From the history of ZabVO. WEB investigation
The story of one tragic landing
(to the question of the exercises of the 106th Airborne Division in Mongolia at the beginning of 1979)
In the history of the Soviet Airborne Forces, there were and still are many
studied questions. And, of course, there are reasons for that. One-
one of the poorly covered problems of the historiography of the Winged Guards
are the facts tragic death Soviet paratroopers during training
ny in peacetime.
Such an almost unexplored page in the annals of the Soviet landing
that is the history of the teachings of the 106th (Tula) airborne division
zia on the Mongolian-Chinese border in February 1979, when
more than 40 airborne troops were crippled. This tragedy, hidden leadership
the property of the USSR from the Soviet people, could, obviously, not happen,
if the top management of these major exercises abstained
from an ill-conceived order to land the guards on the Mongolian
land in completely unacceptable conditions for this.
This is our version of the story. The beginning of 1979 was marked
a new aggravation of Soviet-Chinese relations. This process,
caught by geopolitical and other factors, has become a progressive
after the death of the famous Chinese leader Mao Tse Tung in
1976, when the new Chinese political leadership led by Deng Xiao
Pinom began to revise some of the former principles of foreign
Chinese politics. The 11th Congress of the Communist Party of China proclaimed an openly anti-Soviet
well. Moreover, the Constitution of the People's Republic of China at the same time was introduced (according to
decisions of the XI Congress of the CPC) the most important amendment, in accordance with which
swarm of the USSR was proclaimed the first enemy of China. At the same time, the
the long-suffering Vietnam was proclaimed the home of China, recently
poor in the war with the American invaders. Vietnam, converted
which by that time had grown into a single social republic, strove
conduct independent foreign policy aimed at friendship
with the countries of the socialist camp. The Vietnamese leadership also
begins to pursue a course of rapprochement with neighboring Laos, a small
country (3.4 million people), which chose socialism.
To the envious and malicious leaders of China, such a position
things were haunted, which eventually led to the war. February 17, 1979
China carried out aggression against Vietnam.
On the same day 12 China-
Russian divisions on a front of 1200 km invaded Vietnamese territory.
The Soviet Union, bound by allied obligations with friendly
military Vietnam, could not react indifferently to this event.
Already on February 19, the government newspaper Pravda published
vano statement of the leadership of the USSR. This statement stated,
“that China’s attack on Vietnam once again shows that
how irresponsibly Beijing treats the destinies of the world, with what
with criminal ease, the Chinese leadership uses weapons. The statement also spoke about the assurance of the USSR to fulfill
commitments made the Soviet side under a treaty of friendship and
cooperation between the USSR and Vietnam.
What was practically backed up by the Soviet demarche?
According to the official version of Soviet historiography, the USSR
additional assistance to friendly Vietnam in the form of supplies,
providing military advisers, etc. In the second volume of "History
foreign policy of the USSR "(M., 1986) on this occasion it is said:"
At the same time, the Soviet Union took measures to provide additional
additional assistance to Vietnam, supplying him with everything that was required
to repel the aggressor."
Already on February 19, 1979, a group of advisers (20 people), headed by
Army General G. Obaturov arrived in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam.
After assessing the situation on the ground and listening to the reports of the Vietnamese leadership,
of the General Staff, Soviet specialists convinced the Vietnamese leader
Le Duan to transfer an army corps from Kampuchea to Langshon
direction, as well as redeploy in the same direction
active division BM-21.
A group of different councils participated in repelling Chinese aggression.
sky specialists (pilots, signalmen, rocket men, etc.). Unfortunately not
there were no casualties among the Soviet officers. In March 1979, under
Da Nang (a port in South Vietnam) crashed while landing
Vietnamese airliner AN-24, on board of which were Air Force General Malykh
and five instructor officers. They all died.
However, the USSR took another action to put pressure on China.
tai. To scare off an aggressive neighbor, it was decided to hold a
Mongolian-Chinese border demonstration military power, figuratively
rattling, rattling weapons and flexing muscles. Today there are few
knows that in Mongolia, a vassal state from the USSR at that time (since
1967) there was a group of thousands of Soviet troops in
becoming the 39th combined arms army stationed on the Mongolian land
le. It included several motorized rifle and tank divisions,
subordinated to the Trans-Baikal Military District. At the beginning
1979, three divisions were transferred to Mongolia from Siberia and Zabai-
calla. In this situation, it was decided to use advanced
units of the 39th Army as a political club against the aggressor -
China. In February-March 1979, major combined-arms
high exercises in the military districts bordering China in Mongolia and
Far East. These unprecedented maneuvers involved
about 200 thousand people. Transferred from Ukraine and Belarus
military aviation. In the demonstration of forces, it was also decided to involve
and a whole formation of the Soviet Airborne Forces.
Logically, it was reasonable to involve in this demonstration
vat those units of the Airborne Forces that were stationed in the Far East. One-
However, the main forces of the Airborne Forces were located on the western borders of the USSR, and
also in Transcaucasia and in Central Asia. On the Far Eastern borders with
China, only the 11th separate airborne assault rifle stationed in Mogocha, near
Cheats. This one of the first ODSHBR was created in 1968 and was located
in operational subordination of the Trans-Baikal Military District. But this
brigade decided not to touch.
The choice of the top military leadership fell on the 106th Guards
Airborne Red Banner Order of Kutuzov 2nd degree
division. Why was it decided to use this airborne unit?
The 106th (Tula) Airborne Division was rightfully considered one of the best formations
Winged Guard. It is no coincidence that this particular division participated
repeatedly in responsible and experimental exercises, as well as
performed high governmental tasks. Here are a few examples
ditch.
In 1957, the Tula paratroopers ensured the landing of the first
space projectiles with four-legged astronauts - dogs Bel-
ka, Strelka, Chernushka. And a few years later, the guards of the 106th Airborne Division
were honored to meet the landing site of cosmonaut Yuri
Gagarin.
At the end of the 50s. (already under V.F. Margelov) soldiers of the Tula division
The Airborne Forces participated in extreme climatic landing in
expanses of the Arctic. In the midst of the Margelov airborne reforms early 70s
x years. Tula paratroopers were among the first to master the new
sant armored vehicles BMD-1 and BTRD. The award was the pennant of the USSR Ministry of Defense
"for courage and military prowess". Tula division repeatedly
was also involved in extinguishing forest fires in the Moscow region and in the Central
tral Non-Chernozem.
The question arises: why exactly the 106th Airborne Division was decided to land
on the Mongolian-Chinese border? After all, this division was
stationed near Moscow and, obviously, was aimed at the European
sky theater of operations. Why didn’t they choose the airborne divisions, stationed
cited in Transcaucasia (104th Kirovobad Airborne Division) and Central Asia
(105th Ferghana Airborne Division)? These formations of the Winged Guards were trained
Cheny to fight in the conditions of mountainous desert terrain. Obviously,
the reasons are to be found in the political realm. At the beginning of 1979 in
Iran was restless. Iranian dissatisfaction with the Shah's despotism
regime threatened to turn into a revolutionary explosion, which happened
November 10-11, 1979 The monarchical regime in Iran was overthrown, and by
Muslim clergy led by Ayatollah R. Ha-
me. It was also restless in neighboring Afghanistan, where in April
In 1978, after overthrowing the Daoud regime, the PDPA communists came to power. AT
a civil war broke out in this then friendly country,
there was a threat of drawing the Soviet troops into the civil strife of the DRA.
Therefore, the 105th and 104th airborne divisions were on the alert.
The 106th Airborne Division, although it was considered a "forest" division, nevertheless
had experience in landing in a mountainous desert area. Back in 1966
The 137th Guards Airborne Regiment took part in a major
exercises in the territory of Transcaucasia and successfully landed on
mountainous ground. In 1978, the same 137th regiment, as part of an experiment,
santed to the mountain-desert territory.
So, the choice was made. The 106th Airborne Division was transferred to Mongolia.
