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53-407: VDV may refer to: Soviet Airborne Forces ( Vozdushno-desantnye voyska ) Russian Airborne Forces ( Vozdushno-desantnye voyska ) Ukrainian Airmobile Forces ( Vysokomobil'ni desantni viyska ) Now known as the lit. 'Air-assault forces of Ukraine' Ukrainian: Десáнтно-штурмові́ військá Украї́ни, or ДШВ, DShV Verband Deutscher Verkehrsunternehmen ,

106-613: A German public transport association Vereinigung der Vertragsfussballspieler , a professional footballer's union in Germany Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title VDV . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=VDV&oldid=1187014784 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

159-505: A larger complement of heavy weaponry than most contemporary airborne forces. The first airborne forces parachute jump is dated to 2 August 1930, taking place in the Moscow Military District . Airborne landing detachments were established after the initial 1930 experimental jump, but creation of larger units had to wait until 1932–33. On 11 December 1932, a Revolutionary Military Council order established an airborne brigade from

212-706: A mobilization unit in Stavropol. The 130th Air Assault Brigade existed between 1986 and 1989 as a mobilization unit in Abakan. In addition to the Landing Assault units of the Ground Forces' military districts and armies, the Soviet General Staff also experimented with the inclusion of landing assault units in experimental combined arms corps. Two such corps were formed in the mid-1980s with the task to exploit and widen

265-617: A separate entity within the army of three divisions. During the Brusilov Offensive the 1st and 2nd Guards' numbers were supplemented with line army corps and from September 1916 were known as the 'Special Army'. In February–March 1917, the defection of reserve battalions of the Imperial Guard based in St.Petersburg was a major factor in the overthrow of the Tsarist government. The service units of

318-480: A sign of elite status of the airborne troops. In 1970, the telnyashka became an official part of the uniform. In accordance with a directive of the General Staff , from August 3, 1979, to December 1, 1979, the 105th Guards Vienna Airborne Division was disbanded. From the division remained in the city of Fergana the 345th Independent Guards Airborne Regiment (much stronger than the usual regimental size) with

371-415: A tank or motor rifle division. The 5th Corps had the 1318th Separate Landing Assault Regiment and 276th Separate Helicopter Regiment, while the 48th Corps had the 1319th Separate Landing Assault Regiment and 373rd Separate Helicopter Regiment. Around 1987-88 the two corps were disbanded and reverted to divisions, losing their landing troops and helicopters. V. I. Shaykin lists the following force structure of

424-606: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Soviet Airborne Forces Troops of the Soviet Airborne Forces traditionally wore a sky blue beret and blue-striped telnyashka and they were named desant (Russian: Десант) from the French Descente . The Soviet Airborne Forces were noted for their relatively large number of vehicles, specifically designed for airborne transport, as such, they traditionally had

477-521: The 11th (activated 1 October 1948 in Ryazan, Moscow Oblast, from the 347th Guards Air Landing Regiment, 38th Airborne Corps), the 13th Guards (at Galenki, Primorskiy Kray, with the 37th Airborne Corps), the 21st Guards (Estonia, Valga, with the 15th Airborne Corps), and the 31st Guards (Carpathians, 39th Airborne Corps). At the end of 1955 and the beginning of 1956 the 11th Guards, 21st, 100th and 114th Guards Airborne Divisions were disbanded as well as all

530-586: The 56th Air Assault Brigade fought in the Soviet–Afghan War . The Airborne Forces ( Воздушно-десантные войска ( ВДВ ), literal translation: Air-Landing Troops) of the Soviet Union and their present-day Russian Federation successor are a separate combat service directly subordinated to the General Staff. Their combat doctrine establishes their role as a highly mobile operational reserve of the armed forces,

583-732: The Bolsheviks after the October Revolution and fought against the Red Army during the Russian Civil War from 1918 to 1921. "Guards" ( Russian : Гвардия , romanized :  Gvardiya ) designations were awarded to units and formations that distinguished themselves during the Second World War by the order of People's Commissar for Defence of USSR No.303 on the 18 September 1941, and were considered to have elite status. However,

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636-831: The Winter Palace and the overthrow of the Provisional Government. When the Soviet Red Army was formed in 1918, the Red Guards became the Army Reserve and the basis for the formation of regular military detachments. The White Guard ( Russian : Belaya Gvardiya ) of the White Army ( Belaya Armiya , whose members were called belogvardeytsy ), the military forces of the Russian White Movement , which opposed

