The historical predecessor of the 47th Tank Division is the
100th Tank Brigade of the
31st Tank Corps, which was formed on March 3, 1942 in the city of
Noginske, Moscow region and began its combat journey near
Rzhev, participating in the defeat of the tank divisions of
Waffen-SS: “
Totenkopf” and “
Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler". Then the unit took part in battles on the
North-Western and
Voronezh Fronts. For its actions during
World War II, the brigade was awarded the
Order of the Red Banner, the
Order of Kutuzov 2nd class, and the honorific "Czestochowa". In early 1990 the regiment withdrew to
Dzerzhinsk. On 26 August, during a fight near Ahronomichne village, a
T-72B3 tank of the 1st Company of the brigade's 3rd Battalion was captured by troops of the Ukrainian
51st Mechanized Brigade. During the Ukrainian forces' withdrawal from Ilovaisk on 29 August,
Donbas Battalion fighters were able to seize and destroy another two brigade T-72B3 tanks near Chervonosilske village, capturing two prisoners: Ivan Badanin and Eugen Chernov, In November 2014 the brigade became part of the
1st Guards Tank Army. In February 2015 the brigade's units fought in
Battle of Debaltseve. According to
Telegram users, "unofficial sources" claimed that the 6th Tank Brigade was reformed into the 47th Guards Tank Division on 1 December 2021, and that the
26th Tank Regiment had been formed out of the main units of the former brigade. In early December 2021, a local newspaper reported that the 6th Tank Brigade was no longer in existence and that the 26th Tank Regiment of the 47th Guards Tank Division had been newly deployed to the brigade's base in Mulino. It was reported that Colonel E. V. Doroshenko was the commander of the 47th Division. Citing "Western sources", Telegram users claimed that trains with the 26th Tank Regiment's military vehicles arrived in
Kursk in early February 2022. On 17 March 2022, the Ukrainian military claimed to have stopped a Russian column as it was moving in the direction of ,
Kharkiv Oblast. It was said that the column consisted of military vehicles belonging to the 26th Tank Regiment's
battalion tactical group, as well as the 437th Training Regiment. On 27 March 2022, the Ukrainian general staff claimed that 600 bodies of servicemen of the 47th Tank Division had been sent to Nizhny Novgorod region. Three days later, the Ukrainian military claimed that after their experience fighting in Ukraine, conscripts from the 26th Tank Regiment had requested to terminate their contracts. On 12 April 2022, Ukrainian Defence Intelligence wrote that soldiers of the 47th Division had failed to receive promised additional payments for fighting in Ukraine and that the military leadership had ignored appeals for the money. On 15 January 2023, the Ukrainian military claimed that a battalion of the division's 26th Tank Regiment had reportedly been reduced to just 30 men and 10
T-80 tanks. According to Ukrainian military observer Kostiantyn Mashovets, elements of up to three battalions from the 47th Division were operating near Vovchansk in July 2024, after Russian forces had
opened a new front in the area the previous May. == Commanders ==