| 19th Rifle Division (1922–1957) 92nd Motor Rifle Division 19th Motor Rifle Division (1965–2009, 2020–Present) | |
|---|---|
| 19-я мотострелковая Воронежско-Шумлинская Краснознамённая, орденов Суворова и Трудового Красного Знамени дивизия | |
 Shoulder sleeve patch | |
| Active | 1922–2009 2020–present |
| Country |  Soviet Union Russia |
| Branch | Soviet Army Russian Ground Forces |
| Type | Mechanized infantry |
| Size | Division |
| Part of | 58th Guards Combined Arms Army Southern Military District |
| Garrison/HQ | Vladikavkaz |
| Engagements | |
| Decorations | |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Colonel Dmitri Ivanovich Uskov |
The19th Voronezh-Shumlinskaya Red Banner Order of Suvorov and Red Banner of Labor Motor Rifle Division (Russian:19-я мотострелковая Воронежско-Шумлинская Краснознамённая, орденов Суворова и Трудового Красного Знамени дивизия,romanized: 19-ya motostrelkovaya Voronezhsko-Shumlinskaya Krasnoznamonnaya, ordenov Suvorova i Trudovogo Krasnogo Znameni diviziya), is a division of theRussian Ground Forces. It appears to have been formed originally in July 1922 atTambov in theMoscow Military District as a territorial formation. In 1923, it was awarded the "Tambov" placename and renamed the 19th Voronezh Rifle Division. The division was downsized to a brigade in 2009 and reestablished as a division in 2020.
The current 19th Division was the first in theWorkers' and Peasants' Red Army to be awarded theOrder of the Red Banner of Labor, and distinguished itself during theGreat Patriotic War, during which the unit fought in theBattle of Moscow, in battles for the cities ofYelnya andPskov.[2] By the beginning ofWorld War II, the unit consisted of the 32nd, 282nd, and 315th Rifle, 90th Artillery, and the 103rd Howitzer Artillery Regiment. The division entered combat against the Germans on July 19, 1941, nearYelnya as part of the24th Army of theWestern Front. It participated in the Elninskaya offensive, theBattle of Moscow,Rzhev-Vyazma offensive operation in 1942, theRzhev-Sychevka offensive,Kharkiv defensive operation in 1943,Belgorod-Khar'kov Offensive Operation (3 August 1943 - 23 August 1943).
As part of the7th Guards Army, it fought in the Poltava-Kremenchuk offensive, the Pyatihatskoy offensive,Bereznegovatoe-Snigirevskaya Offensive,Odessa offensive, atChisinau, Izmail offensive,Belgrade Offensive 1944 Derskoy offensive,Bratislava–Brno Offensive.
It participated in the liberation of the citiesElnya,Ruza,Krasnograd,Bobrynets,Bratislava,Shumla liberated September 9, 1944. For exemplary performance of command assignments in Bulgaria it was given the honorary name "Shumlinskoy" on 27 September 1944. It crossed theSeversky Donets,Ingulets,Dniester,Prut,Southern Bug,Dnieper, andDanube rivers. During theBelgrade operation in October 1944 the division enteredYugoslavia, and in November, crossed theDanube River nearApatin and in difficult, forested terrain duringBattle of Batina led fierce battles with the Nazis on the left bank. In 1944 it fought through Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia, where it ended the war. For its courage in these battles and military skill the division was awarded theOrder of Suvorov 2nd degree (January 6, 1945).
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 Map of the division's fighting path |
During the war it served successively with the24th,43rd,5th,20th,3rd Guards Tank,57th,37th,7th Guards, and46th Armies.
