On November 27, the Russian marines celebrated their 308th birthday. The first regular "regiment of sea soldiers" Peter I created by decree of November 16 (according to the Julian calendar) 1705. The father of the Russian Fleet successfully used amphibious assault in almost all significant conquests of the young empire.
However, this specific, but invariably effective type of troops (or rather, the forces of the fleet) did not develop at all simply. Already following the results of the Northern War, the marines were reorganized for the first time: instead of one regular regiment, several separate battalions were created with different tasks. So, the "Admiralty battalion" carried out guard duty and actually performed the function of coastal defense. And several other battalions served on ships as boarding and landing teams.
During its three-century history, our marines have known many reorganizations, reductions and even complete liquidations. After Peter, many leaders were captivated by the illusion of the "overland character" of our country. But every time the reality of the war proved otherwise, the marines were re-created.
In 1769-1774, the Russian marines fought in Syria and Lebanon, occupying and holding the Beirut fortress for more than a year. In the Mediterranean campaign of 1798-1800, the marines operated as part of Admiral Ushakov's squadron against Napoleon's troops, showing outstanding efficiency. A number of islands of the Ionian archipelago (Cythera, Zakynthos, Kefalonia, Lefkada) were liberated from the French, the fortress of Corfu was captured, the Kingdom of Naples was liberated. The Marine Corps landing under the command of Lieutenant Commander Belli, whose number was only about 500 people, crossed the Apennine Peninsula from east to west in battles and captured Naples on June 3, 1799. On September 16, 1799, the landing detachment of Lieutenant Colonel Skipor and Lieutenant Balabin (700 naval soldiers) entered Rome. In March 1807, during the outbreak of the war with Turkey, an assault force was landed from the ships of the squadron of Vice Admiral Senyavin and captured the island of Tenedos. The island is twelve miles from the Dardanelles, and its capture provided a close blockade of the strategically important strait.
In the war of 1812, a special role was played by the Guards Naval Crew, which served as an engineering unit for the front line. The same uncle of Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov (midshipman Mikhail Nikolaevich Lermontov) served in the carriage, with whose question the poem "Borodino" begins. In the Battle of Borodino on August 26, 1812, the sailors-guards, together with the rangers of the battalion of the Life Guards Jaeger Regiment, destroyed the 106th Line Regiment of General Delson's division, destroyed the bridge across the Kolocha River under enemy fire, which cut off the French route to retreat. And when the Russian troops went over to the counteroffensive, they built bridges across the Protva River. For the Battle of Kulm, the Guards Marine Crew was awarded the honorary St. George Banner. General Vandam, who commanded the French at Kulm, surrendered to Captain 2nd Rank Kolzakov. During the siege and surrender of the fortress Danzig, a brigade formed from the 1st and 2nd naval regiments distinguished themselves. Together with the main forces, the Russian marines entered Paris.
However, after the war of 1812, despite the success of its use in both naval and land operations, the fleet lost its large marines for almost 100 years. Neither the Crimean War nor the defense of Sevastopol were able to convince the Russian leadership of the need to revive the marines as a separate branch of the fleet. Contrary to its creator - Peter, the empire became a "land power". And only in the First World War, in late 1916 - early 1917, attempts were made to form the Baltic and Black Sea Marine Divisions. However, these plans were thwarted by the revolution.
On April 25, 1940, the Soviet marines were already born, when common sense demanded the formation of the 1st Special Marine Brigade in the Baltic. During the Great Patriotic War, marines appeared on all fronts. The first landing of the Great Patriotic War took place simultaneously with its beginning, when on June 22, 1941, the sailors of the Danube Flotilla and border guards cleared the Romanian bank of the Danube from the enemy for 75 km. In total, during the war years, 21 marine brigades were formed, about three dozen naval rifle brigades, many separate regiments, battalions and companies. About 500 thousand sailors fought on the fronts, more than 100 landings were carried out. It was then that our marines once again gained military glory, earning the nickname "black death" from the enemy.
