144th Guards Motor Rifle Division

Active Russian Ground Forces formation the division formed in 1922 and now serving with Russia the Red Army division active 1939–1956 144th Rifle Division June 2023 144th Guards Motor Rifle Division Sleeve patch of the 144th Guards Motor Rifle Division.svg Shoulder Sleeve Patch 1922–2004 2016–present 24px Red Army (1922–1946) Soviet Union (1946–1991)Russia (1991–present) Mechanized infantry Division 20th Combined Arms ArmyMoscow Military District YelnyaMUN 23060 , 2nd class Yelnya Colonel Aleksey Alekseyevich Polyakov World War II Battle of Moscow Riga offensive (1944) Russo-Ukrainian War Kyiv offensivehttps://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2022/09/26/the-ukrainian-army-reportedly-destroyed-another-russian-division The Ukrainian Army Reportedly Destroyed Another Russian Division Forbes 2022 Ukrainian Kharkiv counteroffensive Battle of Bakhmuthttps://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2022/09/26/the-ukrainian-army-reportedly-destroyed-another-russian-division/ The Ukrainian Army Reportedly Destroyed Another Russian Division Forbes Battle of the Svatove–Kreminna linehttps://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-october-3 Institute for the Study of War 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive 2024 Kursk offensive The 144th Guards Yelnya Red Banner Order of Suvorov Motor Rifle Division (ru 144-я гвардейская мотострелковая Ельнинская Краснознамённая, ордена Суворова дивизия) is a motorized infantry division of the Russian Ground Forces, reestablished in 2016 with its headquarters at Yelnya, Smolensk Oblast. History Formation & World War II The division traces its lineage back to the 32nd Rifle Division (First formation) of the Soviet Union's Red Army, first formed in 1922 and converted into the 29th Guards Rifle Division in 1942 for its actions in the Battle of Moscow during World War II. The 32nd Division's part in the battle of Moscow did not escape the notice of the Soviet high command and it was given the title 29th Guards Rifle Division and the 17th Rifle Regiment received the Order of the Red Banner. Its regiments were given new Guards unit numberings as the 87th, 90th, and 93rd Guards Rifle Regiments. In October 1944 it was moved to the Baltic area and was the first Soviet division into Riga. It ended the war as part of 10th Guards Army still in the Baltic region. Cold War Postwar, it was stationed in the Estonian SSR and redesignated as the 36th Guards Mechanized Division in 1946 and the 36th Guards Motor Rifle Division in 1957.Feskov et al 2013 205 Three years later, on 23 June 1960, the division was disbanded by being renamed the 8th Guards Rezhitskaya Order of Lenin Red Banner order of Suvorov Motorised Rifle Division "Major-General I.V. Panfilov".http://www.ww2.dk/new/army/msd/8gvmsd.htm 8th Guards Motorised Rifle Division Holm Michael www.ww2.dk 2016-07-01 To perpetuate the lineage of the disbanded division, the 36th Guards was redesignated and adopted its history. By this time, the 87th Guards Rifle Regiment had become the 282nd Guards Motor Rifle Regiment. When the 8th Guards Motor Rifle Division was transferred to Central Asia in 1967, it was dispatched to Kyrgyzstan with the division, and, many years later, eventually after the dissolution of the Soviet Union became a Kyrgyz motor rifle brigade. On 18 February 1967, the 144th Guards Motor Rifle Division was formed in Tallinn, Estonian SSR, Baltic Military District, replacing the 8th Guards Motor Rifle Division, which was about to transfer to Frunze, Kyrgyz SSR.Michael Holm, 144th Guards Motor Rifle Division, 2015. Ten months later, on 23 December 1967, the division was given the traditions, honors and awards of the 36th Guards Motor Rifle Division, which had been disbanded in 1960. It was therefore renamed the 144th Guards Motor Rifle Division. Holm 2015 and Feskov et al. 2013 list the regiments of the division in 1970 as follows: 254th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment (Tallinn, Estonian SSR) - from the 8th Guards Motor Rifle Division 482nd Motor Rifle Regiment (Klooga, Estonian SSR) 488th Motor Rifle Regiment (Klooga, Estonian SSR) 228th Tank Regiment (Keila, Estonian SSR) 450th Artillery Regiment (Klooga, Estonian SSR) 1259th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment (Klooga, Estonian SSR) Holm writes that the division was maintained as a Not Ready Division - Cadre Low Strength (US terms: Category III) - manning was 15% (2000 men). Russian Ground Forces service After the withdrawal of Soviet troops from the Baltics following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the division became part of the Russian