During an amphibious landing, Marine infantry fighting units are always the first to begin combat operations. Service in these units has always been considered especially honorable and responsible, and the most stringent requirements are imposed on candidates.

Marine airborne assault battalion: main characteristics and locations

It’s not for nothing that they are called conquerors of the three elements. The fact is that, due to the specific nature of combat missions, they must be able to operate equally successfully at sea, on land, and in the air. When landing troops, they are always the first to begin combat operations. Service in these units has always been considered especially honorable and responsible, and the most stringent requirements are imposed on candidates.

They usually consist of 650 - 700 soldiers and, as a rule, include air assault and parachute companies, a medical center, a grenade launcher, a communications platoon, and a reconnaissance platoon.

Landing marines are available in all fleets of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. For example, the Baltiysk DShB is part of the famous 336th Bialystok Marine Corps Brigade of the Order of Suvorov and Alexander Nevsky. The locations of the other most famous units are as follows: the village of Sputnik (north of Murmansk), the village of Kazachye (near Sevastopol), the city of Kaspiysk, etc. It is interesting that when forming a brigade in the Caspian Sea in mid-2000, units of various fleets were used, including from Baltiysk.

The units are equipped with modern and effective weapons (for example, Rubezh and Progress anti-ship systems). Personnel training is carried out at the most serious level, with preference given to contract employees. Each Marine performs at least five parachute jumps per year. Recently, more and more attention has been paid to honing the skills of interaction with naval aviation and large landing ships. The success of any major operation ultimately depends on the coherence of all these units.

Participation of airborne marines in the armed conflict in Chechnya

In a difficult time for our state, soldiers and officers had to demonstrate in practice all those skills that were honed during regular exercises and everyday activities. The soldiers of Baltiysk were among the first to carry out counter-terrorism operations; later they were joined by the marines of the Pacific and Northern fleets. Many of them were awarded various orders and medals, some (for example, Major Alexander Chernov, Captain Viktor Vdovkin, Sergeant Major Gennady Azarychev) were awarded the title of Hero of Russia.

The enormous contribution of the guys from the Marine air assault battalions in protecting the foundations of Russian statehood is evidenced by the fact that the leader of the self-proclaimed Chechen Republic Dudayev declared the Marine Corps “enemy number one.” The Marines also proved themselves during the second Chechen campaign. Unfortunately, the number of lives that the guys did not spare for the freedom and security of our great Fatherland goes into the hundreds... The leadership of our country, led by its President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, highly appreciated the contribution of the “black berets” to the victory over terrorists and rebels.

Today's day

The Marine Corps DSBs take an active part in various types of military exercises. Examples include the Mobility 2004 exercise and the joint Russian-American Northern Eagle exercise. In addition, soldiers and officers of the amphibious marine corps regularly take part in long-distance sea raids. We can only hope that the skills acquired in the exercises will never be useful in a real situation.

Unfortunately, some unresolved problems remain in the Marine Corps units related to the lack of housing for personnel, the deterioration of some types of weapons, etc. But the state is trying to correct these shortcomings as far as possible. Thus, on the eve of the celebration of Victory Day in 2013, the Baltiysk DShB received 30 new armored personnel carriers - 82 different modifications. According to the leadership of the Armed Forces, new steps are planned in this direction.

STORM TROOPERS

Mid 60's years, in view of the active development of helicopters (with their amazing ability to land and take off almost anywhere), a completely appropriate idea arose of creating special military units that could be dropped by helicopter into the tactical rear of the enemy in order to assist the advancing ground forces. Unlike the Airborne Forces, these new units were supposed to be landed only by landing, and unlike the GRU Special Forces, they were supposed to operate in fairly large forces, including the use of armored vehicles and other heavy weapons.

To confirm (or refute) the theoretical conclusions, it was necessary to conduct large-scale practical exercises that would put everything in its place.

IN 1967 year, during the strategic exercises “Dnepr-67” on the basis of the 51st Guards Airborne Division, the experimental 1st Air Assault Brigade was formed. The brigade was led by the head of the combat training department of the Airborne Forces Directorate, Major General Kobzar. The brigade landed in helicopters on the bridgehead on the Dnieper and completed its assigned task. Based on the results of the exercises, appropriate conclusions were drawn, and starting in 1968, the formation of the first air assault brigades in the Far Eastern and Trans-Baikal military districts began as part of the ground forces.

Based on the directive of the General Staff of May 22, 1968, by August 1970, the 13th air assault brigade was formed in the settlements of Nikolaevna and Zavitinsk, Amur Region, and the 11th Air Assault Brigade in the village of Mogocha, Chita Region.

Again, as in the very first airborne unit (the airborne detachment of the Leningrad Military District), the “land” unit received aviation under its control - two helicopter regiments with an air base each were transferred to the brigade control, which included an airfield support battalion and a separate communications and radio engineering division.

The structure of the air assault brigades of the first formation was as follows:

Brigade management;

Three air assault battalions;

Artillery Division;

Anti-aircraft artillery division;

Combat helicopter regiment with an air base;

Transport helicopter regiment with an aviation base;

Rear of the brigade.

Air assault units mounted on helicopters were able to land in the form of a landing force on any part of the operational-tactical theater of military operations and solve assigned tasks on their own with fire support from combat helicopters. Experimental exercises were conducted with these brigades to develop tactics for using air assault units. Based on the experience gained, the General Staff made recommendations for improving the organizational and staffing structure of such units.

It was assumed that the air assault brigades would operate in the enemy's tactical defense zone. The range at which battalions of air assault brigades were supposed to land did not exceed 70-100 km. In particular, as confirmation, this is evidenced by the operating range of communications equipment that entered service with air assault formations. However, if we consider the specific theater of operations in which the brigades were stationed, it can be assumed that the purpose of the 11th and 13th Brigades was to quickly close the poorly guarded section of the border with China in the event of a Chinese military invasion. By helicopter, brigade units could be landed anywhere, while the motorized rifle regiments of the 67th Motorized Rifle Division located in that area (from Mogocha to Magdagachi) could only move under their own power along the only rock road, which was very slow. Even after the helicopter regiments were withdrawn from the brigades (at the end of the 80s), the mission of the brigades did not change, and the helicopter regiments were always stationed in close proximity.

