French 6th Light Armored Division. I am a Guards Tank Red Banner Division
It was formed in July 1940 in the ZakVO in the city of Vagharshapat (Armenia) on the basis of the 7th light tank brigade and the 16th cavalry division as a separate tank division. March 41. the formation of the 28MK Major General V.V. Novikov began. (6, 54td 236md). Before the war, it was based in Armenia being fully equipped.
According to the directive of the General Staff to the Military Council of the ZakVO dated July 22, 1941 No. 143, the 28th mechanized corps was to be reorganized into three tank and one mountain rifle divisions. Each rifle division of the district was to include one or two tank companies.
Then the plans of the command changed. An excerpt from the order of the General Staff to the commander of the ZakVO troops on the formation of four army directorates dated July 24, 1941: “... Use the hulls of the 28th MK to equip the 6th, 54th TD, 236th RD and army departments, the 236th motorized division, without a tank regiment, reorganize into 236th RD and maintain according to the states No. 04/400-04/418, 024 /609, 014/38-B, 04/16. Artillery regiments, with the exception of the 152-mm howitzer artillery regiment division, should be horse-drawn. The total strength of the division is 14,708 people. Assign No. 180 to the Third Rifle Regiment, No. 38 to the howitzer artillery regiment, Det. khimrote - No. 10. The 139th tank regiment 236 md and the 24th tank regiment 24 cd should be directed to the formation of the 7th detachment. tank battalion 236 sd, 4,5,6 and 7th division. tank companies - respectively 4, 13 (?), 31 and 317 rifle divisions. to form a battalion and companies according to the state ... 6 and 54 TD to keep in the existing states, having completed their material part at the expense of the tank regiment 236 md. ..b. To form, at the expense of surplus vehicles, 236 md, 136th and 137th departments. motor transport battalions across the state.
This order not only clarifies the fate of the 28MK, but also explains where the Transcaucasian rifle divisions arrived at the front in September 41. there were so unusually many tanks. For example, in the tank battalion of the 4th SD by September 1941 there were 64 tanks.
On August 23, 1941, the 6th and 54th tank divisions, along with the 1st and 23rd (without one regiment) cavalry divisions, formed a shock group of the Transcaucasian Front, intended for the occupation of Iran, as part of the 47th Army in the Nakhichevan region. . The 6th TD, together with the 1st CD, was supposed to strike in the direction of Nakhichevan, Khoi, and by August 27, 1941, take Dilman. In the event of enemy resistance in the area of Marand and Tabriz, the 6th Panzer Division was ordered to strike in the direction of Khoi, Shindivar, bypassing the Marand-Tabriz group of Iranians from the west. The main forces of the army, including the 54th TD, were advancing on Marand and by August 27, 1941, they were supposed to take Tabriz. The 63rd Mountain Rifle Division and the 13th Motorcycle Regiment in vehicles with a separate tank battalion covered the right flank of the army.
Further, both tank divisions participated in the occupation of the northern part of Iran. On September 1, an order was received to return the 6th TD to the territory of the ZakVO, and the 54th TD as part of the 44th Army was stationed in the Zanjan, Kazvim area. The 13th Motorcycle Regiment was located in the area of Marat and Miandoab, as part of the 47th Army. In the same army, a separate 54th motorized rifle regiment, withdrawn from the 54th tank division, remained.
On October 23, 1941, the 6th Panzer Division was reorganized into the 6th Tank Brigade (Colonel V.M. Alekseev) and became part of the 56th Army. The 6th motorized rifle regiment as a separate unit became part of the 44th army.
The book is dedicated to the greatest tank armada in history - the armored forces of the USSR. In all countries of the world, taken together, there were fewer tanks than in the Soviet Army. These hordes of steel monsters, intended for a victorious dash to the English Channel, perished along with the country that created them. For the first time in domestic and foreign literature, a real, and not a ceremonial, history of the development and decline of the Soviet tank forces of the post-war era is presented.
The book is intended for a wide range of readers.
TANK DIVISIONS
The main tactical combined-arms unit of the tank forces throughout the post-war years was the tank division. Their formation began immediately after the end of hostilities in Europe from tank corps and brigades on the basis of the order of the People's Commissar of Defense I.V. Stalin No. 0013 of June 10, 1945. The evolution of Soviet tank formations in the postwar years can be traced on the example of the 3rd Guards Tank Kotelnikovskaya Red Banner Order of the Suvorov Division of the Red Banner Belarusian Military District.
After the end of the war, by order of the NPO of the USSR No. 0013 dated 06/10/1945, the 3rd Guards Tank Corps was reorganized into the 3rd Guards Tank Division. Its members included:
19th Guards Tank Minsk Order of Lenin Red Banner Orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov Regiment;
126th Guards Heavy Tank Self-Propelled Nevelsky Red Banner Order of Suvorov Regiment;
2nd Guards Motorized Rifle Minsk-Gdansk Red Banner Order of Suvorov Regiment;
266th mortar Minsk Red Banner Orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov Regiment;
1701st Minsk Anti-Aircraft Artillery Orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov Regiment;
488th howitzer Gdansk Red Banner Order of Kutuzov division;
324th Guards mortar Minsk Red Banner Order of Alexander Nevsky division;
10th Guards Motorcycle Minsk Red Banner Order of the Red Star Battalion;
154th separate sapper Gdansk orders of Kutuzov and Alexander Nevsky battalion;
678th motor transport battalion;
266th air communications link;
160th medical and sanitary battalion;
74th mobile tank repair base;
43rd field autobakery.
The staff strength was: generals - 1, officers - 1224, sergeants - 2156, soldiers - 5368. In total, there were 8749 people in the division. The tank division was armed with:
314 medium tanks;
24 self-propelled artillery installations;
110 armored personnel carriers;
4 57 mm guns, 4 76 mm guns, 485 mm guns, 37 122 mm howitzers;
4 120 mm mortars;
8 rocket launchers M-31-12 and 1 M-13;
Anti-aircraft weapons - 6 DShK machine guns, 6 ZPU-2, 3 ZPU-4, 2 25-mm, 29 37-mm, 6 85-mm anti-aircraft guns;
1224 cars,
167 radio stations.
The tank fleet of divisions included different types of vehicles. So, in the same 3rd Guards Tank Division in 1955, there were 6 T-34 medium tanks, 242 T-54 medium tanks, 47 IS-3 heavy tanks, 19 PT-76 amphibious tanks and 24 ISU-122 self-propelled artillery mounts .
In subsequent years, the number, organization, armament of tank divisions changed, but the main purpose did not change - to be the main striking force of the ground forces. Therefore, all reorganizations pursued one goal - to increase the combat capabilities of tank troops.
In 1946-1948, part of the tank divisions was reduced to regular regiments, but by the end of 1948 they were all deployed into full-blooded divisions.
By a directive of the USSR Ministry of Defense dated May 25, 1953, tank divisions were transferred to new states:
Motorized rifle regiments were reorganized into mechanized;
The divisions included howitzer artillery regiments, separate batteries of the chief of artillery, separate chemical defense platoons, separate training tank battalions and auto-tractor repair shops;
Howitzer artillery battalions and mortar regiments were disbanded.
In 1955, motorcycle battalions were reorganized into reconnaissance battalions.
The structure of a tank division with four tank regiments turned out to be too cumbersome to conduct combat operations in the conditions of the use of nuclear weapons. Therefore, in 1957, the tank divisions were transferred to a new organization and states:
Mechanized regiments were reorganized into motorized rifle regiments;
Heavy tank self-propelled regiments were reorganized into heavy tank regiments;
Separate companies of tank destroyers were formed;
One tank regiment, a guards mortar division and a field bakery were disbanded.
In 1958, in connection with the reduction of the Armed Forces, motorized rifle regiments of some divisions were reduced to a separate motorized rifle battalion, and artillery and anti-aircraft artillery regiments to a division.
In 1960, training tank battalions and driving schools were disbanded (since the deployment of training tank divisions began).
In 1962, the divisions were transferred to new states:
Motorized rifle battalions and artillery battalions are deployed in regiments;
The formations include separate missile battalions, jet batteries, repair and restoration battalions, and separate companies of chemical protection.
Since 1961, separate missile battalions equipped with the Luna missile system appeared in the state of the divisions, significantly increasing the firepower of the formations. At the disposal of the commander of a tank division for the first time appeared nuclear weapon tactical purpose. The introduction of a missile battalion into the division significantly increased the division's ability to defeat the second echelons (reserves) of the enemy in their combat zone.
In 1965, the division had 814 medium tanks, 19 PT-76 amphibious tanks, 24 D-30 122-mm howitzers, 15 120-mm mortars, 6 BM-21 rocket launchers of the Grad multiple launch rocket system, 12 anti-aircraft self-propelled units ZSU-23-4 "Shilka", 24 57-mm anti-aircraft guns, 114 wheeled and 19 tracked armored personnel carriers.
