Soviet troops in Mongolia. Output to Russia. From the history of ZabVO. WEB investigation Battle of Khalkhin Gol
IN 1987 The USSR government, in agreement with the Mongolian authorities, decided to gradually withdraw a group of Soviet troops (39 Army) from the territory of Mongolia.
A nationally significant decision, like many military-political steps of those years, was made suddenly for the military side, including the leadership of the Trans-Baikal Military District.
Grouping of troops in Mongolia was a large military organism, 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. The 39th Army was commanded by: Lieutenant General Yu.I. Momotov, V.T. Shevtsov, V.S. Tretyakov, L.S. Mayorov. 
There was a large garrison of Soviet troops in the capital Ulaanbaatar. In the endless Mongolian steppes there are dozens of military garrisons, airfields, bases, warehouses, housing, food pipelines and even 4 swimming pools. All the best in the ZabVO was located there - in the Gobi Desert, the steppes of nomads. It was created by builders from scratch. Take 51st Panzer Division. She 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 tankodrome, where ideal conditions were created for training tank crews in mountainous desert areas. In the town, officers, warrant officers and members of their families, and civilian personnel did not experience difficulties: a school, a garrison Officers' House, a hotel, a household plant, and modern residential buildings. Families did not know the special housing and living problems that existed in other garrisons in the district. The only catch is that the nearest railway line is more than a hundred kilometers away. Delivery of materials only by road transport. One can imagine the large expenses it cost the state to maintain such a garrison. And there were several dozen such towns in endless Mongolia.
In a short time, planning was carried out for the redeployment and placement of withdrawn troops in new places, measures for the moral and psychological adaptation of military personnel and members of their families were carried out, those responsible were identified, operational groups were created, and the necessary forces and means were allocated.
By the time of withdrawal, the 39th Army grouping consisted of the following main formations and units:
- 2
Guards Tatsin Red Banner Order of Suvorov Tank Division (Choibolsan), withdrawn to Mirnaya, Bezrechnaya.
- 12
Amur motorized rifle division (Boganur), withdrawn to Divisionnaya station.
- 41
motorized rifle division (Choyr), 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 Motorized Rifle Division (Erdenet).
- 20
reconnaissance brigade (Arbay-Hare);
- 25
reconnaissance brigade;
- 2065
separate battalion OsNaz (Sein-Shand);
- 46
logistics brigade (Ulaanbaatar);
- 195
separate communications regiment;
- 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
separate repair and restoration battalion;
- 203
separate reconnaissance artillery division.
Air Force units:
- 68
separate transport and combat helicopter regiment (Nalaikha);
- 29
Amur Fighter-Bomber Aviation Division (Ulaanbaatar);
- 43
Sevastopol Red Banner Order of Suvorov Fighter-Bomber Aviation Regiment (Choibolsan);
- 266
iap (Nalaiha);
- 246
yad (Choir).
The redeployment can be considered the beginning of the withdrawal of our troops from the territory of Mongolia 91st motorized rifle division to the southwest of the district. In the summer of 1987, the division commander, Major General V. Suslov, was given the task of withdrawal. From the headquarters of the 29th Army, 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, the deputy head of the construction department, Colonel V.I., was responsible for the arrangement of the division. Popov.
There were only 30 vacant apartments at the site of the future deployment. A military camp had to be rebuilt. They worked around the clock. The “box” of a sixty-apartment building was erected in record time—in 27 days.
Five such houses for the 91st division were put into operation. Without much fanfare and unnecessary advertising. A dormitory was built from two prefabricated barracks for young families of officers and warrant officers. The housing problem of this garrison was resolved as soon as possible.
51st Guards Tank Division, commanded by Major General V.N. Lepikhov, had to be relocated to an extremely difficult place for arrangement. An abundance of hills, a narrow area for excavation work, and inconvenient terrain created additional difficulties. To reduce construction time, we decided to use prefabricated metal storage facilities that were removed from 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 dedicated work of local personnel, managed to quickly build a good base for the withdrawing troops in Transbaikalia.
What did they leave in Mongolia? There was no one to live in the luxurious houses of the 101 series. The Mongols have neither the people nor the money to maintain residential towns in working order. Among Mongolian and Russian entrepreneurs, there were buyers for some military camps in the capital Ulaanbaatar and the Mant garrison. Everything else was transferred to the Mongolian side free of charge. In 19 garrisons there are 181 military camps6 5 thousand buildings and structures, of which 358 residential buildings, 110 dormitories, 124 canteens, 528 barracks, 71 soldiers’ clubs, 22 schools. In addition, 7 military airfields with maintenance and support buildings were transferred.
The Ulaanbaatar Railway JV also did not miss its chances. We paid for the transportation of goods to Russia not in rubles - in Swiss francs, 850 francs per car.
Ecological groups were created in each connection. They were given engineering, automotive and other equipment, with the help of which land reclamation was carried out, and the consequences of the vital activity of troops during a long period of stay on Mongolian soil were eliminated. Only after the act was signed did the “ecologists” consider their work completed. By 1990, the 39th Army control was disbanded and a combat control group was created.
The main stages of withdrawal: 1987 - 91st Motorized Rifle Division, 1989 - 51st Motorized Rifle Division, 1990 - 41st and 2nd Motorized Rifle Division, 1991 - 12th Motorized Rifle Division. At the same time, parts of the army kit were withdrawn. The number of troops being withdrawn amounted to 79,960 military personnel, 26,247 units of military equipment and weapons were redeployed.
The most powerful group did not last for decades, as the Americans planned in Europe, and from 1987 to 1992 it was completely redeployed and placed on the territory of our country.
The troops left. Good neighborliness between Russia and Mongolia, the military partnership between the two armies remains.
No one has ever counted how many abandoned garrisons there are in our country, and certainly no one has 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... During the Soviet years, dozens of military camps were built in Transbaikalia. Mostly along the Chita-Zabaikalsk federal highway, which leads directly to our neighboring China.
Everything was thought out to the smallest detail. Military units and towns were equipped and kept in full combat readiness. So in the 70-80s of the twentieth century, living behind such a military shield was absolutely not scary. Today, following the same route, observing abandoned and dilapidated military buildings and five-story buildings, you are horrified: did people really once live here...
