76th Guards Air Assault Division

76th Guards Chernigov Airborne Division
76th Airborne Division shoulder sleeve insignia.
Active	September 1, 1939 - present
Country	Soviet Union Russia
Branch	Airborne Troops
Type	Paratroopers
Role	Parachute Infantry
Size	6,000-8,000
Garrison/HQ	Pskov
Engagements	World War II Soviet-Afghan War First Chechen War Second Chechen War 2008 South Ossetia war

The 76th Guards Air Assault Division (Russian: 76-я гвардейская десантно-штурмовая Черниговская Краснознаменная дивизия) is a division of the Russian Airborne Troops based in Pskov.

History

The 76th Air Assault Division was originally established in 1939 as the 157th Rifle Division. On 1 March 1943 it became the 76th Guards Rifle Division. The Division fought in Chernigov, Odessa, Brest and Danzig with the 70th Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front in May 1945. Soon after the war it became the 76th Airborne Division, by 1946 as part of the 15th Airborne Corps.

The 76th Division originally had three regiments: the 104th, 234th, and 237th, with the 237th Guards Airborne Regiment disbanded circa 2002.

After an experimental period, the 104th Parachute Regiment of the 76th Airborne Division became the first Russian ground forces regiment that was fully composed of professional soldiers (and not of "srochniki" - the conscripted soldiers aged eighteen).

Elements of the 104th Regiment were ambushed in Chechnya in March 2000.

In 2006, the 76th Airborne Division became an Air Assault Division.

In 2008 the 76th Air Assault Division was involved in the 2008 South Ossetia war, being deployed to South Ossetia and fought in the Battle of Tskhinvali.

Subordinated units and fighting strength

As of 2009, the 76th Air Assault Division consisted of the following units:

• 76th Guards Air Assault Division in Pskov
  • 23rd Guards Airborne Regiment in Pskov (newly formed regiment)
  • 104th Guards Airborne Regiment in Cherekha
  • 234th Guards Airborne Regiment in Pskov
  • 1140th Guards Artillery Regiment in Pskov
  • 4th Air Defence Regiment in Pskov
    • 107th Air Defence Battalion in Pskov
    • 165th Air Defence Battalion in Donskoy (from disbanded 106th Guards Airborne Division)
  • 656th Engineer Battalion in Pskov
  • 728th Signal Battalion in Pskov
  • 7th Maintenance Battalion in Pskov
  • 242nd Military Transport Aviation Squadron in Pskov
  • 3996th Airmobile Hospital

External links and further reading

• 76th Airborne Division (official site)
• Thornton, Rod (2004) "Military Organizations and Change: The 'Professionalization' of the 76th Airborne Division", The Journal of Slavic Military Studies, 17:3,449 — 474