10th Guards Uralsko-Lvovskaya Tank Division
Encyclopedia
The 10th Guards
Uralsko-Lvovskaya Volunteer Tank Division, also known at the Ural-Lvov Tank Division, is a tank division of the Russian Ground Forces
and part of the Moscow Military District
's 20th Army, under the command of Lt. General Andrey Tretyak. The division traces its heritage back to 1943, during World War II
. It is headquartered and based at Boguchar
, 160 kilometres south of Voronezh
, Voronezh Oblast
.
Its complete formal designation is: "The 10th Guards Tank Ural-L'vov the Order of October Revolution Red Banner
the Order of Suvorov
and the Order of Kutuzov
Volunteer division in the name of Marshal of the Soviet Union
Rodion Malinovsky
".
Reports indicate that the Division may have been reduced in status to a mobilisable base for storage of weapons and equipment (which in wartime would become a tank brigade) during the 2009 Russian Ground Forces
reorganisation. Most recently the new formation has been named as the 262-я гвардейская Уральско-Львовская ордена Октябрьской Революции Краснознаменная орденов Суворова и Кутузова база хранения и ремонта вооружения и техники named for Marshal of the Soviet Union Р.Я. Малиновского (отбр) (п. Богучар Воронежской области, 1-я отбр).
districts took the initiative to create the Urals voluntary tank corps which became an elite formation. Three tank brigades (including the Perm
tank brigade) and one motor-rifle brigade and other military units were included in its structure. The formation was initially known as the 30th Uralskaya Voluntary Tank Corps and was formed in April 1943 in the Ural Military District. Workers from the Ural tank factories were among its initial recruits. The Corps has the distinction of being entirely paid for by the donations of the population of the Urals. This included its entire complement of T-34
tanks built by the Urals factories. March 23, 1943 is the "birthday" of the Perm tank brigade. On 1 June 1943, units of the Division were despatched to the front line for the first time.
The first action for the Urals Volunteer Tank Corps was at Oryol, the counterattack (Operation Kutuzov
) on the northern side of the Kursk bulge after the German defeat at the Battle of Kursk
proper. Historian John Erickson
wrote that, following a 'ragged' attack by 11th Tank and 6th Guards Mechanised Corps from 4th Tank Army
on 26 July 1943, during which both corps were heavily battered by the concealed German tanks and assault guns, the next day, the 30th Tank Corps 'pushed in with a fierce attack' but the tank army 'covered only about one mile in all'.
Following actions were at Bryansk
, Lower Silesia, Upper Silesia
, Proskurovo-Kamenetc-Podolsk
, Lvov-Sandomir
, and during the Prague Offensive
, Vistula-Oder
and Berlin
offensive operations. On May 5, 1945 the corps have left to the aid of brotherly Czechoslovak people in structure of the its army grouping. The corps was awarded the Order of the Red Banner
, the Order of Suvorov, and the Order of Kutuzov
. The Perm-Keletcky tank brigade, in addition, was awarded the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky
for heroism shown in battle. On 25 October 1943 it was honoured and renamed the 10th Guards Uralskaya Voluntary Tank Corps. It finished the war in what is now Poland
and briefly became part of the Northern Group of Forces
.
It was reconstituted from a Tank Corps to a Tank Division in the northern autumn of 1945, as were all other Soviet tank corps.
For good results in combat training on 16 June 1967 the division was named after Marshal of the Soviet Union Rodion Malinovsky
and 21 February 1978 was awarded the Order of the October Revolution
.
At the time of its withdrawal from Germany in 1990 the division was equipped with 316 T-64
BM tanks and 12 T-80
B tanks.
Russian Guards
Guards or Guards units were and are elite military units in Imperial Russia, Soviet Union and the Russian Federation. The tradition goes back to the retinue of a knyaz of medieval Kievan Rus' and the streltsy, the Muscovite harquebusiers formed by Ivan the Terrible by 1550...
