The flag of the Airborne Forces 328 PDP 104 Airborne Division will remind everyone who has ever had the honor of serving in the 328 Airborne Regiment that there are no former paratroopers.
Characteristics
- 328 RAP
- 328 Guards RAP
- Ganja
- military unit 93626
Flag of the Airborne Forces 328 Guards Parachute Regiment
The 328th Airborne Regiment belongs to the first generation of these elite guards formations, born in the fire of the battles of the Great Patriotic War. Every paratrooper who had the honor of serving in the 328th Guards Paratroopers Division can be proud of this fact. On the other hand, this imposes additional responsibility. A guardsman cannot afford even a momentary weakness when performing a combat mission in the interests of the Motherland, protecting his loved ones and peace on our land.
Perhaps it’s worth starting the story about this famous unit by watching a video of the 328th Airborne Division of the 104th Airborne Division. Here is a short video with rare footage from the Geran training ground near Kirovabad.
And here is a video edited by one of the regiment's paratroopers.
328 RPD in the battles of World War II
In May 1943, the 1st separate airborne brigade was created in the Moscow region with a staff strength of about 6,000 people. In September 1943, it was planned to land the brigade on the Kanevsky site, however, the landing did not take place for various reasons.
Until the end of 1943, the 1st Airborne Brigade fought as part of the 1st Baltic Front, where it joined the 8th Airborne Corps together with the 2nd and 11th Airborne Brigades. In December 1943, these three airborne brigades formed the 11th Guards Airborne Division.
In August 1944, 11th Guards. The Airborne Division is part of the 38th Guards Airborne Corps. In December 1944, the 11th Airborne Division was reorganized into the 104th Guards. rifle division on the territory of the Belarusian SSR.
During the last reorganization, the former 1st Guards. The airborne brigade is renamed the 328th Guards. rifle regiment But already in September of the same year, 1944, 104th Guards. The SD again becomes an airborne division, and the rifle regiments become airborne brigades with the return of the previous numbering.
Until the end of the war, the organization and names of formations of the 104th Guards. the divisions did not change. As for the 1st Airborne Brigade, it successfully fought as part of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts in Hungary, Austria and Czechoslovakia.
Having ended the Great Patriotic War in the Prague area, the 1st Airborne Brigade, which was the predecessor of the 328th Airborne Division of the 104th Airborne Division, was based in Hungary until 1946. In the winter of 1946, the division was redeployed to the Leningrad area.
328 Airborne Regiment as part of the 104 Airborne Division in Ganja (Kirovabad)
When transferred to the Soviet Union, the 1st Airborne Brigade again received the name 328th Guards Parachute Regiment (328 airborne regiment). The initial location is the city of Kingisepp in the Leningrad region.
From 1947 to 1960, the 104th Guards Airborne Division, and with it the 328th Airborne Division, were based in the Pskov region in the city of Ostrov.
In 1960, the 328th Airborne Regiment was transferred to Azerbaijan to the city of Kirovabad (now Ganja).
As for the events that took place during the war in Afghanistan, according to documents, the 328th PDP did not participate in hostilities as part of a limited contingent of Soviet troops. However, there are a number of oral testimonies from regiment officers stating that they took part in the Afghan War in the spring of 1984.
328 traffic police station 104 airborne division in Ulyanovsk
After the collapse of the USSR, the regiment and division were relocated from Ganja to Ulyanovsk, where a new stage in the life of the formation began.
On May 1, 1998, the 104th Airborne Division was reorganized into the 31st separate airborne brigade with the transfer of historical records, awards and combat banners.
Twice the regiment takes part in operations of federal forces in the North Caucasus - in Chechnya (1994-1995), as well as in Dagestan and Chechnya (1999-2001). We have already written about these events in more detail.
At the moment, the successor to the 328th Guards Regiment of the 104th Airborne Division is the 54th OPDB, to which all the regalia of the glorious 328th Airborne Regiment have been transferred. Now the 54th separate parachute battalion is engaged in combat training in peacetime, but is always ready to defend Russia, like the formations whose awards and banners it carries.
CAUCASIAN EPIC
Fragment from the book "The Winged Guard in the Nightmare of the Afghan War"
February 11, 1989 was not only the date of withdrawal of the 345th Civil Defense
PDP from Afghanistan to the Union, but also the starting point of a new and completed
a decisive period in the history of this famous airborne regiment. In this use
historical day 2nd battalion, regimental reconnaissance and 3rd howitzer battalion
tarya under the command of the deputy commander of the guard regiment under
Colonel Yu.M. Lapshina (Yuri Mikhailovich - author of the published
"Afghan Diary" published in 2004, covering the history of the regiment
at the final period of the Afghan war) were transferred to
BTA plane to the Azerbaijani city of Kirovabad, where, as indicated,
elk, the 104th Airborne Division was deployed. Thus, the 345th
The regiment was included in the Kirovabad Guards Airborne Forces
division, which at that time was commanded by Major General Sorokin.
The question arises: why was the 345th regiment immediately redeployed to
Azerbaijan, and not to Uzbekistan, to Fergana? More; Let us remind you once again that
The 105th Airborne Division was disbanded on the eve of the entry of the Soviet
troops to Afghanistan. Decision about e; reconstruction was accepted only in
1990, when the 345th regiment was already part of the 104th Airborne Forces and was enlisted
operated in Transcaucasia to carry out special government functions
tasks. After preparatory work, the 105th Airborne Division was again formed
incorporated in 1991, but did not last long. After the crash of Co-
of the Soviet Union, this Airborne Forces unit was “inherited” to
composition of the armed forces of sovereign Uzbekistan.
Since February 1989, the 345th GPDP (received a new military no-
military unit 93613) was located near the railway station of the city of Kirovoba-
yes (Ganja). But only the regiment personnel began combat support.
cooking, as already in the spring of 1989 he was involved in not
government assignments typical de jure for the Airborne Forces. On the edge
80–90s, in the last years of the existence of the USSR, Transcaucasia became
is the epicenter of the so-called “hot spots” in space are dying
cabbage soup, once a great Soviet power. Guardsmen of the 345th Regiment
had to participate in the process of stabilizing the situation in all
three Transcaucasian Soviet Union Republics - Azerbaijan,
Armenia and Georgia. In Azerbaijan itself, where he began to be stationed
345th Regiment, the situation was very tense. The Armenian-
Azerbaijani military conflict over Karabakh. It was restless
and on the Iran-Azerbaijan border, which was no longer held
only border guards, but also paratroopers, in particular, guardsmen of the 350th
regiment of the Vitebsk 103rd Airborne Division (not every reader is probably aware
line that at the indicated time units of the 103rd Airborne Division were transferred
under the jurisdiction of the KGB of the USSR, i.e. for about two years they were de jure considered...
border troops).