In 1972, the divisions included separate jet battalions and chemical defense battalions.
In service with a tank division in the mid-80s, there were:
326 tanks;
228 infantry fighting vehicles;
29 armored reconnaissance and patrol vehicles BRDM-2;
48 152-mm self-propelled howitzers 2SZ "Acacia";
96 122-mm self-propelled howitzers 2S1 "Carnation";
24 BM-21 launchers of the Grad multiple launch rocket system;
4 launchers of tactical missiles "Tochka";
9 9P148 combat vehicles of the Konkurs anti-tank missile system;
20 launchers 2P25 of the Kub anti-aircraft missile system;
16 combat vehicles 9A34 and 9A35 of the Strela-10 anti-aircraft missile system;
16 self-propelled anti-aircraft installations ZSU-23-4 "Shilka".
By 1989, the already mentioned 3rd Guards Tank Kotelnikovskaya Division included:
3rd Guards Tank Minsk-Gdansk Order of Lenin Red Banner Order of Suvorov Regiment;
18th Guards Tank Minsk Order of Lenin Red Banner Orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov Regiment;
296th Guards Motor Rifle Minsk-Gdansk Red Banner Order of Suvorov Regiment;
733rd Artillery Minsk Red Banner Orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov Regiment;
740th Minsk Anti-Aircraft Missile Orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov Regiment;
256th separate missile division;
1217th separate jet division;
33rd Guards Reconnaissance Minsk Red Banner Order of the Red Star Battalion;
154th separate engineer-sapper Gdansk orders of Kutuzov and Alexander Nevsky battalion;
430th Separate Order of the Red Star Communications Battalion;
92nd separate repair and restoration battalion.
The 3rd Guards Tank Division was one of the first to fall under the knife of cuts - according to the directive of the Minister of Defense of the USSR of January 25, 1989, it was disbanded by July 1, 1989 (in its place, the 5357th Guards base for storing weapons and equipment was created).
Speaking about the organizational structure of the tank troops, it must be borne in mind that there were no two identical divisions in the Soviet Army. Their composition underwent constant changes, they were kept in different states, which, moreover, often changed. Most of the tank divisions of the groups of Soviet troops in Eastern Europe was kept according to the states of divisions of type "A", being fully staffed with personnel and military equipment. The formations of the internal military districts were kept according to the state of tank divisions of the type "B", "C", "G", which differed in the percentage of staffing. The number of equipment and weapons corresponded to the standard.
Since the end of the 60s, motorized rifle regiments began to receive combat vehicles infantry BMP-1, which increased the mobility and striking power of motorized rifle units. Equipping tank divisions with armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles also made it possible to increase the average marching speeds and the daily passage of the unit.
In the early 1970s, a new generation of self-propelled artillery guns appeared in service with the Soviet Army. Artillery battalions of motorized rifle regiments received 122-mm self-propelled howitzers 2S1 "Gvozdika", artillery regiments of tank divisions - 152-mm self-propelled howitzers 2SZ "Akatsiya". Artillery brigades and divisions that supported the actions of tank forces were re-equipped with 2S5 Hyacinth self-propelled guns, 2S4 Tyulpan 240-mm self-propelled mortars and 2S7 Pion 203-mm self-propelled howitzers. After equipping artillery regiments with 152-mm self-propelled howitzers, they were renamed self-propelled artillery - first of all, they entered the tank divisions of groups of Soviet troops in Europe.
As an object of air defense, a tank division was a combination of small-sized highly mobile (tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers), areal (control points, communication centers, artillery positions) and linear (columns of units and subunits on the march) targets. Availability a large number air attack targets in the division required their reliable cover from air strikes. The experience of the Second World War showed that tank troops suffered heavy losses from aviation.
In the 1950s and 1960s, the air defense of the division was based on the forces and means of the anti-aircraft artillery regiment - 24 automatic 57-mm S-60 guns with radar guidance. The tank regiments had ZSU-57-2, heavy machine guns. However, by the beginning of the 60s, these anti-aircraft weapons, in connection with the rapid development of aviation and aviation weapons, no longer provided reliable cover for tank units.
With the advent of anti-aircraft missile systems, a qualitative improvement in air defense began - anti-aircraft artillery regiments, after being re-equipped with air defense systems, were renamed anti-aircraft missile (zrp). The basis of the air defense of tank divisions was the Kub anti-aircraft missile systems, mass-produced in Sverdlovsk (launchers), Dolgoprudny (missiles), Ulyanovsk (guidance stations). In total, more than 500 air defense systems were produced in 1967–1983.
Organizationally, the Kub anti-aircraft missile regiment consisted of a command post, a control battery, a technical battery, five anti-aircraft missile batteries (each with one 1S91 guidance station, four 2P25 and TZM 2T7 launchers). Anti-aircraft missile and artillery divisions appeared as part of tank and motorized rifle regiments - four Shilka ZSU, as well as 9A34 and 9A35 combat vehicles of the Strela-10 anti-aircraft missile system. The number of personnel of the zrp in wartime was to be 484 people. In the 1980s, more advanced anti-aircraft missile systems "Tor", anti-aircraft missile and artillery systems "Tunguska" began to appear in the arsenal of the air defense forces.
A separate reconnaissance battalion of a tank division included an airborne reconnaissance company, a company of radio and electronic intelligence, a tank and a company of armored reconnaissance and patrol vehicles.
The constant increase in the role of communications and control units in modern combat required the improvement of the organizational structure of a separate communications battalion of the division. Control.
Success in future battles, according to Soviet military authorities, largely depended on the ability of the troops to overcome water barriers that abound in Europe, as well as on the degree of efficiency engineering support. According to experts, in the course of offensive operations in the Central European theater of operations, the division could encounter water barriers up to 30 meters wide every 12 km, up to 100 m - after 45 km and over 100 m - after 120-140 km.
Overcoming them would require careful planning, good organization and management. One of the most important conditions for success was to be the availability of a sufficient number of engineering forces and means. Therefore, the structure of the engineer-sapper battalion (until 1968 - engineer) was undergoing constant changes.
In 1972, even such an exotic unit appeared in it as a platoon of reconnaissance and destruction of nuclear landmines (after the Americans adopted them).
In the 1980s, the engineer-sapper battalion of a tank division consisted of a command, engineer-sapper, road-engineer, ferry-landing and pontoon companies, an engineer-positional and communications platoon, and support units. Peace (war) time staff: officers - 31 (36), ensigns - 22 (21) "sergeants -46 (52), soldiers - 150 (286).
In service - four armored personnel carriers, two DIM road induction mine detectors, three GMZ tracked minelayers, three UR-67, UR-77 demining devices, half of the PMP pontoon-bridge park, four GSP caterpillar self-propelled ferries, seven floating transporters PTS, PTS-2 , K-61, two engineering barrier vehicles, five BAT track-laying machines, two trench machines TMK, BTM, BTM-2, two excavation machines MDK-2, MDK-3, two excavators, two heavy mechanized bridges TMM, 95 vehicles.
In 1962, on the basis of artillery, armored and automobile repair shops, separate repair and restoration battalions of tank divisions were formed.
In conclusion of the conversation about tank divisions, we will give a list of these formations that were part of the Soviet Army in 1945-1991. It may contain inaccuracies caused by the lack of reliable information due to the existing total Soviet secrecy.
1st Guards Tank Don Order of Lenin Red Banner Order of Suvorov Division
Group of Soviet troops in Germany, 2nd Guards Mechanized Army. Formed in 1945 on the basis of the 1st Guards Tank Corps, it fell under the reduction of the Armed Forces two years later and was disbanded in 1947. Its tank regiments were distributed to the rifle divisions of the GSVG
15th Guards Tank Rechitsa Red Banner Order of Suvorov Regiment;
16th Guards Tank Rechitsa Red Banner Orders of Suvorov and Bogdan Khmelnitsky Regiment;
1st Guards Motor Rifle Kalinkovichi-Rechitsa twice Red Banner Orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov Regiment.
1st Panzer Insterburg Red Banner Division
Baltic Military District, Kaliningrad, 11th Guards Combined Arms Army. Formed in 1945 on the basis of the 1st Tank Corps, it survived to last days Soviet Union:
89th Panzer Tilsit Order of Suvorov, Kutuzov Regiment;
117th Tank Unechsky Red Banner Order of Suvorov Regiment;
98th Guards Tank Allenstein Red Banner Orders of Suvorov and Alexander Nevsky Regiment;
79th Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment of the Red Banner;
886th self-propelled artillery regiment.