In the early 70s, a new name for the brigades was adopted. From now on they began to be called “airborne assault”.

On November 5, 1972, by directive of the General Staff, and on November 16, 1972, and by order of the commander of the Transcaucasian Military District, by February 19, 1973, it was decided to form an airborne assault brigade in the Caucasian operational direction. The 21st separate air assault brigade was formed in the city of Kutaisi.

Thus, by the mid-70s, the so-called Airborne Forces of the ground forces included three brigades:

11th Brigade(military unit 21460), ZabVO (Mogocha settlement, Chita region), consisting of: 617th, 618th, 619th airborne battalion, 329th and 307th airborne regiments;

13th Airborne Brigade(military unit 21463), Far Eastern Military District (n. Magdagachi, Amur Region), consisting of: 620th, 621st (Amazar), 622nd airborne battalion, 825th and 398th airborne division;

21st Airborne Brigade(military unit 31571), ZakVO (Kutaisi, Georgia), consisting of: 802nd (military unit 36685, Tsulukidze), 803rd (military unit 55055), 804th (military unit 57351) odshb, 1059th odn, 325th and 292nd airborne regiments, 1863rd one sirto, 303rd obao.

An interesting fact was that the battalions in these formations were separate units, whereas in the Airborne Forces only a regiment was a separate unit. From the moment of their formation until 1983, parachute training was not provided for in these brigades and was not included in the combat training plans, and therefore the personnel of the air assault brigades wore the uniform of motorized rifle troops with the appropriate insignia. Airborne assault units received the Airborne Forces uniform only with the introduction of parachute jumping into their combat training.

In 1973, the air assault brigades included:

Management (staff 326 people);

Three separate air assault battalions (each battalion has 349 people);

Separate artillery division (staff 171 people);

Aviation group (only 805 people on staff);

Separate division of communications and radio technical support (190 people on staff);

Separate battalion of airfield technical support (410 people on staff).

New formations began active combat training. There were accidents and disasters. In 1976, during a major exercise in the 21st brigade, a tragedy occurred: two Mi-8 helicopters collided in the air and crashed to the ground. As a result of the disaster, 36 people died. Similar tragedies occurred from time to time in all brigades - probably this was the terrible tribute that had to be paid for the possession of such highly mobile military units.

The experience accumulated by the new brigades turned out to be positive, and therefore, by the end of the 70s, the General Staff decided to form several more air assault brigades of front-line (district) subordination, as well as several separate air assault battalions of army subordination. Since the number of newly formed units and formations was quite large, the General Staff decided to disband one airborne division to complete them.

Based on the General Staff Directive of August 3, 1979 No. 314/3/00746, by December 1, 1979, the 105th Guards Airborne Vienna Red Banner Division (111th, 345th, 351st, 383rd Guards PDP) , stationed in Fergana, Uzbek SSR, was disbanded. The 345th Regiment was reorganized into a separate parachute regiment and left in the southern operational direction. The personnel of the disbanded regiments and individual units went to form air assault units and formations.

On the basis of the 111th Guards Reconnaissance Division in the city of Osh, Kyrgyz SSR, the 14th Guards Airborne Brigade of the Western Group of Forces was formed with redeployment to the city of Cottbus, German Democratic Republic. In December 1979, the brigade was renamed the 35th Guards Airborne Brigade. From 1979 to November 1982, the brigade's personnel wore the uniform of motorized rifle troops. In 1982, the brigade was awarded the Battle Banner. Before this, the brigade had the Battle Banner of the 111th Guards Infantry Division.

On the basis of the 351st Guards PDP, the 56th Guards Airborne Brigade of TurkVO was formed with a deployment in the village of Azadbash (district of the city of Chirchik) of the Uzbek SSR.

On the basis of the officers of the 105th Guards Airborne Division, the 38th Separate Guards Vienna Red Banner Airborne Assault Brigade was formed in the Belarusian Military District in the city of Brest. The brigade was given the Battle Banner of the disbanded 105th Guards Vienna Red Banner Airborne Division.

On the basis of the 383rd Guards Airborne Regiment in the village of Aktogay, Taldy-Kurgan Region of the Kazakh SSR, the 57th separate air assault brigade was formed for the Central Asian Military District.

The 58th Brigade was formed for the Kyiv Military District in Kremenchug (however, it was decided to leave it as a squadron unit).

For the Leningrad Military District in the village of Garbolovo, Vsevolozhsk district, Leningrad region, with the participation of personnel of the 234th and 237th Guards Parachute Regiments of the 76th Guards Airborne Division the 36th separate air assault brigade was formed, and for the Baltic Military District in the city of Chernyakhovsk, Kaliningrad region there was The 37th separate air assault brigade was formed.

On August 3, 1979, the 80th Parachute Regiment of the Order of the Red Star of the 104th Guards Airborne Division in the city of Baku was disbanded. The released personnel were turned to the formation of new brigades - in the city of Khyrov, Staro-Sambir district of the Lviv region, the 39th separate Order of the Red Star airborne assault brigade was formed for the Carpathian Military District, and in the city of Nikolaev for the Odessa Military District the 40th was formed separate air assault brigade.

Thus, in total, in 1979, nine separate air assault brigades were formed, which became part of the Western and Asian military districts. By 1980, the ground forces included twelve air assault brigades in total:

11th Brigade(military unit 32364), ZabVO, Mogocha;

13th Airborne Brigade(military unit 21463), Far Eastern Military District, Magdagachi, Amazar;

21st Airborne Brigade(military unit 31571), ZakVO, Kutaisi;

35th airborne brigade(military unit 16407), GSVG, Cottbus;

36th Airborne Brigade(military unit 74980), Leningrad Military District, Garbolovo;

37th Airborne Brigade(military unit 75193), PribVO, Chernyakhovsk;

38th Airborne Brigade(military unit 92616), BelVO, Brest;

39th Airborne Brigade(military unit 32351), PrikVO, Khyrov;

40th Airborne Brigade(military unit 32461), OdVO, Nikolaev;

56th Airborne Brigade(military unit 74507), TurkVO, Azadbash, Chirchik;

57th Airborne Brigade(military unit 92618), SAVO, Aktogay, Kazakhstan;

58th Airborne Brigade KVO personnel, Kremenchug.

