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| 24th Mechanized Brigade (2003–present) 24th Mechanized Division 24th Motor Rifle Division 24th Rifle Division 1st Simbirsk Infantry Division (26 Jul – Nov, 1918) | |
|---|---|
| Ukrainian:24-та окрема механізована бригада імені короля Данила | |
 24th Mechanized Brigade shoulder sleeve patch | |
| Active | 26 July 1918 – present |
| Country |  Soviet Russia(1918–1928)  Soviet Union(1928–1991)  Ukraine(1991–present) |
| Branch |  Ukrainian Ground Forces |
| Type |  Mechanized Infantry |
| Size | Brigade |
| Part of | Operational Command West (1 July 2006-present) 13th Army Corps (before 1 July 2006) (formerly Soviet13th Army) .png) 11th Army Corps |
| Garrison/HQ | Yavoriv MUN A0998 |
| Nicknames | Royal Infantry Iron Brigade (former) Iron Division (former)[1] |
| Patron | King Danylo Halytskyi |
| Mottos | "Milites Regum" "In Iron Division - iron soul, iron will and iron step." (former) |
| Equipment | BMP-2,T-64 |
| Engagements | |
| Decorations |  Order of the October Revolution (removed) Order of the Red Banner (3) (removed) Order of Suvorov (removed) Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky (removed).svg) For Courage and Bravery |
| Battle honours | King Daniel of Galicia Berdychiv (removed) Iron (removed) Prince Daniel of Galicia (removed) Samara (removed) Ulyanovsk (removed) |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | ColonelIvan Holishevskyi |
The24th Mechanized Brigade (Ukrainian:24-та окрема механізована бригада, abbreviated24 ОМБр) is a mechanizedbrigade of theUkrainian Ground Forces, based atYavoriv in the west of Ukraine.
The brigade, the oldest in continuous service within the Ground Forces, was originally formed as the 1st Simbirsk Infantry Division ofSoviet Russia in 1918 during the Russian Civil War. The unit was soon renamed the 24th Rifle Division. It fought in theWinter War andWorld War II, during which it was destroyed duringOperation Barbarossa.
Reformed without inheriting the lineage of the first formation, the second formation of the 24th gained theBerdychiv honorific for its actions during theZhytomyr–Berdychiv offensive in late 1943, and was given the battle flag and traditions of the first formation in early 1944 to preserve historical continuity.
The division became a motor rifle division in 1957. The full name of the division was the 24th Samaro-Ulyanovsk Motor Rifle Berdychivska, Iron, Order of theOctober Revolution, ThriceRed Banner, Orders ofSuvorov andBohdan Khmelnytsky Division. In 1992, it was taken over by Ukraine and became the 24th Mechanized Division. In 2003, it was downsized to a brigade.
The brigade saw its first combat in almost 70 years during thewar in Donbas from 2014. Its Soviet honorifics were progressively removed and replaced with theKing Daniel of Galicia honorific following the beginning of the war in Donbas.
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The division was formed on the order of theRevolutionary Military Council ofSoviet Russia on July 26, 1918, from voluntary groups under the name 1st Simbirsk Infantry Division. In November 1918 it was renamed as the 24th Simbirsk Rifle Division. It actively participated in theRussian Civil War in theVolga region, in the Southern Urals Mountains, and inPolissya andVolhynia. At this time one of its regimental commanders was a future Army GeneralMaksim Purkayev.
In 1922 it was renamed as the 24th Samaro-Simbirsk Iron Rifle Division. In 1924 it was again renamed as the 24th Samaro-Ulyanovsk Iron Rifle Division. In 1939–1940, during theRusso-Finnish War the division distinguished itself during the breaking of theMannerheim Line on the Karelian isthmus.
The division participated in fighting from the first days after theGerman invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. The division staff showed mass heroism when the German opponents arrived in the Lidy area. It also took part in theKyiv defensive operation, and as part of the21st Rifle Corps and13th Army, was involved in heavy defensive fighting in Belarus.