But in the late 50s, the marines were again abolished. None of the units and formations that became famous during the war years (5 brigades and 2 battalions, which became guards, 9 brigades and 6 battalions, awarded with orders) were saved.
Soon, however, the marines were again required. It turned out that even specially trained units of the Ground Forces cannot show satisfactory results in amphibious operations, in which "dismounted" sailors have always achieved success. And with the active participation of the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Admiral of the Fleet S. G. Gorshkov, on June 7, 1963, the 336th Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment was reorganized as the 336th Bialystok Separate Marine Regiment (OMP). It was removed from the subordination of the Ground Forces and transferred to the Baltic Fleet. In December of the same year, the 390th separate marine regiment appeared in the Pacific Fleet. In 1966, the 61st Motorized Rifle Regiment of the 131st Motorized Rifle Division became the 61st Kirkenes Marine Regiment of the Northern Fleet. And in November 1967, on the basis of one battalion of the Bialystok regiment, the 810th Marine Regiment of the Black Sea Fleet was formed. Later, a separate battalion appeared as part of the Caspian Flotilla, and the Pacific 390th battalion was deployed into a division. All fleets have naval engineering battalions intended for engineering support of amphibious assault forces. So the Russian marines were born for the third time.
In 1971, the legendary 299 Marine Corps Training Center "Saturn" was created in Sevastopol by the directive of the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy. There, officers, sergeants and sailors underwent naval, airborne, light diving, reconnaissance, engineering, tactical and fire training, studied military topography, organization, tactics and weapons of a potential enemy. Most of the center's teachers were participants in the hostilities in the "hot spots of the Cold War", such as Egypt, Angola, and Syria. The training center did not transfer theoretical knowledge, but real, moreover, the most recent combat experience. And the marines, as one of the elite components of the armed forces, were the first to receive this experience.
A new stage in the development of this kind of fleet forces began with the arrival of Nikolai Vasilyevich Ogarkov as Chief of the General Staff. In September 1979, individual regiments were reorganized into separate brigades. Since 1981, the status of brigades has been raised to tactical formations, which equated them with divisions. The battalions and divisions included in the brigades became separate units capable of operating independently. To solve new tasks in the European strategic direction, in addition to 61 brigades in the Northern Fleet, the 175th was formed. The fleet received landing ships and hovercraft. The marines received new weapons, equipment and unique training. It has once again become the elite of the military, capable of handling the most difficult missions. She again returned to her innate destiny - she was preparing to defeat the enemy on his territory, and not to fend off him on her own.
In 1989, preparations were under way for the signing of the Treaty on the Limitation of Armed Forces in Europe (CFE). Since the forces of the fleet did not fall under the reduction, four motorized rifle divisions (they became known as coastal defense divisions), one artillery brigade, two artillery regiments, as well as a separate machine-gun and artillery battalion were transferred to the subordination of the Navy. The fleet had coastal defense units before. They were called the Coastal Missile and Artillery Troops (BRAV), just like the Marines, they were a separate branch of the naval forces that had their own tasks. These are artillery units and divisions of coastal missile systems, security and defense units of naval bases and facilities, and anti-sabotage units. After December 1989, BRAV was formally united with the Marine Corps, creating a single Coastal Forces. The former land formations and units were also added to them. They had heavy weapons and could wage a combined-arms battle on the coast, fight against enemy amphibious assault forces. I must say that the fight against amphibious assault forces has always been assigned to the Ground Forces, and, at first glance, little has changed from the transfer of divisions to the fleet. But in this way we kept the defense potential from reduction. And in addition, the former ground divisions strengthened the overall potential of the naval forces, including the marines - one of the most trained component parts of the armed forces. Motorized rifle divisions and artillery subordinate to the fleet could participate in amphibious operations in the second echelon, gaining a foothold in the bridgeheads captured by assault units. With heavy weapons, they could lead the offensive and build on the success of naval operations. Such a reorganization could give a new impetus to the development of the forces of the fleet. If it had not been prevented by an unforeseen circumstance …
On June 14, 1991, at a CFE conference in Vienna, at the initiative of Gorbachev, the Soviet delegation for some reason decided to take on additional norms for the reduction of conventional weapons. The last president of the USSR, just before the destruction of the country, decided to give NATO a gift - he included the armament of the Coastal Forces (including the marines) in the overall count of reductions. Thus, he destroyed all the benefits from the transfer of land formations and units to the fleet and stopped the development of one of the most successful combat arms in our history.