In 1945, the division arrived in theStavropol Military District and was stationed inVladikavkaz.[3] In May–June 1946, the division was reorganised into the 11th Separate Rifle Brigade. All battalions of the brigade were stationed inOrdzhonikidze (which was renamed Vladikavkaz in 1990). On 1 July 1949 the 11th Separate Rifle Brigade was reorganised as the 19th Mountain Rifle Division,[4]12th Mountain Corps. On May 31, 1954, the 19th Mountain Division was renamed the 19th Rifle Division. In March 1957 the 19th Rifle Division was reorganized as the 92nd Motor Rifle Division. According to the USSR Minister of Defense Order No. 00147 of November 17, 1964, in order to preserve the martial traditions, the 92nd Motor Rifle Division was renamed the 19th Motor Rifle Division. Thus in 1965 it became again the 19th Motor Rifle Division.
It arrived in theCaucasus region by the mid-1950s and has been stationed for many years atVladikavkaz. In the late 1980s it was part of the42nd Army Corps atVolgograd and consisted of the 397th Tank Regiment, and the 201st, 429th, and 503rd Motor Rifle Regiments.
After thecollapse of the USSR, the division took part inthe first andthe second Chechen war. During the winter of 1994-1995, the division, as part of the "West" groupstormed Grozny inFirst Chechen War as part of the "West" group under the command of Major General Valery Klimovich Petruk.[5] The group "West" also included paratroopers from the21st Airborne Brigade battalion and the76th Guards Airborne Division combined regiment.
At 7:30 on January 2, the vanguard of the 693rd regiment of Colonel Kandalin entered the city of Grozny and until 12:00 the regiment did not encounter any resistance from Dudayev's men. Due to a number of serious mistakes made by the division commander, the 693rd regiment was stopped in the market area and attacked by superior Chechen forces; under their pressure, the regiment retreated to the Lenin Park of Culture and Recreation. By 18:00, during a fierce battle, the 693rd regiment was surrounded in the area of Lenin Park, where contact with it was lost.[6]
On February 22, 1996, a battle took place in the Assinskoye Gorge. A battalion of the 693rd Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment, which had left Vladikavkaz for Chechnya to rotate troops (according to other sources,with the task of capturing the settlement of Bamut), was attacked by militants in Ingushetia in the area of the settlements of Galashki and Arshty. The fighting continued between February 22 and 24. Among the dead was the battalion commander, Major Eduard Tinikashvili.[7] On March 21, 1996, the 693rd Regiment stormed the settlement ofStary Achkhoy.[7]
From March 5 to March 22, 2000, the 503rd Guards Motor Rifle Regiment of the 19th Motor Rifle Division took part in thebattles for the village ofKomsomolskoye.[8]
On August 8, 2008, elements of the 19th Motor Rifle Division (at least 503rd Motor Rifle Reg.) enteredSouth Ossetia. In 2009, as part of the wider restructuring of theRussian Ground Forces the division became the19th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade which was formed from the503rd Guards Motor Rifle Regiment of the 19th Motor Rifle Division. The4th Guards Military Base was formed on the basis of the693rd and135th Motor Rifle Regiments in the territory of the Republic ofSouth Ossetia.[9] The brigade inherited all the awards, honorary titles and military glory of the 19th Motorized Rifle Division, formed in 1922. As a result, the brigade celebrated its anniversaries onJuly 22.[10]
On December 1, 2020, the brigade was reorganized into the 19th motorized rifle division[11][12] as part of the58th Combined Arms Army,Southern Military District. Its permanent deployment point is the city ofVladikavkaz in theRepublic of North Ossetia.[13][14] It was reportedly planned to re-equip the division withT-90M main battle tanks.[15] During theRussian invasion of Ukraine, members of the division's 503rd Motor Rifle Regiment were captured in the village ofMalynivka in theZaporizhzhia Oblast in March 2022 by Ukrainianterritorial defense fighters.[16][17]
The 19th Motor Rifle Division currently has approximately 11,000 personnel in active service.
Equipment Summary[19]
| Equipment | Numbers |
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| Main Battle Tanks | 120 (T-72) |
| APC &IFV | 330 |
| Self Propelled Artillery | 72 (2S3 Akatsiya) |
| Multiple Rocket Launchers | 16 |
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