2nd Guards Tank Tatsinsky Red Banner Order of Suvorov Division
Trans-Baikal Military District, Mirnaya station. Formed in 1945 on the basis of the 2nd Guards Tank Corps. Previously stationed in the Leningrad Military District. After the aggravation of relations with China, she was transferred to Mongolia - Choibalsan, 39th combined arms army. In 1990, it was withdrawn to the Trans-Baikal Military District.
4th Guards Tank Minsk Red Banner Order of Suvorov Regiment named after the 50th anniversary of the USSR, 272nd Guards Motorized Rifle Smolensk Red Banner Order of Suvorov Regiment;
873rd self-propelled artillery Minsk Order of Alexander Nevsky Regiment.
2nd Tank Order of Kutuzov Division
Primorsky military district.
3rd Guards Tank Kotelnikovskaya Red Banner Order of Suvorov Division
Belarusian military district, Zaslonovo, 7th tank army. Formed in 1945 on the basis of the 3rd Guards Tank Corps. Disbanded in 1989:
3rd Guards Tank Minsk-Gdansk Order of Lenin Red Banner Order of Suvorov Regiment;
18th Guards Tank Minsk Order of Lenin Red Banner Orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov Regiment;
126th Guards Tank Nevelsky Red Banner Order of Suvorov Regiment;
296th Guards Motor Rifle Minsk-Gdansk Order of Lenin Red Banner Order of Suvorov Regiment;
735th self-propelled artillery Minsk Red Banner orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov regiment;
740th anti-aircraft missile Minsk orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov regiment.
4th Guards Tank Kantemirovskaya Order of Lenin Red Banner Division named after Yu.V. Andropov
Moscow Military District, Naro-Fominsk. Formed in 1945 on the basis of the 4th Guards Tank Corps:
12th Guards Tank Shepetovsky Red Banner Orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov Regiment;
13th Guards Tank Shepetovsky Red Banner Orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov Regiment;
14th Guards Tank Zhytomyr-Shepetovsky Red Banner Orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov Regiment;
423rd Guards Motorized Rifle Yampolsky Red Banner Orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov Regiment;
275th Guards Self-Propelled Artillery Ternopil Red Banner Orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov Regiment;
538th Guards Anti-Aircraft Rocket Ternopil Order of Alexander Nevsky Regiment.
5th Guards Tank Stalingrad-Kiev Order of Lenin Red Banner Orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov Division
Trans-Baikal Military District, Dauria, 6th Guards Mechanized Army. Formed in 1945 on the basis of the 5th Guards Tank Corps. Reorganized into the 122nd Guards Motor Rifle Division:
20th Guards Tank Yassko-Mukden Red Banner Order of Kutuzov Regiment;
21st Guards Tank Zhytomyr-Vienna Order of Lenin twice Red Banner Orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov Regiment;
22nd Guards Tank Port Arthur Red Banner Orders of Kutuzov and Bogdan Khmelnitsky Regiment;
6th Guards Motor Rifle Vienna-Mukden Red Banner Orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov Regiment.
5th Panzer Dvinskaya Red Banner Orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov Division
Northern Group of Forces, Bialystok. Formed in 1945 on the basis of the 5th Tank Corps. Disbanded in 1947:
24th Tank Red Banner Order of Suvorov Regiment;
41st Red Banner Tank Regiment;
70th Tank Riga Regiment;
75th Guards Heavy Tank Self-Propelled Regiment;
5th Red Banner Motor Rifle Regiment.
5th Heavy Tank Korsun Red Banner Division
Belarusian Military District, Osipovichi, 5th Guards Tank Army. Formed in 1957 on the basis of the 12th mechanized division. Disbanded in 1960:
34th Guards Heavy Tank Vitebsk Red Banner Order of Suvorov Regiment;
129th Heavy Tank Prague Order of Suvorov Regiment;
266th Heavy Tank Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky Regiment;
210th Silesian Order of Alexander Nevsky and the Red Star Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment.
5th Guards Tank Don Budapest Red Banner Order of the Red Star Division
Trans-Baikal Military District, Kyakhta. Until 1965 - the 18th Guards Tank Division.
6th Guards Tank Kiev-Berlin Order of Lenin Red Banner Orders of Suvorov, Bogdan Khmelnitsky Division
Belarusian military district, Grodno, 28th combined arms army. Until 1979 - GSVG Altes-Lager, 18th Guards Combined Arms Army. Formed in 1945 on the basis of the 6th Guards Tank Corps:
52nd Guards Tank Fastovsky Order of Lenin twice Red Banner Orders of Suvorov, Bogdan Khmelnitsky Regiment;
53rd Guards Tank Fastovsky Order of Lenin Red Banner Orders of Suvorov, Bogdan Khmelnitsky Regiment;
78th Guards Tank Poltava Red Banner Orders of Suvorov, Bogdan Khmelnitsky Regiment;
202nd Guards Motorized Rifle Vasilkovsky Order of Lenin twice Red Banner Order of Suvorov Regiment;
350th self-propelled artillery Shepetovsko-Gnezno orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov, Alexander Nevsky regiment.
7th Guards Tank Kiev-Berlin Order of Lenin twice Red Banner Order of Suvorov Division
Group of Soviet troops in Germany, Roslau, 3rd Combined Arms Army. Formed in 1945 on the basis of the 7th Guards Tank Corps. Disbanded after withdrawal from Germany:
55th Guards Tank Vasilkovsky Order of Lenin Red Banner Orders of Suvorov, Bogdan Khmelnitsky Regiment;
56th Guards Tank Vasilkovsky-Shepetovsky Order of Lenin Red Banner Orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov Regiment;
79th Guards Tank Bobruisk Red Banner Orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov Regiment;
40th motorized rifle regiment of Berlin;
670th Guards Self-Propelled Artillery Lviv Order of the Red Star Regiment;
287th Guards Anti-Aircraft Missile Lviv Order of the Red Star Regiment.
8th Guards Tank Red Banner Division
Belarusian Military District, Pukhovichi, 5th Guards Tank Army. Formed in 1945 on the basis of the 8th Guards Tank Corps. Disbanded in 1991:
58th Guards Tank Prague Red Banner Order of Suvorov Regiment;
60th Guards Tank twice Red Banner Orders of Suvorov, Bogdan Khmelnitsky Regiment;
94th Guards Tank Lublinsky Twice Red Banner Order of Alexander Nevsky Regiment;
305th Guards Motorized Rifle Prague Red Banner Orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov Regiment;
732nd Guards Self-Propelled Artillery Sedletsky Red Banner Orders of Kutuzov, Alexander Nevsky Regiment;
823rd Guards Anti-Aircraft Missile Order of Kutuzov, Alexander Nevsky Regiment.
9th Guards Tank Uman Order of Lenin Red Banner Order of Suvorov Division
Group of Soviet troops in Germany, Neustrelitz, 2nd Guards Tank Army. Formed in 1945 on the basis of the 9th Guards Tank Corps. Renamed 16th Guards Tank Division in 1965.
9th Tank Bobruisk-Berlin Red Banner Order of Suvorov Division
Group of Soviet troops in Germany, Riesa, 1st Guards Tank Army. Formed in 1945 on the basis of the 9th Tank Corps. Renamed in 1958–1965 as the 13th Heavy Tank Division:
23rd Tank Glukhovo-Rechitsa Order of Lenin Red Banner Order of Suvorov Regiment;
95th Tank Bobruisk Order of Lenin Red Banner Order of Suvorov Regiment;
70th Guards Tank Proskurov-Berlin Order of Lenin Red Banner Order of Suvorov Regiment named after G.I. Kotovsky;
302nd motorized rifle regiment;
96th self-propelled artillery regiment.
10th Guards Tank Ural-Lvov Order of the October Revolution Red Banner Orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov Volunteer Division named after Marshal of the Soviet Union R.Ya. Malinovsky
Group of Soviet troops in Germany, Altengrabov, 3rd Combined Arms Army. Formed in 1945 on the basis of the 10th Guards Tank Corps. Bred from Germany to Russia - Boguchary:
61st Guards Tank Sverdlovsk-Lvov Order of Lenin Red Banner Orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov, Bogdan Khmelnitsky Regiment;
62nd Guards Tank Perm-Kelets Red Banner Orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov, Bogdan Khmelnitsky Regiment;
63rd Guards Tank Chelyabinsk-Petrovsky Red Banner Orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov Regiment;
248th Guards motorized rifle Unech Order of Lenin Red Banner Orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov, Bogdan Khmelnitsky, Alexander Nevsky Regiment;
744th Guards Self-Propelled Artillery Ternopil Orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov, Bogdan Khmelnitsky, Alexander Nevsky, Red Star Regiment;
359th Guards Anti-Aircraft Missile Lviv Order of Kutuzov, Alexander Nevsky, Red Star Regiment.
10th Panzer Dnieper Order of Suvorov Division
Belarusian military district, Borisov, 7th tank army. Formed in 1945 on the basis of the 10th Tank Corps. Renamed 34th Panzer Division in 1957.
