126th Separate Guards Gorlovskaya Twice Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Coastal Defence Brigade
Sleeve patch of the Brigade
ActiveDecember 1, 2014[1] - present
CountryRussia
RoleCoastal Troops
Size~2000 (2017)[2]
Part of22nd Army Corps, Black Sea Fleet
Garrison/HQPerevalne, Republic of Crimea[3]
EquipmentT-72 main battle tank
EngagementsRussian invasion of Ukraine (2022)
Commanders
Current
commander		Lieutenant Colonel
Gasparyan Andranik Sarkisovich
Insignia
Identification
symbol		Gorlovskaya"
Guards unit (Soviet Union), Order of the Red Banner, Order of Suvorov
Armoured vehicles of the 126th Coastal Defence Brigade during a company tactical exercise (RTU) at one of the combat training ranges in Crimea

The 126th Separate Guards Gorlovskaya Twice Red Banner, Order of the Suvorov Coastal Defense Brigade (126 guards. parbo) is a formation of the Coastal Defence Troops of the Russian Navy. Its Military Unit Number is 12676. It was granted the "Guards" honorific after suffering heavy losses in an unsuccessful attempt to capture Voznesensk, southern Ukraine, during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. The brigade is part of the 22nd Army Corps, Coastal Forces of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.[4] The brigade's garrison is located in Perevalne, in the Simferopol region of the Russian-occupied Republic of Crimea.[3]

History

Inherited history

The brigade inherited the awards, military glory and titles of the 126th Rifle Division (2nd formation) that took part in World War II. The division began to form on September 1, 1941, at Muchnaya station, Primorsky Krai (probably) as the Voroshilov Rifle Division of the 25th Army of the Far Eastern Front. Probably in January 1942 it was renamed the 126th Rifle Division (2nd Formation). Since February 1942, it has been part of the 39th Rifle Corps of the same army. On July 11, 1942, the division was transferred to the west. The division was part of the "operational army" at the fighting front from July 28, 1942 - May 19, 1944, and from July 8, 1944 - May 9, 1945. It took part in the Battle of Stalingrad and fought at Melitopol, and in Ukraine and in the seizure of the Crimean Peninsula in 1944. In Crimea, it fought as part of the 54th Rifle Corps, 2nd Guards Army, 4th Ukrainian Front.[5] It was part of the 43rd Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front in May 1945.

In 1957, it became a motor-rifle division. In March 1967, due to the departure of the headquarters of the 45th Army Corps, the 126th Motorized Rifle Division (military unit 19756) was transferred to the 32nd Army Corps of the Odessa Military District.[6][7] It comprised the 257th Tank Regiment (Perevalne), which became 126th Tank Battalion around 1990, the 361st Motor Rifle Regiment (Yevpatoria), the 98th and 100th Motor Rifle Regiments (both Simferopol), the 816th Artillery Regiment, and 1096th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment (Межгорье).

"The division was maintained as a Not Ready Division - Low-Strength Cadre." (Holm)

On December 1, 1989, the division was transferred to the Red Banner Black Sea Fleet and transformed into the 283rd Gorlovka Twice Red Banner Order of Suvorov Coastal Defense Division.[8] The transfer was accompanied by an increase in the division's armament. On January 3, 1990, the division's number 126 was restored,[9] and in 1996 the division was disbanded.

Twenty-first century

In 2003, on the basis of units of the 32nd Army Corps, the 36th Separate Coastal Defense Brigade of the Ukrainian Navy, military unit A2320, was formed. In early 2014, the Brigade's barracks in Crimea were surrounded for several weeks by masked Russian special forces soldiers during the Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation. On March 21, 2014, servicemen loyal to their oaths of Ukraine were allowed to leave Crimea for unoccupied Ukraine; the remainder were given the option of quitting or renouncing their oaths to Ukraine and swearing a new oath to the Russian Federation. According to Colonel S. I. Storozhenko, the brigade commander, 199 servicemen from 1,200 left and 300 quit; the remainder swore allegiance to the Russian Federation.[10] Thereafter, it was reported that the brigade and its commander entered the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation as a separate coastal defense brigade of the Black Sea Fleet.[10] On December 1, 2014, the 126th Separate Coastal Defence Brigade was formed on the basis of this formation.[11]