Garrison Mirnaya
In Soviet times, Mirnaya 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, vehicle parks, warehouses, shooting ranges and training grounds for tactical exercises, more than a dozen five-story residential buildings (DOS) for officers and their families.
Always a clean and friendly town, it turned into ruins - or better yet, a “ghost town”. And looking at the arch of the central entrance, one can see the individuality and beauty of this particular garrison. And I can’t even believe that a few years ago, carefree children’s laughter could be heard in the garrison, young mothers walked with strollers, there were shops, a wonderful kindergarten, there were clubs and sports sections at the school , and in the officers' house the next Saturday ball was being prepared, in general, life went on as usual. And all this ended at one moment, when the order came to disband the garrison.
Those who had somewhere to go went to new duty stations or got new apartments, but unfortunately there are also those who remained, who for some reason could not leave with everyone else, and who are still waiting and hoping that the Defense Ministry will remember them and will give them the new apartments they deserve.What happens to the garrison now?
Next to the garrisons, as in those days, there is a small village in which local residents live and work on subsidiary plots. For whom their “burenka” is, in most cases, both a source of income and a breadwinner in the house. And above the village rise the ruins of a once prosperous town. Looking around the current garrison, it seems that all living things here have died from some kind of epidemic or radiation. Remnants from slabs and bricks. The pulled out foundation gives the impression that there are some kind of underground animals unknown to science that turn out these huge masses of bricks and cement.
And the pieces of slabs hanging from the houses, which are still supported by unrotted pieces of reinforcement, create the impression that the town came under fire from powerful artillery and everyone fled in panic, leaving only silent witnesses, the ruins of houses, of these events.
No, but still it reminds me more that some small local war took place here, which no one was told about and which was very quickly forgotten, but it is not clear who this war was with?
There was no nuclear explosion, no epidemic, no war, but just one of the abandoned and unnecessary military garrisons!
Garrison Besrechnaya
Six kilometers from Mirnaya is the Bezrechnaya station. Once upon a time, the Bezrechninsky garrison was considered one of the most powerful in Transbaikalia. An entire tank division was stationed here. The large and solid garrison was disbanded quickly, indiscriminately, in working order, however, like all the 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. Over the course of fifteen years, five-story barracks, headquarters buildings, artillery warehouses, vehicle depots, and boiler rooms collapsed. Millions of significant Soviet rubles invested in their construction were thrown into dust. The remains of a concrete fence indicate that the Soviet army was once stationed here.
Garrison Yasnaya
The Yasnaya missile garrison survived in the 90s, but changed owners. After the disbandment of the missile division, its place was taken by units of the Siberian Military District. With the arrival of the infantry, the access regime to the military camp disappeared into eternity. They quickly painted over the missile-themed visual propaganda. Due to fewer personnel, a number of facilities were closed. It became permitted to drive personal vehicles on the streets of the town.
Local residents also contributed. All ownerless and not so ownerless objects were quickly dismantled piece by piece. For example, they tore away the stadium. All the rooms became literally bare, the benches disappeared. The same fate befell medical warehouses, a training building closer to the shooting range, helicopter pilots, etc.
But, in spite of everything, Yasnaya, in comparison with other garrisons in Transbaikalia, is in one of the first places. There are minibuses running to Chita, a clinic and a hospital are open, and there is cellular communication.
Garrison Steppe
Following Mirna and Bezrechnaya, looking back at the glimmering life of the military camp in Yasnaya, the military town at Steppe station is also dying. On December 1, 2010, troops officially withdrew from the garrison. The checkpoint is open, some of the five-story building buildings look out at the world with empty and dark windows. Life freezes, ceases to exist.
Garrison Dauria
Once upon a time, the military town of the village of Dauria was a model of order and cleanliness. This whole idyll lasted until the military units were withdrawn from here. Since the barracks were empty, 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 places of regular pilgrimage for brick makers. However, the ceilings can also collapse from a passing car. When the military left, according to local administration workers, there were about a hundred structures. Now there are about three dozen.
Garrison of Bad
Bada was a powerful military hub of the Trans-Baikal Military District (ZabVO) - here, in addition to the pilots, there were many military units, including an engineering brigade, a tank regiment, etc.
Now 80% of the units have been withdrawn
To the 40th anniversary of DMB-71
In the heat of the exchange of memories between us, fellow soldiers of the ZabVO, which washed over me after discovering the “Brotherhood of the ZabVO” forum, I post the following post on 09/13/10: 21:32:
“One nuance that should definitely be mentioned. I open my military ID and see that the assignment of ranks and classifications is signed by the commander of military unit 55345. Mashinsky is listed as the commander.
Today Google says that this military unit is the frequency response. Located in Chita. Chekhorda".
I’m ashamed to admit, but thus, 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 subordinated from February 1979 to the High Command of the Far East Forces (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. Aviation support for the district was provided by the 23rd VA, and air cover was provided by the 54th Separate Guards Air Defense Corps.
23rd Air Red Banner Army of the Transbaikal Military District (headquarters - Chita). It was formed in August 1967. Then Japan sharply increased the composition of its armed forces, and there was a turbulent situation on the southern borders of the state. It was necessary to create an operational formation, 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 is Lieutenant General Gorbenko, who was awarded the title of Hero of Russia for his participation 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
Considering the reductions in the late 1980s. As of 1989, the fighter-bomber regiments being withdrawn from Mongolia, the reductions also affected the composition of the army on our territory.
Army composition: 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 of the Trans-Baikal Military District, there was a formation of front-line aviation, which interests me because of its deployment. This is the 30th aviation division of fighter-bombers (Steppe, near the village of Olovyannaya, Chita region). And it has three regiments worthy of attention:
1.58th Aviation Old Russian 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 the city of 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 sought after for me. If I am wrong, then I ask those who have different, more accurate information to speak out, which regiment I should find.
At the end of the 1960s in the context of a further increase in military tension in relations with the People's Republic of China, the troops of the Western Military District 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 deploying troops, new divisions arrived in the Western Military District.