11th Guards Carpathian-Berlin Red Banner Order of the Suvorov Division
Group of Soviet troops in Germany, Dresden, 1st Guards Tank Army. Formed in 1945 on the basis of the 11th Guards Tank Corps. Bred in 1992 to Belarus:
7th Guards Tank Novgorod-Berlin Red Banner Orders of Suvorov, Red Star Regiment;
40th Guards Tank Chertkovsky Order of Lenin Red Banner Orders of Suvorov, Bogdan Khmelnitsky, Red Star Regiment;
44th Guards Tank Berdichevsky Order of Lenin Red Banner Orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov, Bogdan Khmelnitsky, Red Star, Sukhe-Bator and the Battle Red Banner of the MPR Regiment named after Sukhe-Bator;
249th Guards Motor Rifle Chernivtsi Red Banner Orders of Suvorov, Bogdan Khmelnitsky Regiment;
841st Guards Self-Propelled Artillery Chernivtsi Red Banner Orders of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, Red Star Regiment;
108th anti-aircraft missile Yaroslavl Red Banner Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky Regiment.
11th Panzer Radom-Berlin Red Banner Orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov Division
Group of Soviet troops in Germany, 3rd shock army. Formed in 1945 on the basis of the 11th Tank Corps. Disbanded:
20th Tank Seddetsky Red Banner Order of Suvorov Regiment;
36th Tank Red Banner Order of Suvorov Regiment;
12th Guards Tank Uman Order of Lenin Red Banner Order of Suvorov Division
Group of Soviet troops in Germany, Neuruppin, 3rd Combined Arms Army. Formed in 1945 on the basis of the 12th Guards Tank Corps:
48th Guards Tank Vapnyar-Warsaw Order of Lenin Red Banner Orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov Regiment;
332nd Guards Tank Warsaw Red Banner Order of Alexander Nevsky Regiment;
353rd Guards Tank Vapnyar-Berlin Red Banner Orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov Regiment;
200th Guards Motorized Rifle Fastovsky Order of Lenin Red Banner Orders of Suvorov, Bogdan Khmelnitsky Regiment;
117th self-propelled artillery regiment;
933rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Verkhnedneprovsky Red Banner Order of Alexander Nevsky Regiment.
13th Panzer Red Banner Division
Trans-Baikal Military District, Division station. Formed in 1941 as the 61st Panzer Division. In 1955, it was renamed according to the directive of the General Staff No. org1463177 of 03/04/1955 into the 13th Panzer Division. Disbanded in 1958:
65th Tank Volnovakha Red Banner Order of Suvorov Regiment;
12th Motorized Rifle Volnovakha Regiment;
65th Tank Volnovakha Red Banner Order of Suvorov Regiment;
12th Motorized Rifle Volnovakha Regiment.
141st Tank Regiment;
142nd tank regiment,
61st motorized rifle regiment.
13th Guards Tank Poltava Order of Lenin twice Red Banner Order of Suvorov, Kutuzov Division
Southern Group of Forces, Veszprem. Renamed in 1965 from the 21st Guards Tank Division. Disbanded in 1989:
130th Tank Guards Kielecki Red Banner Orders of Kutuzov and Bogdan Khmelnitsky Regiment;
144th tank regiment;
201st tank regiment;
6th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment.
13th Heavy Tank Bobruisk-Berlin Red Banner Order of Suvorov Division
Group of Soviet troops in Germany, Riesa, 1st Guards Tank Army. Reorganized in 1958 from the 9th TD. Redesignated 9th Panzer Division in 1965:
95th Heavy Tank Bobruisk Order of Lenin Red Banner Order of Suvorov Regiment;
70th Guards Heavy Tank Proskurov-Berlin Order of Lenin Red Banner Order of Suvorov Regiment named after G.I. Kotovsky;
108th Heavy Tank Bobruisk Order of Lenin Red Banner Regiment.
14th Guards Heavy Tank Bakhmachskaya Twice Red Banner Order of Suvorov Division
Kiev Military District, Chuguev, 6th Guards Tank Army. Formed in 1954 on the basis of the 64th Guards Mechanized Division. Renamed 75th Guards Tank Division in 1965:
283rd Guards Heavy Tank Regiment;
380th Heavy Tank Warsaw Order of Alexander Nevsky and Bogdan Khmelnitsky Regiment.
15th Guards Tank Mozyr Red Banner Order of Suvorov Division
Central Group of Forces, Milovice. Formed in 1957 on the basis of the 12th Guards Mechanized Division. In 1957-1965 - the 33rd Guards Tank Division of the Belarusian Military District. Bred in 1990 in Chebarkul:
29th Guards Tank Idritsky Red Banner Regiment;
239th Guards Tank Vitebsk Order of Suvorov Regiment;
244th Guards Tank Lodz Red Banner Orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov Regiment;
295th Guards Motor Rifle Red Banner Orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov, Alexander Nevsky Regiment;
914th Self-Propelled Artillery Kiev Twice Red Banner Orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov, Bogdan Khmelnitsky Regiment;
282nd Anti-Aircraft Missile Bialystok Red Banner Regiment.
15th Panzer Division
It was part of the 1st Army Corps of the Turkestan Military District.
16th Guards Tank Uman Order of Lenin Red Banner Order of Suvorov Division
Group of Soviet troops in Germany, Neustrelitz, 2nd Guards Tank Army. Formed in 1945 on the basis of the 9th Guards Tank Corps. Until 1965 - 9th Guards Tank Division:
47th Guards Tank Uman-Pomeranian Order of Lenin Red Banner Orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov, Bogdan Khmelnitsky Regiment;
65th Guards Tank Sevsko-Pomeransky Order of Lenin twice Red Banner Orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov, Bogdan Khmelnitsky Regiment;
60th. motorized rifle Red Banner Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky Regiment;
67th Guards Tank Red Banner Order of Suvorov Regiment;
724th Guards self-propelled artillery Warsaw Order of Alexander Nevsky Regiment;
66th Guards Anti-Aircraft Missile Lublin Orders of Kutuzov, Alexander Nevsky Regiment.
17th Guards Krivoy Rog Red Banner Order of Suvorov Division
Kiev Military District, Krivoy Rog, 6th Guards Tank Army. Formed in 1957 on the basis of the 25th Guards Mechanized Division. Until 1965 - 37th Guards Tank Division:
216th Guards Tank Regiment;
230th Guards Tank Mogilev Order of Suvorov Regiment;
256th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment.
18th Guards Heavy Tank Budapest Red Banner Division named after E.A. Shchadenko
North Caucasian Military District, Novocherkassk. Formed in 1957 on the basis of the Guards Mechanized Division. In 1965, it was renamed the 5th Guards Tank Division and redeployed to the Trans-Baikal Military District - Kyakhta.
19th Guards Tank Nikolaev-Budapest Red Banner Order of Suvorov Division
Southern Group of Forces, Esztergom. Formed in 1957 on the basis of the 2nd Guards Mechanized Division. Bred in 1990 to Belarus:
27th Guards Tank Yassky Red Banner Orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov Regiment named after Narkomselmash;
37th Guards Tank Nikopol Red Banner Order of Suvorov Regiment;
87th Guards Tank Brest Red Banner Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky Regiment;
97th Motorized Rifle Red Banner Order of Suvorov Regiment;
407th Guards self-propelled artillery orders of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, Alexander Nevsky Regiment;
159th anti-aircraft missile orders of Kutuzov, Bogdan Khmelnitsky regiment.
20th Panzer Zvenigorod Red Banner Division
Northern Group of Forces, Borne. Formed in 1945 on the basis of the 20th Tank Corps:
8th Guards Tank Zvenigorodsky Red Banner Regiment;
76th tank regiment;
155th Tank Zvenigorodsky Red Banner Regiment;
255th Guards Motorized Rifle Stalingrad-Korsunsky Red Banner Regiment;
1052nd self-propelled artillery regiment;
459th anti-aircraft missile regiment.
21st Guards Tank Poltava Order of Lenin twice Red Banner Orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov Division
Southern Group of Forces, Veszprem. Formed in 1957 on the basis of the 13th Guards Mechanized Division. Renamed 13th Guards Tank Division in 1965.
21st Guards Tank Vitebsk Order of Lenin Red Banner Order of Suvorov Division
Far Eastern Military District, Belogorsk, 35th Combined Arms Army. Formed on the basis of the 31st Guards Motor Rifle Division:
2nd Guards Tank Vitebsk Red Banner Orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov Regiment.
22nd Guards Tank Division
Kiev Military District, 6th Guards Tank Army.