689-606: The crossing of the Dnieper River . The 1st, 3rd and 5th Guards Airborne Brigades were intended to secure the far side of the Dnieper between Kaniv and Rzhishchev. The drop was poorly executed and instead of the intended 10 by 14 km (6.2 by 8.7 mi) area, troops were dispersed over 30 by 90 km (19 by 56 mi) and unable to concentrate their forces. The majority were killed or captured; some survivors joined partisan groups. David Glantz wrote in 1984: In August [1944],

742-627: The 111th Guards Parachute Regiment became the 35th Separate Guards Air Assault Brigade . However, there was also a mistaken Western belief, either intentional Soviet deception or stemming from confusion in the West, that an Airborne Division, reported as the 6th, was being maintained at Belogorsk in the Far East in the 1980s. This maskirovka division was then 'disbanded' later in the 1980s, causing comment within Western professional journals that another division

795-552: The 111th, 345th, 351st and the 383rd Parachute Landing Regiments and additional support units. The division was specialized in warfare in mountain and arid regions and the decision to disband it proved to be a seriously misguided one in the coming Soviet–Afghan War . The division gave birth to the following formations: From the late 1970s to the 1980s, 13 separate landing assault brigades were activated. These brigades provided air-mobile capability for military districts and groups of forces. In 1989, these brigades transferred to control of

848-529: The 1st Airborne Corps and the three existing separate maneuver airborne brigades). The new guards airborne divisions trained in airborne techniques, and all personnel jumped three to ten times during training, though many were from jump towers. After the defeat of German forces in the Battle of Kursk , the bulk of the airborne divisions joined in the pursuit of German forces to the Dnieper River which formed part of

901-602: The 7th Guards division was used again during the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia . The first experimental air assault brigade – the 1st Airborne Brigade – was apparently activated in 1967/1968 from parts of the 51st Guards Parachute Landing Regiment (PDP) (Tula), after the Soviets had been impressed by the American experiences in Vietnam War . In 1973 the 13th and 99th Airborne Divisions were reorganised as air assault brigades, and thus

954-471: The 86th Army Corps with its 1154th Separate Assault Landing Battalion need further investigation, as the 86th Army Corps was expanded into the 36th Combined Arms Army on June 1, 1976, and could not exist simultaneously around 1989, as the Army was itself reduced into the 55th Army Corps on June 1, 1989. The service march of the airborne forces is We Need One Victory, also known as Our 10th Parachute Battalion . It

1007-591: The Airborne Forces is an integral part of all the solemn events of the Airborne Forces. Every year, the band's personnel take part in the Victory Parade on Red Square , as well as the opening ceremony of the International Army Games . In the ranks of the combined band are musicians of the military bands of the airborne and assault formations of the Airborne Forces. There are six other military bands in

1060-520: The Far East) were created in 1936. In March and April 1941, five Airborne Corps (divisions) were established on the basis of the existing 201st , 204th , 211th , 212th , and 214th Airborne Brigades. The number of Airborne Corps rose from five to ten in late 1941, but then all the airborne corps were converted into "Guards" Rifle Divisions in the northern hemisphere summer of 1942. The Soviet airborne forces were mostly used as 'foot' infantry during

1113-513: The German Panther–Wotan line which they defended. Even as ten guards airborne divisions fought at the front, new airborne brigades formed in the rear areas. In April and May 1943, twenty brigades formed and trained for future airborne operations. Most of these brigades had become six new guards airborne divisions (11th through 16th) by September 1943. The Stavka earmarked three airborne brigades for use in an airborne operation as part of

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1166-616: The Guard at the front disintegrated along with the remainder of the Imperial Army, until it was formally replaced by the new Red Army on 28 January 1918. The Red Guards ( Russian : Krasnaya Gvardiya ) were armed groups of workers formed during the Russian Revolution of 1917 , although the designation and concept dates back to Moscow during the Revolution of 1905 . In 1917 the volunteers of

1219-639: The Guards badge was not introduced until 21 May 1943. In late 1941, the Stavka began awarding the honorific title 'Guards' to regiments, divisions, and corps that had distinguished themselves in combat. Units earning this title had often suffered up to 30 percent or more casualties after successfully performing desperate missions. It was not only a prestigious designation, as units so honoured were thereafter better equipped and given preference in personnel, supplies, equipment and material. Zhukov said "the first period of