The new brigades were formed as lightweight ones, with 3 battalions, without helicopter regiments. Now these were ordinary “infantry” units that did not have their own aviation. In fact, these were tactical units, whereas until that time the first three brigades (11th, 13th and 21st airborne brigades) were tactical formations. Since the beginning of the 80s, the battalions of the 11th, 13th and 21st brigades ceased to be separate and lost their numbers - the brigades from formations became units. However, the helicopter regiments remained subordinate to these brigades until 1988, after which they were transferred from the subordination of the brigade management to the subordination of the districts.

The structure of the new brigades was as follows:

Brigade management (headquarters);

Two parachute battalions;

One air assault battalion;

Howitzer artillery battalion;

Anti-tank battery;

Anti-aircraft artillery battery;

Communications Company;

Reconnaissance and landing company;

RKhBZ company;

Engineer company;

Material support company;

Medical Company;

Airborne support company.

The number of personnel in the brigades was about 2800 people.

Starting from 1982–1983, airborne training began in the air assault brigades, and therefore some organizational changes took place in the structure of the formations.

In addition to the brigades, in December 1979, separate air assault battalions were formed, which were supposed to act in the interests of the armies and solve tactical problems close behind enemy lines. In the mid-80s, several more battalions were additionally formed. In total, more than twenty such battalions were formed, a complete list of which I have not yet been able to establish - there were several squadroned battalions, the numbers of which are not found in the open press. By the mid-80s, the combined arms and tank armies of the USSR Armed Forces included:

899th separate battalion (military unit 61139), 20th Guards OA, GSVG, Burg;

900th separate battalion (military unit 60370), 8th Guards OA, GSVG, Leipzig;

901st separate battalion (military unit 49138), Central Military District, Riečki, then PribVO, Aluksne;

902nd airborne battalion (military unit 61607), South Georgian Military District, Hungary, Kecskemét;

903rd separate battalion, 28th OA, BelVO, Brest (until 1986), then to Grodno;

904th separate battalion (military unit 32352), 13th OA, PrikVO, Vladimir-Volynsky;

905th separate battalion (military unit 92617), 14th OA, OdVO, Bendery;

906th airborne battalion (military unit 75194), 36th OA, ZabVO, Borzya, Khada-Bulak;

907th airborne battalion (military unit 74981), 43rd AK, Far Eastern Military District, Birobidzhan;

908th infantry battalion, 1st Guards OA, KVO, Konotop, since 1984 Chernigov, Goncharovskoe village;

1011th separate battalion, 5th Guards TA, BelVO, Maryina Gorka;

1039th infantry battalion, 11th Guards OA, PribVO, Kaliningrad;

1044th separate battalion (military unit 47596), 1st Guards TA, GSVG, Koenigsbrück, after 1989 - PribVO, Taurage;

1048th airborne battalion (military unit 45476), 40th OA, TurkVO, Termez;

1145th separate battalion, 5th OA, Far Eastern Military District, Sergeevna;

1151st airborne battalion, 7th TA, BelVO, Polotsk;

1154th infantry battalion of the 86th AK, ZabVO, Shelekhov;

1156th separate battalion 8th TA, PrikVO, Novograd-Volynsky;

1179th separate battalion (military unit 73665), 6th OA, Leningrad Military District, Petrozavodsk;

1185th separate battalion (military unit 55342), 2nd Guards TA, GSVG, Ravensbrück, then PribVO, Võru;

1603rd separate battalion of the 38th OA, PrikVO, Nadvirnaya;

1604th separate battalion, 29th OA, ZabVO, Ulan-Ude;

1605th separate battalion, 5th OA, Far Eastern Military District, Spassk-Dalniy;

1609th separate battalion, 39th OA, ZabVO, Kyakhta.

Also in 1982, their own air assault battalions were created in the Marine Corps of the USSR Navy. In particular, in the Pacific Fleet such a battalion was created on the basis of the 1st Marine Battalion of the 165th Marine Regiment of the 55th Division. Then similar battalions were created in other regiments of the division and separate brigades in other fleets. These Marine air assault battalions received airborne training and performed parachute jumps. That's why I included them in this story. The air assault battalions that were part of the 55th division did not have their own numbers and were named only by continuous numbering within their regiment. Battalions in brigades, as separate units, received their own names:

876th airborne battalion(military unit 81285) 61st Brigade, Northern Fleet, Sputnik settlement;

879th airborne battalion(military unit 81280) 336th Guards Infantry Brigade, BF, Baltiysk;

881st airborne battalion 810th Infantry Brigade, Black Sea Fleet, Sevastopol;

1st DSB 165th PMP 55th DMP, Pacific Fleet, Vladivostok;

1st DSB 390th infantry fighting rifle 55th DMP, Pacific Fleet, Slavyanka.

Based on the composition of their weapons, individual air assault battalions were divided into “light”, which did not have armored vehicles, and “heavy”, which were armed with up to 30 infantry or airborne combat vehicles. Both types of battalions were also armed with 6 mortars of 120 mm caliber, six AGS-17 and several ATGMs.

The brigades each included three parachute battalions on infantry fighting vehicles, infantry fighting vehicles, or GAZ-66 vehicles, an artillery battalion (18 D-30 howitzers), an anti-tank battery, an anti-aircraft missile battery, a mortar battery (six 120-mm mortars), and a reconnaissance battery. company, communications company, engineer company, airborne support company, chemical defense company, material support company, repair company, automobile company and medical center. A separate parachute battalion of the brigade consisted of three parachute companies, a mortar battery (4–6 82-mm mortars), a grenade launcher platoon (6 AGS-17 grenade launchers), a communications platoon, an anti-tank platoon (4 SPG-9 and 6 ATGMs) and a support platoon.

When undergoing airborne training, the parachute service of air assault battalions and brigades was guided by the documents of the Airborne Forces PDS.