Reportedly because thedivisional colours were lost in the Minsk area, it was disbanded on December 27, 1941.[7] It was found out later that the instructor of the political department of the division, Senior Commissar A. V. Barbashev had the colour while the division was trying to break out of the German encirclement. Barbashev died on August 6, 1941, near Anyutino villageCherykaw DistrictMogilev Oblast. Local farmer D.N. Tyapin later found the stained Colour of the division on the officers corpse. He buried the body and the Colour in the local cemetery.
After the clearing of the village of Anyutino by the Red Army, the Divisional Colour was taken out of the cemetery and restored. On February 20, 1944, it was solemnly handed in aPresentation of Colours ceremony to the 24th Rifle Division (2nd formation). D.N. Tyapin was honoured for having found the division's Colour by being listed on the rolls of the 1st company of one of the division's regiments.
The 24th Rifle Division was re-formed on 7 January 1942 by renumbering the 412th Rifle Division, which had been formed inKirov Oblast as part of theArkhangelsk Military District in December 1941 from the 48th Reserve Rifle Brigade. The 412th included the 1355th, 1357th, and 1358th Rifle Regiments in addition to the 1022nd Artillery Regiment and the 910th Separate Communications Battalions, along with smaller units. It was relocated to the southwestern part ofVologda Oblast before being renumbered as the 24th. The new division did not inherit the traditions of the Iron Division, although it reused the regimental numbers of the latter. Personnel from the 29th Reserve Rifle Brigade and the 385th Howitzer Artillery Regiment formed the new 24th along with others from the Arkhangelsk Military District.[8]
During the war this division was part of armies in theWestern,Kalinin,Stalingrad,Don, andSouthwest fronts, from April until May 1944. In 1945 it was part of the18th Army of the4th Ukrainian Front.
The Division participated in theBattle of Stalingrad, the Donbas offensive operation, clearing of Left-bank Ukraine, inZhytomyr–Berdychiv offensive,Kamianets–Podilskyi pocket,Lviv–Sandomierz offensive, East - Carpathian, Western - Carpathian, Moravia - Ostrava and thePrague offensive operations.
The division's combat actions finished on June 24, 1945, 100 km away fromPrague. The last platoon of the division, led by Captain Klyuyev, took part in theMoscow Victory Parade of 1945.
On July 10, 1945, the division was disbanded, and its number given to the294th Rifle Division, which became the 24th Rifle Division (3rd formation).
In June 1957, the 24th Rifle Division became the 24th Motor Rifle Division. The redesignation occurred atYavoriv,Lviv Oblast,Carpathian Military District, and the division, later brigade, has been based there since that date. On 21 February 1968, it was awarded theOrder of the October Revolution.
Then-MajorIgor Rodionov commanded a motorised rifle regiment in the division (the "Iron Division") in theCarpathian Military District from 1970 to 1973.
In 1982, the division was to be upgraded to an army corps (on the lines of the5th Guards and 48th Guards in Belorussia and the Transbaikal), but the plans were cancelled. The division was used as a testbed for new equipment.[9]
By the late 1980s the division's honorific titles included "Samaro-Ylyanovskaya, Zheleznaya, Berdichevskaya, four times Red Banner orders of the October Revolution, Suvorov and Bogdan Khmelnitskiy Motorised Rifle Division."[9]
After the disintegration of the Soviet Union the division became part of theUkrainian Ground Forces.On April 19, 2001, by the decree ofLeonid Kuchma N 268/2001, the division was awarded the designationDaniel of Halych.[10] In 2003 the division was redesignated as 24th Mechanized Brigade "Daniel of Galicia".