1272-513: The Ministry of Defence. The creation of the post-war Soviet Airborne Forces owe much to the efforts of one man, Army General Vasily Margelov , so much so that the abbreviation of VDV in the Airborne Forces is sometimes waggishly interpreted as Войска дяди Васи or "Uncle Vasya's Forces". Airborne units of two divisions (7th and 31st Guards) were used during Soviet operations in Hungary during 1956, and

1325-499: The Red Guard and their elected leaders formed the main strike force of the Bolsheviks . These workers' militias were created in March 1917 in by Factory and Plant Committees and by Bolshevik party cells, with the initial purpose of defending the industrial enterprises and districts where they were recruited. In October 1917 the Red Guards of Petrograd played a leading role in the capture of

1378-544: The Soviet airborne forces in 1989 in his study: note: HH is not an official designation, but denotes Helicopter-Heavy - The original three Air Assault Brigades - the 11th, 13th and 21st had their organic helicopter regiments and they have retained them until 1988~89. The brigades, which were formed later lacked own helicopter assets and relied on the helicopter regiments of their higher echelon commands. note: The 36th Army with its 906th Separate Assault Landing Battalion and

1431-546: The Stavka formed the 37th, 38th, and 39th Guards Airborne Corps. By October, the newly formed corps had combined into a separate airborne army under Maj. Gen. I. I. Zatevakhin. However, because of the growing need for well-trained ground units, the new army did not endure long as an airborne unit. In December, the Stavka reorganized the separate airborne army into the 9th Guards Army of Col. Gen. V. V. Glagolev , and all divisions were renumbered as guards rifle divisions. As testimony to

1484-555: The VDV. During the same period, 19 separate landing assault battalions were activated. These battalions originally provided air-mobile capability to armies and other formations but were mostly disbanded in 1989. In 1979, the 58th Air Assault Brigade was activated as a mobilization unit in Kremenchug. It was co-located with the 23rd Air Assault Brigade from 1986 and disbanded in 1989. The 128th Air Assault Brigade existed between 1986 and 1989 as

1537-541: The airborne corps headquarters. The number of divisions, thus, decreased to 11. In April 1955 the transport aircraft were separated from the VDV and the Air Force Military Transport Aviation was created. In 1959 the 31st and 107th Guards Airborne Divisions were disbanded, but in October 1960 the 44th Training Airborne Division was formed. In 1964 the Soviet Airborne Forces were directly subordinated to

1590-629: The airborne forces. The Song and Dance Ensemble of the Airborne Forces is the theatrical troupe of the VDV. It began its creative activity in 1937, as the Red Army Song and Dance Ensemble of the Kyiv Military District , numbering only 18 people. On 3 May 1945, three days after the signing of the German armistice, the ensemble gave a concert on the steps of the destroyed Reichstag . During the Cold War,

1643-484: The beginning of the 1970s the designation was changed from Separate Air Assault Brigade ( отдельная воздушно-штурмовая бригада (о вшбр )) to Separate Landing Assault Brigade ( отдельная десантно-штурмовая бригада (о дшбр )). In 1973 a third brigade was formed: The experimental 1st Separate Air Assault Brigade was fully staffed by Airborne Troops personnel due to its background, but the regular air assault brigades formed afterwards lacked any airborne parachute training and

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1696-648: The command of Major General Kobzar', Chief of the Combat Training Department of the Airborne Forces HQ. The task of the brigade in the massive exercise was to land with helicopters on the riverside of the River Dnieper and secure a beachhead for the forcing of the river by the main forces. This was executed successfully and the lessons learned were used for the formation of regular air assault brigades. A General Staff Directive from May 22, 1968, ordered

1749-563: The elite nature of airborne-trained units, the Stavka held the 9th Guards Army out of defensive actions, using it only for exploitation during offensives. From 1944 the airborne divisions were reconstituted as Guards Rifle Divisions. During the invasion of Manchuria and the South Sakhalin Operation , airborne units were used to seize airfields and city centers in advance of the land forces, and to ferry fuel to those units that had outrun their supply lines. The HQ 9th Guards Army