In addition to brigades and battalions, the General Staff also tried another organization of air assault units. By the mid-80s, two army corps of a new organization were formed in the USSR. These corps were created for the purpose of their use in expanding an operational breakthrough (if something happened to break through). The new corps had a brigade structure and consisted of mechanized and tank brigades, and in addition, the corps included two-battalion air assault regiments. The regiments were intended to be a tool for “vertical coverage”, and in the corps they were used in conjunction with a helicopter regiment.

In the Belarusian Military District, on the basis of the 120th Guards Motorized Rifle Division, the 5th Guards Combined Arms Army Corps was formed, and in the Transbaikal Military District in Kyakhta, on the basis of the 5th Guards Tank Division, the 48th Guards Combined Arms Army Corps was formed.

The 5th Guards AK received the 1318th Air Assault Regiment (military unit 33508) and the 276th Helicopter Regiment, and the 48th Guards AK received the 1319th Air Assault Regiment (military unit 33518) and the 373rd Helicopter Regiment. However, these parts did not last long. Already in 1989, the guards army corps were again folded into divisions, and the air assault regiments were disbanded.

* * *

In 1986, in connection with the creation of the Headquarters of the Main Directional Commands, another wave of formations of air assault brigades took place. In addition to the existing formations, four more brigades were formed - according to the number of directions. Thus, by the end of 1986, subordinate to the reserve Headquarters of operational directions, the following were formed:

23rd airborne brigade (military unit 51170), Civil Command of the South-Western direction, Kremenchug;

83rd airborne brigade (military unit 54009), Civil Command of the Western direction, Byalogard;

128th Specialized Brigade of the Civil Code of the Southern Direction, Stavropol;

130th Specialized Brigade of the Personnel (military unit 79715), Civil Command of the Far Eastern Direction, Abakan.

In total, by the end of the 1980s, the USSR Armed Forces had sixteen air assault brigades, of which three (58th, 128th and 130th airborne brigades) were kept at a reduced staff or were staffed. In any case, this was a strong addition to the existing airborne forces and special forces of the GRU. No one in the world had such a number of airborne troops.

In 1986, large-scale air assault exercises were held in the Far East, in which personnel of the 13th Air Assault Brigade were involved. In August, on 32 Mi-8 and Mi-6 helicopters, an air assault battalion with reinforcements was landed at the Burevestnik airfield on Iturup island in the Kuril ridge. There, the brigade's reconnaissance company was also parachuted from An-12 aircraft. The landed units fully completed the tasks assigned to them. Supporters of the Kuril Islands joining the USSR could sleep peacefully.

In 1989, the General Staff decided to disband separate air assault battalions of combined arms and tank armies, and separate air assault brigades of district subordination were reorganized into separate airborne brigades and transferred to the command of the Airborne Forces commander.

By the end of 1991, all separate air assault battalions (with the exception of the 901st airborne battalion) were disbanded.

During the same period, due to the collapse of the USSR, major changes affected the existing air assault formations. Some of the brigades were transferred to the Armed Forces of Ukraine and Kazakhstan, and some were simply disbanded.

The 39th airborne assault brigade (by this time already called the 224th airborne training center), the 58th airborne assault brigade and the 40th airborne assault brigade were transferred to Ukraine, the 35th airborne assault brigade was withdrawn from Germany to Kazakhstan, where it became part of the armed forces of the republic . The 38th brigade was transferred to Belarus.

The 83rd brigade was withdrawn from Poland, which was transferred across the country to a new point of permanent deployment - the city of Ussuriysk, Primorsky Territory. At the same time, the 13th Brigade, which was part of the Far Eastern Military District, was transferred to Orenburg - again almost across the entire country, only in the opposite direction (a purely economic question - why?).

The 21st brigade was transferred to Stavropol, and the 128th brigade located there was disbanded. The 57th and 130th brigades were also disbanded.

Looking ahead a little, I will say that in “Russian times” by the end of 1994 the Russian Armed Forces included the following units:

11th Airborne Brigade of the Transbaikal Military District (Ulan-Ude);

13th Airborne Brigade of the Ural Military District (Orenburg);

21st Airborne Brigade of the North Caucasus Military District (Stavropol);

36th Airborne Brigade of the Leningrad Military District (Garbolovo);

37th Airborne Brigade of the North-Western Group of Forces (Chernyakhovsk);

56th Airborne Brigade of the North Caucasus Military District (Volgodonsk);

83rd Airborne Brigade of the Far Eastern Military District (Ussuriysk).

The 901st Airborne Battalion was withdrawn to Aluksne, where it became part of the 7th Guards Airborne Division, then was transferred to the 45th Airborne Reconnaissance Regiment being formed in Kubinka.

In the period from the end of 1991 to the middle. In 1994, the Russian Marine Corps was in a state of oblivion and woke up only in connection with the first Chechen war of 1994-96. During this period, her condition can be described as “quietly dying.” Officers were leaving, and very few new ones were coming; the conscription contingent arrived less and less and without any proper selection; the implementation of all existing plans for its development, adopted in 1989, was stopped.

The first, apparently, to “die” was a separate unit in the Caspian Sea, however, in 1994, the 332nd separate MP battalion was re-formed there in Astrakhan.

The 175th separate brigade of the Northern Fleet was also disbanded in 1992-93. The remaining units lived out their days in poverty. But the war broke out and the successful actions of the Marines in Chechnya again attracted attention to it. The Marines were transported to Chechnya by plane, carrying only light portable weapons. Military equipment (armored personnel carriers, tanks, artillery) was delivered by train in 10-15 days. The Marine Corps was commanded by Major General A. Otrakovsky.

From January to March 1995, the following are fighting in Chechnya: 876th infantry battalion of the 61st infantry regiment of the Northern Fleet, 879th airborne battalion of the 336th guards. brigade battalion of the Baltic Fleet and the 165th infantry battalion of the 55th infantry battalion of the Pacific Fleet.

On January 9, 1995, marine units of the Red Ban Baltic Fleet and Northern Fleet entered Grozny. The Marines had to operate in assault groups and detachments that successively captured buildings and neighborhoods, sometimes without neighbors to the right or left, or even completely isolated. The soldiers of the 876th Northern Fleet Division fought especially effectively and competently in the city. In the direction of their actions there were serious points of militant resistance: the building of the Council of Ministers, the Main Post Office, the Puppet Theater, and many high-rise buildings. Soldiers of the 2nd Airborne Assault Company (ADS) of the battalion stormed the Council of Ministers. The fighters of the 3rd battalion fought for the building of a nine-story building, which occupied a dominant position and was turned by the militants into a powerful stronghold, blocking the exit to one of the main centers of resistance - the Main Post Office building.

