Military historian Dmitry Boltenkov — about the first two Naval formations that received elite status
At the end of March, two Marine corps formations — the 155th Separate Brigade and the 126th Separate Coastal Defense Brigade - received the honorary name "guards". Military units of the Navy are marked with this status for the first time since the Great Patriotic War. Why did these brigades receive a high rank?
The Russian Navy includes a number of ships and military units with the title "Guard". In particular, the Black Sea Fleet includes the Guards missile cruiser "Moscow" and the Guards 810th Marine Brigade.
The Guard in the USSR was born in the fierce battles of the summer and autumn of 1941. Units and formations were awarded the title of Guards for outstanding services on the battlefield with the Nazis, for mass courage. The personnel of such units were awarded the badge "Guard".
In the post-Soviet period, this tradition was revived in 2001. Then the 22nd Special Purpose Brigade became the Guards for the fighting in the North Caucasus region. At first, a new Russian badge "Guard" was developed, but later they returned to the old Soviet one. In the future, a number of units of the airborne troops received this honorary title. And in January 2018, the 810th Marine Brigade of the Black Sea Fleet also became a Guard unit. She received this title for her participation in the operation to liberate Syria from terrorist gangs and for other services.
On March 28, 2022, the 155th Marine Brigade and the 126th Coastal Defense Brigade were awarded the titles of "Guard".
The 155th Brigade is part of the Pacific Fleet and is based in the vicinity of Vladivostok - in the village of Slavyanka. Its history begins in 1963, when the 390 motorized rifle regiment was transferred to the TOPF. He was transferred to the States Marine Regiment. In the future, the only 55th Marine Division in the Navy was deployed on the basis of the regiment. The other fleets had only brigades. The purpose of this connection was not only amphibious operations on the shores of the Pacific Ocean, in particular on the territory of the island of Hokkaido, but also the land defense of the Vladivostok defensive area in the event of a possible conflict with the PRC. Divisions of the division took part in campaigns about 50 times to solve the tasks of combat service. They solved special combat missions on the territory of Ethiopia and the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen. In 1995, they took part in the first Chechen war.
In 2009, the division was reorganized into the 155th Marine Brigade. This unit has become one of the most well-equipped and trained in the Marine Corps of the Russian Navy. The brigade is armed with T-80BV tanks, BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicles, BTR-82A armored personnel carriers and other equipment.
During a special military operation on the territory of Ukraine, the brigade's soldiers distinguished themselves in the battles in the Kiev direction in the area of Gostomel and Irpen. The commander of one of the units, Alexey Shabulin, described the actions of the unit entrusted to him. The soldiers of the Airborne troops, in cooperation with the marines, successfully restrained the actions of the Ukrainian forces in the direction of Gostomel–Bucha–Lake for five days. As a result, the Marines were able to take full control of the territory from the Irpen River towards Kiev with a total length of five kilometers.
Alexey Shabulin notes that currently Russian Marines are conducting search and reconnaissance operations and are clearing settlements with the further task of gaining a foothold in them.
— During the destruction of the enemy forces, a large number of captured weapons and ammunition, both Soviet and foreign-made, were captured. Among them are Javelin anti-tank complexes, M-16 rifles. There are also weapons of French, English and Spanish production," the officer told reporters. — In the course of practical tasks, we learned a lot: we fully studied the nature of the enemy's actions and tactics, learned how to calculate his maneuvers. During the fighting, I personally managed to shoot down two enemy unmanned aerial vehicles."
Another unit awarded the title "Guard" was the 126 brigade of coastal Defense of the Black Sea Fleet.
She has a complicated history. The unit was formed in the autumn of 1941 as the 126th Rifle Division. During the Great Patriotic War, she received the name "Gorlovskaya", was awarded two Orders of the Red Banner and the Order of Suvorov. The division finished its combat path in the vicinity of the city of Danzig (now Gdansk). After the end of the war, she was relocated to the Crimea. In the future, the name of the connection changed several times. In December 1989, the division became part of the Coastal Troops of the Black Sea Fleet. According to the division of the Black Sea Fleet, a number of units of the division were transferred to the armed forces of Ukraine. In 2003, on the basis of these and some other units, the 36th Coastal Defense Brigade of the Ukrainian Navy was created. During the events of the Crimean Spring of 2014, most of the brigade's personnel made the right choice and continued their service in the ranks of the Russian Armed Forces. In December 2014, the brigade changed its number from 36 to 126. The unit solves the tasks of the defense of the Crimean peninsula and is armed with a variety of military equipment, including T-72B3 tanks, MTLB armored personnel carriers and BTR-82A. The location of the brigade was the village of Perevalnoye.
At the beginning of the special military operation, the brigade operated in the Kherson direction. The commander of a separate coastal defense brigade, Lieutenant Colonel Andranik Gasparyan, together with the unit performed a march and took control of the bridge over the river in the Kherson region. Through this crossing, the nationalists were going to transfer reinforcements to the east. During the day, the brigade repelled superior enemy forces and was subjected to air and artillery strikes, but did not allow a breakthrough of the defensive line. Nine attacks were repulsed, 23 units of enemy armored vehicles were destroyed. Two tankmen of the brigade — Senior Lieutenant Anton Starostin and Senior Sergeant Yuri Nimchenko — were awarded the highest award of the country and became Heroes of the Russian Federation for their courage and heroism shown during the battles with the nationalists.
Dmitry Boltenkov — military historian
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