From fragmentary sources, it is difficult to determine exactly what
whether the full strength of the Tula division went to the exercises in the distant
Mongolia.
In the book " Airborne Troops Russia" states: "In
1979, the division was alerted and a few days later received
la participation in exercises on the territory of Mongolia.
Armada of military transport aircraft with Tula paratroopers
and armored vehicles on board headed east. It was almost
an exemplary airborne campaign with a length of several
thousand kilometers. Landing liners flew at high altitude. For
refueling aviation fuel, several landings were made.
The exact location of the exercise cannot be determined by the researcher.
managed. It is only known that the landing took place in the desert
The Gobi is a few kilometers from the Mongolian-Chinese border. In our
disposal is a valuable memoir source that allows you to partially
reproduce the dramatic picture of what happened. This is a memory
Air Force officer (helicopter pilot) V.G. Domracheva, included in the collection -
nickname “Scorched by Afghan. Participants of the Afghan war tell.
In early 1979, this officer served in a squadron of transport helicopters.
years, providing transportation of goods throughout Mongolia, on the territory
torii which were deployed a lot of Soviet military units.
As it appears from the memoirs of V.G. Domrachev and some others
sources, the exercises were led by a group of high-ranking officials
ditch headed by the First Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR
scrap by Sergei Leonidovich Sokolov, on whom she now depended
the fate of the landing, for it was this person who had to give the command
for landing in frosty and very windy weather.
V.G. Domrachev recalls: “A piercing wind was blowing. blades
helicopters waved like the wings of a bird. "If the wind does not calm down, then you-
there will be no landing," I thought.
Forty minutes later a messenger came to us from the head of the field.
Comrade and told us to get ready for the meeting of the main group of helicopters
comrade with the leadership of the exercises. We had to show those who were sitting down
helicopter landing sites.
Ten minutes later, the real pandemonium began -
one after another, helicopters flew up and landed with high-ranking officers
rank.
There were 10 helicopters in the village, but there was no Chief, and a place near the podium
remained free. The officers went to the podium, and immediately appeared
helicopter with Chief. When Marshal Sokolov appeared, the situation
revived, the officers ran, fussed. After short presentations
places on the podium were occupied, and one after another with an interval of one
a minute from the north began to appear landing aircraft IL-
76.
An on-board technician approached me and asked: “Commander, is it really in
such a wind will throw paratroopers?
“You shouldn’t,” I replied, “it’s murder!”
The movement of the generals began in the stands, Sokolov approached
commander of the Airborne Forces and reported that a strong wind and a drop should be carried out
it is impossible (highlighted by us - D.S.). He lowered his head, shook her and said
hall: "Let's make a trial landing - from one plane of people,
of the two - technology. No one objected, everyone silently watched
impending tragedy.
From the side of the leader of the ejection came the words: “The ejection
I allow!”
So the order came in. Military transport liners one by one
gim soared into the sky. In the wombs of the aircraft was the personnel of 137-
1st regiment of the 106th Airborne Forces with standard armored vehicles. At the forefront
divisional landing were soldiers of the regiment's reconnaissance company. In addition to the
vedchiks in one plane were BMD-1 drivers, and
also officers of the regiment. In the second IL-76 aircraft, there were three
bathroom "beemdashki".
The advance detachment of the Tula paratroopers, as already noted,
had to land with equipment in truly extreme conditions
conditions of the Mongolian winter. Who served in the Airborne Forces, perhaps, pre-
put what the guardsmen felt in those moments, some of whom
was, alas, destined to live the last minutes. The angel of sorrow was already waiting
the souls of warriors who were destined for a terrible death in the Mongolian
earth.
The landing has begun. At that moment, the wind force reached 40
meters per second - a crazy indicator for landing. Che-
a few minutes after the start of the drop, several paratroopers (according to
according to some reports, more than 10 people) crashed to death on the stone-
nechuyu desert firmament. Several dozen guards from the scary
contact with the ground were injured and maimed. crashed and
all three BMDs. Ejection of the main forces airborne regiment immediately cancel
whether.
Here is how the death of the landing is described by the mentioned eyewitness: “Under one
two points appeared from the flying planes, under the following
two more, which in a few seconds grew into parachute domes
Comrade with technology.
The equipment thrown out with parachutes was rapidly approaching
to the ground, growing before our eyes. The people around were carried away by what was happening
shchim and did not notice how the next plane "fell down" landing
nicknames.
About two kilometers from the stands, an airborne technical equipment began to land.
ka. Brake systems where they worked, but somewhere they didn’t work. I
for the first time I saw how towers fly off the BMD when they hit the ground. "Good-
sho that there are no people there, ”someone said from behind. These words became
signal: everyone remembered that the paratroopers had also been thrown out. Again, don't
conspiring, they raised their heads and saw how the whole sky was dotted with
parachute floors.
The paratroopers courageously fought the wind, trying to land
as close as possible to the landing equipment, but, touching the ground, somehow
hung helplessly on the straps and, without rising to their feet, dragged
filled with the canopies of their parachutes through the desert.
At first, there was silence in the stands. Everyone understood that
going on, but no one could say a word.
Suddenly someone shouted in a loud voice: “Pilots, urgently launch
helicopters and collect the wounded." We rushed to the helicopters, launched
them and flew to the victims. I had to fly through the desert
further paratroopers, release from the cabin of the onboard technician and the right
pilot to extinguish parachutes and bring paratroopers into the cockpit
helicopter. Each helicopter had five or six casualties. Pe-
dust, blood, snow were mixed. Moans, screams. There were also the dead.
We transported them to the field hospital and flew off to carry out our
tasks. Later we learned that out of 108 paratroopers exactly half were injured.
guilt, but the exercises continued, the losses too.
Of course, the release of the main landing forces was canceled, thereby
the life and health of paratroopers from other units was saved
shelf. Landing aircraft already in the air, deployed
shish, began to return.
The exercises were completed, units and subunits of the 106th Airborne Division on
transport aviation returned to the "winter quarters". Warriors of the 137th
the regiment returned to Tula by railroad communications.
Is it possible to raise the question of personal responsibility then-
him Commander of the Airborne Forces General D. Sukhorukov for the tragic events
tiya in Mongolia at the beginning of 1979? The answer to this is, of course,
difficult. Probably, the formulation of this question is fair and historically
appropriate. After all we are talking about the man who then commanded our
Winged Guard and could influence in one way or another on the described
my events. But D. Sukhorukov is not V.F. Margelov. Willpower and courage
these historical subjects unequal. Of course, Sukhorukov and
as a commander, and as a veteran of the Airborne Forces, and as a person, mentally experienced
shaft for the tragedy that happened on the Mongolian-Chinese border. This and
clear. But it seems that he felt inside his being
guilt for the death of the paratroopers, although it was difficult for him to openly admit it
but. Therefore, it is no coincidence that in his memoirs (“Records of the Commander-
paratrooper") about the tragic landing D. Sukhorukov writes in passing:
“It was necessary to land on a bare stone, gray as cement,
desert. On the day of the landing, a strong wind arose. The first
was going to jump reconnaissance company. It was a jump into hell.
The release of the main forces was cancelled. Aircraft located
already in the air, turned around and began to return to their airfields.
Soon the division was transported by aircraft of the military transport
aviation and partially by rail to places of permanent
dislocations.
The exercise showed the real possibility of military transport
aviation to carry out in a short time the transfer over long distances
nia airborne division in full force with military equipment.
The paratroopers gained experience in preparing for landing on unfamiliar
airfields, but at the same time, some issues of rear
security and a number of others, on which decisions were later made"
.
And that's it. About the tragedy that occurred in this territory, about the death and
injuries of almost 50 paratroopers from the Tula division ex-commander
The Airborne Forces chose not to write.
Why? Perhaps because he felt a share of his guilt in
what's happened? Who knows…
What did Iron Man feel, V.F. Margelov, when
became aware of what happened in Mongolia? It is clear that. Newly-
the retired inspector, of course, felt pain with all his heart and
Renne mourned the dead guardsmen. Undoubtedly, the "landing
Dad” then repeatedly asked the question: who gave, in fact, the criminal
ny order to start the landing?