1802-639: The existing detachment in the Leningrad Military District . To implement the order, a directive of the Commissariat of Military and Naval Affairs transformed the Leningrad Military District's 3rd Motorised Airborne Landing Detachment into the 3rd Airborne Brigade (Special Purpose)  [ ru ] commanded by M.V. Boytsov. In addition, the 13th and 47th Airborne Brigades plus three airborne regiments (the 1st, 2nd, and 5th, all in

1855-545: The extensive airborne activity during the winter campaign of 1941–42, [the] airborne forces underwent another major reorganization the following summer. Responding to events in southern Russia, where German troops had opened a major offensive that would culminate in the Stalingrad battles, the ten airborne corps, as part of the Stavka strategic reserves, deployed southward. Furthermore, the Stavka converted all ten airborne corps into guards rifle divisions to bolster Soviet forces in

1908-757: The following force structure in 1989 (Military Detachment number ( в/ч ) given in brackets): Directorate of the Commander of the Airborne Troops ( Управление командующего ВДВ )(25953), Moscow , RSFSR As a high readiness and long range main operational reserve of the General Staff the Airborne Troops could rely on the support of the whole Military Transport Aviation and Aeroflot aircraft mobilized for military service. The Airborne Troops also had their own organic aviation assets, but these had very limited airlift capabilities ( Antonov An-2s and Mil Mi-8s ) and were used for parachute training and liaison flights between

1961-497: The formation of the first brigades. They were under the Soviet Ground Forces and by August 1970 the first two active brigades were: These brigades had organic aviation units and had the following structure: Each aviation base consisted of an airfield support battalion and a signals and radio-technical support battalion. The brigade was tasked with executing tactical heliborne landings up to 100 km behind enemy lines. In

2014-467: The last remaining Reserve of the Supreme High Command ( Резерв главного командования ( РГК )). In 1989 a Soviet Air-Landing Division ( Воздушно-десантная дивизия ( вдд )) was organized into a division headquarters, three Parachute Landing Regiments (sing. Парашютно-десантный полк ( пдп )) and various combat and service support units. V. I. Shaykin's historic study of the Airborne Forces lists

2067-556: The majority of their officers came from the higher schools of the Ground Forces. The brigades carried the uniform of the motor rifle branch. In 1973 the landing assault brigades received a new table of organization: The new air assault brigades were deemed successful and by the end of the 1970s several more brigades were formed under the military districts. In addition several separate landing assault battalions were formed as assets of combined arms and tank armies. In 1983 these forces started receiving parachute training and this put them under

2120-481: The number of divisions dropped to eight. There were also independent regiments and battalions. However, even by the 1980s only two divisions were capable of being deployed for combat operations in the first wave against NATO using Air Force Military Transport Aviation and Aeroflot aircraft. Airborne Forces Commander-in-Chief Vasily Margelov had the idea to introduce the Telnyashka blue-and-white striped shirt as

2173-423: The operational breakthrough in offensive operations. Each corps consisted of a corps HQ, two tank brigades, two mechanised brigades, a landing assault regiment of two battalions and support units and a helicopter regiment (organized into an HQ, a Mi-24 attack squadron, a Mi-8 assault squadron and a Mi-26 heavy transport squadron of 20 aircraft each). The combat and service support units were similar to those found in

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2226-720: The security of the sovereign, initially, that of Peter the Great in the 1690s. These were based on the Prussian Royal Life Guards . During the 19th century the Imperial Russian Guard regiments were not exclusively composed of Russian troops, but also included Lithuanian, Finnish and Ukrainian units. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Imperial Guards consisted of 13 infantry , 4 rifles and 14 cavalry regiments , artillery, engineers and transport, making up

2279-463: The separate 115th military-transport aviation squadron. The rest of the personnel of the division were reassigned to fill out other incomplete airborne units and formations and to the newly formed air assault brigades. Based on the division's 351st Guards Parachute Regiment, the 56th Guards Separate Air Assault Brigade was formed in Azadbash, ( Chirchiq district) Tashkent Oblast , Uzbek SSR . Meanwhile,