At the beginning of April 1989, units of the 104th Airborne Division were involved in
neutralization of an anti-government rally in Tbilisi. More; from 4
April in Tbilisi under the leadership of the leaders of the national movement
Zviad Gamsakhurdia, Irakli Tsereteli an open-ended rally broke out,
anti-Soviet in its nature. Two days later, the rally participants
began to proclaim slogans: “Down with Russian imperialism!”, “USSR-
prison of nations!”, “Down with Soviet power!” and so on. April 8 after
overthrow of the long march, the soldiers of the 345th regiment (440 people) entered
Georgian capital, taking up defensive positions near the House of Government
government At this time in Tbilisi, in addition to the paratroopers (345th GPDP,
328th GPDP, 21st separate airborne assault brigade), there were also other units: 4th motorized rifle-
regiment of the Dzerzhinsky division (650 people), Perm and Voronezh
Riot police (160 people), cadets of the Gorky Higher School of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR
(450 people)
By the evening of April 8, the atmosphere in the center of Tbilisi became tense
limit. At the building of the Council of Ministers of the GSSR, a large number of
crowd of thousands of demonstrators, barricades appeared on the avenue
Rustaveli. The tragic outcome occurred early in the morning of April 9, 1989
d. After unsuccessful exhortations from the command with a request to de-
the monstrants dispersed, the troops were given the order to begin displacing
participants of the rally to Republic Square. Paratroopers, armed,
like other military units, sapper blades and rubber
with sticks, they moved through the barricades towards the demonstrators. Pro-
there was a clash between the parties. Demonstrators used weapons against soldiers
whether edged weapons, chains, rods, bottles, stones. Soon in 15 minutes
the meeting was dispersed. During these tragic events, according to
According to official information, 17 demonstrators were crushed to death.
We are in a crowd, 268 people are injured. From the Soviet troops
172 people were wounded. Among them were paratroopers. TO
At the end of April, the situation in Tbilisi stabilized for a while, and
the troops returned to their place of permanent deployment. We returned to Kiro-
wobad and paratroopers of the 104th Airborne Division. This is how the tragedy of April 9 ended
1989, in which guardsmen 345-
th regiment. In sovereign Georgia in memory of those tragic events in
Tbilisi date April 9 is celebrated as the day of national unity,
civil harmony and memory of those who died for Georgia.
In 1990, the internal situation in Azerbaijan continued to
remain tense. Centrifugal political forces contribute to
led to an increase in destabilization in this republic. Paratroopers like
elite units have been repeatedly involved as a peacekeeping force
in Azerbaijan. At the very beginning of 1990, the personal
the composition of the 345th regiment began to carry out the order of the commander
Airborne Forces, demanding to carry out a multi-kilometre military demonstration
meter march through the territory of Azerbaijan and Armenia along the route:
Kirovobad–Kazakh–Aboyan–Nakhichevan–Alin–Shusha–Stepanakert–Mir
Bashir–Yevlakh–Kirovobad. The task was successfully completed
filled with paratroopers, all driver mechanics of the 345th GRDP were awarded
received government awards.
At the end of 1991 he stopped his; historical existence of Co-
Vetsky Union. Soviet republics of Transcaucasia (Armenia, Azerbaijan-
Jan, Georgia) overnight turned into sovereign states.
However, the acquisition of independence by these countries did not mean a decision
tion of long-standing internal ethnopolitical problems. "Hot spots" in
Transcaucasia continued to exist, military confrontation between
the peoples of this region for independence continued in the 90s.XX
century.
An example of this is the Georgian-Abkhaz armed conflict
1992–1993 By the will of Stalin in 1931, Abkhazia, which occupied the north
the western part of Transcaucasia, was reassigned to the Georgian
Soviet Socialist Republic in the status of an autonomous republic
public within Georgia. The national pride of the Abkhazians was
very affected. It is characteristic that in the second half of the 20th century. repeatedly
but (in 1957, 1967,1978) there were mass protests by Abkhaz-
of the population demanding the separation of Abkhazia from the Georgian
SSR. At the end of the era of perestroika, when the process of sovereignty of the Union
nious and some autonomous republics of the USSR began to quickly gain
pace, the Georgian-Abkhazian issue has sharply escalated. In March 1989
a gathering of thousands of Abkhaz people took place, demanding
Abkhazia's secession from Georgia. In the middle of summer 1989 in Abkhazia
in the capital of Sukhumi there was a violent clash between Abkhazians
and the Georgians, who turned into victims, shed blood. In 1992, after
After Georgia gained independence, the Abkhazians again began to fight
boo for your sovereignty. The Georgian-Abkhaz conflict from this moment
begins to take on the character of an armed confrontation. Beginning
there was a war. Russia volunteered to separate the warring parties.
this. Our country was interested in maintaining a peaceful situation
in Abkhazia for the reason that at that time in this part of Transcaucasia,
has long been a prestigious resort destination for Soviet
people, there were many citizens of the Russian Federation. Now they
there was danger and they had to be evacuated.
On August 17, 1992, the Foreign Ministry of the Russian Federation made a
phenomenon: “In connection with the current situation in Abkhazia and the creation
a real threat to Russian citizens who were there on vacation,
among which as a result of the clashes taking place in Sukhumi
there were casualties (2 killed and wounded), the Russian government, by agreement,
communication with the leadership of Georgia took urgent measures... To ensure
security and evacuation of Russian citizens, as well as to strengthen
protection of Russian troops stationed in this area
A parachute regiment has been sent to Abkhazia..."
More; On August 16, the 345th Civil Defense Division was alerted and promptly
transferred to the airfield of the Black Sea resort of Gudauta. While
The regiment was commanded by Guard Colonel Evgeny Dmitrievich D;min.
At the same time, the 901st OPDB under the command of the Guards landed in Sukhumi.
diy of Lieutenant Colonel V. Krasovsky. The entire Airborne Forces group in Abkhazia
was led by the Operational Group headed by Major General A. Sigut-
kin.
The appearance of paratroopers in troubled Abkhazia allowed the growth
for Siyan resort-goers to return safely to their homeland; by the end of August
in 1992, more than 4 thousand people left this “hot spot”. Gvar-
the paratroopers were to remain in Abkhazia until 1998.
fulfilling the role of peacemakers, i.e. to be a force dividing warring
sides. The 345th Airborne Regiment took under guard the airfield in Gudauta, seis-
mic laboratory in the village. Lower Escher, as well as a number of other military
ny objects. Peacekeeping paratroopers legitimately earned respect for
attitude on the part of the local population, who perceived our
warriors as their protectors. Unfortunately, among the personnel
The 345th Regiment also had casualties.
Late in the evening of March 27, 1993, to the seismic station in the village.
The militants rained down artillery and mine fire on Nizhniye Esher.
