| 161st Mechanized Brigade (1992 – 2003, 2024 – 2025[citation needed]) 161st Motor Rifle Division 99th Motor Rifle Division 24th Mechanised Division 161st Rifle Division (1940 – 1941, 1942 – 1955) | |
|---|---|
| 161 окрема механізована бригада | |
 Shoulder sleeve insignia | |
| Active | Summer 2024 – 2025 |
| Country |  Ukraine |
| Branch |  Ukrainian Ground Forces |
| Role |  Mechanized Infantry |
| Engagements | Russian Invasion of Ukraine |
The161st Mechanised Brigade, formerly the161stStanislav Red Banner Order of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi Mechanised Brigade, was a brigade of theUkrainian Ground Forces.[1][2]
The division first formed from July 1 to Aug. 28, 1940, atMogilev in theWestern Special Military District based on cadres from143rd Rifle Division and the 342nd and 356th Reserve Regiments, under the command of ColonelAlexey Mikhaylov. At the opening ofOperation Barbarossa the division was in the same district and had the following order of battle:
In May the division had been brought up to a strength of about 12,000 men with the addition of workers and collective farmers, including 396Communist Party members and candidates and 2,170Komsomols, indicating a high proportion of younger and well-motivated men. In addition, a high proportion of senior leaders had combat experience from theWinter War.[3]
On June 22, 1941, 161st Rifle Division was in transit from Drutyskie Camp inMogilev Oblast to join44th Rifle Corps nearMinsk. Caught up in theconfused fighting east of that city, it fought in13th Army under both 44th and2nd Rifle Corps. In August it was reassigned to20th Army ofWestern Front, and on the 15th it reported the following strength figures: 695 officers; 787 NCOs; 5,306 men plus 400 replacements just received; 5,464 rifles; 32 SMGs; 20 HMGs; 74 LMGs; 1 AAMG; 12 76mm guns; and no antitank guns, howitzers or mortars. The division distinguished itself in theBattle of Smolensk for its stubborn defensive fighting and local counterattacks, and it was withdrawn to theReserve of the Supreme High Command in September. On Sept. 18, in recognition of its earlier distinctions and its success in theYelnya Offensive, the 161stbecame the fourth of the original four rifle divisions raised to the status ofGuards on that date.[4]
A new 161st Rifle Division formed from Apr. 16 to July 2, 1942, based on a cadre from 13th Rifle Brigade in theMoscow Military District.[5][6] (The 13th Rifle Brigade had been formed during Autumn, 1941 in the South Caucasus Military District). The order of battle of the new division was as follows:
A division commander was finally assigned at the beginning of July, when the division was assigned to 3rd Reserve Army in theReserve of the Supreme High Command. On July 10 this army became the 2nd formation of the60th Army and joinedVoronezh Front. In August the 161st was moved to38th Army in the same Front, and on Dec. 18 became part of 18th (Separate) Rifle Corps, which in Feb. 1943 formed the basis for the69th Army, but within a month the division was moved to40th Army.[7] During these months the division was participating in the winter counteroffensive that partly surrounded and destroyed German2nd Army, and as this ground to a halt in the spring it found itself well into what became known as the Kursk salient.
In preparation for theBattle of Kursk, 40th Army was in the first echelon of the Voronezh Front defenses, but west of6th Guards Army, which took the brunt of the German assault, and therefore saw little action. In August the division became part of47th Rifle Corps.[8] During theBattle of the Dniepr, on Sept. 23, the 161st forced a crossing of the river at Zarubentsy,[9] becoming part of theBukrin Bridgehead, and 32 men were awarded the Gold Star of theHero of the Soviet Union. At the end of 1943 the division was moved to18th Army, still in the same (now renamed1st Ukrainian) Front, and in April 1944, was once again moved to that front's 38th Army. Just before theLvov–Sandomierz Offensive in July the 161st became part of1st Guards Army, and it was here that it won the honorific "Stanislav" for liberating the Polish town of Stanislav during that operation. In August, 1st Guards Army was reassigned to4th Ukrainian Front, and apart from a few weeks back again in 18th Army, the division served in that army and that front for the duration as part of107th Rifle Corps. It ended the war with the official title of 161st Rifle, Stanislav,Order of the Red Banner,Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky Division. (Russian: 161-я стрелковая Станиславская Краснознамённая ордена Богдана Хмельницкого дивизия.)[10]
24th Mechanised Division by 1955, 99th Motor Rifle Division 1957, then became 161st Motor Rifle Division in January 1965.
For most of the 1980s it was part of the13th Army (Soviet Union) and its headquarters was located atIzyaslav.
In the late 1980s the 161st Motor Rifle Division comprised:[11]
Total: 186 tanks, 80BMP, 1 BTR, 12 MLRS
In January 1992 the division became part of theUkrainian Ground Forces, but was soon reorganized as the 161st Separate Mechanised Brigade on 1 December 1993 while the 13th Army became the13th Army Corps.[12][13] Under the reorganization, the division's 1067th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment shifted to army corps control but on 1 July 1996 transferred to the 28th Air Defence Corps.[14] Under the new structure, the 161st Mechanised Brigade included two mechanized and two tank battalions. Artillery support was provided by self-propelled howitzer and anti-aircraft rocket battalions while logistics elements formed the separate rear support, technical and medical battalion.[15] It was disbanded in 2003 during large-scale reductions of the Ukrainian Ground Forces.[16][17] In November of that year its former garrison was transferred to the local authorities.[18]
In 2024 the brigade was revived again before being disbanded in 2025.[19][failed verification]