Uralsko-Lvovskaya Volunteer Tank Division, also known at the Ural-Lvov Tank Division, is a tank division of the Russian Ground Forces
Russian Ground Forces
The Russian Ground Forces are the land forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, formed from parts of the collapsing Soviet Army in 1992. The formation of these forces posed economic challenges after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and required reforms to professionalize the force...
and part of the Moscow Military District
Moscow Military District
The Moscow Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In 2010 it was merged with the Leningrad Military District, the Northern Fleet and the Baltic Fleet to form the new Western Military District.-History:In the beginning of...
's 20th Army, under the command of Lt. General Andrey Tretyak. The division traces its heritage back to 1943, during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It is headquartered and based at Boguchar
Boguchar
Boguchar is a town in Voronezh Oblast, Russia, located on the Boguchar River south of Voronezh. Population: Town status was granted to it in 1779....
, 160 kilometres south of Voronezh
Voronezh
Voronezh is a city in southwestern Russia, the administrative center of Voronezh Oblast. It is located on both sides of the Voronezh River, away from where it flows into the Don. It is an operating center of the Southeastern Railway , as well as the center of the Don Highway...
, Voronezh Oblast
Voronezh Oblast
Voronezh Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . It was established on June 13, 1934.-Main rivers:*Don*Voronezh*Bityug*Khopyor-Economy:...
.
Its complete formal designation is: "The 10th Guards Tank Ural-L'vov the Order of October Revolution Red Banner
Red Banner
Red Banner was a symbol of the USSR associated with the Soviet state flag.Military units, institutions and organizations awarded with the Order of the Red Banner are referred to with the honorific title "of the Red Banner" Red Banner was a symbol of the USSR associated with the Soviet state...
the Order of Suvorov
Order of Suvorov
The Order of Suvorov is a Soviet award, named after Aleksandr Suvorov , that was established on July 29, 1942 by a decision of the Presidium of Supreme Soviet of the USSR. This decoration was created to award senior army personnel for exceptional leadership in combat operations...
and the Order of Kutuzov
Order of Kutuzov
The Order of Kutuzov is a Soviet and Russian military award, named after famous Russian Field Marshal Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov ....
Volunteer division in the name of Marshal of the Soviet Union
Marshal of the Soviet Union
Marshal of the Soviet Union was the de facto highest military rank of the Soviet Union. ....
Rodion Malinovsky
Rodion Malinovsky
Rodion Yakovlevich Malinovsky was a Soviet military commander in World War II and Defense Minister of the Soviet Union in the late 1950s and 1960s. He contributed to the major defeat of Nazi Germany at the Battle of Stalingrad and the Battle of Budapest...
".
Reports indicate that the Division may have been reduced in status to a mobilisable base for storage of weapons and equipment (which in wartime would become a tank brigade) during the 2009 Russian Ground Forces
Russian Ground Forces
The Russian Ground Forces are the land forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, formed from parts of the collapsing Soviet Army in 1992. The formation of these forces posed economic challenges after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and required reforms to professionalize the force...
reorganisation. Most recently the new formation has been named as the 262-я гвардейская Уральско-Львовская ордена Октябрьской Революции Краснознаменная орденов Суворова и Кутузова база хранения и ремонта вооружения и техники named for Marshal of the Soviet Union Р.Я. Малиновского (отбр) (п. Богучар Воронежской области, 1-я отбр).
World War II
The people of the UralUral (region)
Ural is a geographical region located around the Ural Mountains, between the East European and West Siberian plains. It extends approximately from north to south, from the Arctic Ocean to the bend of Ural River near Orsk city. The boundary between Europe and Asia runs along the eastern side of...
districts took the initiative to create the Urals voluntary tank corps which became an elite formation. Three tank brigades (including the Perm
Perm
Perm is a city and the administrative center of Perm Krai, Russia, located on the banks of the Kama River, in the European part of Russia near the Ural Mountains. From 1940 to 1957 it was named Molotov ....
tank brigade) and one motor-rifle brigade and other military units were included in its structure. The formation was initially known as the 30th Uralskaya Voluntary Tank Corps and was formed in April 1943 in the Ural Military District. Workers from the Ural tank factories were among its initial recruits. The Corps has the distinction of being entirely paid for by the donations of the population of the Urals. This included its entire complement of T-34
T-34
The T-34 was a Soviet medium tank produced from 1940 to 1958. Although its armour and armament were surpassed by later tanks of the era, it has been often credited as the most effective, efficient and influential design of World War II...
tanks built by the Urals factories. March 23, 1943 is the "birthday" of the Perm tank brigade. On 1 June 1943, units of the Division were despatched to the front line for the first time.