23rd Budapest Red Banner Order of Suvorov Division
PrikVO, Ovruch, 8th Panzer Army. Formed in 1945 on the basis of the 23rd Tank Corps:
39th Tank Chaplinsky Red Banner Orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov, Bogdan Khmelnitsky Regiment;
135th Tank Konstantinovsky Order of Kutuzov Regiment;
321st Motorized Rifle Yassky Red Banner Orders of Suvorov and Bogdan Khmelnitsky Regiment.
24th training tank division
Baltic Military District, Riga. Disbanded:
193rd training tank regiment;
207th training tank regiment;
13th Guards Training Motor Rifle Sevastopol Red Banner Regiment named after the Latvian Riflemen.
25th Panzer Red Banner Division
Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, Vogelsang, 20th Guards Combined Arms Army. Formed in 1945 on the basis of the 25th Tank Corps. Withdrawn in 1989 from Germany and disbanded:
162nd Tank Novograd-Volynsky Red Banner Order of Kutuzov Regiment;
175th Tank Novograd-Volynsky Red Banner Order of Suvorov Regiment;
355th Guards Tank Kielecki Red Banner Order of Bohdan Khmelnitsky Regiment;
Motorized rifle Novograd-Volynsky Red Banner Order of Suvorov Regiment.
26th Guards Tank Nizhnedneprovskaya Red Banner Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky Division
Group of Soviet troops in Germany, Hillersleben, 3rd Combined Arms Army. Formed in 1957 on the basis of the 19th Guards Mechanized Division. Renamed 47th Guards Tank Division in 1965.
26th Guards Training Tank Moscow-Tartus Red Banner Division
Moscow military district, Kovrov. Formed on the basis of the 53rd Guards Motor Rifle Division (until 1965 - 62nd Guards Motor Rifle Division, until 1957 - 62nd Guards Mechanized Division). In 1987 it was reorganized into the district training center:
9th Tank Regiment;
522nd Guards Tank Regiment;
523rd Guards Tank Regiment.
27th Guards Tank Zaporozhye Order of Lenin Red Banner Orders of Suvorov, Bogdan Khmelnitsky Division
Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, Jena, 8th Guards Combined Arms Army. Formed in 1957 on the basis of the 20th Guards Mechanized Division. Renamed 79th Guards Tank Division in 1965.
27th Tank Training Division
Far Eastern Military District..
28th Panzer Alexandria Red Banner Order of Kutuzov Division
Belarusian military about the circle, Slonim, 28th combined arms army. Formed in 1957 on the basis of the 8th Mechanized Division. Disbanded in 1990:
116th Panzer Alexandria Red Banner Order of Suvorov Regiment;
236th Tank Red Banner Order of Suvorov Regiment;
241st Guards Tank Vilna-Kovno Regiment;
293rd motorized rifle Red Banner Order of Suvorov Regiment;
737th artillery regiment;
838th anti-aircraft missile orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov regiment.
29th Tank Znamenskaya Order of Lenin Red Banner Order of Suvorov Division
Belarusian Military District, Slutsk, 5th Guards Tank Army. Formed in 1945 on the basis of the 29th Tank Corps. Disbanded in 1990:
31st Tank Kirovograd twice Red Banner Order of Suvorov Regiment;
32nd Tank Znamensky Order of Lenin Red Banner Order of Suvorov Regiment;
93rd Guards Tank Tallinn Red Banner Order of Kutuzov Regiment;
308th Motorized Rifle Znamensky Red Banner Order of Suvorov Regiment;
851st self-propelled artillery Znamensky orders of Kutuzov, Alexander Nevsky regiment;
927th anti-aircraft missile Lvov regiment.
30th Guards Tank Rovno Red Banner Order of Suvorov Division
Carpathian military district, Novograd-Volynsky, 8th tank army. Formed in 1957 on the basis of the 11th Guards Mechanized Division:
276th Tank Mogilev Red Banner Regiment;
282nd Tank Regiment;
325th Tank Chaplinsky-Budapest Red Banner Orders of Kutuzov and Bogdan Khmelnitsky Regiment;
319th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment;
855th self-propelled artillery regiment;
937th anti-aircraft missile regiment.
31st Panzer Vislenskaya Red Banner Orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov Division
Central Group of Forces, Bruntal, 28th Army Corps. Formed in 1945 on the basis of the 31st Tank Corps. Until 1968, it was part of the 8th Tank Army of the Carpathian Military District. Bred in 1990 in Mulino. Now - .3rd motorized rifle division:
100th Tank Chestokhov Red Banner Order of Kutuzov Regiment;
77th Guards Tank Oder Order of Suvorov and Bogdan Khmelnitsky Regiment;
322nd Motorized Rifle Red Banner Orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov Regiment;
1047th Artillery Regiment.
32nd Tank Order of Kutuzov Division
Far Eastern Military District, Pogranichnoye, 5th Army. Formed on the basis of the 66th Infantry Division. Renamed 66th Panzer Division in 1965.
32nd Guards Tank Poltava Red Banner Order of Suvorov, Kutuzov Division
Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, Jüterborg, 20th Guards Combined Arms Army. It was formed in 1982 on the basis of the 14th Guards Motor Rifle Division (until 1957 - the 14th Guards Mechanized Division, until 1945 - the 9th Guards Airborne Division). Withdrawn from Germany in 1989 and disbanded:
288th Guards Tank Vislensky Order of Kutuzov Regiment;
343rd Guards Tank Regiment;
1009th anti-aircraft missile regiment.
33rd Guards Tank Mozyr Red Banner Order of Suvorov Division
Belarusian Military District, Brest, 28th Combined Arms Army. Formed in 1957 on the basis of the 12th Guards Mechanized Division. Renamed 15th Guards Tank Division in 1965.
34th Panzer Dnieper Order of Suvorov Division
Belarusian military district, Borisov, 7th tank army. Redesignated 1957 from 10th Panzer Division. Disbanded in 1991:
38th Guards Tank Gdansk Red Banner Regiment;
183rd Tannenberg Order of Suvorov, Kutuzov Regiment;
186th Tank Red Banner named after Lenin Komsomol Regiment;
26th motorized rifle regiment;
409th self-propelled artillery regiment;
1138th Riga anti-aircraft missile regiment.
36th Tank Dnieper Order of Lenin Red Banner Orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov Division
Belarusian Military District, Bobruisk, 5th Guards Tank Army. Formed in 1957 on the basis of the 22nd Mechanized Division. Renamed 193rd Panzer Division in 1965.
37th Guards Tank Krivoy Rog Red Banner Order of Suvorov Division
Kiev Military District, Krivoy Rog, 6th Guards Tank Army. Formed in 1957 on the basis of the 25th Guards Mechanized Division. Renamed 17th Guards Tank Division in 1965.
37th Guards Tank Rechitsa Twice Red Banner Orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov, Bogdan Khmelnitsky Division
Belarusian military district, Polotsk, 7th tank army. Renamed in 1965 from the 39th Guards Tank Division. Disbanded in 1989:
252nd Tank Minsk-Gdansk Red Banner Order of Suvorov Regiment;
261st tank regiment;
263rd Guards Tank Red Banner Order of Suvorov Regiment;
298th Guards Motorized Rifle Red Banner Order of Suvorov Regiment;
854th Guards Self-Propelled Artillery Stettin Red Banner Order of Suvorov Regiment;
936th anti-aircraft artillery regiment.
38th Guards Tank Vitebsk-Novgorod Twice Red Banner Division
Northern group of troops. Formed in 1957 on the basis of the 26th Guards Mechanized Division (until 1945 - the 90th Guards Rifle Division). Renamed 90th Guards Tank Division in 1965.
39th Guards Tank Rechitsa Twice Red Banner Orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov, Bogdan Khmelnitsky Division
Belarusian military district, Polotsk, 7th tank army. Formed in 1957 on the basis of the 27th Guards Mechanized Division. Renamed 37th Guards Tank Division in 1965.
40th Guards Pomeranian Red Banner Order of Suvorov Division
Baltic Military District, Sovetsk, 11th Guards Combined Arms Army. Formed in 1957 on the basis of the 28th Guards Mechanized Division (until 1945 - the 2nd Guards Cavalry Corps):
225th Guards Tank Mozyr Red Banner Order of Suvorov Regiment;
233rd Guards Tank Regiment;
235th Guards Tank Regiment;
75th motorized rifle regiment;
893rd self-propelled artillery regiment.
41st Guards Training Tank Berdichevskaya Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky Division
Carpathian military district, Berdichev. Formed in 1957 on the basis of the 32nd Guards Mechanized Division. Reorganized into a training motorized rifle division.
41st Guards Tank Korsun-Danube Order of the Suvorov Division
Kiev Military District, Uman, 1st Guards Combined Arms Army. Formed in 1957 on the basis of the 18th Guards Mechanized Division.