In the summer of 1969, the USSR Minister of Defense conducted major strategic exercises in the Far Eastern region with the participation of headquarters and troops of the Far Eastern, Transbaikal, Siberian and Central Asian military districts. The command of the 39th Combined Arms Army was deployed on the territory of Mongolia, and in Transbaikalia the Borzinsky Army Corps was reorganized into the 36th Combined Arms Army. The management of the Western Military District was deployed in states corresponding to the needs of the formation of front-line management.
In February 1979, in connection with the invasion of Chinese troops in Vietnam, the Main Command of the Far East troops was deployed in Chita, 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 resisting the multimillion-strong People's Liberation Army of China in combat operations that went beyond border conflicts.
As warming progressed in the second half of the 1980s. Soviet-Chinese relations, the grouping of Soviet troops in Mongolia was initially slightly reduced, and in May 1989, the Soviet leadership announced the withdrawal of 2 tank and 1 motorized rifle divisions in full strength from the Mongolian People's Republic within the next two years. 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 is impossible not to note it. A rare coincidence in topic. In the Oktyabrsky microdistrict of Chita, on October 12, 100 years ago, the history of Transbaikalia aviation began.” A memorial sign has been erected here in honor of the event that 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 from 1970, the so-called. “fact” and what I was able to establish thanks to personal connections with fellow soldiers.
1. I witnessed 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 PRC there was a Aerostatchikov base; their unit was assigned to our unit, but at the end of the summer of 1975 they were transferred somewhere. And at the same time, another company from Ekabpilsya (?) was added to our unit. There were two regiments in our garrison, a reconnaissance regiment on mig21 and a regiment on su17m, two BAOs and a communications division of three companies.
b) in the summer of 1975, an engineering battalion was stationed in the hangar of the city airport. He was engaged in the construction of a new airfield further than the previous one.
c) from the 30s there was a flight school, then after the war bombers were based, I was even introduced to a former radio operator gunner. After the event at Damansky, they began to urgently strengthen the border between 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 Mongolia several times, in 1921, 1939, 1945. The movements of troops 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 the outside. Soviet troops stationed 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.
IN March 1925 After the liquidation of the White Guard detachments, the Soviet Union withdrew its troops from the MPR.
March 12, 1936 in Moscow, a Protocol on Mutual Assistance was signed between Mongolia and the USSR (the protocol was signed as with a sovereign state, although according to 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 preventing the threat of a military attack, as well as providing each other with assistance and support in the event attacks by any third party on the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or the Mongolian People's Republic, for which purpose they 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 from a third state, the Governments of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the Mongolian People's Republic undertake to immediately discuss the jointly created situation 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 fulfillment of the obligations set forth in Articles I or II, will be withdrawn from the relevant territory immediately after the passage of this is necessary, just as it was 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 military units and formations were sent for a certain period of time for two years.
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 and departed for the territory of Mongolia. In October 1936, the personnel of the armored regiment, leaving the material part, returned back, and the personnel trained in the 11th Mechanized Corps left 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 57th Special Rifle Corps with a location 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 the NPO). (Note: check the dates of the orders...)
In three weeks, a special mechanized brigade marched from its location in Ulan-Ude to Undurkhan, by September 7, 1937, the main marching outpost of the mechanized brigade reached Chairen, and by September 14, the full brigade arrived under its own power in Undurkhan.
(Note: spelling preserved from the original source)
Thus, at the end of 1937, troops that were part of the 57th Special Rifle Corps arrived in Undurkhan.
Composition of 57 USC, as of September 1937:
- Special motorized armored regiment. (Former Motorized Armored Regiment). Regiment commander Major V. A. Mishulin.
- Special motorized armored squad.
- 7th motorized armored brigade. Deployments in the city of Zamyn-Uude (in the Mongolian People's Republic from August 12, 1937; in the building from September 1937 -). Brigade commander Colonel Nikolai Vladimirovich Feklenko, (1936-1938).
- 9th Motorized Armored Brigade (formerly Special Motorized Armored Brigade). The brigade commander, brigade commander Vasily Fedorovich Shipov, was arrested. Brigade commander, Major, Colonel Stepan Ivanovich Oleynikov (as of 07/1/38, suspended on 08/30/39).
Compound:
- 241st armored vehicle 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 GUGB NKVD. - Special mechanized brigade (in the corps since September 14, 1937 -...). Dislocation in Undurkhan (Under-Khan) in the Mongolian People's Republic.
- Separate communications battalion of the 11th MK, (deployed from the 11th MK ZabVO on August 29, 1937; in the corps from September 1937 - ...).
Composition of 57 USC, as of September 1938:
- 36th motorized division. Composition: 106th, 107th and 108th rifle regiments. Division commander, brigade commander Ivan Timofeevich Emlin, colonel, brigade commander from 06/15/1937, arrested in 1937 or early 1938. Division commander Ivan Petrovich Dorofeev (born 06/2/1938-?), major, colonel.
- 7th motorized armored brigade.
- 8th motorized armored brigade (from September 1938 - ...). See Motorized Armored Regiment and later Special Motorized Armored Regiment. Brigade commander Major, Colonel Vasily Aleksandrovich Mishulin (07.1938-03.1941) Stationed in the city of Bein-Tumen (Mongolian People's Republic).
- 9th motorized armored brigade. Brigade commander, Major, Colonel Stepan Ivanovich Oleinikov (as of July 1, 1938, suspended on August 30, 1939). Brigade commander Colonel Ivan Vladimirovich Shevnikov (08/30/1939-04/1/1941).
- 11th Light Tank Brigade (Special Mechanized Brigade until 1938). Brigade commander Colonel N.V. Feklenko (as of July 1, 1938). Stationed in Undurkhan (Under-Khan) in the Mongolian People's Republic.
Due to the aggravation of the situation in the Far East Special Red Banner Far Eastern Army by order of NPO No. 0107 dated On June 28, 1938 it was deployed to the Red Banner Far Eastern Front ( from July 23, 1938 - Far Eastern Red Banner Front, NPO order No. 0146). The front troops were united into two armies - the 1st (former Primorsky group) (1st OKA, headquarters - Voroshilov) and the 2nd and Khabarovsk group of forces (headquarters - Khabarovsk). By decision of the Main Military Council from August 31, 1938 by order of NKO No. 0040 dated On September 4, 1938 the front was abolished, the troops were reorganized into two separate armies with direct subordination to the NKO: the 1st separate Red Banner and the 2nd OKA.
