The 51st Guards Mechanized Brigade (Ukrainian: 51-ша гвардійська механізована бригада, romanized: 51-sha hvardiys'ka mekhanizovana bryhada) was a formation of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, stationed at Volodymyr in Volyn Oblast, on the border with Poland. The Brigade drew its history from the 15th Guards Rifle Division of World War II, which was converted into the 15th Guards Motor Rifle Division in 1957. The division was renumbered as the 51st Guards Motor Rifle Division in 1965 and awarded the honorific Perekop in honor of the 51st Rifle Division of the Russian Civil War.
History
In late 1947 the 15th Guards Rifle Division was relocated from the Austrian city of Vladimir-Volyn and Lyuboml. In the postwar years the unit's soldiers helped civilians rebuild postwar economy, harvest, were involved in the construction of irrigation systems in the Kuban and the Crimea. In September 1965, in an Order of the Minister of Defense of the Soviet Union commemorating the 51st Rifle Division оf the Russian Civil War, which staunchly took the first blows of the German-Soviet war, the 15th Guards Motor Rifle Division was given the number "51" and the honorary title of Perekop, becoming the 51st Guards Motor Rifle Division (second formation; the previous 51st Guards Motor Rifle Division had been disbanded in 1960 and used to form the 29th Guards Rocket Division).[4] It remained as part of the 13th Army (Soviet Union) in the Carpathian Military District since the late 1940s (when it was reassigned from the disbanding 5th Guards Army) until the fall of the Soviet Union.
In 1988 the division comprised the 170th Tank Regiment, 44th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment, 47th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment, 50th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment, 43rd Guards Artillery Regiment, and 59th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment, plus smaller units.[5]
Independent Ukraine
On January 19, 1992, personnel of the division took the oath of allegiance to the Ukrainian people, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the 1991 Declaration of Independence of Ukraine. During the 1990s, the 13th Army was redesignated the 13th Army Corps. On September 17, 1999, in the framework of the 800th anniversary of the Volyn-Galician Principality and to mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Division received from the President of Ukraine, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma Battle Flag and the honorary title of "Volyn" (Ukaz No. 1193/99).[6]
Some 400 reservists will be added to the brigade's personnel in time of war to bring troop numbers up to wartime strength. The median age of the reserves, which in 2005 consisted of 440 officers, sergeants, and soldiers, is 25–30 years old.[7]
The brigade was involved in the army's attempt to stop separatism during the 2014 pro-Russian conflict in Ukraine.[2] It suffered 18 deaths after being ambushed near Volnovakha on 22 May 2014.[2] In late July 2014, 40 men from the brigade crossed into Russian territory. By the first week of August, they returned to Ukraine of their own free will. Some of them were charged with desertion.[8] During August 2014, the brigade made three unsuccessful attempts to retake Ilovaisk.[9] On 25 August, brigade soldier Andrei Krupa was captured by Russian troops and released a month later.[10]
In October 2014, President Petro Poroshenko ordered the disbandment of the brigade. Elements of the brigade judged to have performed well in combat became the new 14th Mechanized Brigade.[11]