At that moment, the station was guarded by paratroopers of the 7th Parachute
companies. As a result of the shelling, the communication line was damaged, which means
Communication with the Airborne Forces Operational Group in Gudauta was lost. Position
Guard Senior Sergeant Vitaly saved him with his heroic action
Wolf (born July 14, 1972 in the village of Malinovsky, Zavyalovsky district
Altai region. He graduated from high school in Yarovoye. Called up for
military service in the fall of 1990. After six months of service in the 44th
airborne training division in Gaizhunai was sent to the 345th GPDP in Ki-
rovobad. Since August 1992, as commander of the communications department 3-
The regiment's th battalion served in Abkhazia. Since the end of 1992 he continued
service as a super-enlisted sergeant). Under mine fire
The paratrooper rushed to repair communication lines. Being already hard
wounded by shrapnel in the head, he managed to restore contact with the 7th company
Gudauta. The helicopter arrived; you suppressed the fire support
high enemy positions. The hero sergeant died without regaining consciousness.
By decree of the President of the Russian Federation Boris Yeltsin dated July 26, 1993, for courage-
in and heroism shown in the performance of military duty, guard
senior sergeant of long-term service Wolf Vitaly Alexander-
Rovich was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation. IN
in the same year, Vitaly Wolf Street appeared in Yarovoye.
After the end of the next phase of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict,
in the fall of 1993, the 345th (at that time essentially a separate) military regiment
sh;l to the 7th Guards Airborne Division, which in
Soviet era was stationed in Lithuania (Kaunas), and then was
brought to Russian territory. The regiment continued to remain
Abkhazian land until the end of the 90s. XX century, still fulfilling the peace
creative mission in this region of Transcaucasia.
In May 1994, Georgia and Abkhazia finally signed
a ceasefire agreement was signed. Consequently, there was a non-
the need to create official collective forces to support
desire for peace, law and order in the region. And such a decision was
adopted by the Government of the Russian Federation in June 1994. A logical consequence
This decision was the formation of the so-called. 50th military base, which
The 345th regiment entered.
As a peacekeeping military unit, the 345th Regiment remained in
Abkhazia until the spring of 1998. It was then that events occurred that
determined the end of the glorious history of this regiment. At the specified
time begins the next disbandment of the Russian army,
accompanied by the reform of some military units, in
including elite ones with rich combat experience.
Unfortunately, the victim of these not entirely thought-out army
The 345th Russian Airborne Regiment also underwent reforms. according to the order of the minister
Defense of the Russian Federation April 30, 1998, the famous winged guard regiment
was disbanded. On its basis, the so-called 10th separate
parachute regiment of the Russian peacekeeping forces. Battle Banner
the no longer existing 345th Civil Defense Division was transferred by order to the Central
minesweeper museum of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
The reader will definitely have a question: why is this significant
Was this regiment disbanded? It's really difficult to answer.
But. This problem can also be the subject of a separate historical
sky research. Indeed: which of the military and politicians
first put forward the idea of disbanding the 345th Civil Defense Division and what
did the forces lobby the military department for this project? Was this
the idea is due to bureaucratic stupidity or conscious betrayal
the leadership of our airborne forces? Someday we will get the answer.
The 10th OPDP did not last long. In 1999, during the
secret of the commander of the Russian Airborne Forces, Colonel General Georgy Shpak Mini-
The Ministry of Defense and the General Staff authorized the return of combat
banner of the 345th regiment to its successor. Presentation of this combat
The banner of the 10th RDP took place in July 1999. But very soon
the 10th Regiment itself ceased to exist.
Due to the termination of the peacekeeping force's mandate
Russian government in the zone of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict
ordered the withdrawal of the 10th regiment to Russian territory, where it was
disbanded The battle banner of the 345th Airborne Regiment now rests in
Central Museum of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. And will be
it will be kept in this military sanctuary forever, reminding posterity
about the glorious history of the 345th regiment of our winged guard, which
by the will of the lords of metahistory it was destined for more than 9 years to find
to live in the nightmare of the Afghan war, honorably preserving and strengthening
the best traditions of the Soviet landing and the spirit of the military guards brother-
stva.
I continue to post the next chapter of my memories of serving in the Airborne Forces. Today - Part 2. Kirovabad. Chapter I. 337th Regiment.
Photo of my army album. Memories of the Army
Dedicated to my friend, guard sergeant major of the Airborne Forces
Konstantin Borisovich Pavlovich
Part 2. Kirovabad
Chapter I. 337th Regiment
We arrived in Kirovabad by train late at night. From our company, besides me, two more went there. From my platoon it was Valery Serdyukov - our “grandfather”. Even in training, we learned that Serdyukov was married, he had a child (in my opinion, a girl) and for us, mustacheless boys, he was such a veteran. By the way, he really was older, he was about 21-22 years old, and maybe even older. He was wiry, thin, and grumpy in character (needless to say, a year before demobilization in my 3rd parachute company he became a company sergeant major).
They lined us up somewhere near the station. In the light of the spotlights, some high rank, in my opinion, a general, probably from the division headquarters, handed over gray cardboard boxes containing the “Guard” badge. Since the war and to this day, all airborne formations are guards, but the training unit (training) is not a linear unit, that is, not combat, not combat, so they did not give “guards” there. And upon arrival, a guardsman's badge is immediately assigned to the linear units.
Then we were put into cars and taken to the shelves. As I later understood, me, Valerka and also Yurka from another training platoon were sent to the 337th Guards Order of Alexander Nevsky Parachute Regiment.
We were lined up on the parade ground and assigned to companies.
Valerka and I got the 3rd company, which was located in the third barracks farthest from the headquarters. The barracks, in my opinion, were panel (or maybe not?), 3-story. At night the parade ground is illuminated. It was the month of May, very hot, the night was stuffy, cicadas were singing and it was very, very quiet. Having entered the location, the officer handed us over to the company duty officer, but the company commander was already there to meet us. They showed us our bunks; I got one on the first tier. I began to undress and carefully put my uniform on a stool, and then, out of nowhere, demobilizers came up.
Seeing my badges, they said: “Oh, sergeant, cool! Sergeant, let’s take a swing - you’ve just been given a new guard (and, by the way, the badge was in my pocket, I didn’t put it on my tunic), and I have a little bit here.” The enamel has chipped off, you don’t care, but I’m demobilized.” Having thought that I really had to serve for another year and a half and deciding that perhaps there was such a unique tradition here, I answered: “Okay, let’s go.” They waved.
In the morning, out of habit, I woke up a few seconds before getting up and, hearing: “Rota, get up!”, I jumped up, began to pull on my boots, and in the evening I saw that all the beds had boots. They took the company for exercise, and Valerka and I were told to go to the quarters to receive southern uniforms. In the south (this was later seen in Afghanistan) they wore loose-fitting trousers, boots with socks, and a canvas Panama hat on their heads - the brim was even, but it was considered especially chic to curl the brim in such a way that it looked like a cowboy hat. Having received uniforms, we began to get acquainted with the location, and in general with the life of our already native 337th regiment.
On the very first day (it turned out to be a park and maintenance day), we were sent by car to Geranium to prepare the barracks to receive young recruits.
Geran is an educational summer town about 50 kilometers from Kirovabad, not far from Mingichaur and the Mingichaur hydroelectric power station. You had to go there either by train or by car. We were taken in cars. On the way, I looked at the unusual surroundings with interest.