The brigade fought in thewar in Donbas in 2014 and 2015. In September 2014 elements of the brigade were alleged to have abandoned their positions after suffering heavy losses.[11] On 18 November 2015, the brigade's full title was shortened to remove Soviet awards and honorifics, and it became the 24th Berdichev Iron Mechanized Brigade "Prince Daniel of Galicia".[12] On 23 August 2017, the honorifics were changed, with the brigade dropping the remaining Soviet titles and becoming the 24th Mechanized Brigade "King Daniel of Galicia".[13]
In February 2016, soldiers of the brigade's 1st Battalion conducted training with American, Canadian and Lithuanian instructors in Lviv.[14]
In 2018 the brigade fought again in the war in Donbas and was stationed on the frontline nearHorlivka.[15]
As of December 2019, 152 soldiers of the brigade were killed during the war in Donbas.[16]
From the start of the invasion the 24th Mechanized Brigade was involved in numerous engagements against theRussian Army, theWagner Group, and the separatists of theDonetsk People's Republic and theLuhansk People's Republic such as thebattle of Lysychansk and thebattle of Donbas.[17]
Colonel Valery Hudz, the commander of the brigade, was killed in action inLuhansk Oblast on 12 March 2022.[18] The 24th Brigade held the defense ofPopasna in Luhansk Oblast until April 2022, at which point the Ukrainian military withdrew from the city. After Popasna, the brigade held the defense ofZolote,Sievierodonetsk andLysychansk. It was later sent toKherson Oblast to participate in theUkrainian counteroffensive there. It took part in the defense ofSoledar andBakhmut. As of January 2024, was stationed on theHorlivka front inDonetsk Oblast, where it took part in the defense ofToretsk andNiu-York.[19][20] The brigade was transferred from Toretsk and Niu-York to take part inthe defense ofChasiv Yar.[20]
On March 2, 2025, the brigade acquiredVéhicule de l'Avant Blindé APCs.[21]
181st Separate Armor Regiment
7th Mechanized Regiment
274th Mechanized Regiment
310th Mechanized Regiment
56th Signal Battalion
29th Separate Reconnaissance Battalion
30th Chemical Battalion
306th Engineer Battalion
849th Artillery Regiment
396th Combat Service Support Battalion
Unmanned Strike Aviation Systems Battalion "Raróh". Established in April 2023.[22]In 2017, the brigade developed a symbolism and motto: "Milites Regum" (translated from Latin: "King's infantry").[23] The motto is in Latin, the classic language of heraldry, and is connected to the life of King Daniel, for his coronation was held according to the Catholic coronation rites in Dorohochyn.[24] On 10 November 2017, the official description of the new brigade symbols was published.[25] The emblem is a shield that is red on one side and green on the other, with the lion, the main symbol of the brigade, in the center.
In October 2014,The Vyo vocalist Myroslav Kuvaldin and other volunteers visited the Luhansk region where they talked to soldiers of the brigade. As a result of the visit, Kuvaldin decided to write an unofficial anthem for the brigade.[26][27]
The Museum of the History of the Troops of theCarpathian Military District (Ukrainian:Музей історії військ Прикарпатського військового округу) is a military history museum in Lviv depicting the history of the Soviet-era district, being located on Stryjska Street on the territory of the 7th Regiment of the 24th Mechanized Brigade. It was inaugurated on 7 May 1965 on the eve of the celebrations of the20th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. In 1995, due to lack of funds for the maintenance of the museum, the district authorities put it up for sale,[28] and in 1999 a multi-story hotel was to be built there. Upon construction ending at the request of members of theLviv City Council,[29] Lieutenant GeneralPetro Shulyak decided to transfer the funds of the former museum to the premises of the Iron Division Museum.
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Notable division personnel included:
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| Cavalry |
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| Rifle |
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| Other | |||||||||||||||||||
 Divisions of the Soviet Union 1945–1957 | |||||||||
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| Artillery |
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| Divisions of the Soviet Union 1957–1989 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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1Unless stated otherwise, the brigade is mechanized. | |||||||||||||||||
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