On January 14, the building of the Council of Ministers, a high-rise building and the Main Post Office were occupied by marines. On January 15, assault groups of the 3rd company captured the Puppet Theater.

But the hardest part was yet to come. Federal troops gradually advanced towards the center of Grozny - towards the presidential palace, the buildings of the Council of Ministers and the Caucasus Hotel. The buildings located in the city center were defended by elite militant detachments, in particular the so-called “Abkhaz battalion” of Sh. Basayev.

On the night of January 17, the 3rd DShR advanced in the direction of the Council of Ministers. On Komsomolskaya Street, the company's advanced groups were ambushed by 6 soldiers. The bandits tried to surround one of the groups of marines. Sergeant V. Molchanov ordered his comrades to retreat, while he remained to cover them. The regrouped Marines pushed back the militants. Around the position where Molchanov remained with the machine gun, 17 bandits were killed. The sergeant himself died.

On January 19, the Marines, in cooperation with scouts from the 68th separate reconnaissance battalion (ORB) and motorized riflemen from the 276th Motorized Rifle Regiment, captured the presidential palace. A group of Baltic soldiers led by the deputy battalion commander of the Guards. Major A. Plushakov hoisted the Naval and Russian state flags over the palace.

Then, after the fall of Grozny, the 105th Combined Marine Regiment was formed in Chechnya on the basis of the 1st Battalion of the 106th Regiment of the 55th Marine Division, with a separate Marine Battalion from the Baltic (877 Marine Corps) and Northern Fleets, engineering a sapper unit from the OMIB (separate naval engineering battalion) of the Baltic Fleet, which for another two months, until June 26, 1995, destroyed militants in the Vedeno, Shali and Shatoi regions of Chechnya. During the fighting, more than 40 settlements were liberated from militants, and a large number of heavy weapons and military equipment were destroyed and captured. But here, unfortunately, there were losses, although they were much smaller. In total, during the 1995 fighting in Chechnya, 178 marines were killed and 558 were injured of varying severity. 16 people received the title of Hero of Russia (six posthumously).

In 1994, on the basis of the disbanded 77th Guards. or there was an attempt to form a new 163rd department. MP brigade. However, the brigade was never deployed and, in fact, resembled the BVHT. In 1996 it was disbanded.

In 1995-96, the 810th Marine Brigade of the Black Sea Fleet was reorganized into the 810th Separate Marine Regiment, while the 382nd Separate Marine Battalion and a separate tank battalion were separated from it. Both allocated battalions were redeployed to the village of Temryuk (the coast of the Azov Sea, Krasnodar region of Russia). It should be noted that in the period 1990-91. this brigade did not have a tank battalion at all, and the newly recreated one (initially on T-64A/B tanks) was initially stationed in the village of Temryuk.

In many ways, the high coherence and combat training of the Marines was achieved by their command due to the transition in the first half of the 1990s to a new organizational structure, which implied: each company, each battalion, unlike ground battalions, must be able to carry out tasks independently, in isolation from the main forces, which is determined by the very purpose and nature of the actions of the Marine Corps. For example, the Marine battalions were permanently assigned artillery, a mortar platoon, and a communications unit, which ultimately turned a typical Marine battalion into a sort of “regiment in miniature.” All this made it possible to use marine units in the Caucasus with high efficiency.

The “black berets” were also helped by the fact that the Marine Corps units as a whole were constantly practicing and continue to practice elements of combat on various terrains and in various conditions at training grounds; fortunately, the Marine Corps had accumulated sufficient experience. And indeed, it is not known in advance under what conditions and on what coast the Marines will have to land as part of the assault force, where they will have to fight, in what conditions: in mountainous areas, on the plain, in the jungle, in the desert or in populated areas. Even in Russia, an amphibious landing in rocky or mountainous terrain is possible in several areas - in the North, Far East or on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus. The same can be said about combat in urban conditions, since even the experience of the Great Patriotic War and the Korean War showed: the marines can and should land directly in a port city, seize a bridgehead and hold it until the main landing forces arrive.

It is interesting that the former chief of the marine corps of the Russian Navy, Colonel Yuri Ermakov, recalled: the British and US Marines were actively interested in the experience of the Russian marines in fighting in urban environments in the 1990s. This was not accidental - the knowledge gained was subsequently applied by British and American Marines in practice in Yugoslavia, Iraq and Afghanistan.

In the period from 1996 to 1998, the composition of the 55th Marine Division of the Pacific Fleet underwent changes:

• The 85th MP Regiment was disbanded, and instead of it, the newly formed 390th Separate MP Regiment with a deployment in the village was introduced into the division. Slavyanka, which is southeast. Vladivostok (apparently, initially, it was formed as a separate one and was introduced into the 55th DMP later);
• The 26th Tank Regiment was reorganized into the 84th Separate Tank Battalion;
• The 165th MP Regiment began to be additionally called “Cossack”;
• The 84th artillery regiment was renamed the 921st, and the 417th anti-aircraft missile regiment was renamed the 923rd.

In 1999, a decision was made to form a new marine brigade in the Caspian Sea with a permanent location in the city of Kaspiysk (Dagestan). For this purpose, specially formed units from various fleets were transferred to the region, incl. 414th Infantry Regiment (according to other sources - ODSB) from the Baltic. However, the outbreak of the Second Chechen War prevented the calm formation of the formation and it was finally formed only in mid. 2000 The 414th and 600th MP battalions joined the brigade. The brigade received its number and honorary names as a legacy from the highly deserved 77th Guards. motorized rifle division and is called the 77th Guards Red Banner Moscow-Chernigov Horde. Lenin and Suvorov separate marine brigade.