But we need to start with the fact that from the windows of the barracks, and, in fact, from anywhere in the regiment, mountains were visible, in some places even covered with snow. All the vegetation was unfamiliar. Vineyards, apricot and peach orchards grew around the regiment's location. The street that led to the regiment (in fact, the street abutted at the checkpoint) was lined with mulberry trees, before that I had never heard or seen such a tree, otherwise it is also called mulberry, very tasty, sweet berries ripen on it. At one time, when they were ripe, I tried them.
In Geran I began to become more familiar with my calling.
They assigned me to the second platoon of the second squad and appointed me the commander of this squad. As I already wrote, in the Airborne Forces there are 7 people in the squad and in my squad, besides me (the commander), there was a machine gunner (Kalashnikov machine gun), a grenade launcher (RPG-9) and a 4th rifleman. All of them had AKMS assault rifles, just like in training, with folding butts. Well, of course, we went to work near Geranium without weapons.
In general, in my platoon there were 7 people of my conscription - Vaska Antonov (from Riga), Ramazanov (from Dagestan), Valerka (also from Dagestan) and an interesting soldier named Viksna, he was from the Baltic states, spoke with a slight accent, completely blond , probably even reddish, with whitish eyelashes, naturally, covered in freckles. He had the type of skin that never tans, but only turns red. He was thin and short, but his palms attracted attention - like those of a healthy man, say, a loader. It turned out that Viksna, after turning 8, had already been working as a lumberjack in the forest for two years - as he said: he was cutting off branches from trees. This is where these paws come from.
I was greeted normally.
Those whom I listed (they were in the platoon), in my opinion, only Vaska and Ramazanov were in my squad, and my conscription was called “scoopers” (those who served for six months), the rest were either “godki” (this those who served for a year), or demobilization (those who served for a year and a half were also “grandfathers” - these are those who will have to go to demobilization in a few weeks). We didn’t have “newcomers” (those who had just come to serve); we were just waiting for new reinforcements.
The company commander said that when the young people arrive, I will go to Geran as part of a training platoon and, as a squad commander, I will train the young people for a month and a half.
The first few days in the regiment were remembered for one event.
The platoon commander (in my platoon) was, if I’m not mistaken, Yurka Gradov, in my opinion, he was from Moscow. A cheerful, handsome guy, for some reason I remember him with a golden fixation, or maybe it already seems so to me now. He was one of the breed of impudent impudent people - he always got into trouble, didn’t let anyone off the hook, and, of course, he wasn’t all right with army discipline.
It turns out that on the eve of my arrival, he and several other demobilizers got into some kind of trouble. Literally two days after my arrival, he was removed from the post of deputy platoon commander (and in fact, the platoon commander is also the commander of the first squad, and there are three squads in the platoon) and I was appointed to this position. Yurka, of course, could not forgive me for this and I initially got a lot from him.
Here it is necessary to say separately about the so-called hazing. Of course, our young people for demobilization cleaned badges, glued demobilization albums, someone could iron out a parade shirt, if someone knew how to sew beautifully and neatly, they hemmed something, again, when chores, demobilization workers usually didn’t work, they smoked if There were no officers nearby, the “salagas”, “scoops” and “year-olds” were plowing. But there were simply no passions, which, unfortunately, are often written about, and which are actually happening now in our army, in those years, especially in the Airborne Forces.
By the way, we explained this to ourselves very simply.
Firstly, we have live firing very often. For example, combat shooting of a company or battalion, or even a regiment in a deployed formation, that is, this is when a unit marches in a chain, fires on the move, and a variety of targets appear in front of us in a variety of directions. And it is purely theoretically understandable that if there was some kind of offender, then we could lag behind a little there and, supposedly, the bullet could accidentally fly away in the wrong direction. Everyone understood this intellectually. And, secondly, we had this saying: “Insert a knitting needle.” The fact is that a backpack with a parachute (when the ring was pulled out, the backpack opened due to special rubber bands and the parachute was thrown out of there) could be pierced with a knitting needle, and the knitting needles were used for installation for a specific operation. And a backpack with a parachute pierced by a spoke would simply not open. As a hypothetical threat, when someone bothered you, you could often hear: “Well, I’ll put a needle in you, you pest, and you’ll fly and crow to the ground.” But still, this is not the main explanation. The main thing is how we were raised by officers and, above all, by our “father” - paratrooper number one, Commander-in-Chief of the Airborne Forces Vasily Filippovich Margelov, because we deciphered the Airborne Forces: “Troops Uncle Vasya."
Let me digress and give a very typical example of what the Airborne Forces are from the point of view of discipline in relation to other branches of the military.
On November 7, that is, it was the fall of 1972, our regiment, together with other regiments and units of the Kirovabad garrison, took part in a parade on the central square of Kirovabad, opposite the Central Department Store. They took us to training, although it was probably already the spring of 1973, because it was warm, although no, it’s already forgotten now, after all, it was in November, because it was still warm in the south at that time. So, they chased us and chased us, but we had a consolidated “box” - a company - that is, 8 ranks of 8 people. We were the only paratroopers. There were infantrymen, tankmen, artillerymen, signalmen, and pilots. And at some stage they put us in “boxes” and ordered all the officers to gather to debrief the “flights”. Naturally, we, standing in such a “box”, eight by eight, were left to our own devices. Literally 10 minutes later there was only our “box” standing, and, indeed, standing - from all sides one could see clear rows, clear alignment, young people stood in front, so they were almost standing at attention, demobilization was behind - not leaving the ranks, without taking a single step to the side, but quietly smoking in their sleeves. But still other “boxes” lay on the lawns, sat, wandered, whatever they wanted. The officers were gone for about 40 minutes. And all this time our landing “box” stood, essentially, without moving. It was “wild” for us to see how fighters from other branches of the military allowed themselves to carry out the command “Freely” in this way. By the way, the Airborne Forces are still famous for this, that the spirit of brotherhood, the spirit of mutual assistance, unquestioning execution of the commander’s orders are the essence of our service and our pride in the Airborne Forces.
Returning to Gradov. He is removed from his post, I am appointed, and it turns out that I am already occupying a position that I could have occupied, in principle, only before demobilization. That is, in the absence of the platoon commander (and my platoon commander was Lieutenant Shavrin, a good guy, only a little sick, he spent a lot of time and for a long time in the hospital for some reason), I actually performed his duties. Even during checkpoints, when the command was given: “Platoon commanders, come to me!”, I, along with the officers, ran to the battalion commander or regiment commander. But all this was ahead.
