Russian Naval Infantry
The Russian Naval Infantry, often referred to as Russian Marines in English, operate as the naval infantry of the Russian Navy. Established in 1705, they are capable of conducting amphibious operations as well as operating as more traditional light infantry.
The Naval Infantry also fields the Russian Navy's only special operations unit, known as the ‘commando frogmen’. Frogmen are typically drawn from the Naval Infantry's ranks, and they are capable of a wide range of special operations tasks and missions. Colloquially, Russian-speakers may refer to Naval Infantrymen using the abbreviation морпехи, singular form: морпех ).
The first Russian marine force formed in 1705, and since that time it has fought in the Napoleonic Wars, the Crimean War, the Russo-Japanese War, the First World War and the Second World War. Under Admiral Gorshkov, the Soviet Navy expanded the reach of the Naval Infantry and deployed it worldwide on numerous occasions.
Since 2019 Lieutenant General Viktor Astapov has commanded the Naval Infantry in his capacity as the Deputy Commander for Coastal Troops/Commandant of the Coastal Troops of the Russian Navy.
The Naval Infantry, alongside the Coastal Defense Missile Artillery Forces, form part of a larger institution—the Coastal Troops of the Russian Navy.
History
Little is known about the Russian Naval infantrymen during the Imperial era of Russia because many of the units formed consisted of supernumerary ship crews of destroyed or immobilised Russian warships.The history of the Russian Navy could be traced back to the 16th century with Ivan the Terrible with the formation of his special team of Streltsy "sea soldiers" as part of his crew of flotilla ships.
The official history of the Naval Infantry could be traced back to the creation of the Russian ship Oryol, which launched in 1668 & sailed with a crew of 23 sailors & 35 soldiers, with the soldiers duties of boarding & capturing enemy ships & providing sentinel service under the command of Ivan Domozhirov.
During the Azov campaign of the Russo-Turkish War, under Peter the Great, the soldiers in these units; many of whom were recruited by the Preobrazhensky & the Semyonovsky Regiments of the later-to-become Imperial Guards, were shown to be particularly effective in carrying out those duties. Those soldiers would later on form the Russian Navy's very first infantry regiment consisting of 4300 men.
The first admiral of the regiment was appointed by no less than Tsar Peter I himself, General Admiral Fyodor Golovin, who later gave the respective order to Vice Admiral Cornelius Kruys on November 16, 1705, marking the glorious years following for the Russian Naval Infantry.
Official formation
In November 16, 1705, following a decree of Peter I, the first regiment "of naval equipage" was formed for boarding and landing operations, on the ships of the Baltic Fleet. The regiment had 1200 men, and from this original regiment began the long history of Naval Infantry within Russia.Great Northern War
In 1714, the regiment won a victory against the Swedes during the Battle of Gangut. However, after the war, a review of the Regiment's performance during the war concluded that the regimental organization of the unit did not work with the organizational structure of the Navy's fleet and did not allow it to be correctly utilized in combat conditions. As a result, the naval regiment was disbanded, and in replace of it, five naval battalions of consisting of men drawn from the army was created in 1712–1714 & attached to the fleet:Russo-Turkish Wars
The Russian naval infantry were involved in a series of victories against the Ottoman Empire including the rout of the Turkish Navy at the Battle for Cesme Harbor in 1770, and the taking of Izmail Fortress on the Danube, in 1790.Napoleonic War
During the prelude to the war, in 1799 the Russian naval infantry took the French fortress at Corfu after a four-month siege. In 1806, a Russian landing force took Naples by storm and entered the Papal States.During the War of the Sixth Coalition, the Russian naval infantry distinguished itself against La Grande Armée at the Battle of Borodino, Battle of Kulm and the Siege of Danzig.
Crimean War
By 1813, significant parts of the naval infantry were transferred to the Army & subsequently lost naval connections. For almost 100 years, there were no large infantry units in the Russian Navy. Nevertheless, in 1854–1855, during the Siege of Sevastopol against British, French and Turkish troops, there were renewed calls for revival of the military's Naval Infantry units. 17 separate sea battalions were formed and they participated in the defense of Sevastopol.Early 20th century
Russo-Japanese War
In 1904, during the Russo-Japanese War, the naval infantry defended Port Arthur against Japanese forces. Personnel were recruited from regular sailors & naval crews to make up the numbers. Seven separate naval rifle battalions, a separate landing squad of sailors, three separate sea rifle companies and several machine-gun teams were formed.World War I
The question of the formation of permanent Naval Infantry Units were raised only in 1910 and in 1911, projects were underway under the Chief Naval Staff for the development of permanent infantry units in the main naval bases of the country: an infantry regiment under the Baltic Fleet, an infantry battalion in the Black Sea Fleet and the Vladivostok Battalion for the Pacific Fleet.In August 1914, two separate battalions from the personnel of the Guards Fleet Crew and one battalion of personnel from the 1st Baltic Fleet Crew were created in Kronstadt. In March 1915, a separate naval battalion of the 2nd Baltic Fleet Crew was transformed into the Marine Regiment of Special Purpose. It included a mine company, a machine-gun team, a communications team, regimental artillery, a technical workshop, a convoy, and individual commands of the steamer Ivan-town and boats.