After the invasion of Wahhabi extremists into the territory of Dagestan and the start of the counter-terrorist operation, the reinforced 876th Airborne Brigade from the 61st Marine Brigade of the Northern Fleet again left for the North Caucasus from September 10 to 20, 1999. The battalion was transferred to the Caucasus in full force, with reinforcements. On September 30, after combat coordination of the units, the battalion marched first to Khasavyurt, and then along the route with the final destination of the village of Aksai. The march took place in conditions of almost constant fire contact with the enemy, and the first killed and wounded appeared in the battalion. But the onslaught of the Marines did not weaken, and in November one of the main strongholds of the militants, the city of Gudermes, was taken.

In November 1999, the marines carried out combat missions in the flat part of Chechnya. In December, marine units were transferred to the mountainous part of the republic - to the Vedeno region. A marine corps group was formed there under the command of Major General A. Otrakovsky. The brunt of military operations in the Vedeno region fell on the 876th Northern Fleet Division under the command of Lieutenant Colonel A. Belezko. The actions of the Marines near the settlements of Kharachoy, Vedeno, at the Khaarami Pass and the Andian Gates, the operation to capture the dominant heights above the settlements of Dzhanoy-Vedeno, Vyshney-Vedeno, Oktyabrsky and Dargo earned the best assessments from the OGV command. During one of the operations in the Vedensky Gorge, the Marines captured mothballed military equipment of the bandits as a trophy: BMD, BMP, T-72 tank, an artillery mount based on an armored personnel carrier, a GAZ-66 car filled with artillery shells. The brigade suffered the greatest losses during the capture of height 1561.1 (Mount Gizcheny, according to other sources, Mount Gulchany) in the Vedeno Gorge. At the end of December 1999, the 1st infantry regiment, the 2nd infantry regiment and the mortar battery of the 876th infantry battalion reached Mount Gizcheny, which the militants had turned into a well-fortified stronghold. The mountain was of great strategic importance for the further advance of the group’s troops to the settlements of Vedeno, Dargo and Kharachoy. The 1st PDR secretly took up positions on one side of the Vedeno Gorge, stretching out in a line. The 1st and 2nd parachute platoons (pdv) of the company stood almost opposite Gizchen. 3rd airborne division of the company under the command of Art. Lieutenant A. Abadzherov was located on the right flank, opposite height 1406, from which it was separated by a gorge. On December 30, marine units were tasked with capturing the heights of Gizchen. The idea of ​​the operation was as follows: on the morning of December 31, the 1st and 2nd Airborne Divisions advance to a height from the bottom up, squeezing out the militants from there. The 3rd Infantry Division was supposed to go around Gizcheny from the rear along the gorge and set up a fire ambush on the way of the displaced enemy. At the same time, Abadzherov’s platoon had to bring to height 1406 the platoon of Lieutenant Yu. Kuryagin from the 2nd airborne regiment and the reconnaissance group of the Black Sea troops, who needed to take positions at this height in order to provide support from the right flank in the upcoming operation, not letting the militants through here. Abadzherov's platoon, carrying out this task, carefully checked the entire route for the presence of the enemy and successfully brought Kuryagin's platoon and a reconnaissance group (up to 40 people) to a height of 1406. At 08.30 on December 31, Abadzherov's platoon (18 people) began to fulfill its main task - moving to the rear heights of Gizchen. When the Marines began to descend to the bottom of the gorge, on the contrary, at height 1406, fierce shooting and explosions of hand grenades were heard (it was later established that on the morning of December 31, militants numbering up to 200 people carried out a surprise attack on Kuryagin’s group). Hearing the sounds of battle Art. Lieutenant Abadzherov decided to stop performing the main task and go to the aid of Lieutenant Kuryagin. At the bottom of the gorge, Abadjerov’s platoon encountered an ambush of militants, which they shot down on the move, while capturing a camouflaged cache where equipment and ammunition were located. Abadzherov’s platoon was the first to reach the top of height 1406, which was shaped like the number eight, that is, as if divided into two halves, ahead of the group of militants returning by several minutes. The Marines took up positions on the left half of the figure eight, on a small hill, and met the bandits with intense fire from small arms and grenade launchers. A detachment of militants, having encountered unexpected resistance, suffering losses in killed and wounded, hastily retreated, but from the neighboring Gizcheny mountain, aimed fire from a machine gun and sniper rifles was opened on Abadjerov’s platoon, and the retreating militants attempted to bypass the marines from the flanks (height 1406 flat from three sides, only the left side is almost vertical). For four hours, Abadzherov’s platoon fought an unequal battle with a numerically superior enemy. The marines were supported by helicopters and artillery called by radio (up to 30 militants were destroyed by artillery fire). When reinforcements arrived at height 1406, the bandits finally retreated. During the battle on December 31, 1999, 12 people from Kuryagin’s group were killed, two were seriously wounded (one subsequently died), the rest, who were under guard, survived, Abadzherov’s platoon had no casualties. Mount Gizcheny, where the militants’ fortified point was located, was taken a few days later, in early January 2000. Taking advantage of difficult weather conditions, the 1st PDR under the command of Art. Leyte Nanta S. Lobanova captured an important strategic height with a surprise attack, inflicting heavy losses on the bandits in manpower and weapons.

Then there were the settlements of Botlikh, Alleroy, Andes and others. In addition to the Severomorsk soldiers, the reconnaissance company of the 810th infantry infantry regiment of the Black Sea Fleet and the 414th infantry infantry regiment of the Caspian Flotilla took part in the counter-terrorist operation of 1999–2000 on the territory of Chechnya and Dagestan. During the operation, 36 Marines were killed and 119 were wounded. Five “black berets” were awarded the title of Hero of Russia, including three posthumously. Moreover, four Heroes and all three who received this title posthumously were servicemen of the 61st separate marine brigade of the Northern Fleet, and in just two Chechen wars, only the marines of the Northern Fleet lost one general, seven junior officers, a senior warrant officer and 73 sailors and sergeants.