This summer I saw grapes growing for the first time, and I tasted them straight from the vine for the first time in my life. I saw how peaches, apricots, persimmons grew (there was a variety called “Korolek” for some reason), and pomegranates. I remember once, but it was already, in my opinion, a year later, we were driving to an exercise in an open GAZ-66 in an absolutely wild place. And suddenly we saw (and this was apparently at the end of September): there were bushes, there were practically no leaves on them, only huge red balls - pomegranates - hanging. We were moving in a convoy, it was impossible to stop, but the driver of our GAZ-66 had a great idea: he drove off the road, shook us a little on the bumps, drove up close to a bush, braked and skidded the body so that the side hit the bush and grenades fell straight to our body. They immediately burst, we were all red, as if in blood, but we ate plenty of pomegranates.
Every year, somewhere in August, our entire regiment took part in the grape harvest.
There was no need to go far - the vineyard was literally behind the fence. At first, of course, they ate “from the belly”, but they soon got tired of the grapes and looked for other varieties in distant plots - they still got tired of it. Well, we, enterprising soldiers, very quickly learned how to make mash. This was done very simply: they took the grapes, strained them, squeezed them into some containers, then these containers were placed in a warm place and after some time they could drink the so-called “bragulka”, but for this they had to wait several days. And working in the vineyard was relaxing; sometimes it felt like you were in civilian life. The commanders came in from time to time - the norm was clear to us and, in general, the work was “don’t hit someone who is down.” By the way, I still have a photograph where I hold two bunches of grapes, like mice by their tails.
Next to me is Valerka Serdyukov.
So, one day we decided to find somewhere " agdamchik". The local Azerbaijanis always had their own wine in every house. I don’t know, maybe specifically for soldiers, or maybe so, they made “Agdam”. It was fortified wine, to be honest, I don’t know what was added to it, but the strength was “atomic”. And, of course, I wanted to feel like a civilian and take a sip of this very “Agdam”.
And so we chipped in, whoever had what money, and by the way, in the entire Soviet Army we paid privates 3 rubles a month, paratroopers - 4, we were also paid for jumping (up to 10 jumps we were paid, in my opinion, 4 rubles, and after 10 they paid 10 rubles - it was “serious” money). As a sergeant and platoon commander, I was paid as much as 8 rubles, plus jumping. In a word, we had some money, but most often we ate it very quickly in the soldiers' teahouse. And so, having reset, we realized that there was not enough, and one of ours had an old wristwatch. Let's encourage him: “Why do you need a watch? It doesn’t work well anyway, let’s sell it.”
So we sold this watch, bought an Agdam, sat down between the rows of grapes and had a picnic.
And the deputy company commander for drill training (as we called him “zampostroyu”) was senior officer Pozdeev. Quite recently he was a company commander in another company of our regiment, but there was a check, he had a shortage (either pea coats, or overcoats, or blankets) and he was transferred to a lower position “deputy” in our company, and most importantly - ordered him to compensate for material losses. I remember at ceremonial divorces, when all the officers put on their dress uniform, he always stood in field uniform. When they reprimanded him, he angrily replied: “I pay out of my salary what they “hung” on me and I don’t have the opportunity to buy myself a new uniform.”
In general, the man was very “cool”, but actually fair.
He was probably the main educator in our company, despite the fact that we also had a political officer. (By the way, in our battalion there was a political officer with the interesting surname Sasonny, his rank was captain, for some reason I remember him. In fact, he was a sincere man.) By the way, “Pozdeich” (as we called him among ourselves) was really he was cool, and if someone was rude or did something wrong, he could take him aside so that no one would see, and simply punch him in the teeth without any fuss, and he did it professionally - the jaw only clanged and then the offender’s cheekbone ached for a long time. Surely an attentive reader will understand that such details cannot be retold without experiencing it yourself, which means that I once fell under his “hot” hand. I’ll digress and tell you under what circumstances this happened.
Here I need to say a few words about packing the parachute; I already wrote about this when I talked about the training. The fact is that there is such an element of packing when the pilot chute cover was tied to the main parachute cover with a special thread (which in no case should be nylon, but only hebash) with a special knot, which we called the “prosecutor’s knot.” If something happened to the parachute, very often the cause was this part, and then they carefully looked to see if someone had replaced the hebash rope with a nylon one, or the knot was tied incorrectly, or something else. And we were taught that even if for some reason the rupture did not occur, it was never possible to break this knot on earth. And if this thread did not break, then the cover from the main canopy would not be pulled off, because the exhaust stabilizing parachute did not open, but in this case, the parachute designers came up with two huge pockets on the side of the cover. When a parachutist flies to the ground, the oncoming air flow inflates these pockets and, like a stocking, pulls off the cover.
One day a young recruit came to Geran, I even remember the soldier’s last name - Lunin, in my opinion, a Muscovite. He was somewhat similar to Viksna, with the same blond hair. This Lunin gave me a lot of trouble - he was not very physically developed. And now it’s time for the night jump. I jumped with everyone... And already at the landing site I’m running, holding a candle with a flashlight, questioning and counting all my fighters to see if everything is okay. And suddenly one of my friends says to me: “There’s Lunin, something’s wrong with him.” I got scared and screamed: is it broken or what? They answer me: “No, everything seems to be fine, but something didn’t work for him.” I ran to look for Lunin. I found it, I see that the dome is open, thank God, he is safe and sound, though he is all pale (and so pale), there are only eyes on his face and, in my opinion, he even stutters. I ask: "What happened?" He replies: “I flew for a very long time.”
- We all flew for a long time.
- No, I flew for a long time and the parachute did not open.
I'm asking:
-Did you pull the ring?
-He pulled.
Suddenly I see that the same situation happened, that is, the cover was pulled off by a stream of air and, of course, instead of the prescribed 5 seconds, it probably flew for about half a minute. It’s good that the cover managed to come off, the canopy opened and he landed. Lunin confirmed that when the dome opened, it jerked and after a few seconds there was already ground. I looked: everything was fine with him, but if they found out what had happened, they would look into it and pin this emergency on our training platoon. And without hesitation, I tore off the two covers, tore the lock between them, and pulled the cover off the pilot chute. In a word, I made it look as if everything worked properly.
And my “bulls” had already managed to tell about what happened with Lunin not only to me, but also to “Pozdeich”, who also ran and examined the entire company (he was the commander of a training company). And so he “flies up” right up to Lunin and me, shouting: “Where?” I answer: “Everything is fine, Comrade Senior Lieutenant, I’ve already done it.” And then “Pozdeich” silently turns around and hits me on the cheekbone with a hook, I hit him head over heels. He immediately extends his hand to me, helps me get up and says reproachfully: “I thought you were smart enough. Do you even understand that this is a judicial matter?” I say: “Comrade Senior Lieutenant, no one knows.”
- How does no one know? Everyone is already chatting.
“Now we’ll build it, give instructions, and say that it happened.”
He said:
- Still, you’re a fool, Mironov.
In fact, we hushed up this matter. By the way, bending down and taking the thread, I saw that it was nylon. Where did she come from? - unclear. Well, that's a thing of the past.
So, back to the vineyards.