At the end of 1916 and the beginning of 1917, the first two divisions of naval infantry were formed; the Baltic Division and Black Sea Division.
The naval infantry was deployed to the Baltic to defend the homeland against German attack as well as the Caspian Sea for operations against Ottoman forces.
Under the command of Admiral Alexander Kolchak, there was plans for the Black Sea Division to undergo amphibious operations to take the Bosporus and open a naval path to the Mediterranean Sea however, such plans never ended up coming to fruition.
Post-Russian Revolutions and the Russian Civil War
These naval infantrymen, who served under the Navy of the Imperial State, would later on form the core of the naval infantry service of the young Soviet Navy in 1918, which distinguished itself during the long Russian Civil War. Many of their fellow servicemen though supported the White movement and distinguished themselves as part of anti-Soviet military operations during those years. Many were shot upon capture by Soviet authorities. Others were tortured and killed.The Soviet Naval Infantry's major force during the civil war was the Baltic Fleet Naval Infantry, the ex-Imperial fleet division's Communist servicemen would provide much of the fighting power during those years following the Revolution.
Soviet era
Kronstadt rebellion
Following the winding down of the Russian Civil War by 1920, the following year, many Soviet Naval Infantrymen stationed in Kronstadt mutinied against the Soviet government in 1921. The mutiny was quickly put down by Soviet forces with the mutinying Naval Infantrymen facing retribution by the Soviet government leading to their eventual execution.World War II
During World War II about 350,000 Soviet Navy sailors fought on land operations. At the beginning of the war, the navy had only one naval infantry brigade in the Baltic Fleet, but began forming and training other battalions. These eventually were:- six naval infantry regiments, comprising two 650 man battalions each,
- 40 naval infantry brigades of 5–10 battalions, formed from surplus ships' crews. Five brigades were awarded Gvardiya status,
- On November 1, 1944, the greatly understrength Red Army 55th Rifle Division was converted into a garrison formation for the Porkkala Naval Base after the Moscow Armistice with Finland in late September 1944.
- plus numerous smaller units
The Naval Infantry conducted over 114 landings, most of which were carried out by platoons and companies. In general, however, Naval Infantry served as regular infantry, without any amphibious training. They conducted four major operations: two during the Battle of the Kerch Peninsula, one during the Caucasus Campaign and one as part of the Landing at Moonsund, in the Baltic.
During the war, five brigades and two battalions of naval infantry were awarded Guards status. Nine brigades and six battalions were awarded decorations, and many were given honorary titles. The title Hero of the Soviet Union was bestowed on 122 Naval Infantry servicemen.
The Soviet experience in amphibious warfare in World War II contributed to the development of Soviet operational art in combined arms operations. Many members of the Naval Infantry were parachute trained; they conducted more drops and successful parachute operations than the Soviet Airborne Troops.
The Naval Infantry was disbanded in 1947, with some units being transferred to the Coastal Defence Force.
Cold War
In 1961, the Naval Infantry was re-formed and became a combat arm of the Soviet Navy. Each Fleet was assigned a Naval Infantry unit of regiment size. The Naval Infantry received amphibious versions of standard armoured fighting vehicles, including tanks used by the Soviet Army.By 1989, the Naval Infantry numbered 18,000 troops, organised into the 55th Naval Infantry Division at Vladivostok and at least four independent brigades: the 61st Kirkenneskaya Brigade at Pechenga, 175th at Tumannyy in the North, 336th Guards Naval Infantry Brigade at Baltiysk, and 810th at Sevastopol.
By the end of the Cold War, the Soviet Navy had over eighty landing ships, as well as two Ivan Rogov-class landing ships. The latter could transport one infantry battalion with 40 armoured vehicles and their landing craft.
At 75 units, the Soviet Union had the world's largest inventory of combat air-cushion assault craft. In addition, many of the 2,500 vessels of the Soviet merchant fleet could off-load weapons and supplies during amphibious landings.
On November 18, 1990, on the eve of the Paris Summit where the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty and the Vienna Document on Confidence and Security-Building Measures were signed, Soviet data were presented under the so-called initial data exchange. This showed a rather sudden emergence of three so-called coastal defence divisions, along with three artillery brigades/regiments, subordinate to the Soviet Navy, which had previously been unknown as such to NATO.
Much of the equipment, which was commonly understood to be treaty limited was declared to be part of the naval infantry. The Soviet argument was that the CFE excluded all naval forces, including its permanently land-based components. The Soviet Government eventually became convinced that its position could not be maintained.
A proclamation of the Soviet government on July 14, 1991, which was later adopted by its successor states, provided that all "treaty-limited equipment" assigned to naval infantry or coastal defence forces, would count against the total treaty entitlement.