World War II The original 103rd Guards Rifle Division was formed from the previous
13th Guards Airborne Division on 18 December 1944 in
Bykhaw. The 3rd Guards Airborne Brigade became the 317th Guards Rifle Regiment, the 5th Guards Airborne Brigade became the 322nd Guards Rifle Regiment and the remaining rifle units became the 324th Guards Rifle Regiment. The division became part of the
37th Guards Rifle Corps and in February were embarked on trains and moved to positions south of
Budapest. Between 16 March and 1 April, the division advanced along
Lake Balaton after participating in the repulse of
Operation Spring Awakening. On 23 March, the division helped capture
Veszprém, on 26 March
Devecser, on 28 March
Sárvár and finally
Szombathely on 29 March. On 2 April, the division captured
Gloggnitz and then fought in
Vienna. After the capture of Vienna in the
Vienna Offensive, the division advanced westward, pursuing retreating German units. The division was assigned to rest and resupply in
Baden bei Wien on 28 April. The division was awarded the
Order of the Red Banner and the
Order of Kutuzov 2nd class on 1 May. On the same day, its 317th and 324th Guards Rifle Regiments were awarded the
Order of Alexander Nevsky, and its 322nd Guards Rifle Regiment the Order of Kutuzov 2nd class. In 1956 the 350th and 357th Airborne Regiments joined the division from the disbanded
114th Guards Airborne Division. That same year (in June), the division was transferred to
Vitebsk, still within the
Belorussian Military District. It lost most of its support units, including the artillery regiment, but apparently the 20th Separate Equipment Maintenance and Recovery Battalion was retained. The division guarded the Soviet–Iranian border. In 1993, the Headquarters 103rd Guards Airborne Division was established as the headquarters Mobile Forces of the Republic of Belarus. The 317th Guards Airborne Regiment was upgraded to the 317th Separate Mobile Brigade on 1 September 1995. The brigade has been part of the
Special Forces of Belarus since 2007. Unlike the Ground Forces, the Special Forces brigades of Belarus are maintained at full readiness and designated as rapid reaction units. The 103rd is designated as the primary peacekeeping unit of Belarus. As of 2021, it includes three airborne battalions equipped with
BTR-70 and
BTR-80 armored personnel carriers, and an artillery battalion with towed 120 mm
Nona-M1 mortars and
122 mm D-30 towed howitzers. In 2014, the brigade participated in the
Collective Security Treaty Organization exercise "Indestructible Brotherhood 2014" in Kyrgyzstan. They also were in the training exercise "Cooperation 2014", which took place in Kazakhstan. On 2 August 2016, the brigade was renamed the 103rd Guards Airborne Brigade, restoring its original designation, along with the
38th Guards Air Assault Brigade. On 14 January 2020, the Minister of Defense
Andrei Ravkov granted the brigade the Vitebsk honorific after its base; it thus became the 103rd Vitebsk Separate Guards Airborne Order of Lenin, Red Banner, Order of Kutuzov 2nd degree, Brigade named after the 60th anniversary of the USSR. In March 2020, personnel of the
42 Commando of the British
Royal Marines worked with the Peacekeeping Company of the brigade at the Losvido Training Areas during the two-week Exercise
Winter Partisan. In response to the
2022 Kazakh unrest, Belarus was the first of the
Collective Security Treaty Organization states to support Russia in its intervention in Kazakhstan, the suppression by force of anti-government protestors. The peacekeeping company of 100 servicemen from the brigade was dispatched to Kazakhstan on 6 January and returned to Belarus on 15 January after guarding strategic locations in the country. == Composition ==