Composition of 57 USC, as of June 1939:
- 36th motorized rifle division. Division composition: 24th, 76th and 149th rifle regiments. Division commander, Major, Colonel Ivan Petrovich Dorofeev (born June 2, 1938-?). Division commander, brigade commander Daniil Efimovich Petrov (06.1939-01.1941).
- 7th motorized armored brigade. Brigade commander Colonel Konstantin Konstantinovich Chistyakov (03.38-10.39).
- 8th Light Tank Brigade (July 6, 1939), (in the literature it is confused with the previous and subsequent name of the 6th Light Tank Brigade of the 20th MK).
- 9th motorized armored brigade. Brigade commander, Major Colonel Stepan Ivanovich Oleinikov (as of July 1, 1938, suspended 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). Stationed in Undurkhan (Under-Khan) in the Mongolian People's Republic.
- 100th mixed aviation brigade. Brigade commander... Stationed in the Mongolian People's Republic. Compound:
- brigade management;
- 70th Fighter Aviation Regiment (38 aircraft, fighters); Regiment commanders...; Major Zabaluev Vyacheslav
Mikhailovich (from 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 units. - 22nd Fighter Aviation Regiment. Regiment commander Nikolai Georgievich Glazykin. Military commissar of the regiment V. N. Kalachev. From the 23rd mixed air brigade of the Transbaikal Military District. Armament: I-15bis and I-16.
By decision of the Main Military Council from 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 Directorate of the Front (Chita) Group was formed (NKO order No. 0030 of 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 (57th Special Corps, reorganized into the 1st Army Group) participated 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 Mongolian People's Republic and Japan on the cessation of hostilities in the area of the Khalkhin Gol River.
1940
By order of NPO No. 0029 dated June 21, 1940. a reorganization of the troops of the Far East and Western Military District was carried out: front group disbanded and the 2nd OKA, the Far Eastern Front was created again, to which the 1st Red Banner Army was subordinate, the 2nd Red Banner (Blagoveshchenskaya) and 15th (Sungari) armies, a number of formations, the Pacific Fleet and the Amur Red Banner Flotilla, newly formed by this order; 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 commands of mechanized corps, 60 tank, and 30 motorized divisions were deployed. Among them was formed 29th Mechanized Corps.
Formation 29 Mechanized Corps (29MK) started in March 1941 with 17th Army of the Transbaikal Military District(hereinafter ZabVO) on the territory of the Mongolian People's Republic.
Composition of the 29th Mechanized Corps:
- Hull management
- 57th Panzer Division
formed in 1941 as part of the 29th mechanized corps of the 17th army of the Western Military District on the territory of the Mongolian People's Republic on the basis of the 8th motorized armored and 50th light tank brigades. Division Office in Bayan-Tereme(now the settlement of Shinebulag). Coordinates: 47°8"6"N 112°25"22"E.
Composition 57TD
- 114 and 115 tank regiments,
- 57th motorized rifle regiment,
- 57 howitzer artillery regiment,
- 57th separate anti-aircraft artillery division,
- 57th reconnaissance battalion,
- 57 pontoon battalion,
- 57th separate communications battalion,
- 57th medical battalion,
- 57th motor transport battalion,
- 57th repair and restoration battalion
- 57 field automobile bakery plant,
- 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 Western Military District on the territory of the Mongolian People's Republic 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 Light Tank Red Banner 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 Red Banner Horse Artillery Division,
- 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 integrated into the 29th Mechanized Corps of the 17th Army of the Western Military District. Was located on the territory of the Mongolian People's Republic in Bayin-Tumen(Now Choibolsan).
- Body parts:
- 30th motorcycle regiment.
But already May 7, 1941 corps management and corps units according to the resolution 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 in the Red Army” was disbanded and is directed towards the formation of other unit directorates.
- 57th Panzer Division 57th separate tank division in the 17th Army of the ZabVO . It was stationed on the territory of the Mongolian People's Republic in Bayan-Terem.
- 61st Panzer Division after the disbandment of the corps management it became 61st separate tank division in the 17th Army of the ZabVO . It was stationed 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 Western Military District.
Transbaikal Front
(abbreviated names Zab.F, Zabfront) formed September 15, 1941 on the basis of the Transbaikal Military District. The 17th Army became part of the troops of the Trans-Baikal Front.
Initially, the Transbaikal Front included 17th Army(USSR) and 36th Army(THE USSR).
In subsequent years, the Transbaikal Front included:
- 12th Air Army (USSR) (1 August 1942)
- Transbaikal Air Defense Army (April 30, 1945)
- 39th Army (USSR) (20 June 1945)
- 53rd Army (USSR) (1 July 1945)
- 6th Guards Tank Army (USSR) (July 1, 1945)
- Cavalry mechanized group of Colonel General I. A. Pliev (July 5, 1945)
During the Great Patriotic War, the Transbaikal 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 subsequent part of our review we will focus mainly on the troops of the 39th Army, because It was precisely units of the 39th Army that were stationed on the territory of the Mongolian People's Republic in subsequent years.
1945 war with Japan
The issue of the USSR entering 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 unconditionally surrender.
May 1, 1945 39th Army was withdrawn from the Insterburg area 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, troops of the Transbaikal, 1st and 2nd Far Eastern Fronts, in cooperation with the Pacific Fleet and the Amur River Flotilla, began combat operations against Japanese troops on a front of more than 4 thousand kilometers.
On the night of August 9, 1945, without artillery and aviation preparation 17th Army began hostilities and went on the offensive. By the end of the day, the main forces of the army had advanced to a depth of 50 km, and the advanced units, having covered about 70 km in a day, reached the area of Lake Tabun-Nur. On the third day of the Khingan-Mukden operation, in cooperation with Soviet-Mongolian cavalry-mechanized groups, the troops of the 17th Army approached the southwestern spurs of the Greater Khingan mountain range. In the subsequent days of the operation, the 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 a cavalry-mechanized group of the front, 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 combat operations.
