76th Guards Airborne Assault Division: history, composition and interesting facts

The 76th Guards Airborne Assault Division is one of the most famous units of the amphibious forces that exists to this day. It is also called the Chernigov Red Banner. Has the Order of Suvorov.

Guards division

The 76th Guards Airborne Assault Division is deployed in Pskov. And one of the regiments is based in the suburban town of Cherekh. In common parlance this division is called Pskov. This is her unofficial name, but it is under him that most Russians know her. Now the division is commanded by the major-general, whose name is Alexei Naumets.

76 Guards Chernigov Red Banner Airborne Assault Division was formed on the eve of World War II. At the front, she showed herself brightly. Participated in the defense of Sevastopol, Stalingrad, Kerch and Odessa. Took part in the crossing of the Dnieper and the Battle of the Kursk Bulge. The war ended victoriously - in Germany.

In the mid-1990s, separate divisions of the division participated in the armed conflict in the North Caucasus. Recently, soldiers and officers of this military unit have shown themselves in international conflicts. For example, the 76th Guards Airborne Assault Division participated in the peacekeeping operation in Kosovo, which took place from 1999 to 2001, as well as in the military conflict against Georgia in the summer of 2008.

The last time the division was spotted in 2014 in the Crimea. There she was charged with fulfilling the tasks of returning the republic to Russia.

History of the division

Initially, the 76th Guards Airborne Assault Division received the number 157. It was founded in 1939 on the basis of the Taman Division.

At the time when the Great Patriotic War began, the division was attributed to the North Caucasian Military District. The first task in the war was the defense of the Black Sea coast.

In the first battle, the 76th Guards Airborne Assault Division, whose history has since had many battles, took part in the fall of the first year of the war. At that time she defended Odessa. However, at dawn, unexpectedly for the enemy went on the offensive, took possession of the state farm and the village.

In October the division was transferred to Sevastopol, and later to Novorossiysk. She had to prove herself in Theodosia amphibious operation. The fighting lasted 9 days, according to their results it was possible to completely free the Kerch Peninsula, considerable help was given to the defending Sevastopol.

Military operations

In the summer of 1942, the division destroyed German troops crossing the Don. In August, she rose on the northern shore of the Aksai River. Here there were continuous fights. The division always had its own heroes. In these battles they became the Red Army man Afanasii Ermakov, the machine-gunner. He was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

In 1943, the 76th Guards Airborne Assault Division was ordered to take part in the Battle of Stalingrad. The division realized the operation "Ring", which consisted in the destruction of the enemy, who had fallen into the encirclement.
In the Stalingrad battles, the division destroyed more than 10,000 German soldiers and officers. After the Battle of Stalingrad, she was given the status of Guards.

At the end of the war

Then the division was part of the Bryansk Front, participated in the Battle of Kursk. On July 12, the paratroopers forced Oka and captured the German bridgehead, destroying fifteen thousand enemies.

After that she participated in the liberation of Chernigov. Within three days, the division managed to advance 70 kilometers, attacking the enemy. In 1944, already in the 1st Belorussian Front, participated in the liberation of Kiev, captured by the fascists. With fights advancing in the direction of Brest. As a result, the fortress city was liberated.

In January 1945, as part of the 2nd Belorussian Front, the division destroyed an enemy unit that defended the city of Torun. It included more than 30 thousand soldiers and officers of the Wehrmacht. March 23 was taken by Zoppot, so the USSR got a free exit to the Baltic Sea.

The division was moving towards Germany. May 2, she conquered the town of Güstrow, and advanced detachments already made their way to the Baltic Sea, where they crossed with separate Allied units.

During the war, more than 50 soldiers and officers were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Medals and orders were awarded to 12 thousand people.

In peacetime, the division was transferred from Germany, and in 1947 arrived at the site of its new deployment. The 76th Guards Airborne Assault Division Pskov to this day considers its home.

In peacetime, the division regularly took part in the exercises, but this did not stop there. In 1988, a massive earthquake took place in Armenia. The division helped to cope with the consequences of the disaster.

In the Chechen war

To participate in the Chechen war, the division was sent to the North Caucasus in 1994. Guardsmen lost about 120 soldiers and officers dead. This time 10 people received the title of Heroes of Russia, two of them posthumously. In the performance of his official duty, Sergei Pyatnitskikh, a former lieutenant colonel, and Yuri Nikitich died.

The personnel of the division also participated in the Second Chechen campaign. The paratroopers liberated the settlements of Argun, Gudermes and Karamakhi, and blocked the Vedeno gorge.

Vivid examples of heroism

A vivid example of heroism The 76th Guards Airborne Assault Division, whose address Pskov-2, military unit 07264, the street of General Margelov, house No. 17, displayed in battle for the height of 776. The paratroopers confronted the trained insurgents of Khattab. This was one of the most outstanding battles in which the division participated. The enemy suffered serious damage. 22 paratroopers received the title of Hero of the Russian Federation, although 21 of them are posthumous.

Nowadays

The assault and assault division was in 2006. A notable feature of this particular military unit is that paratroopers can not only land with a parachute, but also with a piece of military equipment.

The last time the division showed itself in 2014. She participated in an armed conflict in the southeast of Ukraine. SBU announced the seizure of two combat vehicles paratroopers. True, in the ministry these speculations are refuted. Some even noted that it could be a provocation.

Indirect confirmation of the participation of the Pskov division in the war in the South-East was the funeral of paratroopers killed under unclear circumstances. After some time, the commander of the parachute company was buried, but already in Voronezh. According to Voronezh military commissar, he died in the performance of his immediate official duties.

In different years in the division there were many well-known commanders. Particularly worthy of mention is the Hero of the Soviet Union Viktor Malyasov, who was for life inscribed on the lists of the regiment.

Armament is very modern. This is a landing combat vehicle, an armored personnel carrier, an airborne self-propelled gun, a portable anti-aircraft missile system. Now the division continues to stay in Pskov in anticipation of further orders.