Really, who? Available source materials, allowing
Unfortunately, there are no people at our disposal to answer the question. Logically
things, the decisive word, obviously, was with the person who commanded
gave then the teachings. And he was Marshal S.L. Sokolov, a long-time
parent V.F. Margelov. According to the mentioned memoirs
eyewitness, helicopter officer V.G. Domracheva, the order came from
Marshal S.L. Sokolov. Answer exactly the questions asked
the then commander of the 106th Airborne Division E.N. Podkolzin, but
his soul has long ago ascended to the pro patria.
Thus, 1979 turned out to be a landmark year for the fate of the Soviet
Airborne. Resigned from the post of commander of the Winged Guard V.F. Margelov,
the Margelov era also went into oblivion. And perhaps it is symbolic that this
the event was marked by the fact of the tragic landing of the Tula de-
santnikov in Mongolia. According to an ancient philosophical maxim, nothing
there are no accidents in our lives. Several months pass and
the same year in 1979 airborne history the era of the nine-year war will begin in
Afghanistan, in which our paratroopers will have to fight in
real with a daring enemy, to fight in Margelov's way, keeping reno-
me elite Soviet army. 106th Airborne Division until the end of the 20th century. and to this day
maintained a reputation as an excellent airborne unit.
In this division, not only glorious traditions are preserved,
wives to the great V.F. Margelov, but modern
combat experience gained in local wars and conflicts.
It is believed, for example, that in the 80s, 70% of the officers and ensigns of Tul-
Russian division fought in Afghanistan.
A third of a century has passed since the tragedy occurred in February
1979 in Mongolia. The ashes of the dead soldiers have long decayed in zinc
coffins.
Marshal S.L. Sokolov, who became after Marshal D.S. Ustinova Mi-
nistrom of defense of the USSR, lived a long decent life. He died-
recently, in 2012, at the age of 102. Did he remember before leaving
to another world about the paratroopers who died and maimed on those unfortunate
teachings? God be his judge. Undoubtedly, future historians of the Airborne Forces more than once
will return to the coverage of the events in Mongolia. Let it go
they will be able to restore and publish the names and ranks of those soldiers
Winged Guards, who heroically carried out the order, in peacetime
time doomed some of them to death.
Tragic landing
(in blessed memory of the guardsmen of the 137th Airborne Regiment,
killed in exercises in Mongolia in February 1979)
In the jaws of death thrown landing
And the fate of the warriors came true;
Follows the karmic guarantor
To open the gates to Paradise for warriors.
* * *
The wind blew over the desert
Domes crack and tear,
And the marshal is intoxicated with pride,
He is silent, and God is his judge.
* * *
The frozen earth is hard as a stone,
Our landing force is beating against this firmament.
Death came for 10 fighters;
Oh, how many tears of relatives will shed.
* * *
Blood sprinkled the landing field,
Wounded fighters are dragged by domes.
And many in that nightmare are waiting for salvation;
Fate saved them from a cruel death.
* * *
Who is to blame for the landing tragedy?
That proud marshal who gave the order
Doom people to death? He is not worthy
To be understood, justified among us?
AT 1987 The government of the USSR, in agreement with the Mongolian authorities, decided to phase out the grouping of Soviet troops (39th army) from the territory of Mongolia.
A state-important decision, like many military-political steps of those years, was taken suddenly for the military side, including for the leadership of the Trans-Baikal Military District.
Grouping of troops in Mongolia was a large military body, in fact, a third of the entire district, its face and pride. Seven divisions (including aviation) and more than 200 units, the most complex infrastructure, tens of thousands of human destinies. Commanded the 39th Army: Lieutenant General Yu.I. Momotov, V.T. Shevtsov, V.S. Tretyakov, L.S. Mayorov.
In the capital Ulaanbaatar there was a large garrison of Soviet troops. In the boundless Mongolian steppes there are dozens of military garrisons, airfields, bases, warehouses, housing, food pipelines and even 4 swimming pools. All the best in ZabVO was located there - in the Gobi desert, the steppes of nomads. It was created by builders from scratch. Take 51st Panzer Division. It was stationed in the town of Ulan-Orkhon on the banks of a picturesque river. There were excellent conditions for combat training, a modern park area with technological lines, an excellent tank track, where ideal conditions were created for training tank crews in a mountainous desert area. In the town, officers, ensigns and members of their families, civilian personnel did not experience difficulties: a school, a garrison House of Officers, a hotel, a household plant, and modern residential buildings. Families did not know the special housing and everyday problems that existed in other garrisons in the district. The snag in one thing is that the distance to the nearest railway line is more than a hundred kilometers. Delivery of material resources only road transport. One can imagine the large expenses that the maintenance of such a garrison cost the state. And there were several dozen such towns in boundless Mongolia.
In a short time, planning was carried out for the redeployment and deployment of the withdrawn troops in new places, measures for the moral and psychological adaptation of military personnel and their families, those responsible were identified, task forces were created, and the necessary forces and means were allocated.
By the time of the withdrawal, the grouping of the 39th army consisted of the following main formations and units:
- 2
Guards Tatsinskaya Red Banner Order of Suvorov Tank Division (Choibolsan), withdrawn to Mirnaya, Bezrechnaya.
- 12
Amur Moto rifle division(Boganur), launched to the Divisional station.
- 41
motorized rifle division (Choir), withdrawn to Sherlovaya Gora station.
- 51
tank division (Bulgan (Ulan-Orkhon), withdrawn to Naushki.
- 91
Melitopol Red Banner Motorized Rifle Division (Mandal-Gobi), withdrawn to Nizhneudinsk.
- 149
Ural - Khingan Red Banner Motor Rifle Division (Erdenet).
- 20
reconnaissance brigade(Arbai-Khare);
- 25
reconnaissance brigade;
- 2065
separate battalion OsNaz (Sein-Shand);
- 46
material support brigade (Ulaanbaatar);
- 195
separate regiment communications;
- 904
separate air assault battalion;
- 255
separate radio relay cable battalion;
- 77
separate electronic warfare battalion;
- 70
anti-aircraft missile brigade;
- 71
radio engineering team;
- ;
- 373
separate helicopter regiment;
- 313
pontoon bridge regiment;
- 622
a separate repair and restoration battalion;
- 203
separate reconnaissance artillery division.
Air Force units:
- 68
a separate transport and combat helicopter regiment (Nalaikh);
- 29
Amur Fighter-Bomber Aviation Division (Ulan Bator);
- 43
Sevastopol Red Banner Order of Suvorov Fighter-Bomber Aviation Regiment (Choybolsan);
- 266
iap (Nalaiha);
- 246
iad (choir).
The beginning of the withdrawal of our troops from the territory of Mongolia can be considered the redeployment 91st motorized rifle division to the south-west of the district. In the summer of 1987, the division commander, Major General V. Suslov, was given the task of withdrawing. From the headquarters of the 29th army, the deputy chief of staff, Major General S.K., was appointed responsible. Lopukhov. General leadership was entrusted to Lieutenant General V.M. Semenov. From the construction department for the arrangement of the division, the deputy head of the construction department, Colonel V.I. Popov.
There were only 30 free apartments at the place of the future deployment. It was necessary to rebuild a military camp. They worked around the clock. In record time - in 27 days, a "box" of a sixty-apartment building was erected.
Five such houses for the 91st division were commissioned. No big pomp and unnecessary advertising. A dormitory for young families of officers and ensigns was built from two prefabricated panel barracks. The housing problem of this garrison was solved in the shortest possible time.
51st Guards Tank Division, commanded by Major General V.N. Lepikhov, had to be relocated to an extremely difficult place for arrangement. Obili hills, a narrow platform for earthworks, and an inconvenient terrain created additional difficulties. To reduce the construction time, we decided to use prefabricated metal storage facilities, which were removed from the territory of Mongolia. Colonel V. Popov, lieutenant colonels V. Kuznetsov, A. Prosviryakov, together with representatives of military units, supervised the work at the sites. The design documentation was compiled by Major V. Momonov. The district command took into account the experience of motorized riflemen. The construction of open storage sites has become optimal, and also exemplary for the area.