39th Army As part of the Transbaikal Front, it also took part 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 ledge against 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 passes of the Greater Khingan, the army captured the Khalun-Arshan fortified area. Developing the attack on Changchun, it advanced 350-400 km in battles and, having captured Ulan-Hoto and Solun (Manchuria), reached the central part of Manchuria by August 14. Having launched an offensive to the south, army units, in cooperation with the 6th Guards Tank Army, liberated Mukden on August 19, Changchun on August 20, entered Kwantung and occupied Dalny (Dalian) on August 21, and Port Arthur (Lushun) on August 22.
On October 9, 1945, the Transbaikal Front was disbanded.
Front field management was reorganized into management Transbaikal-Amur Military District, with the inclusion of the armies of the Transbaikal 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 Transbaikal-Amur Military District. Included the territories of the Buryat-Mongolian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (later the Buryat Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic), the Chita region (including the Aginsky Buryat-Mongolian National / Aginsky Buryat Autonomous Okrug), as well as the Khabarovsk Territory (without the Kamchatka and Sakhalin regions, which were part of the this region). Until 1953 it was subordinate to the Main 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 the ZabVO remained unchanged. A group of Soviet troops in Mongolia was under his command.
60s
By the end of the 60s, the People's Liberation Army of China (PLA) created a powerful northern group, 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 missile launchers. In the group’s reserve were militia formations numbering up to 30 infantry divisions, practically inferior in training and combat readiness to regular troops, not to mention the ability to make up for losses using truly incalculable human resources. This 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 DalVO and ZabVO opposing the Chinese army did not look so impressive, or rather, incomparable. Yet, until recently, China was considered a reliable ally, for whose support considerable funds were allocated. And it was no consolation at all that the combat potential of the PLA looming over our border consisted almost exclusively of military equipment and weapons of Soviet design. By this time, Transbaikalia had long been considered a rear region and was supplied on a “residual” basis. The fortifications and defensive lines that existed on the border were built and equipped in the pre-war years, when Karbyshev (then still with the rank of engineer-colonel) led the work here. In addition, the region was not spared the famous Khrushchev “solutions to the disarmament problem,” and during the reduction of the army, even these few forces were subjected to a fair “cut” (needless to say, 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 administration of the 6th Guards. Tank Army was withdrawn beyond the Urals. As a result, the district had only the Borzinsky Army Corps, and by the beginning of 1964 the previously quite powerful Air Army 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 Operations Directorate of the General Staff, in the event of full-scale hostilities, the advancing Chinese fronts will be able to reach their operational lines in a matter of days, moving forward at a pace of 15-20 km/h and up to 200-250 km per day. The steppe nature of the terrain was to the advantage of the enemy - sparse copses and a small number of rivers and other natural obstacles made it possible after breaking through the border to develop an offensive in any direction.
Quick and decisive measures were required to correct the situation (according to Clausewitz: “wars are won in advance”). 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 their troubled neighbor.
In the summer of 1967, the redeployment of troops from the central districts to the Far East and Transbaikalia began, primarily tank and motorized rifle formations. The 21st Guards arrived from the Baltic States to the Far Eastern District. TD, from the Leningrad Military District to the ZabVO - 2nd 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 Western Military District, the army corps was deployed to the 39th Combined Arms Army, and at the same time an advanced group 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 there were 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 Western Military District and formed into the 23rd Air Army. The predominance of strike bomber and fighter-bomber aircraft 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.
THE TENSE CIRCUMSTANCE OF 1979
In 1979, combat aviation regiments from the territory of Ukraine and Belarus were transferred to airfields in Mongolia.
In this difficult situation, the Soviet Union took on such a difficult mission - restoring peace and justice through a demonstration of military force. But it is fundamentally impossible to joke with China, playing with half-measures and half-hearted actions, and in the current situation of aggression against Vietnam, which had already begun, this path was a dead end. Moscow decided to act, as they say, without simplifications or concessions.
In the period from March 12 to March 26, 1979 (in order to exert military pressure on China in connection with its aggression against Vietnam), in accordance with the decision of the CPSU Central Committee, military and naval teachings.
In total, twenty combined arms and air divisions took part in the exercises. The total number of troops involved in the exercise was more than 200 thousand personnel, over 2.6 thousand tanks, about 900 aircraft and 80 ships.
The largest were military exercises 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 air divisions, as well as formations and reinforcement units were involved in events on the territory of this republic.
During the exercises, combat coordination of troops was carried out. Formations and units under difficult climatic and natural conditions made long-distance marches from Siberia to the Mongolia (more than 2 thousand km). Troops were regrouped by rail and transported by air.
In the border areas with China, issues of organizing defense, repelling enemy invasion, delivering 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).
It also housed an anti-aircraft missile air defense division, a separate barrage brigade (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 this 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 standards and were maintained at full strength, up to a regiment of combat helicopters. The divisions were stationed along the Chinese border in the Choir, Shive Gobi and Mandal Gobi regions, as well as near the major Mongolian cities of Ulaanbaatar, Boganur, Erdenet, Bulgan and Cholbaisan.
1988
The 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 engineering regiments, an air assault battalion, a battalion Electronic warfare, separate helicopter regiment, separate radio battalion.
This situation remained until mid-1986, when, by decision of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief M.S. Gorbachev began the withdrawal of Soviet troops from the territory of the MPR. 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 the partial and then complete withdrawal of the 39th Army of the Trans-Baikal Military District from Mongolia. The army included 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. On September 25, 1992, the completion of the troop withdrawal was officially announced. The last Russian soldiers left Mongolia in December 1992.
During the withdrawal of troops, hundreds of apartment buildings, a huge number of barracks, clubs, officers' houses, hospitals (in each garrison), school buildings, kindergartens, etc., etc. were transferred to the Mongolian side. The Mongols, accustomed to living in their yurts, were unable and unwilling to use the buildings abandoned by the Soviet group, and soon it was all destroyed and looted.