42nd Guards Tank Prilukskaya Order of Lenin Red Banner Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky Division
Kiev Military District, Dnepropetrovsk, 6th Guards Tank Army:
188th Guards Tank Regiment;
384th tank regiment;
127th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment.
43rd Panzer Sevsk-Warsaw Red Banner Order of Suvorov Division
Moscow military district, Dzerzhinsk. Renamed 60th Panzer Division in 1965.
44th Training Tank Lisichanskaya Red Banner Division
Ural Military District, Kamyshlov.
45th Guards Tank Zvenigorod Red Banner Division
Belarusian military district, Postavy. Formed in 1957 on the basis of the 70th Guards Mechanized Division. Disbanded in 1960.
265th Guards Tank Vienna Red Banner Regiment;
328th Guards Heavy Tank Dnovsky Red Banner Order of Kutuzov Regiment;
374th Guards Tank Liozno Order of Lenin Red Banner Order of Suvorov Regiment;
302nd Guards Motor Rifle Orders of Suvorov and Alexander Nevsky Regiment;
56th Guards Artillery Bialystok Orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov Regiment;
1873 anti-aircraft artillery regiment.
45th Guards Training Tank Rivne Order of Lenin Red Banner Order of Suvorov Division
Belarusian military district, Borisov-Pechi. In 1960, it was renamed from the 47th Guards Tank Division. It was reorganized in 1987 into the 72nd Guards District Training Center.
11th Panzer Zhytomyr Red Banner Regiment;
114th Guards Tank Chestokhov Order of Kutuzov, Bogdan Khmelnitsky, Red Star Regiment;
178th Tank Riga Red Banner Regiment;
307th Guards Motorized Rifle Orders of Kutuzov, Bogdan Khmelnitsky Regiment;
622nd Guards Self-Propelled Artillery Vislensky Order of Suvorov, Kutuzov Regiment;
600th anti-aircraft artillery regiment.
47th Guards Tank Rovno Order of Lenin Red Banner Order of Suvorov Division
Belarusian military district, Borisov, 7th tank army. Formed in 1957 on the basis of the 15th Guards Mechanized Division. Renamed 45th Guards Tank Division in 1960.
47th Guards Tank Nizhnedneprovskaya Red Banner Order of Bohdan Khmelnitsky Division
Group of Soviet troops in Germany, Hillersleben, 3rd Combined Arms Army. In 1965, it was renamed from the 26th Guards Tank Division.
26th Panzer Feodosia Order of Alexander Nevsky Regiment;
153rd Tank Smolensk Red Banner Order of Kutuzov Regiment;
197th Guards Tank Vapnyar-Warsaw Order of Lenin Red Banner Orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov Regiment;
245th Guards Motorized Rifle Gnezny Red Banner Order of Suvorov Regiment
99th Guards Self-propelled Artillery Pomeranian Red Banner Order of Suvorov, Kutuzov Regiment,
1009th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Order of the Red Star Regiment.
48th Guards Training Tank Zvenigorod Red Banner Order of the Suvorov Division
Kiev military district, Oster. Formed on the basis of the 112th training guards motorized rifle division. It was reorganized in 1987 into the 169th Guards District Training Center.
49th training tank division named after L.I. Brezhnev
Trans-Baikal Military District, Chita. It was formed in 1969 in accordance with the directive of the Main Headquarters of the Ground Forces No. om113900 dated October 9, 1969 on the basis of the 243rd training motorized rifle division. It was reorganized in 1987 into the district training center. Now - the Guards Vienna Orders of Lenin and Kutuzov District Training Center named after Russiyanov (the Battle Banner and awards of the disbanded 100th Guards Motorized Rifle Division were transferred).
200th Tank Regiment;
206th tank regiment;
346th Tank Regiment.
51st Panzer Division
North Caucasian Military District, Novocherkassk.
60th Panzer Sevsk-Warsaw Red Banner Order of Suvorov Division
Moscow Military District, Dzerzhinsk, 13th Guards Army Corps. Redesignated 1965 from 43rd Panzer Division.
61st Panzer Red Banner Division
Trans-Baikal Military District, Art. Divisional, 2nd Rifle Corps. Formed in 1941. Renamed 13th Panzer Division in 1955. Disbanded.
43rd Tank Khingan Regiment;
141st Tank Regiment;
142nd Tank Regiment;
74th heavy tank-self-propelled Amur Regiment;
61st motorized rifle regiment.
66th Tank Order of Kutuzov Division
Far Eastern Military District, Border, 5th Combined Arms Army. In 1965, it was renamed from the 32nd Panzer Division. In 1974 it was reorganized into the 277th motorized rifle division.
75th Guards Tank Bakhmachskaya twice Red Banner Order of Suvorov Division
Kiev Military District, Chuguev, 6th Guards Tank Army. Renamed in 1965 from the 14th Guards Heavy Tank Division. Disbanded.
76th personnel tank division
Belarusian Military District, Brest, 28th Combined Arms Army. Formed in 1968.
78th Panzer Zaporozhye Red Banner Order of Suvorov Division
Turkestan military district, Ayaguz, 32nd combined arms army.
79th Guards Tank Zaporozhye Order of Lenin Red Banner Orders of Suvorov, Bohdan Khmelnitsky Division
Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, Jena, 8th Guards Combined Arms Army. Renamed in 1965 from the 27th Guards Tank Division.
17th Guards Tank Orlovsky Order of Lenin Red Banner Order of Suvorov Regiment;
45th Guards Tank Gusyatinsky Order of Lenin Red Banner Orders of Suvorov, Bogdan Khmelnitsky Regiment;
211th Tank Kalinkovichsky Red Banner Orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov, Bogdan Khmelnitsky Regiment;
247th Guards Motorized Rifle Lodz Red Banner Orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov Regiment;
172nd Guards self-propelled artillery Berlin Red Banner Regiment;
1075th anti-aircraft missile order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky regiment.
90th Guards Tank Vitebsk-Novgorod Twice Red Banner Division
Northern group of troops. Renamed in 1965 from the 38th Guards Tank Division. In 1982 it was reorganized into the 6th Guards Motor Rifle Division.
90th Guards Tank Lviv Order of Lenin Red Banner Order of Suvorov Division
Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, Bernau, 20th Guards Combined Arms Army. Formed in 1982 on the basis of the 6th Guards Motor Rifle Division.
6th Guards Tank Lviv Order of Lenin Red Banner Orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov, Bogdan Khmelnitsky Regiment;
68th Guards Tank Zhytomyr-Berlin Red Banner Orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov, Bogdan Khmelnitsky, Alexander Nevsky Regiment;
215th Guards Tank Kamenetz-Podolsky Red Banner Orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov, Bohdan Khmelnitsky Regiment;
81st Guards Motorized Rifle Petrokovsky twice Red Banner Orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov, Bogdan Khmelnitsky Regiment;
400th Self-Propelled Artillery Transylvanian Red Banner Order of Bohdan Khmelnitsky Regiment;
288th Guards Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment.
111th Panzer Division
Trans-Baikal Military District, 76th junction, 6th Guards Mechanized Army. Formed in 1941. Redesignated 16th Panzer Division. Disbanded.
222nd Tank Regiment;
223rd tank regiment;
111th motorized rifle regiment.
193rd Tank Dnieper Order of Lenin Red Banner Order of Suvorov, Kutuzov Division
Belarusian Military District, Bobruisk, 5th Guards Tank Army. Redesignated 1965 from 36th Panzer Division.
251st Tank Red Banner Order of Kutuzov Regiment;
262nd Tank Regiment;
264th Tank Baranovichi Red Banner Order of Suvorov Regiment;
297th motorized rifle Plonsky orders of Suvorov, Bogdan Khmelnitsky regiment;
852nd self-propelled artillery regiment;
929th anti-aircraft missile regiment.
Place of permanent deployment: Wuppertal (VI military district).
Formed on 12 October 1937 in Wuppertal as the 1st Light Brigade, the 6th Panzer Division was mainly manned by natives from Westphalia and the Rhineland. It became a division in the spring of 1938, while only slightly increasing its strength. The new division initially consisted of the 11th Tank Regiment, the 4th Mechanized Cavalry Regiment (four battalions), the 76th Motorized Artillery Regiment (two divisions), the 6th Reconnaissance Battalion, the 41st Anti-tank Battalion, the 57th Sapper Battalion and the 82nd communications battalion. On April 1, 1939, the IV Battalion of the 4th Mechanized Cavalry Regiment was withdrawn from the regiment and became the 6th Motorcycle Battalion.
As in almost all pre-war German divisions, the locations of units of the 1st Light Division were scattered over a wide area. The mechanized cavalry regiment was based in Iserlohn and Wuppertal, the reconnaissance battalion was in Krefeld, the barracks of the artillery units were in Wuppertal and Sennelager, the anti-tank batteries were quartered in Iserlohn, the sappers in Mülheim (Ruhr), and the 11th tank regiment was stationed in Paderborn.