The leadership of the district and the 39th Army, thanks to the initiative and selfless work of the personnel on the ground, managed to rebuild in a short time a good base for the withdrawn troops in Transbaikalia.
What was left in Mongolia? There was no one to live in the luxurious houses of the 101st series. The Mongols have neither people nor money to maintain residential towns in working order. Among the Mongolian and Russian entrepreneurs there were buyers for some military camps in the capital Ulaanbaatar and the Mante garrison. Everything else was transferred to the Mongolian side free of charge. In 19 garrisons - 181 military camps6 5 thousand buildings and structures, of which 358 residential buildings, 110 hostels, 124 canteens, 528 barracks, 71 soldiers' clubs, 22 schools. In addition, 7 military airfields with maintenance and support buildings were transferred.
JV "Ulaanbaatar Railway" also did not miss its chances. We paid for the transportation of goods to Russia not in rubles - in Swiss francs, 850 francs per wagon.
Ecological groups were created in each compound. They were given engineering, automotive and other equipment, with the help of which land reclamation was carried out, the consequences of the life of the troops during a long stay on Mongolian soil were eliminated. Only after the signing of the act "environmentalists" considered their work completed. By 1990, the administration of the 39th army was disbanded and a combat control group was created.
The main stages of withdrawal: 1987 - 91st Motor Rifle Division, 1989 - 51st TD, 1990 - 41st and 2nd TD, 1991 - 12th Motor Rifle Division. Parts of the army kit were withdrawn at the same time. The number of withdrawn troops amounted to 79960 military personnel, 26247 units of military equipment and weapons were redeployed.
The most powerful grouping for decades, as the Americans planned in Europe, and from 1987 to 1992 was completely redeployed and deployed on the territory of our country.
The troops are gone. The good-neighborliness of Russia and Mongolia, the military commonwealth of the two armies remained.
No one has ever counted how many abandoned garrisons there are in our country, and even more so, no one thought about the fate of the people who remained to live in these places. It seems to me that this problem remains untouched in most cases, the authorities forget about these places and the people who exist there.
Bezrechnaya, Mirnaya, Borzya, Domna, Bada, Yasnaya, Steppe, Dauria… Dozens of military camps were built in Transbaikalia during the Soviet years. For the most part along the federal highway "Chita-Zabaikalsk", which leads directly to our neighboring China.
Everything was thought out to the smallest detail. Military units and camps are equipped, kept in full combat readiness. So in the 70-80s of the twentieth century, it was absolutely not scary to live behind such a military shield. Today, following the same route, watching abandoned and dilapidated military buildings and five-story houses, you are horrified: did people once live here ...
Garrison Mirnaya
Mirnaya in Soviet times was considered the best, exemplary garrison. In the 60-90s, numerous military units were located here: motorized rifle, tank and artillery. Three to five-story barracks, car parks, storage facilities, shooting ranges and tactical training grounds, more than a dozen five-story residential buildings (DOS) for officers and their families.
Always a clean and friendly town, turned into ruins - or better to say "ghost town". And looking at the arch of the central entrance, one can see the individuality and beauty of this particular garrison. And one can’t even believe that a few years ago carefree children’s laughter was heard in the garrison, young mothers walked with prams, shops worked, a wonderful children’s garden at school circles and sports sections worked, and another Saturday ball was being prepared in the officers' house, in general life went on as usual. And it all ended at one moment, when the order came to disband the garrison.
Those who had somewhere to go went to new places of service or received new apartments, but unfortunately there are those who remained, who for some reason could not leave with everyone, and who are still waiting and hoping that the Moscow Region will remember them and give them the new apartments they deserve.What's going on with the garrison now?
Near the garrisons, as in those days, there is a small village in which they live and work on a subsidiary farm locals. For whom their "burenka" is, in most cases, both a source of income and a breadwinner in the house. And the ruins of a once prosperous town rise above the village. Looking around the current garrison, it seems that all life here has died from some kind of epidemic or radiation. slabs and bricks. The uprooted foundation gives the impression that some kind of underground animals unknown to science are found here, which turn these huge arrays of bricks and cement.
And the pieces of slabs hanging from the houses, which are still held on by not rotted pieces of reinforcement, give the impression that the town came under fire from powerful artillery and everyone fled in a panic, leaving only silent witnesses, the ruins of houses, of these events.
No, but all the same, it is more reminiscent that there was some kind of small local war about which no one was told and about which they forgot very quickly, but it is not clear with whom this war was?
There was no nuclear explosion, no epidemic, no war, but just one of the abandoned and useless military garrison!
Garrison Bezrechnaya
Bezrechnaya station is six kilometers from Mirnaya. Once the Bezrechnaya garrison was considered one of the most powerful in Transbaikalia. There was a whole tank division here. A large and solid garrison was disbanded quickly, inappropriately, in working order, however, like all other Transbaikal garrisons. Now, on the site of the military camp, you can only see piles of broken bricks, pieces of concrete and thickets of weeds. For fifteen years, five-story barracks, headquarters, artillery depots, car parks, and boiler rooms were destroyed. Millions of weighty Soviet rubles invested in their construction have fallen to the ground. The remains of a concrete fence indicate that the Soviet army was once stationed here.
Garrison Yasnaya
The Yasnaya missile garrison survived in the 1990s, but changed owners. After the missile division was disbanded, units of the Siberian Military District took its place. With the advent of the infantry, the access regime to the military camp has sunk into oblivion. They quickly painted over the visual propaganda of the rocket theme. Due to the smaller number of personnel, a number of facilities were closed. It became allowed to travel by personal transport through the streets of the town.
Local residents also contributed. All ownerless and not very objects were quickly dismantled piece by piece. They plundered, for example, the stadium. All the rooms became literally bare, the benches disappeared. The same fate befell the medical warehouses, the training building closer to the shooting range, the drive of helicopter pilots, etc.
But, in spite of everything, Yasnaya, in comparison with other garrisons of Transbaikalia, is in one of the first places. Minibuses go to Chita, a polyclinic and a hospital work, there is a cellular connection.
Garrison Steppe
Following Mirna and Bezrechnaya, looking back at the glimmering life of the military town in Yasnaya, the military town at the Steppe station is also dying. On December 1, 2010, the troops officially withdrew from the garrison. The checkpoint is open, part of the five-story dosov looks at the world with empty and dark windows. Life freezes, ceases to exist.
Garrison Dauria
Once the military town of the village of Dauria was a model of order and cleanliness. All this idyll lasted until military units were withdrawn from here. Since the barracks have been emptied, state property has been left virtually unprotected.
Dilapidated buildings today pose a real danger, overhanging structures can collapse at any moment, especially since these objects have become a place of regular pilgrimage for brick makers. However, ceilings can also collapse from a passing car. When the military left, there were about a hundred buildings, according to local administration officials. There are now about three dozen.
Bada Garrison
Bada was a powerful military hub of the Trans-Baikal Military District (ZabVO) - here, in addition to pilots, there were many HFs, including an engineering brigade, a tank regiment, etc.
Now 80% of the parts have been withdrawn
To the 40th anniversary of DMB-71
In the heat of the exchange of memories between us, brother-soldiers of the ZabVO, who flooded over me after discovering the “Brotherhood of the ZabVO” forum, I post the following post on 13.09.10: 21:32:
“One nuance that should be mentioned. I open a military ID and see that the assignment of ranks and class is signed by the commander of military unit 55345. The commander is Mashinsky.
Today Google says that this V / H is the frequency response. Located in Chita. Chekhorda".
