10th Guards Uralsko-Lvovskaya Tank Division
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The 10th Guards Uralsko-Lvovskaya Tank Division, also known at the Ural-Lvov Tank Division, is an 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 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.
[edit] The Second World War
The people of the Ural districts took the initiative to create the Urals voluntary tank corps which became an elite formation. Three tank brigades (including 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. In June 1, 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 Orel, the counterattack (Operation Kutuzov) on the northern side of the Kursk bulge after the German defeat at the Battle of Kursk proper. 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'.[1]
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. In 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 October 25, 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. At the time of its withdrawal from Germany in 1990 the division was equipped with 316 T-64BM tanks and 12 T-80B tanks.
[edit] Subordinate units and fighting strength 2006
- 61st Tank Regt "Sverdlovsko-Lvovskiy"
- 62nd Tank Regiment
- 6th Motor Rifle Regt (Kursk)
- 248th Motor Rifle Regiment
- 744th Artillery Regiment
- 359th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regt
- 112th Independent Intelligence Battalion
- 152nd Independent Communications Battalion
- 127th Indep Chemical Defence Battalion
- 131st Independent Engineer Bn
- 60th Repair Battalion
- 1072nd Indep Logistics Battalion
- 188th Independent Medical Battalion
- 689th Independent EW Battalion
[edit] Sources and References
- ^ Erickson, John, Road to Berlin, 1982, p.115
- Keith Bonn (ed.), Slaughterhouse: The Handbook of the Eastern Front, Aberjona Press, Bedford, PA, 2005
- Heritage of Perm - News Archive
