272nd Rifle Division
| 69th Fortress Brigade (2009–present) 128th Machine-Gun Artillery Division 173rd Mobile Fortress Brigade 272nd Motor Rifle Division 46th Motor Rifle Division 46th Rifle Division 50th Rifle Brigade 272nd Rifle Division (1941–1947; 1953–1955) |
|
|---|---|
| Active | July 1941 – present |
| Country | Soviet Union |
| Branch | Red Army |
| Type | Fortress brigade |
| Part of | 35th Army |
| Garrison/HQ | Babstovo |
| Engagements | World War II |
| Decorations | |
| Battle honours | |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Vasily Meshkov |
128th Machine-Gun Artillery Division
(1989–1993; 1997–2009)
173rd Mobile Fortress Brigade
(1993–1997)
272nd Motor Rifle Division
(1964–1989)
46th Motor Rifle Division
(1957–1964)
46th Rifle Division
(1955–1957)
50th Rifle Brigade
(1947–1953)
The 69th Fortress Brigade (Russian: 69-я отдельная бригада прикрытия) is a unique fortifications brigade of the Russian Ground Forces, stationed at Babstovo and part of the 35th Army.
The brigade traces its heritage back to the 272nd Rifle Division, which was first formed in the summer of 1941 and fought in the Continuation War with Finland north of Leningrad on the Karelian Isthmus. After Finland left the war in September 1944, the division was sent to the front again in January 1945, fighting in the East Pomeranian Offensive. Postwar, the division was relocated to Kursk, where it became a rifle brigade in 1947. Upgraded into the 272nd Division again in 1953, it was renumbered the 46th Rifle Division in 1955, became a motor rifle division in 1957, and was restored to its original World War II number in 1964. As a result of the Sino-Soviet split, the division was relocated to Babstovo in the Far East in 1967. In 1989, the division became the 128th Machine-Gun Artillery Division but was downsized into the 173rd Mobile Fortress Brigade in 1993. Converted back into the 128th Machine-Gun Artillery Division in 1997, the brigade assumed its current name in 2009 as a result of the 2008 Russian military reform.
The 272nd began forming on 10 July 1941 at Tikhvin, part of the Leningrad Military District. Its basic order of battle included the 1061st, 1063rd, and the 1065th Rifle Regiments, as well as the 815th Artillery Regiment. The division was almost immediately sent to Petrozavodsk in Karelia, and was assigned to the 7th Army on 31 July. The division fought in battles against Finnish troops north of Leningrad, part of the Continuation War. During the Svir-Petrozavodsk Offensive in summer 1944, which forced Finland to leave the war, the 272nd fought as part of the 4th Rifle Corps. After Finland left the war by signing an armistice in September, the division became part of the 32nd Army's 134th Rifle Corps in the Reserve of the Supreme High Command. It returned to the front in January 1945 as part of the 19th Army in East Prussia. The army fought there until the end of the war, ending the war with the 2nd Shock Army's 40th Guards Rifle Corps.
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Wikipedia