I'm ashamed to admit it, but in this way, for the first time in 40 years, I carefully read my Military ID.
military unit 55345 is the 10th Aerospace Defense Brigade (military unit 55345, 672000, Chita)
The district (headquarters - Chita) was subordinate from February 1979 to the High Command of the Far East Troops (GKDV) with headquarters in Ulan-Ude
2 military districts (ZBVO, DVO). On its territory, including Mongolia, 3 combined-arms armies (29th, 36th, 39th), formations of central and district subordination were stationed. Air support for the district was provided by the 23rd VA, and air cover was provided by the 54th Separate Guards Air Defense Corps.
23rd Red Banner Air Army of the Trans-Baikal Military District (headquarters - Chita). It was formed in August 1967. Then Japan sharply increased the composition of its armed forces, the turbulent situation was on the southern borders of the state. It was necessary to create an operational association, which became the 23rd Air Army. Over the 30 years of its existence, it has trained more than one thousand air fighters and ground aviation specialists. Among them are Lieutenant General Gorbenko, who was awarded the title of Hero of Russia for participating in hostilities in Chechnya and Hero of the Soviet Union. In 1974, she was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for strengthening the southeastern borders. Today this banner is kept in the Central Museum of the Armed Forces in Moscow. http://chita.rfn.ru/rnews.html?id=35163&cid=7
Given the cuts in the late 1980s. in 1989, the fighter-bomber air regiments being withdrawn from Mongolia, the reductions also affected the composition of the army on our territory.
Composition of the army: 44th mixed air corps (29th fighter-bomber and 246th fighter aviation divisions), 30th fighter-bomber.
On Soviet territory as part of the 23rd air army The Trans-Baikal Military District had a formation of front-line aviation, which interests me with its deployment. This is the 30th aviation division of fighter-bombers (Steppe, near the station of Olovyannaya, Chita region). And it has three regiments worthy of attention:
1.58th Aviation Starorussky Red Banner Fighter-Bomber Regiment (Steppe): MiG-27
2.189th Guards Brest Order of Suvorov Aviation Regiment of Fighter-Bombers (Borzya): Su-17
3.101st Separate Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment (Chindant-2, near Borzya): Su-17MZR since 1976 (year of formation - 1969) http://www.chita.ru/news/20380/
Among them, it is the 101st regiment that is necessary and desired for me. If I am wrong, then I ask those who have other, more precise information to speak out, which regiment I should look for.
In the late 1960s. in the context of a further increase in military tension in relations with the People's Republic of China, the troops of the ZabVO worked out the issues of covering the state border with available forces and means, as well as with the supply of reserves from the depths of the country. Despite the objective difficulties in the deployment of troops, new divisions arrived in the ZabVO.
In the summer of 1969, the Minister of Defense of the USSR held large-scale strategic exercises in the Far East region with the participation of the headquarters and troops of the Far East, Transbaikal, Siberian and Central Asian military districts. On the territory of Mongolia, the administration of the 39th combined-arms army was deployed, and in Transbaikalia the "Borzinsky" army corps was reorganized into the 36th combined-arms army. The administration of the ZabVO was deployed in states corresponding to the needs of the formation of front-line administration.
In February 1979, in connection with the invasion Chinese troops in Vietnam in Chita, the High Command of the Far East was deployed, uniting the troops of the Trans-Baikal and Far Eastern military districts, and the composition of the Soviet troops in Mongolia was somewhat strengthened. In general, however, the grouping of Soviet troops in Transbaikalia (and in the Far East in general) did not and could not have forces capable of withstanding the multimillion-strong People's Liberation Army of China in combat operations that went beyond border conflicts.
With warming in the second half of the 1980s. Soviet-Chinese relations, the grouping of Soviet troops in Mongolia was initially somewhat reduced, and in May 1989, the Soviet leadership announced the withdrawal of 2 tank and 1 motorized rifle divisions from the Mongolian People's Republic within the next two years in full strength. This, and soon the complete withdrawal of troops from Mongolia.http://yasnay.ru/news/2009-06-05-19
By the way, there is another round date associated with the profile of my research - the Air Force, its history. It cannot be ignored. Rare subject matter. In the Oktyabrsky microdistrict of Chita, on October 12, the history of aviation in Transbaikalia began 100 years ago. A memorial sign was erected here in honor of the event that the self-taught pilot Ivan Vinogradov made a demonstration flight for his fellow countrymen. .http://www.chita.ru/review/24711/
And now I will express my personal observations of 1970, the so-called. "fact" and what I was able to establish, thanks to personal connections with fellow soldiers.
1. I witnessed the flights of the MiG-17, but not the Su-17, which cannot be confused with each other. Apparently they entered service later.
2. Many specialists from the communications division were simply transferred to the airfield in Chindant, which indicates the fact that construction was still ongoing and labor was required for this reason.
a) next to the PRTs there was a base of Aerostats, their unit was seconded to our unit, but at the end of the summer 75 they were transferred somewhere. And at the same time, another company from Yekabpils (?) was added to our unit. There were two regiments in our garrison, a regiment of scouts for a moment and a regiment for su17m, two BAOs and a communications division of three companies.
b) in 1975, in the summer, an engineering battalion was placed in the hangar of the airport. He was engaged in the construction of a new airfield further than the previous one.
c) since the age of 30 flight school, then after the war bombers were based, I was even introduced to a former radio operator gunner. After the event on Damansky, they began to urgently strengthen along the border of Mongolia and the USSR with China to Vladivostok. A regiment was transferred to our garrison from Barnaul, a village in the Altai Territory, in honor of him or out of habit, the residential village of our garrison became Barnaul.
In the 20th century, Soviet troops entered the territory of Mongolia several times, in 1921, 1939, 1945. Troop movements were associated with the need to repel external aggression against the Mongolian state and carry out tasks to defend the country from a potential military threat from outside. The Soviet troops deployed on the territory of Mongolia, unlike other allied countries, did not form the so-called. "Group of Forces", but were directly part of the Trans-Baikal Military District.
AT March 1925 after the liquidation of the White Guard detachments, the Soviet Union withdrew troops from the MPR.
March 12, 1936 in Moscow, a Protocol on Mutual Assistance between Mongolia and the USSR was signed (the protocol was signed as with a sovereign state, although under the Soviet-Chinese agreement of 1924 Mongolia was recognized as part of China):
The governments of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the Mongolian People's Republic have decided to formalize in the form of this Protocol the gentlemen's agreement that has existed between them since November 27, 1934, providing for mutual support by all measures in preventing and averting the threat of a military attack, as well as rendering assistance and support to each other in case of attacks by some third party on the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or the Mongolian People's Republic, for which purpose have signed this Protocol.
Article I. In the event of a threat of attack on the territory of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or the Mongolian People's Republic by a third state, the Governments of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the Mongolian People's Republic undertake to immediately discuss the situation that has been created jointly and take all those measures that could would be needed to protect the security of their territory.
Article II. The governments of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the Mongolian People's Republic undertake, in the event of a military attack on one of the Contracting Parties, to provide each other with all kinds of assistance, including military assistance.
Article III. The governments of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the Mongolian People's Republic take it for granted that the troops of one of the parties, located by mutual agreement on the territory of the other party, in order to fulfill the obligations set forth in Articles I or II, will be withdrawn from the respective territory immediately upon passing in volume of need, just as it happened in 1925 with regard to the withdrawal of Soviet troops from the territory of the Mongolian People's Republic.
1936-1937.
Since 1937, in accordance with this protocol, units of the Red Army of the USSR Armed Forces were deployed on the territory of Mongolia. The main source for their temporary replenishment was 11th Mechanized Corps, stationed in Transbaikalia, from which for two years there was a secondment to certain time military units and formations.
Thus, a rifle and machine-gun battalion, an artillery battery and a reconnaissance company were seconded from the 6th mechanized brigade of the 11th mechanized corps. The 3rd tank battalion was seconded from the 32nd mechanized brigade of the 11th mechanized corps.
In January 1936, on the basis of the 3rd tank battalion of the 32nd mechanized brigade, the rifle battalion of the 6th mechanized brigade, a motorized armored regiment was formed, which departed for the territory of Mongolia. In October 1936, the personnel of the armored regiment, leaving the materiel, returned back, and the personnel trained in the 11th mechanized corps departed for Mongolia.