When Hitler was preparing an operation in the Sudetenland, the division temporarily received the 65th tank battalion at its disposal (at the end of 1939 it finally became part of the division). With this reinforcement, the 1st Light Division took part in the occupation of the Sudetenland in October 1938 and the bloodless capture of Czechoslovakia in April 1939. Almost immediately after that, the Wehrmacht handed over to the 11th tank regiment and the 65th tank battalion about 130 Czech Skoda tanks, designated Pz-35 (t). Although these tanks weighed only 10.5 tons, they were superior to all the tanks that Germany had at that time, with the exception of the Pz-III.
The division fought in 1939 in southern Poland, after which the High Command of the Land Forces (OKH) concluded that the light divisions were too clumsy to be used effectively. As a result, the 1st Light Division was reorganized into a tank division. The same happened to the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Light Divisions, which became the 7th, 8th, and 9th Panzer Divisions, respectively. The 1st Light Division became the 6th Panzer Division on 18 October 1939 and initial stage consisted of the newly formed 6th motorized brigade (4th and 114th motorized regiments and the 6th motorcycle battalion), the 11th tank regiment, the 65th tank battalion, the 76th tank artillery regiment and the corresponding auxiliary units of the divisional submission. Although the new tank divisions were smaller than those created earlier and equipped with Czech-made Pz-35(t) tanks, they proved to be very good in the West. (Czech tanks were very difficult to maintain, mainly due to the fact that the maintenance manuals that came with them were in Czech, which the German mechanics did not speak.) The 6th Panzer Division fought through Belgium, crossed the Meuse and played an important role in the advance to the English Channel, during which she covered 350 km in 9 days and defeated and captured the British 145th Infantry Brigade in Kassel. The division participated in the conquest of Flanders and in the subsequent offensive to the south, moving from the line of the Aisne River towards the Franco-Swiss border. After returning to Germany, the division parted ways with a significant part of the personnel, who went to form a new 16th Panzer Division, but received the 114th Motorized Regiment (formerly the 243rd Infantry Regiment of the 60th Infantry Division) and the 3rd Artillery division. The division now had 239 tanks, but only 12 of them were Pz-IIIs, and even those were inferior to the Soviet T-34s, KBs and KV-2s they would soon face.
In September 1940, the 6th Panzer Division was sent to East Prussia and then to Poland, where it remained until June 1941, when it crossed the border of the Soviet Union. The 6th Panzer Division broke through the “Stalin Line”, crossed the Western Dvina, fought near Ostrov and crossed Luga, having covered more than 800 km in three weeks. Here, on the orders of the OKH, the division stopped to wait until communications and infantry units were brought up, and its attack on Leningrad resumed only on August 8. By this time, the Soviet command had recovered from the blow, and the fighting became more fierce, but on September 9, units of the division occupied the Dudergof Heights southwest of the city and reported that they were seeing Leningrad and the sea. However, Hitler ordered that the city not be stormed, preferring to force its surrender by starvation. In October, he transferred the 6th Panzer Division, along with the rest of the tank units of Army Group North, to the disposal of Army Group Center, and the 6th Panzer Division took part in the attack on Moscow. Here the division was to take part in extremely stubborn battles near Vyazma, Kalinin, Klin and Moscow. The temperature dropped to -30 °C, and all the Czech tanks, which used pneumatic clutches, brakes and control systems, were out of order from the cold. On December 6, on the orders of Stalin, the Soviet winter offensive of 1941/42 began, and four days later the 6th Panzer Division lost its last combat-ready tank, which bore the very appropriate name "Anton, der Letzte" - "Anton the Last". Because of the frost, it was impossible to start the car engines without first warming up with the help of home-made stoves. Since there were few such furnaces, it was often necessary to resort to heating the engines with fires or blowtorches. The result was quite predictable: many cars were lost as a result of fires and explosions, and in at least one case, when the fire could not be extinguished in time, an entire village was burned to the ground (along with the German convoy in it).
By the end of the year, almost all vehicles in the division were lost or abandoned, and the division had to requisition over 1,000 Russian carts. The soldiers now referred to their division as "6th Panzer Foot", and the 11th Panzer Regiment was reduced to a battalion and fought on foot. Nevertheless, the division remained at the front and successfully defended the most important Rzhev-Vyazma highway, which served as a supply line for the German 9th Army, despite constant attacks by numerically superior enemy forces. By the end of January 1942, only 1,000 combat-ready soldiers and three guns remained in the 6th Panzer Division. Replenished by soldiers who had fought off their units, the remnants of other divisions that had been ground to pieces, and soldiers of disbanded rear units, the 6th Panzer Division, under the cover of heavy snowfall, began a "creeping offensive" and slowly pushed the Soviet troops back 15-25 km from the highway, while occupying over 80 villages.
In March 1942, the snow began to melt, and in April the 6th Panzer Division was withdrawn to North-West France, which seemed to be a real paradise surviving. In addition, each of the surviving soldiers and officers of the division received a vacation. In addition, the division received several thousand reinforcements and was practically recreated anew. The 11th Tank Regiment was reduced to two battalions, but they were equipped with 160 excellent Pz-III tanks with long-barreled 50mm guns. At the same time, the 65th tank battalion was disbanded (the surviving soldiers and officers were transferred to the 11th tank regiment), and the headquarters of the 6th motorized brigade was abolished. The division also accepted the remnants of the 22nd Panzer Division into its ranks and was reorganized. Now it included the 4th and 114th motorized regiments (two battalions each), the 11th tank regiment (two battalions) and the 76th tank artillery regiment (three divisions). At the same time, the division received the 298th army anti-aircraft artillery battalion and the 41st tank destroyer battalion, while the 6th motorcycle battalion and the 57th reconnaissance battalion were merged to form the 6th tank reconnaissance battalion, equipped with reconnaissance armored vehicles and half-tracked armored personnel carriers. The 76th Tank Artillery Regiment retained its three divisions (two of them were armed with 12 105 mm howitzers each, and one with 12 150 mm howitzers). All of his guns were towed. The regiment received self-propelled guns only the following spring.
After the landing of the Anglo-American troops in French North Africa, the 6th Panzer Division was sent to the south of France. However, at this time, the southern sector of the Eastern Front collapsed, and the German 6th Army was surrounded near Stalingrad. To the great annoyance of the personnel of the 6th Panzer Division, instead of the south of France, its echelons went to the Eastern Front, where the division was put at the forefront of a blow that was supposed to break through the encirclement. In the battles near Kotelnikovo, the division destroyed a Soviet mixed tank and cavalry brigade, in one of the regiments of which camels were used. The division, led by the commander of the 11th tank regiment, Colonel Walther von Hunersdorf, despite strong resistance, captured a bridgehead on the other side of the Myshkova River, but as a result of stubborn fighting was stopped at Vasilievka, 45 km south of the city. It was at this moment that Hitler refused to give the order for a breakthrough to the encircled troops at Stalingrad, and the 6th Army fell victim to his intransigence. Under heavy blows and the threat of encirclement, the 6th Panzer Division was forced to retreat on 23 December. By this time, she had already lost more than half of her tanks.
After the retreat from the Volga, the 6th Panzer Division fought a retreat behind the Don and Donets and took part in a counterattack near Kharkov, where it formed one side of the pincers, the second part of which was the II SS Panzer Corps. The following month, the 1st Battalion of the 11th Tank Regiment was sent to Germany to be re-equipped with new Pz-V Panther tanks. As a result, only one tank battalion remained in the division (II battalion of the 11th tank regiment), equipped mainly with Pz-IV vehicles. Due to the vicissitudes of the war, the 1st battalion returned to the division only after 20 months. Meanwhile, the 6th Panzer Division participated in Operation Citadel (Battle of Kursk), in the battles near Belgorod and in the 4th Battle of Kharkov, during which the division held the city for 10 days, despite the massive attacks of the Soviet troops. By the time they retreated from the city on 23 August, the division had destroyed its 1,500th Soviet tank.
Unable to hold on to the Dnieper, the 6th Panzer Division, together with the remnants of Army Group South, retreated west, where Field Marshal Erich von Manstein temporarily reinforced the division with the 503rd Heavy Tank Battalion (34 Tigers) and the II Battalion of the 23rd tank regiment (47 "panthers"). Together with the 2nd Battalion of the 11th Tank Regiment, these units made up the "Backe Heavy Tank Regiment" led by the commander of the 11th Tank Regiment, Colonel Backe. The 6th Panzer Division made a desperate counterattack, destroying 268 Soviet tanks and 156 guns in one blow. A few days later, Backe led a deblocking attack near Cherkassy and rescued almost half of the troops encircled in the area in February 1944. After that, the division continued its retreat through Ukraine.