Ground Forces and was sent to Yelnya, Yelninsky District, Smolensk Oblast in the Moscow Military District and was reorganised as the 4944th Base for Storage of Weapons and Equipment in 1993. It was planned that in a crisis it would be capable of being brought back to up to full division strength. The 4944th Guards Weapons and Equipment Storage Base was disbanded in 2004. As part of a Russian military buildup in the mid-2010s, the division was reformed as the 144th Motor Rifle Division in 2016 at Yelnya as part of the 20th Guards Army, and redesignated as the 144th Guards Motor Rifle Division to become the official successor of the previous formation of the same name in 2018.https://www.vedomosti.ru/politics/articles/2016/11/30/667490-ukrainoi-novih-divizii На границе с Украиной завершается развертывание новых дивизий Nikolsky Alexey 30 November 2016 Vedomosti 7 October 2018 ru Deployment of new divisions being completed on Ukrainian border By a decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin on 30 June 2018, it inherited the lineage of the 29th Guards Rifle Division and its successors.http://redstar.ru/v-traditsiyah-predannosti-otechestvu/ В традициях преданности Отечеству Shcherbakova Marina 4 July 2018 Krasnaya Zvezda 7 October 2018 ru In the tradition of devotion to the Fatherland Russo-Ukrainian War Russian invasion of Ukraine When, on 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, the unit was deployed as part of the grouping detailed to capture Ukraine's capital Kyiv by invading Ukraine from neighboring Belarus.The Ukrainian Army Reportedly Destroyed Another Russian Division https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2022/09/26/the-ukrainian-army-reportedly-destroyed-another-russian-division David Axe Forbes 27 September 2022 27 September 2022 The unit reportedly suffered heavy losses in the Kyiv campaign, and early April 2022 the campaign was disbanded altogether by Russia. The unit retreated across the Russian and Belarusian borders and was reinforced in order to return to the front. The 488th Motor Rifle Regiment attacked Kharkiv Oblast on 5 March 2022.https://complexdiscovery.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Ukraine-Conflict-Maps-022522-030822.pdf Ukraine conflict maps complexdiscovery.com March 2022 By July, the unit received the honorific 'Guards' status. In the September 2022 Ukrainian Kharkiv counteroffensive the unit again suffered heavy losses. The surviving members of the unit failed their objective to stop the Ukrainian army from crossing the Oskil river. It was reported on 23 September that the commander of the 144th division, Colonel Aleksey Alekseyevich Polyakov was wounded and evacuated in Svatove.Совинформбюро 2.0 https://t.me/sovinformbureau/734 2023-07-11 Telegram Polyakov returned to division command by January 2023.2023-01-20 Губернатор Алексей Островский провел рабочую встречу с командиром 144-й гвардейской мотострелковой дивизии Алексеем Поляковым - Вяземский вестник http://vvestnik.ru/18424-gubernator-aleksej-ostrovskij-provel-rabochuyu-vstrechu-s-komandirom-144-j-gvardejskoj-motostrelkovoj-divizii-alekseem-polyakovym/ 2023-07-11 ru-RU On 26 September 2022, the 144th Guards Motor Rifle Division, which had a prewar strength of over 12,000 troops, had been reported to have been largely destroyed and rendered combat ineffective as a result of heavy casualties sustained during the Kharkiv counteroffensive and the battle of Bakhmut.https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2022/09/26/the-ukrainian-army-reportedly-destroyed-another-russian-division/ The Ukrainian Army Reportedly Destroyed Another Russian Division David Axe Forbes 25 June 2023 The 283rd Motor Rifle Regiment was added to the order of battle in 2023.Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, November 19, 2023 https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-november-19-2023 19 November 2023 In August 2024 during the 2024 Kursk offensive, The Security Service of Ukraine reported that over 100 soldiers from the 488th Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment surrendered at a large defensive complex.Ukraine touts capture of large group of soldiers inside Russia https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-touts-capture-large-group-soldiers-inside-russia-2024-08-15/ 15 August 2024 According to the Institute for the Study of War, the 144th Guards Motor Rifle Division had been active on the Lyman front from at least 2023 until early 2025 without having been withdrawn for rest or reconstitution at any point.13 May 2025 RBC-Ukraine https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/news/russians-expand-foothold-near-lyman-isw-reveals-1743553277.html Russians expand foothold near Lyman - ISW reveals Russia's plans 2 April 2025 Oleh Velhan It was reported in March 2025 that the division's 254th Motor Rifle Regiment had suffered losses in combat against Ukraine's 3rd Assault Brigade near the village of Nadiia in the Luhansk Oblast.