Formations of the Soviet Army
Encyclopedia
Formations are those military organisations which are formed from different speciality Arms and Services troop units to create a balanced, combined combat force. The formations only differ in their ability to achieve different scales of application of force to achieve different strategic, operational and tactical goals and mission objectives.
Types of formations in the military organization
of the Soviet Armed Forces
included:
In their most modern form, TVDs were established in February 1979 (the Far Eastern) and September 1984 (Western (HQ Legnica
), South-Western (HQ Kishinev), Southern (HQ Baku
) TVD). Viktor Suvorov
gave the above formations the name 'High Commands in the Strategic directions'.
Types of formations in the military organization
Military organization
Military organization is the structuring of the armed forces of a state so as to offer military capability required by the national defence policy. In some countries paramilitary forces are included in a nation's armed forces...
of the Soviet Armed Forces
Soviet Armed Forces
The Soviet Armed Forces, also called the Armed Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and Armed Forces of the Soviet Union refers to the armed forces of the Russian SFSR , and Soviet Union from their beginnings in the...
included:
- Theatre of Military Operations or theatre of warTheatre of WarTheatre of War is an original novel written by Justin Richards and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Seventh Doctor, Ace and Bernice. It also introduces the recurring character of Irving Braxiatel...
(TV) - Theatre of military operations (:ru:Театр военных действий, TVD, teatr voennykh deistvii) — Strategic Directions were created and maintained at the beginning and at the end of World War IIWorld War IIWorld 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...
, and are considered a part of the TVD for the purpose of determining operational directions. During World War II, six strategic direction commands existed as part of the Stavka:- Chief command of the troops of the Western Direction (1941–42) replaced by Stavka representative role
- Chief command of the troops of the North Western Direction (1941) replaced by Stavka representative role
- Chief command of the troops of the North Caucasus Direction (1941–42) replaced by Stavka representative role
- Chief command of the troops of the South Western Direction (1941–42) replaced by Stavka representative role
- Central Staff of the partisan movement (1942–45)
- Chief command of the Soviet troops in the Far East (1945)
In their most modern form, TVDs were established in February 1979 (the Far Eastern) and September 1984 (Western (HQ Legnica
Legnica
Legnica is a town in south-western Poland, in Silesia, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the plain of Legnica, riverside: Kaczawa and Czarna Woda. Between 1 June 1975 and 31 December 1998 Legnica was the capital of the Legnica Voivodeship. It is currently the seat of the county...
), South-Western (HQ Kishinev), Southern (HQ Baku
Baku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
) TVD). Viktor Suvorov
Viktor Suvorov
Viktor Suvorov is the pen name for Vladimir Bogdanovich Rezun , a former Soviet and now British writer of Russian and Ukrainian descent who writes primarily in Russian, as well as a former Soviet military intelligence spy who defected to the UK...
gave the above formations the name 'High Commands in the Strategic directions'.
- Military district (in the USSR), and group of forces (in Eastern Europe). These peacetime administrative units would provide support to between one and six fronts during wartime. Groups of forces in Eastern Europe included the Central Group of ForcesCentral Group of ForcesThe Central Group of Forces was a Soviet military formation used to control Soviet troops in Central Europe on two occasions: in Austria and Hungary from 1945-55 and troops stationed in Czechoslovakia after the Prague Spring of 1968....
(Czechoslovakia), the Group of Soviet Forces in GermanyGroup of Soviet Forces in GermanyThe Group of Soviet Forces in Germany , also known as the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany and the Western Group of Forces were the troops of the Soviet Army in East Germany....
, the Northern Group of ForcesNorthern Group of ForcesThe 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...
(Poland), and the Southern Group of ForcesSouthern Group of ForcesThe Southern Group of Forces was a Soviet Armed Forces formation formed twice following the Second World War, most notably around the time of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956....
(Balkans initially, then HungaryHungaryHungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
). - FrontFront (Soviet Army)A front was a major military organization in the Soviet Army during many wars. It was roughly equivalent to an army group in the militaries of most other countries except Germany...
— the largest wartime field formation, equivalent to an army groupArmy groupAn army group is a military organization consisting of several field armies, which is self-sufficient for indefinite periods. It is usually responsible for a particular geographic area...
in many other forces - ArmyArmy (Soviet Army)An army, besides the generalized meanings of ‘a country's armed forces’ or its ‘land forces’, is a type of formation in militaries of various countries, including the Soviet Union. This article serves a central point of reference for Soviet armies without individual articles, and explains some of...
— the largest peacetime field formation. Each is designated a combined arms army or tank army. During World War II, the Fortified Region usually corresponded to an Army frontage formation. - Corps — RifleRifle corps (Soviet)A rifle corps was a Soviet military organization of the mid-twentieth century. Rifle corps were made up of a varying number of rifle divisions, although the allocation of three rifle divisions to a rifle corps was common during the latter part of World War II.Unlike army corps formed by Germany...
, Cavalry, Artillery, MechanisedMechanized Corps (Soviet)A mechanised corps was a Soviet armoured formation used prior to the beginning of World War II.- Pre-war development of Soviet mechanised forces :...
, Tank, Aviation and Aviation of PVO, and Airborne Corps.
- Rifle Corps was a formation that existed in the pre-Revolution Imperial Russian Army, and was inherited by the Red Army. First suggestions for creation of large mechanised or tank formations in the Soviet Union were suggested based on development of doctrine for publication as PU-36, the field regulations largely authored by Marshal TukhachevskyMikhail TukhachevskyMikhail Nikolayevich Tukhachevsky was a Marshal of the Soviet Union, commander in chief of the Red Army , and one of the most prominent victims of Joseph Stalin's Great Purge.-Early life:...
, and was created where "In the attack tanks must be employed in mass", envisaged as "Strategic cavalry". Although the name of "mechanised" may seem to the modern reader as referring to the infantry components of the Corps, in 1936 they referred to armoured vehicles only with the word "motorised" referring to the units equipped with trucks.- Division — originally rifle or cavalryCavalry division (Soviet Union)Regular Red Army cavalry divisions in 1941 had four cavalry regiments, a horse artillery battalion , a tank regiment , an anti-aircraft battalion , a signals squadron, a field engineer squadron and other rear echelon support units and sections.A cavalry...
, later motor-rifle, tank, artillery, aviation, sapper or airborne. See divisions of the Soviet Union 1917-1945, list of Soviet Army divisions 1989-91
- Division — originally rifle or cavalry
Sources
- The Soviet Army: Troops, Organization, and Equipment. FM 100-2-3, June 1991. Washington DC: United States Department of the Army.
- Fomin, N.N., Great Soviet Encyclopaedia , Moscow, 1978
- Simpkin, R., Deep battle: The brainchild of Marshal Tukhachevskii, Brassey's, London, 1987