MODERN COOPERATION THROUGH 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 of the Russian Federation visited Mongolia, who was received by President N. Enkhbayar and held negotiations with his colleague J. Bathuyag. A medium-term program of military-technical cooperation has been signed and is being implemented. According to the agreed schedule, supplies of military equipment and weapons from the Russian Ministry of Defense began to Mongolia. After a 15-year break in Mongolia during November of this year. Large-scale joint military exercises are being held. On November 3-4, 2008, A.G. Burutin, First Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, who took part in the opening ceremony in Ulaanbaatar of the restored memorial complex of G.K. Zhukov, was received by the Prime Minister of Mongolia S. Bayar, Minister of Defense L. Bald and Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Mongolia Ts. Togo. On December 29 last year, the Russian Minister of Defense had a conversation with his Mongolian colleague L. Bold, who was passing through Moscow.
PHOTO ALBUM PAGES
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The story of one tragic landing
(on the issue 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 remain many non-
questions studied. And, of course, there are reasons for this. Od-
one of the poorly covered problems of the historiography of the Winged Guard
are the facts of the tragic death of Soviet paratroopers during training
ny in peacetime.
Such an almost unexplored page in the annals of the Soviet landing
This is the history of the exercises of the 106th (Tula) Airborne Division
zia on the Mongolian-Chinese border in February 1979, when both
More than 40 airborne troops were injured. This tragedy, hidden by the leadership
the Soviet Union from the Soviet people, could obviously not have happened,
if the top management of these major exercises had abstained
from an ill-conceived order to parachute guards onto the Mongolian
land in completely unacceptable conditions.
Our version of this story is this. The beginning of 1979 was marked
a new aggravation of Soviet-Chinese relations. This process, trained
influenced by geopolitical and other factors, has become progressive
after the death of the famous Chinese leader Mao Zedong in
1976, when China's new political leadership led by Deng Xiao
Pinom began to revise some of the previous principles of external
policies of the People's Republic of China. The XI Congress of the CPC declared openly anti-Soviet
well. Moreover, the Constitution of the People's Republic of China was also introduced at the same time (according to
decisions of the XI Congress of the CPC) the most important amendment, in accordance with which
The USSR swarm was proclaimed the first enemy of China. At the same time
long-suffering Vietnam was also proclaimed the home of China, recently
victorious in the war against the American invaders. Vietnam, transformed
which by this time was developing into a single social republic, sought
pursue an 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
a country (3.4 million people) that chose socialism.
This is the situation for the envious and malicious leaders of China.
things were haunted, which ultimately led to war. February 17, 1979
China carried out aggression against Vietnam.
On the same day 12 Chinese
Russian divisions on a front of 1200 km invaded Vietnamese territory.
The Soviet Union, bound by alliance obligations with friendly relations,
war Vietnam, could not react indifferently to this event.
Already on February 19, the government newspaper Pravda published
A statement was made by the leadership of the USSR. This statement stated
“that China’s attack on Vietnam once again demonstrates that
How irresponsible is Beijing's attitude towards the fate of the world, with what
With criminal ease, the Chinese leadership uses weapons.” The statement also spoke of the USSR's assurance to fulfill
obligations assumed by the Soviet side under the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation
cooperation between the USSR and Vietnam.
What practically supported the Soviet demarche?
According to the official version of Soviet historiography, the USSR had
additional assistance to friendly Vietnam in the form of supplies,
provision of military advisers, etc. In the second volume of "History"
foreign policy of the USSR" (M., 1986) on this occasion it is said: "One
At the same time, the Soviet Union took measures to provide additional
additional assistance to Vietnam, supplying it with everything it needed
to repel the aggressor."
Already on February 19, 1979, a group of advisers (20 people), headed
Army General G. Obaturov arrived in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam.
Having assessed the situation on the ground and listened to reports from the Vietnamese leadership,
of the General Staff, Soviet specialists convinced the Vietnamese leader
Le Duan to transfer the army corps from Kampuchea to Lang Son
direction, and also redeploy in the same direction
active division BM-21.
A group of different Soviets took part in repelling Chinese aggression.
Russian specialists (pilots, signalmen, rocket scientists, etc.). Unfortunately not
There were no casualties among Soviet officers. In March 1979, under
Da Nang (port in South Vietnam) crashed during landing
Vietnamese airliner AN-24, on board which were Air Force General Malykh
and five training officers. They all died.
However, the USSR took another action to put pressure on China.
tai. In order to intimidate the aggressive neighbor, it was decided to carry out
Mongolian-Chinese border a demonstration of military power, figuratively
while stealing, rattling weapons and flexing their muscles. Today few people
knows that in Mongolia, a vassal state of the USSR at that time (with
1967) there was a group of thousands of Soviet troops in co-
becoming the 39th Combined Arms Army, stationed on Mongolian soil
le. It included several motorized rifle and tank divisions, including
subordinate to the Transbaikal Military District. At first
In 1979, three divisions from Siberia and Transbai-
Kalya. In this situation, it was decided to use advanced
parts of the 39th Army as a political cudgel against the aggressor -
China. In February-March 1979, large combined arms
military 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
combat aviation. In the demonstration of forces it was also decided to involve
to fight an entire formation of Soviet airborne forces.
Logically, it was reasonable to involve
to name those units of the Airborne Forces that were stationed in the Far East. Od-
However, the main forces of the Airborne Forces were located on the western borders of the USSR, and
also in Transcaucasia and Central Asia. On the Far Eastern borders with
China has only the 11th separate airborne battalion, stationed in Mogocha, near
Cheats. This one of the first airborne assault brigades was created in 1968 and was located
operationally subordinate to the Transbaikal Military District. But this
They decided not to touch the brigade.
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 force?
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
carried out high government tasks. Here are some examples:
ditch
In 1957, Tula paratroopers ensured the landing of the first
space shells with four-legged cosmonauts - dogs Bel-
ka, Strelka, Chernushka. And a few years later, the guardsmen of the 106th Airborne Division
were honored to meet cosmonaut Yuri at the landing site
Gagarin.
At the end of the 50s. (already under V.F. Margelov) soldiers of the Tula division
Airborne Forces took part in extreme climatic landings in
the vastness of the Arctic. At the height of Margelov’s reforms of the Airborne Forces in the early 70s
x years Tula paratroopers were among the first to begin mastering the new
sleigh armored vehicles BMD-1 and BTRD. The award was a pennant of the USSR Ministry of Defense
"For courage and military valor." Tula division repeatedly
was also involved in extinguishing forest fires in the Moscow region and Central
trawling Non-Black Earth region.