According to the directive of the Military Council of the ZabVO No. 48593 dated August 16, 1937 the 32nd mechanized brigade of the 11th mechanized corps was renamed into a special mechanized brigade and included in the 57th special rifle corps with a place of deployment on the territory of the Mongolian People's Republic (formed by order of NPO No. 0037 dated September 4, 1937 on the territory of the Mongolian People's Republic with the operational subordination of NGOs). (Comment.: to clarify the dates of orders ...)
In three weeks, a special mechanized brigade marched from the place of deployment in Ulan-Ude to Undurkhan, by September 7, 1937, the head outpost of the mechanized brigade went to Chiren, and by September 14, the brigade in full force arrived under its own power in Undurkhan.
(Note preserved spelling from the original source)
Thus, at the end of 1937, troops arrived in Undurkhan that were part of the 57th Special Rifle Corps.
The composition of the 57 USC, for September 1937:
- Special armored regiment. (Former motorized armored regiment). Regiment commander Major V. A. Mishulin.
- Special armored detachment.
- 7th armored brigade. Deployment in the city of Zamyn-Uude, (in the MPR from August 12, 1937; in the building from September 1937 -). Brigade commander Colonel Nikolai Vladimirovich Feklenko, (1936-1938).
- 9th Motorized Armored Brigade (former Special Motorized Armored Brigade). Brigade commander Vasily Fedorovich Shipov, brigade commander, arrested. Brigade Commander Major, Colonel Stepan Ivanovich Oleinikov (as of July 1, 1938, dismissed on August 30, 39).
Compound:
- 241st armored battalion,
- 240th reconnaissance battalion,
- 196th rifle and machine-gun battalion,
- 64th communications company,
- 44th - combat support company,
- 294 repair and restoration company,
- 9th motor transport - platoon,
- 392nd field bakery,
- 98th special department of the NKVD GUGB. - Special mechanized brigade (in the corps since September 14, 1937 - ...). Deployment in Undurkhan (Under-Khan) in the MPR.
- Separate communications battalion of the 11th MK, (seconded from the 11th MK ZabVO on August 29, 1937; in the corps from September 1937 - ...).
The composition of the 57 USC, for September 1938:
- 36th motorized division. Composition: 106th, 107th and 108th rifle regiments. Division commander brigade commander Ivan Timofeevich Emlin, colonel, brigade commander since 06/15/1937, arrested in 1937 or early 1938. Division commander Ivan Petrovich Dorofeev (vrid 06/2/1938-?), major, colonel.
- 7th armored brigade.
- 8th armored brigade (from September 1938 - ...). See Motorized Armor Regiment and later Special Motorized Armor Regiment. Brigade Commander Major, Colonel Vasily Alexandrovich Mishulin (07.1938-03.1941) Stationed in the city of Bain-Tumen (MPR).
- 9th armored brigade. Brigade commander Major, Colonel Stepan Ivanovich Oleinikov (as of July 1, 1938, dismissed on August 30, 1939). Brigade commander Colonel Ivan Vladimirovich Shevnikov (08/30/1939-04/01/1941).
- 11th Light Tank Brigade (Special Mechanized Brigade until 1938). The brigade commander, Colonel N. V. Feklenko (as of 1.07.1938). It was stationed in Undurkhan (Under-Khan) in the MPR.
In connection with the aggravation of the situation in the Far East Special Red Banner Far Eastern Army NCO order No. 0107 dated June 28, 1938 was deployed to the Red Banner Far Eastern Front ( from July 23, 1938 - Far Eastern Red Banner Front, NCO order No. 0146). The troops of the front were united in two armies - the 1st (former Primorskaya group) (1st OKA, headquarters - Voroshilov) and the 2nd and Khabarovsk group of troops (headquarters - Khabarovsk). By decision of the General Military Council of August 31, 1938 NCO order No. 0040 dated September 4, 1938 the front was abolished, the troops were reorganized into two separate armies with direct subordination to the NPO: the 1st separate Red Banner and 2nd OKA.
The composition of the 57 USC, as of June 1939:
- 36th motorized rifle division. The composition of the division: 24th, 76th and 149th rifle regiments. Division Commander Major, Colonel Ivan Petrovich Dorofeev (2.06.1938-?). Division commander brigade commander Daniil Efimovich Petrov (06.1939-01.1941).
- 7th armored brigade. Brigade commander Colonel Konstantin Konstantinovich Chistyakov (03.38-10.39).
- 8th Light Tank Brigade (July 6, 1939)
- 9th armored brigade. Brigade commander Major Colonel Stepan Ivanovich Oleinikov (as of July 1, 1938, dismissed on August 30, 1939)
- 5th motorized rifle and machine gun brigade (July 6, 1939).
- 11th Light Tank Brigade. Brigade commander Colonel Mikhail Pavlovich Yakovlev (09.1938 - died 07.12.1939), (from 09.09.1938 brigade commander). It was stationed in Undurkhan (Under-Khan) in the MPR.
- 100th mixed aviation brigade. Brigade commander... Stationed in the MPR. Compound:
- management of the brigade;
- 70th Fighter Aviation Regiment (38 aircraft, fighters); Regiment commanders ...; Major Zabaluev Vyacheslav
Mikhailovich (since June 1939). Armament: I-15bis and I-16 fighters in the amount of 38 aircraft.
- 150th bomber aviation regiment (29 aircraft, high-speed bombers);
- Service departments. - 22nd Fighter Aviation Regiment. Regiment commander Nikolai Georgievich Glazykin. The military commissar of the regiment V. N. Kalachev. From the 23rd mixed air brigade of the Trans-Baikal Military District. Armament: I-15bis and I-16.
By decision of the General Military Council of July 5, 1939. to combine the actions of the 1st and 2nd OKA, ZabVO, 57th Special Corps during the fighting on R. Khalkhin Gol The Department of the Front (Chita) Group was formed (Order NPO No. 0030 dated July 5, 1939).
By order of NPO No. 0036 dated July 19, 1939 G. The 57th Special Corps was reorganized into the 1st Army Group .
Battle of Khalkhin Gol
In April-September 1939, Soviet troops (the 57th Special Corps, reorganized into the 1st Army Group) took part in armed conflict near the Khalkhin Gol river with the Kwantung Army in eastern Mongolia, on the border with Manchuria (the puppet state of Manchukuo). By August 31, the territory of the Mongolian People's Republic was completely cleared of Japanese troops. On September 15, 1939, an agreement was signed between the Soviet Union, the MPR and Japan on the cessation of hostilities in the region of the Khalkhin Gol River.
1940
By order of NPO No. 0029 dated June 21, 1940. the troops of the Far East and ZabVO were reorganized: front group disbanded and the 2nd OKA, the Far Eastern Front was created again, to which the 1st Red Banner Army, the 2nd Red Banner (Annunciation) and 15th (Sungaria) armies, a number of formations, the Pacific Fleet and the Amur Red Banner Flotilla, newly formed by this order; The Military Council of the ZabVO was subordinated to the newly formed 16th (Borzinskaya) and 17th Army (reformed from 1st Army Group) , a number of formations, a detachment of ships of the Amur flotilla.
1941 - 1945
In February 1941, a new mobilization plan (MP-23) was approved, which provided for a significant reorganization of the armored forces: 21 directorates of mechanized corps, 60 tanks, 30 motorized divisions were deployed. Among them was formed 29th Mechanized Corps.
Formation 29 Mechanized Corps (29MK) began in March 1941 as part of 17th Army of the Trans-Baikal Military District(hereinafter ZabVO) on the territory of the Mongolian People's Republic.
The composition of the 29th mechanized corps:
- Corps management
- 57th Panzer Division
It was formed in 1941 as part of the 29th mechanized corps of the 17th army of the ZabVO on the territory of the Mongolian People's Republic on the basis of the 8th armored and 50th light tank brigades. Division's office Bayan-Tereme(now locality Shinebulag). Coordinates: 47°8"6"N 112°25"22"E.