The first action for the Urals Volunteer Tank Corps was at Oryol, the counterattack (Operation Kutuzov
Operation Kutuzov
Operation Kutuzov was a military operation by the Red Army in its fight against the German Wehrmacht during World War II. It was named after Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov, the Tsarist General credited with saving Russia from defeat during the invasion by Napoleon in 1812.The Operation began on 12...
) on the northern side of the Kursk bulge after the German defeat at the Battle of Kursk
Battle of Kursk
The Battle of Kursk took place when German and Soviet forces confronted each other on the Eastern Front during World War II in the vicinity of the city of Kursk, in the Soviet Union in July and August 1943. It remains both the largest series of armored clashes, including the Battle of Prokhorovka,...
proper. Historian John Erickson
John Erickson (historian)
John Erickson was a British historian who wrote extensively on the Second World War...
wrote that, following a 'ragged' attack by 11th Tank and 6th Guards Mechanised Corps from 4th Tank Army
4th Tank Army (Soviet Union)
The 20th Guards Army, , is a field army, since 1991, part of the Russian Ground Forces.-1st Formation :It was first formed within the Stalingrad Front from July 1942 and...
on 26 July 1943, during which both corps were heavily battered by the concealed German tanks and assault guns, the next day, the 30th Tank Corps 'pushed in with a fierce attack' but the tank army 'covered only about one mile in all'.
Following actions were at Bryansk
Bryansk
Bryansk is a city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, located southwest of Moscow. Population: -History:The first written mention of Bryansk was in 1146, in the Hypatian Codex, as Debryansk...
, Lower Silesia, Upper Silesia
Silesian Offensives
The Silesian Offensives were two 1945 offensives conducted by the Soviet Red Army against the German Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front in World War II.-The offensives:...
, Proskurovo-Kamenetc-Podolsk
Podolsk
Podolsk is an industrial city and the administrative center of Podolsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Pakhra River...
, Lvov-Sandomir
Lvov-Sandomierz Offensive
The Lvov-Sandomierz Offensive or the L'vov-Sandomierz Strategic Offensive Operation was a major Red Army operation to force the German troops from Ukraine and Eastern Poland...
, and during the Prague Offensive
Prague Offensive
The Prague Offensive was the last major Soviet operation of World War II in Europe. The offensive, and the battle for Prague, was fought on the Eastern Front from 6 May to 11 May 1945. This battle for the city is particularly noteworthy in that it ended after the Third Reich capitulated on 8 May...
, Vistula-Oder
Vistula-Oder Offensive
The Vistula–Oder Offensive was a successful Red Army operation on the Eastern Front in the European Theatre of World War II; it took place between 12 January and 2 February 1945...
and Berlin
Battle of Berlin
The Battle of Berlin, designated the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, was the final major offensive of the European Theatre of World War II....
offensive operations. On May 5, 1945 the corps have left to the aid of brotherly Czechoslovak people in structure of the its army grouping. The corps was awarded the Order of the Red Banner
Order of the Red Banner
The Soviet government of Russia established the Order of the Red Banner , a military decoration, on September 16, 1918 during the Russian Civil War...
, the Order of Suvorov, and the Order of Kutuzov
Kutuzov
Kutuzov may refer to:* Mikhail Kutuzov, Russian field marshal during Napoleonic era* Named after Mikhail Kutuzov** Order of Kutuzov, military award** Kutuzov Embankment, embankment and street** Operation Kutuzov, military operation in WWII...
