51st Guards Mechanized Brigade (Ukraine)

Formed from 76th Rifle Division 1942 51st Guards Rifle Division (1942 – c. 1957) 51st Guards Motor Rifle Division (I Formation) (1957–1965) 51st Guards Motor Rifle Division (II Formation)(1965–1992) 51st Mechanized Division (c. 1992 – c. 2004) 51st Mechanized Brigade (c. 2004 – present)
Sleeve patch for the 51st Mechanized Division
Active	1942–2014
Country	Ukraine
Branch	Ukrainian Army
Type	Brigade
Role	Mechanized
Size	active duty 440 reserves
Part of	13th Army Corps
Garrison/HQ	А-2331 Volodymyr-Volynskyi Volyn Oblast Ukraine
Nickname(s)	Volynska
Anniversaries	September 7
Equipment	BMP-2
Engagements	World War II 2014 pro-Russian conflict in Ukraine
Decorations	Order of Lenin Order of the Red Banner(2) Order of Suvorov Order of Kutuzov
Commanders
Current commander	Colonel Volodymyr Kravchenko

The 51st Guards Mechanized Brigade was a formation of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, stationed at Volodymyr-Volynskyi in Volyn Oblast, on the border with Poland. The Brigade drew its history from the 51st Guards Rifle Division, which was formed from the 76th Rifle Division midway through the Second World War. In late 1942 the 76th Rifle Division decimated the German force holding and protecting Kletskaya, a key industrial city with numerous metal works factories. For it, the division was promoted to Guards (Советская Гвардия) status on November 23, 1942, and became known as the 51st Guards Rifle Division.

In November 1942, the newly renamed Division was sent back to Stalingrad where it helped encircle and trap the attacking German 6th and 4th Panzer Armies during Operation Uranus. For its participation in the battle of Stalingrad, the unit was decorated with the Order of Lenin. In the summer of 1943, it was sent to complement tanks and other armored vehicles during the Battle of Kursk in Ukraine, once again retaking the cities of Belgorod and Bogodouqovye. From Kursk, the division was sent northward to push back German Army Groups Center and North. Under the command of General Ivan Bagramyan, the 1st Baltic Front commander, it liberated the Belorussian cities of Vitebsk and Polotski. Continuing its advance to the west, the 51st Guards Division took part in pushing Army Group North out of the former Soviet republics the Soviet Union had annexed in 1940, Latvia and Lithuania.

Its sacrifice and courage in recapturing Vitebsk were recognized as it was bestowed with the honorary title of Vitebskyan in October 1944. One of the division's artillerymen Aramais Sarkisyan was killed in combat in Belorussia on June 25, 1944, and was recognized as a Hero of the Soviet Union, the highest honorary title for individuals in the Soviet Union. In the Latvian province of the Courland Peninsula was the final bastion of Army Group Courland. Despite repeated attempts to take the region, the German units resisted and successfully fended off Red Army offensives. In May 1945, the 51st Division was sent to Courland where it managed to isolate the forces remaining at the peninsula. On May 8, 1945, the remainder the garrison surrendered. The 51st division passed through approximately 7,000 kilometers of former Soviet territory and liberated over 600 towns and cities from the Axis occupying forces. Twenty-one men in the division were recognized as Heroes of the Soviet Union.