After the group of marine forces created in the Caucasus completed its tasks, the units began to be withdrawn from Chechnya one by one, and the group was disbanded. Of the marines, only the Caspian battalion remained there, but it was also withdrawn at the end of September 2000. However, already in April 2001, by decision of the command, a battalion of the Caspian Marine Brigade was sent to block the border between Dagestan and Chechnya, and from June 2001 to February 2003, a battalion tactical group of the created Caspian Marine Brigade operated on a permanent basis in the mountainous regions of Chechnya and Dagestan , reinforced by Black Sea scouts. And even after the withdrawal from the republic of the bulk of the troops that took part in the last counter-terrorist operation, for another six months, the mountainous sections of the administrative border of Chechnya and Dagestan, as well as the state Russian-Georgian border, were covered by a battalion tactical group from the youngest brigade of the Navy MP. For a long time, the Caspians had to operate in an almost completely autonomous mode, in isolation from the main forces and supply bases. But the “black berets” coped with the task assigned to them. Subsequently, the number of marines permanently operating in the Chechen Republic was reduced from a battalion to a company, and then the “black berets” completely returned to their place of permanent deployment.

The dynamics of the composition of the Marine Corps and coastal defense formations in the period 1991-2000 is as follows:

Name		Dislocation		Notes Additions. Armament (as of 01/01/2000)
Marines.
55 dmp		Pacific Fleet Vladivostok district.		Regalia: Mozyr Red Banner. As of 2000, it included: 106, 165 and 390 infantry infantry regiments, 921 ap, 923 zrp, 84 obt, 263 orb, 1484 obs.
61 obrmp		SOF. Sputnik village (northern Murmansk)		Regalia: Kirkene Red Banner. It consists of 876 odshb... Armament: 74 T-80B, 59 BTR-80, 12 2S1 "Gvozdika", 22 2S9 "Nona-S", 11 2S23 "Nona-SVK", 134 MT-LB and others. Lich. composition – 1270 parts.
163 obrmp		SOF. Arkhangelsk district		Formed in 1994 on the basis of the 77th Guards. dbo and existed for less than two years - until 1996, when it was disbanded.
175 obrmp		SOF. Serebryanskoe or Tumanny village (Murmansk region)		Disbanded in 1992-93. or, according to other sources, cropped.
336 Guards obrmp		BF. Baltiysk (Kaliningrad region)		The honorary name and regalia is the Bialystok Order of Suvorov and Alexander Nevsky. It includes the 879th airborne infantry battalion, the 877th and 878th infantry infantry regiments... Armament: 26 T-72, 131 BTR-80, 24 2S1 "Gvozdika", 22 2S9 "Nona-S", 6 2B16 "Nona-K", 59 MT-LB and others. Lich. composition – 1157 parts.
810 opmp		Black Sea Fleet Cossack settlement (Sevastopol district)		It includes the 882nd airborne battalion. Around 1995-96 it was reorganized into the opmp. At the same time, it separated the 382nd Infantry Infantry and Detachment from its composition. Armament: 46 BTR-80, 52 BMP-2, 18 2S1 "Gvozdika", 6 2S9 "Nona-S", 28 MT-LB and others. composition – 1088 parts.
390 opmp		village Slavyanka, Khasansky district, Primorsky region.		Formed in the 90s. as a separate one, and was soon introduced into 55 dmp instead of 85 pmp.
414 odshb		Kaspiysk		The battalion was created on the basis of the 336th Guards. obrmp in 1999 Armament: 30 BTR-70, 6 D-30, 6 2B16 "Nona-K" and others. Lich. composition – 735 parts.
382 obmp		village Temryuk, Krasnodar region		Withdrew (in fact, re-formed) from the 810th Infantry Brigade when it was reorganized into a regiment - 1995. Armament: 61 BMP-2, 7 BTR-80, 6 MT-LB, etc. Lich. composition – 229 hours.
332 obmp		Astrakhan		Formed in Aug. 1994. In 1998 renamed 600 obmp.
600 obmp		KFL, Astrakhan, then – Kaspiysk.		Renamed from 332 obmp. Transferred to Kaspiysk (Dagestan) in 1999. Armament: 25 BTR-70, 8 2B16 "Nona-K" and others. Lich. composition – 677 parts.
Coastal defense
77 Guards dbo		SOF, Arkhangelsk and Kem district		Disbanded 1994
3rd Guards dbo		BF, Klaipeda and Telshai district		Disbanded 1993
40 dbo		Pacific Fleet, village Shkotovo (Vladivostok district)		Disbanded 1994
126 dbo		Black Sea Fleet, Simferopol and Evpatoria region.		Disbanded in 1996. Its arms and military equipment are divided in half between Russia and Ukraine.
301 Apr		Black Sea Fleet, Simferopol		As part of the Black Sea Fleet since 12/01/89. until 1994. Disbanded in 1994.
8th Guards oap		BF, Vyborg		Disbanded.
710 oap		BF, Kaliningrad		Converted to BHVT.
181 opulab		Baltic Fleet, Fort "Krasnaya Gorka"		Disbanded.
1 obrbo		BF, Vyborg		Apparently they were created on the basis of one of the mechanized infantry divisions on the Karelian Isthmus and the disbanded 77th Guards. dbo, respectively. They didn't last long.
52 opbo		SOF, Arkhangelsk district		no information
205 oob PDSS				no information
102 oob PDSS				no information
313 oob PDSS				no information

At present, even despite the reform and reduction in numbers, the Marine Corps still remains one of the most important components of the Russian Navy. Organizationally, it is part of the coastal forces of the Russian Navy, and its activities in peacetime and war are directly supervised by the Chief of the Marine Corps. There are marine corps units in all fleets - in a separate marine brigade, in the Caspian flotilla (separate battalions) and even in Moscow (units for escorting military cargo and security of the Main Headquarters of the Navy), they are subordinate locally to the heads of the departments of the coastal forces of the Baltic, Black Sea, Northern and the Pacific Fleet.

Long years of underfunding and constant reform of the Armed Forces have also affected the Marine Corps. The staff is literally being cut to the quick, there are not enough professionals, including contract soldiers in sailor positions, the ranks of armored vehicles are thinning and, what is even more ominous, the number and combat potential of the naval landing forces are declining.