In a word, “Pozdeich,” when we arrived at the company’s location, noticed with his experienced gaze that some of the fighters were “behind the scenes” and gave us a “debriefing.” “Pozdeich” knew as well as we did in which houses one could buy “Agdam”, and probably the locals also informed him that the soldiers had sold the watch. For some reason, he thought that we had either stolen this watch from someone or taken it away, and decided to organize a whole investigation. He called each of the participants of the feast one by one to the office and talked.
Left me for last.
Moreover, when someone came out, he did not allow them to approach us, but sent them to different places under the supervision of the company duty officer, so that we would not tell each other anything. It was my turn. I go into the office, “Pozdeich” asks: “Well, Sergeant Mironov, you’re the commander, your soldiers here have completely laid you down, if you don’t tell me now how it really happened, then we’ll pin it all on you.” . To be honest, I got a little scared, because they can lead to a disbat, but it’s not in my habits to “hand over” my own people - I stand there, silent. “Pozdeich” continues: “Why are you silent? Don’t you want to surrender? So you were “handed over” by your own people, I just need you to retell how it happened and that’s all, to complete the picture, consider that we are even.” I'm silent.
Ah well! - And suddenly he takes a leather glove from the table, puts it on his right hand and happily pulling it on, clenching and unclenching his fist, comes up to me, and his face is angry and angry, he breathes in my face and says: “Okay, since you’re such a silent person, I’ll have to teach you a lesson” (and this was after that story with the parachute and I knew firsthand what “Pozdeich’s” fist was).
It’s unpleasant, of course, but I think, okay, I’ll have to feel this “pleasure” again. I'm silent. “Pozdeich” looks intently into my eyes, apparently looking to see what is more there: fear or the will to say nothing (to be honest, there was an equal amount of both) and says: “Okay, free.” I exhaled: “Permission to go, comrade guard senior lieutenant?” - “Go.” I headed towards the door, but heard: “Stop!” I look around, and he says to me: “You’re nothing, a normal lad. Go, just don’t be naughty anymore.”
And having already left the office, I realized that, of course, all these stories about the fact that I was “surrendered” - this was what is called “taken to task.” I also realized that “Pozdeich” is a real officer and knows what soldier’s and officer’s solidarity is. And, by the way, he really didn’t have enough of an officer’s job in his difficult situation.
December 6 is one of the three holiday dates of the Ulyanovsk Separate Air Assault Brigade. On this day in 1944, the Division was assigned the number 104. Which the Division proudly carried until 1998
Emblem: scorpion, personifying mortal danger and unpredictability of actions on his part; The scorpion is distinguished by the fact that at any moment it is capable of delivering an irresistible blow to the enemy, which is characteristic of the fighting style of this division. The emblem also reflects the specifics of the 104th Guards combat training for operations in mountainous desert areas, where the formation was stationed for more than 45 years.
So the glorious 104th Guards. VDD
On December 6, 1944, the 11th Guards Airborne Division was reorganized into the 104th Guards SD (Slutsk district, Belarus, completed by January 3, 1945). In this form, the division as part of the 3rd and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts participated in the Vienna and Prague operations.
The division receives hordes. Kutuzov 2nd degree; 346th regiment - horde. Alexander Nevsky.
Subsequently, on April 7, 1946, by directive of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, the Rifle Division was reorganized into the Airborne Division. Division headquarters - Narva, Estonia. The deployment of units is in the region. Rakvere, Nyhvi (Yehvi), Narva, mz. Hive.
In 1960 104 Guards The airborne division was redeployed to the Azerbaijani city of Kirovabad (Ganja) and the city of Shamkhor.
In 1974 and 1990, the division was awarded pennants of the Minister of Defense for courage and military valor. In 1993, 104 Guards. The Airborne Forces relocated from Ganja (Azerbaijan) to Ulyanovsk.
May 1, 1998 104th Guards. The Airborne Division was reorganized into the 31st Guards. a separate airborne brigade with the transfer of Battle Banners, pennants of the Minister of Defense, orders, historical records that belonged to the management of the 104th Guards Airborne Division and parachute regiments.
From 1994 to 1996 104 Guards VDD and from 1999 to 2001 31st Guards Airborne Forces participated in operations against terrorists in the republics of Chechnya and Dagestan. For courage and heroism, 10 military personnel were awarded the title of Hero of Russia, including 4 posthumously, more than 4,000 were awarded orders and medals.
There are many well-known people in the country among the natives of this group. For example, Colonel General Valery Vostrotin. In Afghanistan, paratrooper officer Vostrotin became a Hero of the Soviet Union. He commanded both a company and a regiment in the 104th Airborne Division. In the same division, the current commander of the Airborne Forces, Hero of Russia, Vladimir Shamanov, once commanded a regiment.
In April 2001, 31st Guards. The Airborne Infantry Brigade was withdrawn from the combat area of the Republic of Chechnya to the permanent deployment point in Ulyanovsk, where it is currently located. On December 1, 2006, it was renamed 31 Guards. ODSBr.
Currently 31st Guards. The Special Airborne Brigade is the reserve of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the RF Armed Forces. The brigade occupies one of the leading places in combat and mobilization readiness, combat training, military discipline, among formations and units of the Airborne Forces and in general in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
In July - August 2006, the brigade took part in two large-scale exercises with a massive drop of troops and equipment near Ryazan and in the Orenburg region at the Southern Shield - 2006 exercise, where it received high praise from the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation.
The unofficial name of the 104th Guards Airborne Division is “Wild Division”, which is due to the specifics of training personnel to participate in combat operations in mountainous desert conditions. The symbol reflecting the specifics of the division is the scorpion.
Commander of the Vostok group, Major General Nikolai Viktorovich Staskov: “I had no more than two days to organize combat operations, and this was with a heterogeneous mass that had just been sent from the district. We could not, for example, really count on artillery support, because that most of the gun crews were untrained and had never even fired, so I and most of the other commanders knew what we were up against."1
From the description of the assault plan: “On December 30, 1994, an order and large-scale maps and plans were received to prepare units for the assault. These plans were published back in 1983, but in ten years Grozny has grown and changed, a large number of new roads and streets have appeared , bridges, residential buildings, often not marked even on a large-scale map.
The 129th Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment and the 133rd Guards Separate Tank Battalion were given the task: on December 31, 1994, to capture the eastern regions of Grozny, limited by the river. Sunzha - area of Avenue named after. Lenin, and go to Minutka Square. 
The 1st tank company of the 133rd Guards separate tank battalion (commander Captain S. Kachkovsky) was attached to the 1st motorized rifle battalion of the 129th Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment (commander Major Yu. Saulyak). The 2nd motorized rifle battalion of the 129th Guards motorized rifle regiment of Major S. Goncharuk was assigned to the 2nd tank company of the 133rd Guards separate tank battalion (commanded by Lieutenant S. Kisel). To assist the young commander in managing the unit in battle on December 28, 1994, the commander of the tank battalion, Lieutenant Colonel I. Turchenyuk, instructed the chief of staff of a separate tank battalion, Captain S. Kurnosenko, who before the battle occupied the place of gunner-operator in the T-80BV tank (board number 523) of Lieutenant S Kiselya. The 3rd tank company of the 133rd Guards separate tank battalion, captain V. Voblikov, was a reserve, following the 2nd motorized rifle battalion of the 129th Guards motorized rifle regiment. One tank platoon from the 3rd tank company remained with the 2nd motorized rifle company to control the Argun-Grozny road.
