineer Battalion Tisa
Unless stated otherwise, the brigade is mechanized. Structure Territorial Defense Forces

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.

• Mechanized brigades of Ukraine
• Military units and formations established in 1941
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• Military units and formations awarded the Order of the Red Banner