The question arises: why exactly the 106th Airborne Division was decided to land
to sit on the Mongolian-Chinese border? After all, this division was
stationed near Moscow and, obviously, was aimed at European
Russian theater of military operations. Why didn’t they choose airborne divisions, dislocated
cited in Transcaucasia (104th Kirovobad Airborne Division) and Central Asia
(105th Fergana Airborne Division)? These formations of the Winged Guard were trained
They are ready to fight in mountainous desert conditions. Obviously,
the reasons should be sought in the political field. At the beginning of 1979 in
Iran was uneasy. Iranians' dissatisfaction with the despotism of the Shah
the regime threatened to turn into a revolutionary explosion, which is what happened
November 10-11, 1979 The monarchical regime in Iran was overthrown, and
The Muslim clergy, led by Ayatollah R. Kha-
me. There was also unrest in neighboring Afghanistan, where in April
1978, having overthrown the Daoud regime, the PDPA communists came to power. IN
a civil war flared up in this then still friendly country,
there was a threat of drawing Soviet troops into the civil strife of the DRA.
Therefore, the 105th and 104th Airborne Divisions were on alert.
The 106th Airborne Division, although considered a “forest” division, nevertheless
had experience of landing in mountainous desert areas. Back in 1966
The 137th Guards Parachute Regiment took part in a major
military exercises in the Transcaucasus and successfully landed on
mountainous firmament. In 1978, the same 137th regiment, as part of the de-
settled into a mountain-desert territory.
So, the choice was made. The 106th Airborne Division was transferred to Mongolia.
Based on fragmentary source information, it is difficult to determine exactly
Is the Tula division at full strength headed for exercises in the distant
Mongolia.
The book “Russian Airborne Forces” states: “In
1979, the division was alerted and a few days later accepted
la participation in exercises on the territory of Mongolia."
Armada of military transport aircraft with Tula paratroopers
and armored vehicles on board headed to the East. It was almost hopeless
an approximate airborne campaign lasting several
thousand kilometers. The landing planes were flying at high altitude. For
several landings were made to refuel aviation fuel.
The researcher cannot determine the exact location of the exercise.
managed. It is only known that the landing took place in the desert
Gobi is a few kilometers from the Mongolian-Chinese border. In our
at our disposal is a valuable memoir source that allows us to partially
reproduce a dramatic picture of what happened. This is a memory
of Air Force officer (helicopter pilot) V.G. Domracheva, included in the collection -
nickname “Scorched by Afghanistan. Participants of the Afghan War tell their stories.”
At the beginning of 1979, this officer served in a squadron of transport helicopters.
years, providing transportation of goods throughout Mongolia, in the territory
where many Soviet military units were stationed.
As is clear from the memoirs of V.G. Domrachev and some others
sources, the exercise was led by a group of high-ranking officials
rov, headed by the First Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR Marshal-
scrap by Sergei Leonidovich Sokolov, on whom she now depended
the fate of the landing, for it was this man who had to give the command
for landing in frosty and very windy weather.
V.G. Domrachev recalls: “A piercing wind was blowing. Blades
The helicopter flapped 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 prepare for the meeting of the main helicopter group
comrade with the leadership of the exercises. We had to show those sitting down
helicopter landing sites.
Ten minutes later, real pandemonium began -
One after another, helicopters with high-ranking officers flew up and landed.
rank.
10 helicopters landed, but the Chief was not there, and the place was near the podium
remained free. The officers walked onto the podium, and immediately appeared
helicopter with the Chief. When Marshal Sokolov appears, the situation
became animated, the officers ran around and began to fuss. After short reports
seats on the podium were occupied, and one after another with an interval of one
minute, IL- landing planes began to appear from the north
76.
An on-board technician came up to me and asked: “Commander, is it really
will the paratroopers be abandoned by such a wind?
“They shouldn’t,” I replied, “it’s murder!”
The movement of the generals began in the stands; Sokolov was approached
commander of the Airborne Forces and reported that there was a strong wind and the drop should be carried out
it is impossible (emphasis added by us – D.S.). He lowered his head, shook it and said,
hall: “We’ll do a test landing - from one plane of people,
of the two – technology.” No one objected, everyone began to silently watch
impending tragedy.
From the side of the head of the ejection came the words: “To the ejection
I give permission!”
So, the order came. Military transport airliners one after another
the gym soared into the sky. In the bellies of the planes there were personnel 137-
th regiment of the 106th Airborne Division with standard armored landing equipment. At the forefront
The divisional landing force consisted of soldiers from the regiment's reconnaissance company. In addition to
In one plane there were BMD-1 driver mechanics, and
also regiment officers. In the second IL-76 aircraft there were three zashfarto-
"baemdeshki" bathrooms.
The advanced detachment of Tula paratroopers, as already noted,
had to land with equipment in truly extreme conditions -
during the Mongolian winter. Those who served in the Airborne Forces may, probably,
imagine 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 this moment the wind force reached 40
meters per second is 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) fell to their death on the rock-
the empty desert firmament. Several dozen guardsmen from the terrible
from contact with the ground were injured and mutilated. Crashed and
all three BMD. The release of the main forces of the airborne regiment was immediately cancelled.
whether.
This is how the aforementioned eyewitness describes the death of the landing party: “Under one
two dots appeared from the flying planes, under the next one
two more, which after a few seconds grew into parachute domes -
Comrade with technology.
The parachuted equipment was rapidly approaching
to the ground, growing before our eyes. People around were carried away by what was happening
and did not notice how landing troops “fell down” from the next plane
nicknames
About two kilometers from the stands, landing equipment began to land.
ka. The brake systems worked in some places and did not work in others. I
I saw for the first time how turrets fly off a BMD when they hit the ground. "Good
“It’s obvious that there are no people there,” someone said from behind. These words became like
signal: everyone remembered that the paratroopers had also been thrown out. Again, no
conspiring, raised their heads and saw how the whole sky was dotted with
parachute floors.