Composition 57TD
- 114 and 115 tank regiments,
- 57 motorized rifle regiment,
- 57 howitzer artillery regiment,
- 57 separate anti-aircraft artillery battalion,
- 57 reconnaissance battalion,
- 57 pontoon battalion,
- 57 separate communications battalion,
- 57 medical battalion,
- 57 motor transport battalion,
- 57 repair and restoration battalion
- 57 field car bakery,
- 755 field postal station,
- 327 field cash desk of the State Bank. - 61st Panzer Division
formed in April-May 1941. Division office in Tamtsak-Bulake.
Composition 61TD
- 29th mechanized corps in the 17th army of the ZabVO on the territory of the MPR in the city of Tamtsak-Bulak.
- The 141st tank regiment was formed on the basis of the 11th light tank order of Lenin brigade named after brigade commander M.P. Yakovlev,
- 142nd Tank Regiment - based on the 7th Motorized Armored Order of Lenin and the 6th Red Banner Light Tank Brigade,
- 61st motorized regiment - based on the 61st and 118th cavalry regiments of the 15th cavalry division,
- 61st Howitzer Artillery Regiment - based on the 22nd Cavalry Artillery Red Banner Battalion,
- 61st anti-aircraft artillery division - based on the 20th anti-aircraft division of the 22nd cavalry division. - 82nd motorized rifle division. In March 1941, the 82nd motorized rifle division was reorganized into 82nd motorized division(see 82nd Rifle Division and 6th Guards Motorized Rifle Division) and was introduced into the 29th Mechanized Corps of the 17th Army of the ZabVO. Was located on the territory of the MPR in Bain-Tumene(Now Choibolsan).
- Body parts:
- 30th motorcycle regiment.
But already May 7, 1941 corps administration and corps units, according to the decree of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR "On new formations as part of the Red Army" was disbanded and drawn to the formation of other departments of the parts.
- 57th Panzer Division 57th separate tank division in the 17th army of the ZabVO . It was stationed on the territory of the MPR in Bayan-Tereme.
- 61st Panzer Division after the disbandment of the corps management became 61st Separate Tank Division in the 17th Army of the ZabVO . It was deployed on the territory of the Mongolian People's Republic in the city of Tamtsak-Bulak.
- 82nd Motorized Division after the disbandment of the corps administration, it became separate as part of the 17th Army of the ZabVO.
Transbaikal Front
(abbreviated names Zab.F, Zabfront) formed September 15, 1941 on the basis of the Trans-Baikal Military District. The 17th Army became part of the troops of the Trans-Baikal Front.
Initially, the Trans-Baikal Front included 17th Army(USSR) and 36th Army(USSR).
In subsequent years, the Trans-Baikal Front included:
- 12th Air Army (USSR) (August 1, 1942)
- Transbaikal Air Defense Army (April 30, 1945)
- 39th Army (USSR) (June 20, 1945)
- 53rd Army (USSR) (July 1, 1945)
- 6th Guards Tank Army (USSR) (July 1, 1945)
- Horse-mechanized group of Colonel-General I. A. Pliev (July 5, 1945)
During the Great Patriotic War The Trans-Baikal Front sent 16 divisions (11 rifle, cavalry, three tank, motorized rifle) and two brigades (rifle and artillery) to the Soviet-German front. In total - about 300 thousand people, more than 2 thousand guns and mortars, over 1.4 thousand tanks.
In the next part of our review, we will focus mainly on the troops of the 39th Army, because. it was the units of the 39th Army that were deployed on the territory of the MPR in subsequent years.
1945 war with Japan
The question of the entry of the USSR into the war with Japan was resolved at a conference in Yalta on February 11, 1945 by a special agreement. It provided that the Soviet Union would enter the war against Japan on the side of the allied powers 2-3 months after the surrender of Germany and the end of the war in Europe. Japan rejected the July 26, 1945 demand from the United States, Great Britain and China to lay down their arms and surrender unconditionally.
May 1, 1945 39th Army was withdrawn from the Insterburg region in the Baltic States to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command, then was redeployed to Mongolia and on June 20 included in the Trans-Baikal Front.
On August 8, 1945, the USSR declared war on Japan. On August 9, the troops of the Trans-Baikal, 1st and 2nd Far Eastern Fronts, in cooperation with the Pacific Fleet and the Amur River Flotilla, began fighting against Japanese troops on the front more than 4 thousand kilometers.
On the night of August 9, 1945 without artillery and aviation training 17th Army began fighting and went on the offensive. By the end of the day, the main forces of the army advanced to a depth of 50 km, and the advanced units, having covered about 70 km in a day, reached the Tabun-Nur Lake area. On the third day of the Khingan-Mukden operation, in cooperation with the Soviet-Mongolian mechanized cavalry groups, the troops of the 17th Army approached the southwestern spurs of the Greater Khingan mountain range. In the following days of the operation, army troops successfully overcame it, and also repelled enemy counterattacks in the Linxi area. By the end of the day on August 14, 1945, the 17th Army captured the Dabanshan, Jingpeng line. On August 16, the city of Wudancheng was liberated. At the end of August 1945, in cooperation with the cavalry-mechanized front group, the main forces of the 17th Army reached the Linyuan region, and one of the army divisions reached the coast of the Liaodong Gulf near the city of Shanhaiguan. Ibid On August 31, 1945, the 17th Army ended the fighting.
39th Army As part of the Trans-Baikal Front, she also participated in the Soviet-Japanese War of 1945. During the front-line offensive Khingan-Mukden operation (August 9 - September 2), army troops struck from the Tamtsag-Bulag salient at the troops of the 3rd Front of the Kwantung Army and the left flank of the 4th Separate Army. Having defeated the enemy troops, covering the approaches to the Great Khingan passes, the army captured the Khalun-Arshan fortified region. Developing the offensive on Changchun, it advanced 350-400 km with battles and, having captured Ulan-Hoto and Solun (Manchuria), by August 14 it entered central part Manchuria. Having launched an offensive to the south, units of the army, in cooperation with the 6th Guards Tank Army, liberated Mukden on August 19, Changchun on August 20, entered Kwangtung and occupied Dalian on August 21, and Port Arthur (Luishun) on August 22.
On October 9, 1945, the Trans-Baikal Front was disbanded.
The field department of the front was reorganized into the department Transbaikal-Amur Military District, with the inclusion of the armies of the Trans-Baikal Front. Mongolian formations and units of the cavalry-mechanized group returned to the troops of the Mongolian People's Republic.
In July-August 1946, the 17th Army of the USSR was disbanded.
Again Transbaikal Military District was educated May 25, 1947 during the division of the Trans-Baikal-Amur Military District. It included the territories of the Buryat-Mongolian ASSR (later - the Buryat ASSR), the Chita region (including the Aginsky Buryat-Mongolian national / Aginsky Buryat autonomous region), as well as the Khabarovsk Territory (without the Kamchatka and Sakhalin regions, which at that time were part of this region). Until 1953, he was subordinate to the High Command of the Far East. In 1953, after the abolition of the East Siberian Military District, the Irkutsk Region (including the Ust-Orda Buryat Autonomous Okrug) and the Yakut Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic were included in the ZabVO, and the Khabarovsk Territory became part of the Far Eastern Military District. Since that time, the territory of ZabVO has remained unchanged. Under his command was a grouping of Soviet troops in Mongolia.
60s
By the end of the 60s, the People's Liberation Army of China (PLA) created a powerful northern grouping, which by the end of the 1960s included nine combined arms armies (44 divisions, of which 33 were field and 11 were mechanized). They included more than 4.3 thousand tanks and 10 thousand guns and rocket launchers. In the reserve of the group were formations of the people's militia of up to 30 infantry divisions, in terms of training and combat readiness, they were practically not inferior to regular troops, not to mention the possibilities of making up for losses due to truly innumerable human resources. Such a grouping allowed the PLA to deploy troops along the entire border with a density of up to a company for every 200-300 m of the front.