The movement was planned to be carried out in two assault columns along parallel routes, the parachute battalion of the 98th Guards Airborne Division, bringing up the rear of the columns along the route on the BMD-1, was supposed to set up roadblocks, ensuring security of the route to supply the assault units of the 129th Guards Motorized Rifle regiment and the 133rd Guards Separate Tank Battalion. There were no plans to bring the artillery division of the 129th Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment on 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled guns into Grozny."2
Senior lieutenant of one of the reconnaissance units of the 98th Airborne Division (or 45th OrpSpN Airborne Forces): “On the night of December 30th to 31st, the task was set to storm Grozny. Our unit was ordered to advance as part of a column, covering its command with two armored personnel carriers - in front and behind. We didn’t know what exactly: how we would attack, from what lines, who was opposing us in Grozny. When I approached one of the senior officers of the group [the commander of the 98th Airborne Division, Lieutenant Colonel Sergei Alekseevich Koblov] and asked: “What is our task?” - then he, an older colonel, looked away and said: “Die.” - “Can you explain what the essence of this problem is - to die?” - “You see, elder, I’m really telling you that our task is to die. Because we are depicting the main attack of the entire group of Russian troops. We must show the enemy that it is from the east that the federal troops will take Grozny." I knew: there were two more directions for attacks - from the north, northwest. The eastern column, according to the command's plan, was supposed to enter Grozny, pretend to strike, cover the maximum territory with available forces and means, advance inside Grozny, and then leave the city."3
Promotion to the city
Commander of the Vostok group, Major General N.V. Staskov: “Initially we were ordered to advance to Minutka Square<...>, and we had to go through a tunnel, and it was like climbing into a mousetrap. So I went off-road with tanks and artillery.<...>We were faced with the task of delivering a secondary strike, aimed at diverting the main enemy forces to ourselves."4
From the description of the advance: “On December 31, 1994, according to the recollections of tank company commanders, before entering the city, the command of the 129th Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment formed columns of two assault groups. The place of each unit of equipment was determined, but the organization of interaction and setting specific tasks along the lines and Insufficient attention was paid in terms of time, which subsequently led to inconsistency of actions and confusion during the fire of the militants.
At about 11:00 it was announced that there would be no helicopter support due to bad weather. She was not there on January 1, 1995. Then the helicopters began to fly, although the weather on December 31 and January 1 and 2 was almost the same, cloudy with low, continuous clouds.
At 11:00 the Vostok group moved out in two columns from the Khankala airfield to Grozny. The main striking force was the 129th Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment (commander Colonel A. Borisov) and the 133rd Guards Separate Tank Battalion (commander Lieutenant Colonel I. Turchenyuk).
The column included T-80B, T-80BV, five ZSU-23-4M. The rearguard consisted of the parachute battalion of the 98th Guards Airborne Division on the BMD-1 (about 10 vehicles).
When entering the city on the outskirts of Khankala, the following tanks were blown up by mines: tank No. 521 from the 1st tank company and one tank from the 2nd tank company. The advance of the columns to Grozny was carried out along the Grozny-Argun road to the suburb, where at the fork in the roads from Grozny to Khankala and Argun, the column, turning north, began to go around the suburb along the road leading to the street. Ioanisiani."5
Passing the bridge
From the description of the advance: “Assault groups of the 129th Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment, the 133rd Guards Separate Tank Battalion and the parachute battalion of the 98th Guards Parachute Regiment [Airborne], bypassing the suburbs, reached a new road bridge over the railway tracks, located between the sorting railway tracks of the Khankala station on one side and the area of Mikhail Kolbus Street, running parallel to the railway on the other side. Having passed the assault units of the 129th Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment and the 133rd Guards Separate Tank Battalion across the bridge, the militants opened intense fire on the exiting to the bridge to the parachute battalion."6
Senior lieutenant of one of the reconnaissance units of the 98th Airborne Division (or 45th OrpSpN Airborne Forces), walking with the column of 2nd MSB 129th MSB: “We passed a military town, and losses began. Because the column was a long snake. No combat cover - support on the right and left . Occasionally, helicopters passed over us. The column consisted of several tanks, armored personnel carriers, command and staff vehicles, and other equipment in front. The column consisted only of units of the Ministry of Defense - neither internal troops nor the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Mainly infantry, artillerymen, tankmen. We , reconnaissance paratroopers, in the middle of the column. Closing it, there was a company of paratroopers on the BMD-2. As we approached the bridge, they began to shoot us from large-caliber machine guns, militant snipers were clearly working. We saw: the first tank was walking along the bridge, and it was being fired upon somewhere from seven, eight directions. At the crossroads. The first tank was lucky. It passed. So every unit passed through the bridge: be it a tank or an infantry fighting vehicle. The manpower was always on the armor, no one was sitting inside. The column crossed the bridge, suffering losses. After all, there are ten to twelve people on each armor, you cannot do without losses. The column lost two armored personnel carriers, a tank and a tank were blown up. We, the scouts, were more or less successful: only two were wounded. Only a separate company of paratroopers did not cross the bridge, which we learned only later. The connection practically did not work. I had audibility only between my two armored personnel carriers and the Ural, and weak, constantly interrupted contact with the column. Communications were a total mess. For the most part, no one had any idea who was talking to whom. Just call signs on the air, reports only about “two hundred” and “three hundred” - how many were killed and wounded.”7
Cutting off part of PDB 98 VDD at the bridge
Only part of the 98th Airborne Infantry Division crossed the bridge, including the battalion command.
From the description of the battle: “Having passed the dachas, we crossed the bridge. Having met along the way a motorized rifle armored personnel carrier that had lagged behind its own and had stalled, Shalyapin, pushing it with his car, continued moving.<...>Having driven about a hundred meters, we saw another armored personnel carrier of motorized riflemen and infantry hiding behind it, which they were hitting from the windows of nearby houses. Having supported the infantry with fire from cannons and machine guns, the paratroopers entered the battle. In the first seconds, tracers flying in and out of houses through the triplex were somewhat reminiscent of a shooting game in slot machines. Until the bullets began to knock on the armor, not just for fun...
Having let the first cars pass, the militants opened fire on the convoy. Everything around was burning, exploding and shooting. A “spiritual” tank approached the column from the left, but the deputy battalion commander, Captain Sergei Ant, somehow miraculously managed to knock it out with his “penny” on the move. The BMD-1 cannon, in theory, did not take tank armor, but the “box” began to smoke, and “perfume” fell from it. In the midst of the battle, communication was lost, but from the unfolding BAMs, Chaliapin realized that the column caught in the crossfire had received the order to retreat. The cars walking in the middle of the column burned one after another. Here is the battalion commander's damaged vehicle, and here is the scouts' vehicle. Here, from the “granika”, the “darlings” set fire to the self-propelled guns. As soon as the crew jumped out of the burning car, the second grenade completely tore the Nona apart. Picking up people from damaged vehicles along the way, Chaliapin's BMD now brought up the rear of the column. 