2332-668: The south. Nine of these divisions participated in the battles around Stalingrad, and one took part in the defense of the northern Caucasus region." The Stavka still foresaw the necessity of conducting actual airborne operations later during the war. To have such a force, the Stavka created eight new airborne corps ( 1st , 4th , 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th) in the fall of 1942. Beginning in December 1942, these corps became ten guards airborne divisions (numbered 1st , 2nd , 3rd , 4th , 5th (formed from 9th Airborne Corps (2nd formation)), 6th , 7th , 8th , 9th , 10th , two formed from

2385-641: The training oversight of the Airborne Troops. The rapid expansion of the landing assault troops led to the disbanding of one airborne division in 1979. This was the 105th Guards Venskaya , awarded the Order of the Red Banner Airborne Landing Division ( 105-я гвардейская воздушно-десантная Венская Краснознаменная дивизия ) with HQ in Fergana in the Fergana Valley , Uzbekistan SSR and command of

2438-743: The unit was known as the Song and Dance Ensemble of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany . During this time, it had participated in concerts in the cities of East Germany , Czechoslovakia , and Poland . It gained its current status in 1994. The Song and Dance Ensemble also contains the Blue Berets musical group. Russian Guards Guards ( Russian : гвардия ) or Guards units ( Russian : гвардейские части , gvardeyskiye chasti ) were elite military units of Imperial Russia prior to 1917–18. The designation of Guards

2491-403: The various units. Around the time of the strategic Exercise Dnepr-67 ( ru:Днепр (учения) ) came the organization of the first Soviet air assault formation. Shortly before it the 51st Guards Parachute-Landing Regiment ( 51-й гв. пдп ) was transformed into the 1st Separate Air Assault Brigade ( 1-я отдельная Воздушно-штурмовая бригада ( 1-я овшбр )) and this experimental formation was put under

2544-618: The war gave birth to the Soviet Guards. For mass heroism and success in the battles of 1941-1942 the Guards title was awarded to 789 groups, formations, separate units, and fighting ships of the Soviet Armed Forces." Pik Sovetskoy Gvardii , meaning "Soviet Guard Peak", the second highest mountain in the Anyuy Range , was named after the Soviet Guards. There were eleven Guard Armies and six Guard Tank Armies: The Guards distinction

2597-620: The war. Only a few small airborne drops were carried out in the first desperate days of Operation Barbarossa , in the vicinity of Kyiv, Odessa , and the Kerch peninsula. The two significant airborne operations of the war were the Vyazma operation of February–March 1942, involving 4th Airborne Corps , and the Dnepr/Kyiv operation of September 1943, involving a temporary corps formation consisting of 1st, 3rd, and 5th Airborne Brigades. Glantz wrote: "After

2650-474: Was likely to be reformed so that the Far East had an airborne presence. The division was not listed in V.I. Feskov et al.'s The Soviet Army during the period of the Cold War, (2004) and the division at Belogorsk, the 98th Guards Airborne Svirskaya Red Banner Order of Kutuzov Division moved to Bolgrad in Ukraine in late 1969. The 103rd Guards Airborne Division , 345th Independent Guards Airborne Regiment and

2703-432: Was made by poet Bulat Okudzhava , written for the feature film Belorussian Station by Andrei Smirnov (1970). It was later adapted by Alfred Schnittke to be performed as a march to be played at the Moscow Victory Day Parade on Victory Day (9 May) . On Airborne Forces Day in many Russian cities, it is customary to turn off the fountains and hold veteran reunions near those fountains. The Combined Military Band of

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2756-455: Was redesignated Headquarters Airborne Forces in June 1946 after the war ended. The units of the army were removed from the order of battle of the Air Forces of the USSR and assigned directly to the Ministry of the Armed Forces of the USSR. In 1946 the force consisted of five corps (the 8th and 15th had been added) and ten divisions: In the summer of 1948, five more Guards Airborne Divisions were created. The 7th (Lithuania, 8th Airborne Corps),

2809-609: Was subsequently adopted as a distinction for various units and formations of the Soviet Union and the modern Russian Federation . The tradition goes back to a chieftain's druzhina of medieval Kievan Rus' and the streletskoye voysko (Стрелецкое Войско), the Muscovite harquebusiers formed by Ivan the Terrible by 1550. The exact meaning of the term "Guards" varied over time. In the Russian Empire, Russian Imperial Guard units (also lifguard or life-guard , лейб-гвардия, leyb-gvardiya ), derived from German Leibgarde (en: lifeguard or life-guard ), were intended to ensure

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