For example, Russian marines today actually do not have amphibious armored vehicles capable of landing on an unequipped shore in the first echelon of amphibious assault, afloat, ensuring the suppression of fortified points and positions of enemy fire weapons (including directing accurate fire from the water). All that today can “float” from military equipment are armored personnel carriers of the BTR-80 family and armed with MT-LB machine gun mounts (floating transporters armed with machine guns are probably not worth mentioning). A very good armored vehicle, the BMP-3 F, armed with not only small arms and cannons, but also missile weapons - a 100-mm cannon and an ATGM launcher, a 30-mm automatic cannon and three machine guns - has not yet reached the Marine Corps I've arrived. But it received high reviews from the UAE ground forces. The 125-mm self-propelled anti-tank gun 2 S25 "Sprut-SD", which was tested by the Marine Corps and adopted for service, is also not available in the required quantities.

According to the command staff of the Russian Marine Corps, a worthy replacement for the retired PT-76 amphibious tank, capable of not only landing afloat, but also firing from the water, has not yet appeared. Existing tanks of the T-72 family can, as is known, be landed from landing ships only at rest or in an equipped port - just like self-propelled guns "Gvozdika" and "Nona-S" and "Nona-SVK", mobile air defense systems and others military equipment.

Some time ago it seemed that a solution had been found - the Moscow OJSC Special Mechanical Engineering and Metallurgy proposed an option for modernizing the PT-76, within which it was planned to install a new turret on the vehicle with a weapon system with a 57-mm automatic cannon placed in it (a conversion of the ship's AK gun mount -725 was carried out by the Nizhny Novgorod design bureau "Burevestnik"), a new automated control system and a two-plane weapon stabilizer. The combined sight, developed by one of the Belarusian optical-mechanical enterprises, was equipped with a built-in range finder, and the new weapon system would provide the modernized PT-76 B tank with a threefold increase in firepower compared to its predecessor. So, for example, when firing an armor-piercing tracer projectile at a range of 1250 m, the gun penetrates 100 mm thick armor.

In addition, in order to increase the mobility of the new tank on land, specialists from the design bureau of the Volgograd Tractor Plant have developed a program for modernizing its power plant: installing a more powerful UTD-23 diesel engine and a transmission used on the BMD-3, as well as new caterpillar tracks with better adhesion properties and a large service life. A special system for scanning and detecting optical devices, which is similar to devices for detecting snipers, is intended to give the upgraded vehicle additional survival capability on the battlefield. True, so far things have not gone further than proposals.

However, if equipment has recently, at the very least, made its way into the Marine Corps, then some of the actions of reformers in the field of reorganizing the organizational structure of the Marine Corps of the Russian Navy simply defy any logic. For example, the 77th Separate Guards Moscow-Chernigov Order of Lenin, Red Banner, Order of Suvorov II Class Marine Brigade of the Caspian Flotilla, created in 1996 on the basis of the 600th Guards and 414th Separate Marine Battalions, was disbanded. On December 1, 2008, the brigade ceased to exist, and its personnel, equipment and materiel, with the exception of two marine battalions with bases in Kaspiysk and Astrakhan, were transferred to a newly formed separate marine brigade within the Black Sea Fleet.

The fact that on the basis of the 810th Marine Corps in 2008 the Black Sea Marine Brigade (810 Marine Corps), which was reduced exactly 10 years earlier, was recreated cannot but rejoice, but was it really reasonable to do this at the expense of the destruction of another formation, and at such an important direction, like the Caspian Sea, where Russia has so far failed to reach mutual understanding on the issue of delimiting influence on the sea with its neighbors in the region? Many experts have long called the Caspian Sea nothing more than a “sea of ​​discord”...

A similar, not entirely positive, reorganization was carried out in relation to the Marine Corps of the Pacific Fleet. Not only was it decided ten years ago that the 55th Marine Division, located in the Far East, did not need a separate tank regiment at all, but relatively recently a decision was made to reduce the division itself - on June 1, 2009, it was reorganized to the 165th separate marine brigade of the Pacific Fleet. Moreover, it is necessary to take into account the fact that one of the primary tasks of the Pacific Marines was to seize the strait zones in order to ensure access to the open ocean for the main forces of the Pacific Fleet, which, with the exception of those ships and submarines that are based in Kamchatka and in some other “open” "to the ocean areas of the coast, literally locked in the Sea of ​​Japan.

However, the situation in other fleets is also no better - in the Russian Navy today there are only four marine brigades left: the already mentioned 165th Brigade, the 336th Separate Guards Bialystok Order of Suvorov and Nakhimov Marine Brigade of the Baltic Fleet, 61 -1st separate Kirkenes Red Banner Marine Brigade of the Northern Fleet and 810th separate Marine Brigade of the Black Sea Fleet, as well as several separate regiments, battalions and companies. And this is for the entire fleet, whose task is to defend Russia’s vast coastline from the sea and assist the ground forces in conducting operations in the coastal theater of operations.

Only recently have encouraging news begun to appear, allowing us to hope for the restoration of the former power of the Russian Marine Corps. Far Eastern Higher Military Command School named after K.K. Rokossovsky (DVVKU), which trains Marine Corps commanders, conducted a full-fledged recruitment in 2013, for the first time after many years. More than 300 cadets began training, while previous enrollments did not go beyond a few dozen.

At the same time, in 2013, the 3rd Marine Regiment was again reorganized into the 40th Brigade. In this, until recently land, formation, amphibious training began to be carried out. In the coming years, the fleet will receive landing helicopter dock ships Vladivostok and Sevastopol. A new combat vehicle for the Marine Corps is being developed (research code “BMMP Platform”). Such a vehicle is really necessary, since the Marine Corps has long been in need of a combat vehicle with good seaworthiness.

The BMP-3F, developed specifically for marine paratroopers, was received not by ours, but by Indonesian sailors. And our fleet, unfortunately, expects the arrival of a new amphibious vehicle only “in the long term.” This is all the more strange since the Commander-in-Chief of the Airborne Forces still managed to achieve the adoption of the BMD-4M. But the problem of updating the fleet of equipment and strengthening the firepower of the Marine Corps is no less acute.

The other day, the head of the Coastal Forces of the Navy (the marine corps still belongs to them, although we have actually already withdrawn from the CFE Treaty), Major General Alexander Kolpachenko, announced that in 2014 the 61st Marine Regiment of the Northern Fleet will again be reorganized into a brigade. I would like to hope that these are only the first steps towards restoring and developing the power of the naval amphibious forces capable of defeating the enemy on its territory.