56th Guards Air Assault Brigade
| 7th Guards Airborne Brigade (1943-Dec 1944) 351st Guards Rifle Regiment (Dec 1944-Jun 1946) |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Active | 1943-present |
| Country |
 Russia
|
| Branch |
 Airborne Troops
|
| Type | Airborne forces |
| Size | Brigade |
| Garrison/HQ | Kamyshin |
| Engagements |
Soviet-Afghan War |
| Battle honours |
Don Cossack
 Order of Kutuzov 2nd class |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander |
Alexander Valitov |
| Notable commanders |
Vitaly Raevsky |
351st Guards Rifle Regiment (Dec 1944-Jun 1946)
351st Guards Air Landing Regiment (Jun 1946-Jan 1949)
351st Guards Airborne Regiment (Jan 1949-Oct 1979)
Soviet Union (1943-1992)
Soviet-Afghan War
First Chechen War
Don Cossack
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Order of the Patriotic War 1st class
The 56th Guards Air Assault Brigade is an airborne brigade of the Russian Airborne Troops. It is currently based in Kamyshin. The brigade was first formed in 1979 and fought in the Soviet–Afghan War, the First Chechen War and the Second Chechen War.
The 56th Separate Guards Air Assault Brigade was formed on 1 October 1979 in Chirchiq from the disbanded 105th Guards Airborne Division's 351st Guards Airborne Regiment. The new brigade inherited battle honors from that unit. On 13 December, the brigade was transferred to Termez in preparation for deployment to Afghanistan. On 27 December, the brigade's 4th Airborne Battalion crossed the Afghan border and secured Salang Pass. The 3rd Air Assault battalion was airlifted by helicopter into Afghanistan and captured Rabat-Mirza-Kushka Pass on the next day. Between 13 and 14 January 1980, the brigade crossed the border and concentrated at Kunduz. At the same time, the 3rd Air Assault Battalion moved to Kandahar. In February, the 4th Airborne Battalion was transferred to Charikar but was moved back to Kunduz in the same year. The 2nd Air Assault Battalion was attached to the 70th Separate Motorized Rifle Regiment in March. In December 1982, the brigade was moved to Gardez. The brigade was reequipped with the BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicle in 1985. On 5 April, it was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War 1st class. It fought in Operation Magistral from December 1987 to January 1988. In June 1988, the brigade crossed the border back into Turkmenistan during the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan. After its return from Afghanistan, the brigade was based in Ýolöten.
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