Then Chaliapin learns that the paratroopers and infantrymen from the damaged vehicles, led by their battalion commander, gathered under the bridge, will try to leave the city with dachas. Their retreat will remain covered to the last by Major Viktor Omelkov and his friend, infantry lieutenant Alexander Mikhailov, who are firing back. From Sanka he learns about the last minutes of the battalion “political officer” Omelkov. While firing back, both officers will be wounded. The moving Omelkov will be finished off, while Mikhailov will be kicked and taken for dead. Twice - the paratroopers don’t abandon their own - they then went to Grozny in search of the battalion commander with the rest of the dismounted soldiers. Those with wounded in their arms, having made their way through the dachas, still managed to escape from the encirclement."8
Deputy com. 98th Airborne Division Colonel Alexander Ivanovich Lentsov: “I often remember New Year’s Eve 1995. And I remember with a feeling of shame for the Fatherland. Night. Pitch inferno. Tanks are burning. We carry out the dead, the wounded. And Russia forgot about us, sent to die, and it’s unclear why what. The sounds of Moscow fun are heard on the radio. There is a traditional New Year's program, champagne is flowing like a river. Congratulations are heard: “Happy New Year!” “Happy new happiness!” Once again I was convinced of what it is like in Russia (forgive the rude word, I can’t think of anything else) bestial attitude towards the army..."9
The part of the column that did not cross the bridge also began to retreat.
From the description of the battle: “Thus, the paratroopers were cut off from the 129th Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment and fought back in parts in different directions towards Khankala. Several BMD, badly battered, including one with a torn stern, went to the Khankala airfield. From In total, a little more than a company of the combined parachute battalion of the 98th Guards Airborne Division returned to their original positions.
According to the commander of the 3rd platoon of the 2nd motorized rifle company of the 1st motorized rifle battalion of the 129th Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment, Senior Lieutenant S. Sukhorukov, at the position of the 2nd motorized rifle company (the 2nd motorized rifle company did not enter the city, blocking roads Argun-Grozny) at approximately 18-19 hours on the road from Grozny, a platoon jumped out on three BMD-1s (Volgograd paratroopers of the parachute battalion of the 98th parachute landing regiment [Airborne Regiment], apparently cut off from the column of the main forces at the entrance to Grozny ) and mistaking the motorized riflemen for militants, opened fire from cannons and machine guns at the positions of the 2nd motorized rifle company. The motorized riflemen returned fire, as they thought, at the militants. As a result of fire from ATGM, RPG, KPVT, BTR-70, one BMD was hit and burned (the last one in the column, the other two slipped further), eight paratroopers were killed, two were wounded. In the 2nd motorized rifle company, one person was killed and one was wounded."10
Column 337 PDP
The commander of the 104th Airborne Division, Major General Vadim Ivanovich Orlov, refused to send his units to Grozny. By “12:50, the 104th Airborne Division is located on the eastern outskirts of the city along the railroad.”11 And yet, a consolidated column of the 337th Airborne Division under the command of Senior Lieutenant Albert Alekseevich Chirikov advanced to the bridge to provide assistance.
From the description of the battle: “Already at 5 o’clock there were two tanks, three infantry fighting vehicles, and Zushki.”<...>and two armored personnel carriers moved under the wounded literally by touch, the headlights were not turned on due to blackout."12
From the description of the battle: “The task of the Ulyanovsk team was to pick up and evacuate to the rear the wounded, if any were found, and the bodies of the dead. It gets dark early in Chechnya. They advanced without headlights or conventional signals, there were no identification marks. Khankala was burning ahead, and Not far from the city, on a bridge, they had to take up a perimeter defense. In this situation, two "Ivanovo" motorized riflemen came close to them. [Commander of the 337th Infantry Division] Chirikov called them to him, and they said that an unknown person had given the command to stop in a column on the bridge Then fire suddenly fell on them. The soldiers barely had time to jump under the bridge, and then wandered along the road all night until they met their own.
“I told them: you know the area and it will be easier for you to reconnoiter the situation. But they are some kind of plague... “Comrade senior lieutenant, they ask, let’s not go. We just got out of the meat grinder." We had to explain and convince them that they had to go, in case one of their comrades was still alive and needed to be pulled out. Somehow they agreed. I singled out an officer [commander of the 337th PDV] from ours, and the patrol departed. Forty minutes later the group returned - they reported that they had found no one alive. We had to move beyond the bridge. A sad picture appeared on the spot: the equipment was broken, there were no wounded, only the bodies of [at least three] dead, which we took away.
I look at my watch: 00:00 - The New Year has arrived - 1995!"
Soon the Ulyanovsk team received an order to hold the defense until the morning. The paratroopers did not know the terrain, and the maps they received were old - so no one knew what would be around when dawn came. Therefore, they decided to return, which Chirikov reported to the field headquarters, and the command approved. When the unit returned to base without losses, the officers considered it a celebration."13
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1 Staskov N. There was a deception // Newspaper. 2004. December 13. (http://www.gzt.ru/world/2004/12/13/112333.html)
2 Belogrud V. Tanks in the battles for Grozny. Part 1 // Front-line illustration. 2007. No. 9. pp. 25-27.
3 Noskov V. Confession of an officer // Stories about the Chechen war. M., 2004. P. 141. ( http://www.sibogni.ru/archive/9/150/)
4 Staskov N. There was a deception // Newspaper. 2004. December 13. (http://www.gzt.ru/world/2004/12/13/112333.html)
5 Belogrud V. Tanks in the battles for Grozny. Part 1 // Front-line illustration. 2007. No. 9. pp. 28-30.
6 Belogrud V. Tanks in the battles for Grozny. Part 1 // Front-line illustration. 2007. No. 9. P. 30.
7 Noskov V. Confession of an officer // Stories about the Chechen war. M., 2004. pp. 141-143. (http://www.sibogni.ru/archive/9/150/)
8 Raschepkin K. And you and I, brother, are from the landing // Red Star. 2004. June 18. (http://www.redstar.ru/2004/06/18_06/2_01.html)
9 Baranets V. The Lost Army. M., 1998. P. 245.
10 Belogrud V. Tanks in the battles for Grozny. Part 1 // Front-line illustration. 2007. No. 9. pp. 30-32.
11 Antipov A. Lev Rokhlin. The life and death of a general. M., 1998. P. 133.
12 Sizova E. Legal consultant with the soul of a paratrooper // Guard of Russia. 2003. No. 9. November. (http://www.rsva.ru/rus_guard/2003-11/chirikov.shtml)
13 Bal O., Kaplya M. Stars light up on earth // Red Star. 2003. March 22. (