The paratroopers bravely fought the wind, trying to land
staying as close as possible to the landing equipment, but, having touched the ground, somehow
hung helplessly on the straps and, without rising to their feet, dragged themselves
filled with the canopies of their parachutes across the desert.
At first there was silence in the stands. Everyone understood that
was happening, 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 and launched
them and flew to the victims. Had to fly through the desert
further than the paratroopers, release the on-board technician and the right
pilot so that they extinguish the parachutes and carry the paratroopers into the cockpit
helicopter. There were five or six casualties in each helicopter. Pe-
There was dust, blood and snow mixed in. Moans, screams. There were also dead.
We transported them to a field hospital and flew away to carry out our duties.
tasks. Later we learned that out of 108 paratroopers, exactly half were injured.
guilt, but the exercises continued, and so did the losses.”
Of course, the release of the main landing forces was canceled, thereby
the life and health of paratroopers from other units was saved
shelf. Airplanes with landing forces, already in the air, turned
Having walked away, they began to return.
The exercises were completed, units and units of the 106th Airborne Division at
transport aviation returned to “winter quarters.” Warriors of the 137th
The regiment returned to Tula via railway communications.
Is it possible to raise the question of personal responsibility of the then-
him to the commander of the Airborne Forces, General D. Sukhorukov, for the tragic events -
tiya in Mongolia in early 1979? The answer to this is, of course,
difficult. Probably, the formulation of this question is also fair historically.
appropriate. After all, we are talking about the man who then commanded our
Winged Guard and could influence in one way or another the description
current events. But D. Sukhorukov is not V.F. Margelov. Willpower and courage
The identity of these historical subjects is unequal. Of course, Sukhorukov and
as a commander, and as a veteran of the Airborne Forces, and as a person who mentally experienced
shaft for the tragedy that happened on the Mongolian-Chinese border. This and
It's clear. But it seems that within his nature he felt
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:
“We had to land on a bare stone, gray as cement,
desert. On the day of the landing, a strong wind arose. First
A reconnaissance company was about to jump. It was a leap into hell.
The release of the main forces was cancelled. Aircraft located
already in the air, they turned around and began to return to their airfields.
Soon the division was transported by military transport aircraft
aviation and partly by rail to places of permanent
dislocations.
The exercise showed the real possibility of military transport
aviation to carry out long-distance transfers in a short time;
formation of the airborne division in full strength with military equipment.
The paratroopers gained experience in preparing to land on unfamiliar
airfields, but at the same time some logistical issues surfaced
security and a number of others, on which decisions were later made"
.
That's all. 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 some of his guilt in
What's happened? Who knows…
How did “Iron Man” feel, V.F. Margelov, when should he
became aware of what happened in Mongolia? It's clear. Newly minted
The retired inspector, of course, felt pain with all his soul and
Renne mourned the fallen guardsmen. There is no doubt that the "landing
Dad" more than once wondered then: who gave, in fact, a criminal
new order to begin the landing?
Really, who? Available source materials, allowing
Unfortunately, we don’t have anyone at our disposal to answer the question. Logically
things, the final word, obviously, was with the person who commanded
did some teaching then. And he was Marshal S.L. Sokolov, a long-standing undesirable
birth wisher V.F. Margelova. According to the mentioned memories
eyewitness, helicopter officer V.G. Domrachev, the order came from
Marshal S.L. himself Sokolova. Answer exactly the question asked
the then commander of the 106th Airborne Division, E.N., could have asked. Podkolzin, but
his soul had long since ascended to pro patria.
Thus, 1979 turned out to be a landmark year for the destinies of Soviet
Airborne Forces Resigned from the post of commander of the Winged Guard V.F. Margelov,
The Margelov era also faded into oblivion. And it’s probably symbolic that this
the event was marked by the fact of the tragic landing of the Tula children
santnikov in Mongolia. According to an ancient philosophical maxim, nothing
There are no accidents in our lives. Several months will pass, and
In the same 1979, the era of the nine-year war in the history of the Airborne Forces will begin.
Afghanistan, in which our paratroopers will have to fight
truly with a daring enemy, to fight according to Margelov, maintaining reno-
me elite of the Soviet Army. 106th Airborne Division until the end of the 20th century. to this day
maintained a reputation as an excellent airborne unit.
This division not only preserves glorious traditions, but also
married to the great V.F. Margelov, but also involved modern
combat experience gained in local wars and conflicts.
It is believed, for example, that in the 80s 70% of officers and warrant officers of Tul-
sky division fought in Afghanistan.
A third of a century has passed since the tragedy occurred in February
1979 in Mongolia. The ashes of dead soldiers have long since decayed in zinc
coffins
Marshal S.L. Sokolov, who became after Marshal D.S. Ustinova Mi-
Minister of Defense of the USSR, lived a long, dignified life. He passed away-
Xia recently, in 2012 at the age of 102. Did he remember before leaving?
to another world about the paratroopers who died and were maimed by those ill-fated
new teachings? God will be his judge. Undoubtedly, future historians of the Airborne Forces will more than once
will return to covering the events in question in Mongolia. Let it go
they will be able to restore and publish the names and ranks of those soldiers
The Winged Guard, who heroically carried out the order, in a peaceful
time doomed some of them to destruction.
Tragic landing
(in blessed memory of the guardsmen of the 137th Airborne Regiment,
killed during exercises in Mongolia in February 1979)
Troops thrown into the jaws of death
And the fate of the warriors was fulfilled;
The karmic guarantor is watching,
So that the gates to Paradise open for warriors.
* * *
The wind raged over the desert,
Domes crack and tear,
And the marshal is intoxicated with pride,
He is silent, and God is his judge.
* * *
The frozen ground is hard as stone,
Our landing forces are beating against this firmament.
Death came for 10 fighters;
Oh, how many tears my dear ones will shed.
* * *
Blood sprinkled the landing field,
Wounded soldiers are carried by domes.
And salvation awaits many in that nightmare;
Fate saved them from cruel death.
* * *
Who is to blame for the landing tragedy?
That proud marshal who gave the order
Doom people to death? He's not worthy
To be understood, justified among us?