The next month brought another crisis. While the 6th Panzer Division unsuccessfully defended Tarnopol (Ternopol), a new Soviet offensive led to the encirclement of the entire 1st Panzer Army (200 thousand people in 18 divisions, including the 6th Panzer) in the Kamenetz-Podolsk region, east of Dniester. The army commander, General Hans-Valentin Hube, took command of the "wandering cauldron" and ordered the Baecke battle group to lead the breakthrough. The attempt was successful, and the battle group reached the German positions in the Buchach area on April 7, 1944. Despite losses and almost complete exhaustion, the 6th Panzer Division remained at the front, taking part in successful attempts German troops stabilize the situation in Galicia.
When in May 1944 the 6th Panzer Division was finally withdrawn to Tarnopol (Ternopol), and then to Germany, it was reorganized in accordance with the state of the Panzer Division in 1944, that is, its staff strength decreased by 2000 people. At the same time, the division had to abandon attached units equipped with "panthers" and "tigers", and the regular number of companies was reduced from 22 tanks to 17. The headquarters and II battalion of the 114th motorized regiment received armored personnel carriers, but the 1st battalion remained motorized. An unofficial (and illegal) III battalion was formed in the regiment, which was a voluntary formation of Cossack cavalrymen.
The 6th Panzer Division was hastily sent to the central sector of the Eastern Front shortly after the Soviet troops surrounded the main forces of the 4th and 9th armies in the area of Bobruisk and Minsk. With the approach of Soviet troops to the Baltic Sea, the threat of encirclement loomed over the 3rd Panzer Army. The 6th Panzer Division was transferred to East Prussia with the task of keeping the retreat corridor open, which it did, while rescuing 5,000 German soldiers encircled near Vilna (Vilnius). After that (at the end of August 1944), the division was sent to the line of the Narew River (northern Poland), where it was instructed to organize the mobile defense of East Prussia. During these battles, the division destroyed its 2400th Soviet tank. Then the exhausted 6th Panzer was transferred to Hungary, where it took part in the battles near Budapest, in the counteroffensive at Lake Balaton, the retreat to Austria and the battle for Vienna. During the retreat from Hungary, the battered but battle-hardened division was surrounded several times, but each time it broke out. In April 1945, she defended the Imperial Bridge at Vienna (the last bridge across the Danube) from numerous Soviet attacks, which allowed many Germans, both military and civilian, to escape. On 14 April the city fell and the 6th Panzer Division retreated north. She ended the war in Moravia, near Brunn (Brno), on the southern sector of the Eastern Front. During the war, this excellent division suffered very heavy losses: 7,068 killed, 24,342 wounded and 4,230 missing - a total of 35,640 men. Its maximum strength never exceeded 17,000 men, and was usually much lower. The remnants of the 6th Panzer Division surrendered to the American 3rd Army, but were handed over to Soviet troops, and most of the former tankers spent the next ten years in Soviet camps.
The division was part of the following associations:
| date | Frame (Armeekorps) |
Army (armee) |
Army Group (Heeresgruppe) |
Location |
| 00.12.1939 | reserve | B | Niederrhein | |
| 00.05.1940 | reserve | 16th A | B | Belgien, Flandern |
| 00.06.1940 | XXXI | Guderian (12.) | A | Rethel, Epinal |
| 00.07.1940 | BdE | A | Heimat | |
| 00.09.1940 | XVI | 18th A | East Prussia | |
| 00.03.1941 | reserve | 18th A | B | East Prussia |
| 00.05.1941 | reserve | 4th TA | C | East Prussia |
| 00.06.1941 | XXXXI | 4th TA | North | Ostrov, Leningrad |
| 00.10.1941 | LVI | 3rd TA | Centre | Vyazma |
| 00.11.1941 | XXXXI | 3rd TA | Centre | Kalinin, Klin |
| 00.12.1941 | V | 4th TA | Centre | Moscow |
| 00.01.1942 | V | 4th TA | Centre | Yukhnov |
| 00.02.1942 | XXXXVI | 9th A | Centre | Rzhev |
| 00.03.1942 | LVI | 9th A | Centre | Rzhev |
| 00.05.1942 | reserve | 1st A | D | France |
| 00.06.1942 | LXXXIII | Felber | D | France |
| 00.07.1942 | reserve | 7th A | D | North-West France |
| 00.09.1942 | XXV | 7th A | D | North-West France |
| 00.11.1942 | reserve | 7th A | D | North-West France |
| 00.12.1942 | 4th TA | Don | Kotelinikowo | |
| 00.01.1943 | XXXXVIII | Hollidt | Don | Donets |
| 00.03.1943 | XXXXVIII | 4th TA | South | Kharkov |
| 00.04.1943 | XXXXVIII | Kempf | South | Kharkov |
| 00.05.1943 | reserve | Kempf | South | Kharkov |
| 00.06.1943 | III | Kempf | South | Kharkov |
| 00.08.1943 | LII | 4th TA | South | Belgorod |
| 00.09.1943 | XXXXII | 8th A | South | Dnieper |
| 00.10.1943 | XXXXVIII | 8th A | South | Dnieper |
| 00.11.1943 | XI | 8th A | South | Dnieper |
| 00.12.1943 | XXXXVII | 8th A | South | Kirovograd |
| 00.01.1944 | reserve | 4th TA | South | winniza |
| 00.02.1944 | XXXXVI | 1st TA | South | Kamenetz-Podolsk |
| 00.03.1944 | LIX | 1st TA | South | Kamenetz-Podolsk |
| 00.04.1944 | III | 1st TA | South | Kamenetz-Podolsk |
| 00.05.1944 | reserve | 1st TA | Northern Ukraine | Tarnopol |
| 00.06.1944 | BdE | WK XI | Heimat | |
| 00.08.1944 | reserve | 2nd A | Northern Ukraine | Vilnius |
| 00.09.1944 | XXIII | 2nd A | Centre | Narew |
| 00.11.1944 | reserve | 2nd A | Centre | Rozan |
| 00.01.1945 | LXXII | 6th A | South | Hungary, Budapest |
| 00.02.1945 | I. Kavallerie-Korps | 6th A | South | Plattensee |
| 00.03.1945 | II. SS | 6th TA | South | Vein |
| 00.04.1945 | XXIV | 1st TA | Centre | Brunn |
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At the beginning of the invasion of Poland, the 1st Light Division was in the reserve of the 10th Reichenau Army on the southern flank of Army Group South. It was put into action when the infantry units of the Wehrmacht ran into stubborn resistance from the Polish troops. On September 3, as part of Wittersheim's XIV Corps, with the support of aviation, she managed to break through the Polish defenses, cross the Warta and begin to advance in the direction of Lodz. After the division reached Vidawa, it received a new order: to prevent the advance of enemy troops from the Radom and Kilce regions to Warsaw. On September 9, having covered a distance of 310 km in 50 hours, the division reached the Vistula east of Kozintsa, closing the encirclement. Thus, the first "cauldron" in World War II was created - 60 thousand prisoners and 130 guns were captured.
As part of Reinhardt's XLI Corps, together with Goth's and Guderian's corps, the 6th Panzer Division broke through the Maginot Line near Monterme, and overcoming the Ardennes, crossed the Meuse on May 15. In the evening of the same day, Montcornet was taken 65 km west of the river. Having formed the vanguard of the corps, on May 16 the division crossed the Oise River, and on May 19 - the Northern Canal. During the offensive, the French 2nd Armored Division was defeated. On May 20, a battle took place with the British 36th brigade in the Dullan area, after which the city was bypassed and the division moved towards the coast, reaching Kassel on May 23.
The division broke through the Stalin line, went to Leningrad and participated in the blockade of this city. Attached to the 56th Panzer Corps (3rd Panzer Group, Army Group Center) in October 1941, it was transferred to Moscow and suffered heavy losses during the Soviet counteroffensive in the winter of 1941/42. Due to losses, the division, which remained in the central sector of the Eastern Front from the beginning of 1942, was withdrawn to France.
In May 1942, the 6th Panzer Division was reorganized in Ketkvidan, then near Paris, it was equipped with Pz. IV, which replaced the old captured Czechoslovak light tanks Pz. 35 (t). Myshkov 48 km from the encircled group. After retreating under pressure from the Soviet troops in early 1943, the 6th Panzer Division participated in the battles near Kursk as part of the 3rd Panzer Corps (Group Kempf under the command of General Werner Kempf). In the future, it was involved in the Dnieper and Northern Ukraine. After that, she was taken from the front for re-staffing. The division was urgently sent to the Eastern Front, when Soviet troops surrounded the 4th and 9th armies (summer 1944). After that, she went to Hungary, where she participated in the battles in the Budapest area. Attached to the 2nd SS Panzer Corps (6th SS Panzer Army, Army Group South) in April 1945, she was taken prisoner by the Red Army near Brno in Moravia.
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