18th Machine Gun Artillery Division

It was first formed as the 184th Red Banner Rifle Division ({{langx|ru|184-я Краснознамëнная стрелковая дивизия}}, abbreviated: 184-я сд) which was a Soviet Red Army division during World War II (1920s till 1940 – 2nd Division of Lithuania).[http://www.genocid.lt/GRTD/Tremtis/stasys.htm Stasys Knezys. Lietuvos kariuomenės naikinimas (1940 m. birželio 15 d.–1941 m.)] It was with 29th Rifle Corps of 11th Army on June 22, 1941, as part of the Baltic Military District. Most of the soldiers rebelled and joined the cause of the Lithuanian Activist Front.[http://www.pravda.ru/politics/2005/1/100/401/20142_.html Первые дни войны 5-ой танковой дивизии - часть третья - Правда.Ру] Some of its remnants went to make up the Second Formation of the 16th Rifle Division.

File:Группа бойцов Красной Армии, первыми вышедших на госграницу СССР с Восточной Пруссией.jpg

Its Second Formation was activated in October 1941, a redesignation of the 4th NKVD Rifle Division, which had been active in the Crimea since September 1941. The division fought as part of the 62nd Army during the Battle of Stalingrad under Colonel Koida from July 17 to September 15, 1942.{{Cite web |url=http://stalingrad.ic.ru/s62arm.html |title=Archived copy |access-date=2008-01-25 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20010716235321/http://stalingrad.ic.ru/s62arm.html |archive-date=2001-07-16 |url-status=dead }}

Among the most notable division members was Roza Shanina. On July 12, 1944, the division occupied Trakai jointly with the 45th Rifle Corps. During the East Prussian Offensive, the division hoisted the flag of the Soviet Union on the Soviet state border.[http://www.warheroes.ru/hero/hero.asp?Hero_id=1259 WarHeroes.ru] It was then transferred to the Far East and fought as part of 45th Rifle Corps, 5th Army, during the invasion of Manchuria.{{Cite web|url=http://www.niehorster.org/012_ussr/45-08-08/land/army_05.html|title=5th Army, 1st Far Eastern Front, Far East Command, 9 August 1945|last=Niehorster|first=Leo|website=niehorster.org|access-date=14 June 2017}}

During the war the division was part of the 2nd Guards Corps (39th Army), 3rd Tank Army, 5th Army, 62nd Army. It disbanded in 1945-46.Feskov et al 2013, 147.

Some 12 men of the 184th Division were awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union, among them {{Ill|Vasily Petrovich Zaytsev|lt=Vasily Zaytsev|ru|Зайцев, Василий Петрович (Герой Советского Союза)}}.{{Cite journal|last=Ostreyko|first=G.A.|date=August 1987|title=184th Rifle Division's Role in Kaunas Operation|url=https://archive.org/details/DTIC_ADA346347/page/n35/mode/2up?q=Kaunas|journal=Soviet Union Military History Journal|volume=8|pages=34}}

The 109th Fortified Region had been serving in the Far East. Circa 1946 it became the 18th Machine Gun Artillery Brigade.Feskov 2013, 155.

On June 8, 1946, on the basis of the 184th Rifle Division and the 18th Machine Gun Artillery Brigade, the 18th Machine-Gun Artillery Division was created in Primorski Krai, comprising the:

• 38th,
• 40th,
• and 49th Machine-Gun Artillery Regiments.

It was disbanded in 1949.Feskov et al 2013, 156.

The division was reformed in mid-May 1978 in Knyaze-Volkonskoye, Khabarovsk Krai, without inheriting the lineage of the previous formation.{{Cite web|url=http://www.ww2.dk/new/army/msd/18pulad.htm|title=18th Machine-Gun Artillery Division|last=Holm|first=Michael|website=www.ww2.dk|access-date=19 January 2017}} It was transferred to the Kuril Islands during the summer of 1978.