З ОШБр звільнила н.п. Надія на Луганщині https://censor.net/ua/news/3542739/naselenyyi-punkt-nadiya-na-luganschyni-zvilneno-scho-vidomo-pro-blyskuchu-operatsiyu 23 March 2025 29 May 2025 Ірина Дашківська Цензор.нет uk Composition Structure in 2024 Headquarters (Yelnya, Yelninsky District, Smolensk Oblast)Новая мотострелковая дивизия начала формироваться под Смоленском https://vz.ru/news/2016/4/27/807722.html 2016-04-27 Взгляд 2017-06-28 ruЗападный военный округ http://www.milkavkaz.net/2015/12/zapadnyj-voennyj-okrug.html 2016-02-06 Milkavkaz 2017-05-03 ru https://archive.today/20170418102033/http://www.milkavkaz.net/2015/12/zapadnyj-voennyj-okrug.html 2017-04-18 673rd separate anti-aircraft missile division (Smolensk); 148th separate reconnaissance battalion, military unit 23872 (Smolensk); 1259th separate anti-tank artillery Battalion (Yelnya); 340th Separate Engineer Battalion (Yelnya); 686th Separate Communications Battalion (Shatlovo); 1032nd Separate Logistics Battalion (Pochep); 150th Separate Medical Battalion (Pochep); Separate UAV Company; Separate Electronic Warfare Company; Separate NBC Protection Company. 182nd Motor Rifle Regiment (Zaymishche, Klintsy, Bryansk Oblast); 20px 254th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment named for "Alexander Matrosov" V/Ch 91704 (Zaymishche, Klintsy, Bryansk Oblast); 283rd Motor Rifle Regiment (Yelnya);Acting Governor Vasily Anokhin Met With The Servicemen Of The Smolyans Of The Yelnya Motor Rifle Regiment 20px 488th Guardshttp://publication.pravo.gov.ru/Document/View/0001202207290005 Указ Президента Российской Федерации от 29.07.2022 № 510 ∙ Официальное опубликование правовых актов ∙ Официальный интернет-портал правовой информации Motor Rifle Regiment - "Simferopol Red Banner, Order of Suvorov named for Sergo Ordzhonikidze," V/Ch 12721 (Klintsy);Алексей Никольский Пентагон заподозрил Россию в подготовке вторжения на Украину https://www.vedomosti.ru/newspaper/articles/2016/08/18/653689-vtorzhenie-ne-pervoi-svezhesti 2016-08-19 Ведомости 2017-05-03 ru 59th Guards Tank Lublin Twice Red Banner, Order of Suvorov and Kutuzov Regiment (Yelnya);Священник встретился с военнослужащими 59-го танкового полка http://pochinok.blagochin.ru/2019/06/29/svyashhennik-vstretilsya-s-voennosluzhashhimi-59-go-tankovogo-polka-voennoj-divizii-g-elni/ Починковское благочиние 2019-06-29 2019-09-02 20px 856th Guards Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment - "Kobrin Red Banner, Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky";http://publication.pravo.gov.ru/Document/View/0001201807020016 Указ Президента Российской Федерации от 30.06.2018 № 385 ∙ Официальное опубликование правовых актов publication.pravo.gov.ru 25 June 2023Дела и заботы войсковой части http://pochep.bezformata.ru/listnews/dela-i-zaboti-vojskovoj-chasti/54685458/ 2017-02-07 Почепское слово 2017-05-08 ru V/Ch 23857 (Pochep, Bryansk Oblast.) The Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky was awarded in July 1945. Commanders Major General Vladimir Vitalyevich Sleptsov ?- 2022 Colonel Aleksey Alekseyevich Polyakov (2022–present) See also List of infantry divisions of the Soviet Union 1917–1957 Notes References John Erickson The Road to Stalingrad: Stalin's War with Germany Phoenix Press, 2002. 1-84212-426-9 Вооруженные силы СССР после Второй Мировой войны: от Красной Армии к Советской Feskov V.I. Golikov V.I. Kalashnikov K.A. Slugin S.A. Scientific and Technical Literature Publishing 2013 9785895035306 Tomsk ru The Armed Forces of the USSR after World War II: From the Red Army to the Soviet: Part 1 Land Forces Feskov et al 2013 Further reading Lubyagov Mikhail Гвардейская Ельнинская : история 32-й Саратовской - 29-й - 36-й - 144-й гвардейской Краснознаменной ордена Суворова второй степени Ельнинской мотострелковой Smyadyn 2003 9785872100690 Smolensk ru External links Russiandefencepolicy.com New Tank Regiment? Posted on 13 June 2019 144 Category:Military units and formations established in 1967 Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1993 Category:Military units and formations established in 2016 Category:Infantry divisions of Russia Category:Soviet forces in Estonia Category:Military units and formations of Russia in the Russian invasion of Ukraine Category:Military formations of the Moscow Military District Category:Military formations of the Western Military District