After the collapse of the USSR, the new Russian leadership did not honor the Marines. In 1992–1993, the 175th separate brigade of the Northern Fleet Marine Corps was disbanded. From 1993 to 1996, all four coastal defense divisions (RBS) transferred to the fleet from the ground forces were disbanded: the 77th RBS of the Northern Fleet, the 40th RBS of the Pacific Fleet, the 126th RBS of the Black Sea Fleet, and the 3rd RBS of the BF. Black Sea 810th brigade was reorganized into a regiment. The remaining marines were not formally reduced, but in reality they had in their composition only a few deployed units. The layoff was in fact, partly due to a shortage of conscripts, and partly because officers and warrant officers were fired.
The marines were remembered only during the war in Chechnya. Since January 1995 (after the unsuccessful New Year's assault on Grozny), separate airborne assault battalions of the 61st brigade of the Northern Fleet, the 336th brigade of the Baltic Fleet, all armed forces) 165th Regiment of the 55th Pacific Division of the MP. Since May 1995, a consolidated marine regiment (105th) of three battalions of the MP and an engineering battalion of the Baltic Fleet has been formed in Chechnya. The regiment operated in the most difficult directions, waging heavy battles for the capture of populated areas. Having completed its combat missions, it was disbanded. And in the 1999-2000 counter-terrorist operation, the marines of the Northern and Black Sea fleets, as well as the newly formed 414th battalion of the Caspian Flotilla MP, take part. The Marine Corps has once again proved that even in a period of timelessness, it is able to remain one of the most trained and efficient units of the armed forces.
In 2008-2009, the marines were reorganized again. Formed in the Caspian in 2000, the 77th brigade, in 2008 again became two separate battalions. The 40th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade (Kamchatka), transferred to the subordination of the fleet in 2007, was reorganized into the 3rd Marine Regiment in 2009. The 61st Kirkenes brigade became a regiment. The 55th Division became the 155th Brigade. Perhaps this reorganization cannot be called a reduction, since the actual total number of personnel of formations and units has not decreased. But it didn't look very much like development either.
Only recently began to appear encouraging news, allowing hope for the restoration of the former power of the Russian marines. Far Eastern Higher Military Command School named after K. K. Rokossovsky (DVVKU), which trains commanders of the marine corps, this year, for the first time after many years, conducted a full-fledged recruitment. More than 300 cadets started training, while the previous sets did not go beyond several dozen. This year, the 3rd Marine Regiment is again reformed into the 40th Brigade. In this, more recently, land formation, amphibious training began to be carried out. In the coming years, the fleet will receive landing helicopter-carrying dock ships "Vladivostok" and "Sevastopol". The development of a new combat vehicle for the Marine Corps (R&D code "BMMP Platform") is underway. Such a machine is really necessary, since the marines have long felt the need for a combat vehicle that has good seaworthiness. The BMP-3F, developed specifically for the paratroopers, was received not by ours, but by Indonesian sailors. And our fleet, unfortunately, expects the arrival of a new amphibious vehicle only "in the long term." This is all the more strange because the commander-in-chief of the Airborne Forces still managed to achieve the adoption of the BMD-4M. But the problem of updating the fleet of equipment and strengthening the firepower of the marines is no less acute.
The other day, the chief of the Coastal Forces of the Navy (the marines still belong to them, although we have actually already withdrawn from the CFE Treaty) Major General Alexander Kolpachenko said that next year the 61st Marine Regiment of the Northern Fleet will again be reorganized into a brigade. This is a real gift for the 308th birthday of the Marine Corps. Hopefully, these are only the first steps towards the restoration and development of the power of the amphibious assault forces of the fleet, capable of beating the enemy on its territory.
