26th Tank Regiment

26th Tank Regiment
26-й танковый Феодосийский ордена Александра Невского полк
Active1943–1997
2021–present[1]
Country
BranchSoviet Army
 Russian Ground Forces
TypeArmoured
RoleArmoured warfare
Size1400–1500[1]
Part of47th Tank Division[1]
Garrison/HQMulino
Engagements
DecorationsOrder of Alexander Nevsky
Battle honoursFeodosia

The 26th Tank Feodosia Order of Alexander Nevsky Regiment (Russian: 26-й танковый Феодосийский ордена Александра Невского полк) is an element of the Russian Ground Forces formed out of the armored core of the disbanded 6th Tank Brigade. It is part of the 47th Tank Division.[2]

History

World War II and Germany

The unit traces its history back to the 244th Separate Tank Regiment of the Red Army.[3] The 244th Separate Tank Regiment was created in 1943. It participated in combat operations as part of the North Caucasian Front and the Separate Coastal Army.[4] After the war in November 1945, it was transformed into the 26th Tank Regiment and became part of the 19th Guards Mechanized Division.[3]

After 1957, it was part of the 26th Guards Tank Division.[5] Before the dissolution of the USSR, it was stationed in Hillersleben, German Democratic Republic as part of the 47th Guards Tank Division.[6] The regiment was armed with 95 T-64, 55 infantry fighting vehicles (12 BMP-2, 41 BMP-1, 2 BRM-1K), 2 armored personnel carriers (1 BTR-70, 1 BTR-60), 18 self-propelled guns 2S1, 6 mortars 2S12, 5 BMP-1KSh.[7] After 1990, the unit moved to Russian and became part of the new Russian Armed Forces. In 1997, the regiment was disbanded.

Formation in 2021–22

At the end of 2021, the 26th Feodosiya Order of Alexander Nevsky Tank Regiment was recreated at the site of the former 6th Separate Tank Brigade in the village of Mulino.[1] The unit was spun out of the then disbanding 6th Tank Brigade in time for the 2021-2022 winter training program of the Russian army. The unit is subordinate to the recreated 47th Tank Division.[8]

Their first training period was opened by Colonel General Alexander Zhuravlyov, commander of the Western Military District, and Lieutenant General Serhiy Kisel, then commander of the 47th Tank Division, as well as various local politicians from the Volodarsky District where their headquarters in Mulino is located.[9]

Russo-Ukrainian war

Russian invasion of Ukraine

In March 2022, the 26th Tank Regiment fought in an unspecified location in Kharkiv Oblast.[10] On 17 March, 2022, the Ukrainian general staff reported that a battalion sized column of the 26th Tank Regiment was destroyed.[11][12] Shortly after on 30 March, 2022, it was reported by members of the regiment that most of the regiment consisted of conscripts, many of who attempted to cancel their contracts in an attempt to not be sent to the front-line.[13]

In February 2023, the 26th Tank Regiment operated on the Svatovo–Kupyansk front line.[14] In October 2023, the regiment fought in the direction of Yagodnoe–Ivanovka of the Kupyansk district.[15] In early February 2024, the 26th Tank Regiment attempted to break through the Ukrainian defense in the direction of the villages of Kyslovka–Kotlyarovka in the Kupyansk district of the Kharkiv region to encircle the Ukrainian group in Stepova Novoselovka, and the attack succeeded in May.[16]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Екатерина Горшкова (2024-05-11). "Сергей Шойгу поблагодарил военных". «Петербургский Дневник». Archived from the original on 2024-05-20. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  2. ^ "Священник посетил 26-й танковый полк Мулинского гарнизона". Епархия сегодня. 2023-11-05. Archived from the original on 2024-02-12. Retrieved 2024-02-12.
  3. ^ a b Feskov 2013, p. 221.
  4. ^ Feskov 2003, p. 229.
  5. ^ Feskov 2013, p. 225.
  6. ^ Feskov 2013, p. 399.
  7. ^ Lensky & Tsybin 2001, p. 91.
  8. ^ "Володарский район, Нижегородская область, Сайт газеты Знамя, Военные тоже учатся". moyaokruga.ru. Archived from the original on 2022-02-07. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
  9. ^ "Володарский район, Нижегородская область, Сайт газеты Знамя, Военные тоже учатся". moyaokruga.ru. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  10. ^ "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, March 18". ISW. 2022-03-18. Retrieved 2024-02-12.
  11. ^ "Ukraine's Armed Forces destroy unit Russian tank division in Kharkiv region". ukrinform. 17 March 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  12. ^ Hlushchenko, Olha. "One Russian battalion has only 30 soldiers and 10 tanks left – General Staff". Ukrainska Pravda. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  13. ^ "Russian Soldiers From 26th Tank Regiment Massively Refuse To Fight In Ukraine". charter97. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  14. ^ "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, February 19, 2023" (PDF). ISW. 2023-02-19. Retrieved 2024-02-12.
  15. ^ "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, October 20, 2023" (PDF). ISW. 2023-10-20. Retrieved 2024-02-12.
  16. ^ "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment" (PDF). ISW. 2024-02-04. Retrieved 2024-02-12.

Further reading

  • Feskov, Vitaly; Kalashnikov, Konstantin; Golikov, Valery (2003). "Глава 5. Артиллерия Красной Армии в годы Великой Отечественной войны" [Chapter 5. Artillery of the Red Army During the Great Patriotic War]. Красная Армия в победах и поражениях 1941-1945 гг [The Red Army in Victories and Defeats in 1941–1945]. Tomsk: Tomsk University Press. ISBN 5-7511-1624-0.
  • V.I. Feskov; Golikov V.I.; K.A. Kalashnikov; S.A. Slugin (2013). Вооруженные силы СССР после Второй Мировой войны: от Красной Армии к Советской (часть 1: Сухопутные войска) [The Armed Forces of the USSR after World War II, from the Red Army to the Soviet (Part 1: Land Forces)] (in Russian). Tomsk: Tomsk University Press. ISBN 5-7511-1624-0.
  • Lensky, A.G.; Tsybin, M.M. (2001). Советские сухопутные войска в последний год Союза ССР. Справочник [Soviet ground forces in the last year of the USSR. Handbook] (in Russian). St. Petersburg: V & K. ISBN 5-93414-063-9.