Battles of Voznesensk

On March 2, 2022, as part of the Southern Ukraine offensive during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, units of the brigade advanced towards the city of Voznesensk from Mykolaiv, attempting to find a crossing over the Southern Bug river. The column consisted of 400 men and 43 vehicles.[12][13] The unit failed to find a crossing due to preparations taken by the city's mayor and civilian population; there were numerous roadblocks, a bridge over the Mertvovod River was destroyed, and the shoreline of the river had been dug out, so Russian vehicles could not ford it.[13]

Defense of the city was mostly mustered by the Ukrainian 80th Air Assault Brigade as well as local civilian militias, Territorial Defense Forces and the Special Operations Forces. The Ukrainian paratroopers proved to keep the unit’s artillery ineffective, and the 126th was forced to withdraw from the city after sustaining heavy losses. A total of 100 Russian soldiers died, 10 were captured, and 30 of the unit’s 43 armoured vehicles were either destroyed or abandoned in one day; Ukrainian forces were able to salvage 15 of these into working order.[14]

A second attempt to capture the city between March 9 and March 13 also ended in defeat.[15]

On March 28, 2022, over three weeks after defeat at Voznesensk, it was announced that the brigade would be granted a Guards title, without a change in its numerical designation. The Guards title is awarded to units that demonstrate "mass heroism and courage during combat operations".[16]

2022 Kherson counteroffensive

After the beginning of the successful Ukrainian Liberation of Kherson in September 2022, Telegram reports appeared saying the brigade had suffered very heavy losses.[17] On October 5, 2022, messages appeared saying that "126 is no more.. the remnants of the brigade are attached to our [76 GAAD] operational subordination."[18]

On October 15, 2022, the Institute for the Study of War wrote in their daily Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment:

"A video posted to social media on October 13 shows servicemen of the 126th Coastal Defence Brigade of the Black Sea Fleet in an unspecified location in Kherson Oblast complaining that they have been fighting in the area since the beginning of the war without breaks or troop rotation. The servicemen asserted that they are being “crushed” by Ukrainian forces and emphasized that they have one BTR (armored personnel carrier) for 80 people, which is greatly restricting their maneuverability. After the video circulated, a Wagner Group-affiliated Telegram channel announced on October 14 that Wagner Group leadership decided to transfer four off-road vehicles to the 126th Coastal Defence Battalion [sic: Brigade] in support of their efforts to hold the frontline in Kherson Oblast.

Ostriv Velykyi Potomkin

The 126th brigade has been stationed on Ostriv Velykyi Potomkin, the scene of continued skirmishes as part of the 2022–2023 Dnieper campaign, since at least November 2022. Since the Liberation of Kherson, the island has transferred hands several times.[19] It had initially been liberated by Ukrainian forces on 7 December, but was re-occupied by Russian forces on 9 December.[20][21][22][23] Ukrainian and Russian forces, who both maintain a presence on the island, have both contested the island since January 2, 2023.[24][25] The 126th brigade claimed to have repelled an assault on 7 March, while Ukrainian forces claimed to have killed 13 Russians and destroyed 6 armored vehicles and a tank during an air strike on 16 April.[26][27] On August 25, 2023, Ukraine attacked the brigade in Prevalne.[28]

