97th Guards Rifle Division
| 343rd Rifle Division (1941-43) 97th Guards Rifle Division(1943-57) 97th Guards Motor Rifle Division (1957-1992) 97th Mechanized Brigade (1992-2004) |
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Brigade Insignia
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| Active | August 1941 - November 2004 |
| Country | Ukraine |
| Branch | Ukrainian Army |
| Type | Mechanized Brigade |
| Part of | 13th Army Corps |
| Garrison/HQ | А-1766Slavuta,Khmelnytskyi Oblast |
| Equipment |
T-64 BMP-2 ZSU-23-4 2S3 Akatsiya 2S1 |
| Engagements | World War II |
| Decorations |
Order of the Red Banner Order of Suvorov Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky |
The 97th Guards Mechanized Brigade was a rifle, and then a motor-rifle division of the Soviet Union's Army, before becoming a mechanized brigade of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, based in Slavuta in western Ukraine.
The full name of the division was the "97th Guards Poltava Motor-Rifle Division, Red Banner, Suvorov's, Bogdan Khmelnitsky". After the division became part of Ukrainian Armed Forces it was known as the "97th Separate Mechanized Brigade".
The division was formed in August–September 1941 as the 343rd Rifle Division near the city of Stavropol. Throughout World War II, it was assigned to the 56th, 6th, 9th, 21st, and 24th armies. In 1941 and 1942, the division took part in defensive operations at Rostov, then in the Rostov and Barvenko-Lozovaia offensive operations. Later, it fought in the Second Battle of Kharkov, and took part in defensive operations near Stalingrad. On July 17, 1942, when the 21st Army joined the Stalingrad Front, the division had 2,795 men and fewer than 20 artillery pieces. After October 1942 it was assigned to the 66th Army, which later became 5th Guards Army.
In May 1943, the division became 97th Guards Rifle Division. It took part in the Battle of Kursk, along with the rest of 5th Guards Army as part of the Steppe Front. Later, it fought in the liberation of left-bank Ukraine. In September, the division was awarded the 'Poltava' honorific, along with its sister divisions, the 13th and 95th Guards Rifle Divisions. In 1944 and 1945, it took part in the Kirovograd, Uman-Botoshany, Lvov-Sandomir, Sandomir-Silesia, Upper and Lower Silesia, Berlin, and Prague offensives.
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