The forces of the Far East and ZabVO opposed to the Chinese army did not look so impressive, or rather, incomparably. Nevertheless, until recently, China was considered a reliable ally, to whose support considerable funds were directed. And it was not at all comforting that the combat potential of the PLA looming over our border was almost exclusively military equipment and weapons of Soviet design. By this time, Transbaikalia had long been considered a rear area and was supplied according to the "residual" principle. The fortifications and defensive lines on the border were built and equipped in the prewar years, when Karbyshev (then still in the rank of colonel engineer) supervised the work here. In addition, the famous Khrushchev “solutions to the disarmament problem” did not bypass the region, and in the course of army cuts, even these few forces underwent a decent “cut” (it is needless to say that these measures were carried out unilaterally). Motorized rifle regiments were reduced to battalions, artillery regiments to divisions, three tank divisions(13th, 111th, and 5th Guards) were completely disbanded, and the management of the 6th Guards. Tank Army withdrawn beyond the Urals. As a result, the district had only the Borzinsky Army Corps, and before that, a rather powerful air Army, by the beginning of 1964, was reduced to the Aviation Department of the ZabVO. It was also obvious that the Chinese military had a good idea of the state of the troops and the military infrastructure of Transbaikalia. According to experts from the GRU and the Operational Directorate of the General Staff, in the event of full-scale hostilities, the advancing fronts of the Chinese will be able to reach their operational lines in a matter of days, moving forward at a rate of 15-20 km / h and up to 200-250 km per day. The steppe nature of the terrain was in the hands of the enemy - rare copses and a small number of rivers and other natural obstacles made it possible, after breaking through the border, to develop the offensive in any direction.
It took quick and decisive action to remedy the situation (according to Clausewitz: "wars are won ahead of time"). Without much publicity (Damansky was still ahead), the Government and the USSR Ministry of Defense took a number of measures to restore the defense capability of the areas bordering on the restless neighbor.
Since the summer of 1967, the redeployment of troops from the central districts to Far East and in Transbaikalia, first of all - tank and motorized rifle formations. The 21st Guards arrived from the Baltic states in the Far Eastern Military District. td, from the Leningrad Military District to the ZabVO - 2 Guards. etc. The 5th Guards were stationed here. td, 32 td, 66 td, 49 and 111 td. By the beginning of the 1970s, in the ZabVO, the army corps was deployed into the 39th Combined Arms Army, at the same time, an advanced grouping of 39 A was formed on the territory of Mongolia. The total number of tank formations on the border with China reached seven (including one training division), in each of they had more than 330 tanks.
In accordance with the directive of the USSR Ministry of Defense dated July 22, 1967, two dozen air regiments were assembled in the ZabVO, consolidated into the 23rd Air Army. The predominance of strike bomber and fighter-bomber aviation in them to a fair extent made it possible to compensate for the numerical superiority of the opposing group, since in the "wild steppes of Transbaikalia" they became relatively easy prey for aviation.
TENSE ENVIRONMENT IN 1979
In 1979, combat aviation regiments from the territory of Ukraine and Belarus were transferred to the airfields of Mongolia.
The Soviet Union in this difficult situation took on such a difficult mission - the restoration of peace and justice by demonstrating military force. But joking with China, playing half-measures and half-hearted actions, is impossible in principle, and in the situation that has already begun aggression against the Vietnam, this path was a dead end. Moscow decided to act, as they say, without simplifications and concessions.
In the period from March 12 to March 26, 1979 (with the aim of exerting military pressure on China in connection with its aggression against Vietnam), in accordance with the decision of the Central Committee of the CPSU, military and naval teachings.
In total, twenty combined arms and aviation divisions took part in the exercises. The total number of troops involved in the exercise amounted to more than 200 thousand personnel, over 2.6 thousand tanks, about 900 aircraft and 80 ships.
The largest military exercises were in Mongolia, in which six motorized rifle and tank divisions took part, three of which were additionally brought into the MPR from Siberia and Transbaikalia. In addition, two brigades, up to three aviation divisions, as well as formations and reinforcement units were involved in activities on the territory of this republic.
During the exercises, combat coordination of troops was carried out. Connections and parts in difficult climatic and natural conditions made marches over long distances from Siberia to the MPR (more than 2 thousand km). Troops regrouped along railway, were airborne.
In the border areas with China, the issues of organizing defense, repelling an enemy invasion, launching counterattacks and organizing counterattacks were worked out.
By the beginning of the 1980s, the following were based on the territory of the MPR: 39th Army(five divisions, including two tank divisions, commander - General V. Momotov) and the 44th Aviation Corps of the 23rd Air Army, consisting of two divisions (fighter and fighter-bomber, commander - Lieutenant General S.G. Ivanov).
An anti-aircraft missile division of air defense was also located here, separate brigade obstacles and barriers (ten battalions) - the only one in the Armed Forces, a separate communications brigade, an anti-aircraft missile technical base and a number of other units. In total, at that time there were over 100 thousand military personnel of the district on the territory of Mongolia.
The army units of the 39th Army were staffed according to wartime states and were kept in full strength, up to a regiment of combat helicopters. The divisions were deployed along the Chinese border in the areas of Choir, Shiva-Gobi and Mandal-Gobi, as well as near the major Mongolian cities - Ulaanbaatar, Boganur, Erdenet, Bulgan and Cholbaisan.
1988
39th combined arms army(headquarters - Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia)) included two tank divisions, three motorized rifle divisions, a reconnaissance brigade, two anti-aircraft missile brigades, a radio engineering brigade, a separate communications regiment, two engineer regiments, an air assault battalion, an electronic warfare battalion, a separate helicopter regiment , a separate radio battalion.
This situation persisted until the middle of 1986, when, by decision of the Supreme Commander M.S. Gorbachev, the withdrawal of Soviet troops from the territory of the MPR began. At the same time, the repeated statements of the Mongolian government that Mongolia would not be able to ensure its sovereignty without the help of the USSR were not taken into account.
The withdrawal of troops from Mongolia took 28 months. On February 4, 1989, a Soviet-Chinese agreement was signed to reduce the number of troops on the border. On May 15, 1989, the Soviet leadership announced a partial and then a complete withdrawal of the 39th Army of the Trans-Baikal Military District from Mongolia. The army consisted of two tank and three motorized rifle divisions - more than 50 thousand military personnel, 1816 tanks, 2531 armored vehicles, 1461 artillery systems, 190 aircraft and 130 helicopters. September 25, 1992 officially announced the completion of the withdrawal of troops. The last Russian soldiers left Mongolia in December 1992.
During the withdrawal of troops, hundreds of apartment buildings were handed over to the Mongolian side, great amount barracks, clubs, officers' houses, hospitals (in each garrison), school buildings, kindergartens, etc., etc. The Mongols, accustomed to living in their yurts, could not and did not want to use the buildings abandoned by the Soviet group, and soon all this was smashed and looted.
MODERN COOPERATION IN THE LINE OF THE MINISTRY OF DEFENSE
Close cooperation between Russia and Mongolia has been established through the armed forces. On May 21, 2008, the Minister of Defense visited Mongolia Russian Federation, which was received by President N. Enkhbayar and held talks with his colleague J. Batkhuyag. A medium-term program of military-technical cooperation has been signed and is being implemented. According to the agreed schedule, deliveries to Mongolia began military equipment and weapons from the presence of the Russian Ministry of Defense. After a 15-year break in Mongolia during November of this year. large-scale joint military exercises are being held. November 3-4, 2008 took part in the opening ceremony in Ulaanbaatar of the restored memorial complex G.K. Zhukova First Deputy Head General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation A.G.Burutin was received by the Prime Minister of Mongolia S.Bayar, the Minister of Defense L.Bold and the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Mongolia Ts.Togo. On December 29 last year, the Minister of Defense of Russia had a conversation with his Mongolian colleague L. Bold, who was passing through Moscow.