References

  1. ↑ "Командующий ЧФ РФ: 126 бригада береговой обороны станет передовым соединением нашего флота". Комсомольская правда. Крым. (in Russian). 11 December 2014. Archived from the original on 2017-01-26. Retrieved 2017-12-21.
  2. ↑ "С именем Суворова на Знамени". Красная звезда [Red Star] (in Russian). 2014-12-15. Archived from the original on 2018-01-24. Retrieved 2017-12-21.
  3. 1 2 "Черноморский флот". Новости ВПК (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2019-06-07. Retrieved 2017-12-21.
  4. ↑ "The first military parade in recent history took place in Crimea". Russian newspaper (in Russian). 2017-09-05. Archived from the original on 2017-12-22. Retrieved 2017-12-21.
  5. ↑ Combat composition of the Soviet Army.
  6. ↑ Feskov 2013, Head 4. "Appendix 21.2. 32nd Army Corps in 1967-1991", p. 496.
  7. ↑ Holm, Michael (2015). "126th Gorlovskaya twice Red Banner order of Suvorov Motorised Rifle Division 126-я мотострелковая Горловская дважды Краснознамённая ордена Суворова дивизия". Soviet Armed Forces 1945-1991 Organisation and order of battle. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
  8. ↑ Feskov 2013, Chapter 4. "Annex 21.2. 32nd Army Corps in 1967-1991", p. 496.
  9. ↑ Feskov 2013, Chapter 4. "Infantry (1945-1962) and motorized rifle troops (1963-1991) of the Armed Forces of the USSR", p. 145.
  10. 1 2 Valery Shiryaev (April 2016). ""Military people should not beg civil war like candy"". Novaya Gazeta.
  11. ↑ "First Deputy Defense Minister Ruslan Tsalikov checked the arrangement of the 126th Separate Coastal Defence Brigade". Department of Information and Mass Communications of the Ministry of Defense. 2017-06-07. Archived from the original on 2021-04-17. Retrieved 2017-12-21.
  12. ↑ Dasgupta, Sravasti (17 March 2022). "Ukrainian soldiers and volunteers defeated larger Russian force in strategically important town, report claims". Independent. Archived from the original on September 29, 2022. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  13. 1 2 Trofimov, Yaroslav (16 March 2022). "A Ukrainian Town Deals Russia One of the War's Most Decisive Routs". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on October 6, 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  14. ↑ "Десантники з Львівщини відбили ворожу атаку військових росії в бою за Вознесенськ: детальніше [Paratroopers from the Lviv region fought the attack of the Russians in the battle for Voznesensk: details]". loda.gov.ua. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
  15. ↑ Video shows firefights between Ukrainian and Russian troops in streets of Ukrainian city of Voznesensk, CNN. (Archive)
  16. ↑ Nandy, Sumana (28 March 2022). "'Guards' title for Russia's two naval brigades for protecting Fatherland". India Today. Archived from the original on 31 March 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  17. ↑ "Russian sources now tell the defensive line towards Beryslav is broken". 2022-10-05.
  18. ↑ Axe, David (2022-10-07). "In 2014, Ukrainian Defectors Formed A New Russian Brigade. In 2022, The Ukrainian Army May Have Destroyed It". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  19. ↑ Rohalska, Nadiia (2022-12-09). "Окупанти готують десантну операцію на Дніпрі: засіли на острові під Херсоном, – Машовець" [The occupiers are preparing an amphibious operation on the Dnieper: they landed on an island near Kherson, - Mashovets]. StopCor (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2022-12-17.
  20. ↑ Dymnich, Nataliia (26 January 2023). "На Херсонщині загинув військовослужбовець з Прикарпаття Ігор Олійник" [Ihor Oliinyk, a serviceman from Prykarpattia, died in Kherson Oblast]. Suspilne (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2023-03-22.
  21. ↑ "Украинский десант вновь был накрыт российской артиллерией на островах в районе Херсона" [A Ukrainian landing was again covered by Russian artillery on the islands near Kherson]. Репортёр (in Russian). 19 March 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
  22. ↑ "Россияне пытаются окружить Бахмут с севера и юга и продвигаются под Херсоном - военный эксперт" [The Russians are trying to surround Bakhmut from the north and south and are advancing near Kherson - military expert]. Strana.ua (in Russian). 9 December 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-17.
  23. ↑ "Arestovich: about the situation on the front line". Odessa Journal. 2022-12-08. Retrieved 2022-12-17.
  24. ↑ Hird, Karolina; Stepanenko, Kateryna; Bailey, Riley; Mappes, Grace; Layne, Philipson; Klepanchuk, Yekaterina; Kagan, Frederick W. (3 January 2023). "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, January 3, 2023" (PDF). Institute for the Study of War. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 25, 2023. Retrieved 2023-01-04.
  25. ↑ "ЗСУ звільнили острів Великий Потьомкінський на Херсонщині – джерела" [The Armed Forces of Ukraine liberated Potemkin Island in the Kherson region - sources]. Ukrainska Pravda (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on January 16, 2023. Retrieved 2023-01-04.
  26. ↑ Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, March 7, 2023 Hird, Karolina, Wolkov, Nicole, Barros, George, Mappes, Grace, Mason, Clark; March 7, 2023; Institute for the Study of War (Archive)
  27. ↑ Russian Observation Post on Dnipro River Islands Destroyed April 16, 2023 (Archive)
  28. ↑ https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2023/08/25/7417127/
  • 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.
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