. The Perm-Keletcky tank brigade, in addition, was awarded the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky
Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky
Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky may refer to:* Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky , state military award in the Soviet Union* Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky , state military award in Ukraine...
for heroism shown in battle. On 25 October 1943 it was honoured and renamed the 10th Guards Uralskaya Voluntary Tank Corps. It finished the war in what is now Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and briefly became part of the Northern Group of Forces
Northern Group of Forces
The Northern Group of Forces was the military formation of the Soviet Army stationed in Poland from the end of Second World War in 1945 until 1993 when they were withdrawn in the aftermath of the fall of Soviet Union...
.
It was reconstituted from a Tank Corps to a Tank Division in the northern autumn of 1945, as were all other Soviet tank corps.
For good results in combat training on 16 June 1967 the division was named after Marshal of the Soviet Union Rodion Malinovsky
Rodion Malinovsky
Rodion Yakovlevich Malinovsky was a Soviet military commander in World War II and Defense Minister of the Soviet Union in the late 1950s and 1960s. He contributed to the major defeat of Nazi Germany at the Battle of Stalingrad and the Battle of Budapest...
and 21 February 1978 was awarded the Order of the October Revolution
Order of the October Revolution
The Order of the October Revolution was instituted on October 31, 1967, in time for the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. It was awarded to individuals or groups for services furthering communism or the state, or in enhancing the defenses of the Soviet Union, military and civil...
.
At the time of its withdrawal from Germany in 1990 the division was equipped with 316 T-64
T-64
The T-64 is a Soviet main battle tank, introduced in the early 1960s. It was used solely by the Soviet Army in its front-line divisions and was a more advanced counterpart to the T-62...
BM tanks and 12 T-80
T-80
The T-80 is a main battle tank designed and manufactured in the former Soviet Union. A development of the T-64, it entered service in 1976 and was the first production tank to be equipped with a gas turbine engine for main propulsion.the Swedish Stridsvagn 103 of 1971 used a gas turbine alongside...
B tanks.
Composition in late 1980s
- 10 Guards Tank Ural-L'vov Volunteer Division (HQ Altengrabow)
- 61 Guards Tank Sverdlovsk-L'vov Regiment (Altengrabow)
- 62 Guard Tank Permian-Keletskiy Regiment (Altengrabow)
- 63 Guard tank Chelyabinsk-Petrokovskiy regiment (Altengrabow)
- 248 Guard Motor-Rifle Unechskiy Regiment (Schönebeck)
- 744 Guard motorised artillery Ternopol' regiment (Altengrabow)
- 359 Guard antiaircraft-missile L'vov regiment (Altengrabow)
- 112 independent reconnaissance battalion (Halberstadt, later Altengrabow)
- 152 independent signal battalion (Altengrabow)
- 131 independent engineer battalion (Magdeburg)
- 127 independent battalion of chemical protection (Altengrabow)
- 1072 independent battalion of materiel supply (Altengrabow)
- 60 independent is repair-restoration battalion (Altengrabow)
- 188 independent medical-sanitary battalion (Altengrabow)
Subordinate units in 2006
- 61st Tank Regt "Sverdlovsko-LvovskiyLvov-Sandomierz OffensiveThe Lvov-Sandomierz Offensive or the L'vov-Sandomierz Strategic Offensive Operation was a major Red Army operation to force the German troops from Ukraine and Eastern Poland...
" - 62nd Tank Regiment
- 6th Motor Rifle Regt (KurskKurskKursk is a city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur, Tuskar, and Seym Rivers. The area around Kursk was site of a turning point in the Russian-German struggle during World War II and the site of the largest tank battle in history...
) - 248th Motor Rifle Regiment
- 744th Artillery Regiment
- 359th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regt
- 112th Independent Intelligence Battalion
- 152nd Independent Communications Battalion
- 127th Independent Chemical Defence Battalion
- 131st Independent Engineer Bn
- 60th Repair Battalion
- 1072nd Independente Logistics Battalion
- 188th Independent Medical Battalion
- 689th Independent EW Battalion
Sources and references
- Keith Bonn (ed.), Slaughterhouse: The Handbook of the Eastern Front, Aberjona Press, Bedford, PA, 2005
- Heritage of Perm - News Archive