===Defense of the Kuril Islands===

The main responsibility for the defense of the Kuril Islands falls to the 18th Machine Gun Artillery Division of the Eastern Military District. The headquarters of the division are located in Goryachiye Klyuchi on the Iturup Island. It also has garrisons on Kunashir Island and Shikotan Island.{{cite news|url=http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=220126 |title=Russian defense minister visits garrisons in South Kurils (Part 2) |publisher=Interfax |date=2011-02-04 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117024926/https://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=220126 |archive-date=2015-11-17 }} The division was previously the only division-strength military formation remaining in the Armed Forces of Russia, along with the 201st Military Base in Tajikistan.{{cite journal|url=http://mdb.cast.ru/mdb/2-2010/item5/article1/|title=Russia's Army Reform Enters New Stage|journal=Moscow Defense Brief|publisher=Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies}} The division's aging infrastructure is in need of overhaul.{{cite news|url=http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/russia-may-deploy-rockets-on-southern-kurils/431064.html|title=Russia May Deploy Rockets on Southern Kurils|publisher=Reuters|date=2011-02-11}} There are also Border Guard Service troops stationed on the islands.{{cite news|url= http://solariatimes.com/backgrounder-importance-of-southern-kuril-islands-xinhua/|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201107234436/http://solariatimes.com/backgrounder-importance-of-southern-kuril-islands-xinhua/|url-status= dead|archive-date= November 7, 2020|title= Backgrounder: Importance of Southern Kuril Islands – Xinhua|publisher= Xinhua}}{{Cite web |url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-02/04/c_13719152.htm |title=Russian defense minister visits disputed islands |access-date=2015-11-13 |archive-date=2015-11-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117023759/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-02/04/c_13719152.htm |url-status=dead }}

In case of attack by Japan, the Russian forces on the Kuril Islands are expected to hold out for only one to four days unless they receive support.{{cite news|url=http://english.pravda.ru/russia/politics/09-02-2011/116829-russia_japan_kuril_islands-0/|title=Will Russia be able to defend Kuril Islands if Japan attacks?| publisher=Pravda.ru|date=2011-02-09}}

In 2011, it was reported that the K-300P Bastion-P system was being deployed in the islands.{{cite web|url=http://rusnavy.com/news/navy/index.php?ELEMENT_ID=11615|title=Russia to deploy Bastion coastal missile systems at Kurils| publisher=Rusnavy.com|date=2011-02-03|access-date=2013-09-03}} The division became part of the 68th Army Corps in 2014.{{Cite news|url=http://www.ng.ru/armies/2014-04-21/3_kartblansh.html|title=КАРТ-БЛАНШ. Курилам придают военно-стратегический облик|last=Mukhin|first=Vladimir|date=21 April 2014|work=Nezavisimaya Gazeta|access-date=18 March 2017|language=ru|trans-title=Carte Blanche: Kuriles get strategic military character}} In 2022 it was reported that the division had started to receive upgraded T-80BVM main battle tanks as part of its equipment.{{Cite web|url=https://www.gfsis.org/russian-monitor/view/3112|title = Contact Support}} The division is estimated to have about 3,500 troops under its command and is currently made up of two machine-gun artillery battalions, a motor-rifle battalion, an artillery battalion, a tank company or battalion, one rocket artillery battery, a short-range air defense company, an air defense battalion, and a support company.

===Russo-Ukrainian War===

In May 2022 it was reported that the 18th Machine Gun Artillery Division was participating in the Russo-Ukrainian War near Izium.{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/HN_Schlottman/status/1520828540584964096?s=20&t=NRa69Zkg5JUdO8OE8l2PLg|author=Henry Schlottman|title=Managed to get close to 22 BTG figure around Izium stated by 🇺🇸 gov officials|date=2022-05-01|accessdate=2022-05-01}}{{reliable|date=May 2022}} {{cite web | url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/sebastienroblin/2022/07/20/russia-sends-pacific-island-machine-gun-artillery-division-to-ukraine/?ss=aerospace-defense&sh=9060d4b36b24 | title=Russia Sends Pacific Island 'Machine Gun Artillery Division' to Ukraine | website=Forbes }} By July 2022, they were reported to be participating in the Battle of Siversk against the defending 81st Airmobile Brigade and a special forces unit from the National Guard of Ukraine, to capture the city and open the way for Russian forces to advance on Sloviansk and Kramatorsk as well as the road going southwest towards Bakhmut.

{{Reflist|2}}

• {{Cite book|title=Вооруженные силы СССР после Второй Мировой войны: от Красной Армии к Советской|last1=Feskov|first1=V.I.|last2=Golikov|first2=V.I.|last3=Kalashnikov|first3=K.A.|last4=Slugin|first4=S.A.|publisher=Scientific and Technical Literature Publishing|year=2013|isbn=9785895035306|location=Tomsk|language=ru|trans-title=The Armed Forces of the USSR after World War II: From the Red Army to the Soviet: Part 1 Land Forces}}

{{Soviet Union divisions}}

{{Russian divisions}}

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Category:Army divisions of the Soviet Union

Category:Military units and formations established in 1978

Category:Military units and formations awarded the Order of the Red Banner

Category:Military units and formations of Russia in the Russian invasion of Ukraine