35th Combined Arms Army explained

Unit Name:35th Combined Arms Army
Native Name:35-я общевойсковая армия
Dates:
  • July 1941–Late 1945
  • 1969–Present
Country: (1941-1945; 1969-1991)
(since 1991)
Branch: (until 1991)
Type:Combined Arms
Size:Army
Command Structure:Eastern Military District
Garrison:Belogorsk, Amur Oblast
Battles:World War II

Russo-Ukrainian War
Russian invasion of Ukraine

Notable Commanders:Nikanor Zakhvatayev
Current Commander:Lieutenant General Aleksandr Semyonovich Sanchik
Identification Symbol Label:NATO Map Symbol

The 35th Combined Arms Red Banner Army is a field army of the Russian Ground Forces. The army was first formed in July 1941 with the Far Eastern Front. After spending most of World War II guarding the border in Primorsky Krai, the army fought in the Soviet invasion of Manchuria in August 1945, and was disbanded shortly after the end of the war. Reformed at Belogorsk when Sino-Soviet tensions rose in the late 1960s in the Far East, the army became part of the Eastern Military District in 2010.

World War II

The 35th Army was formed from the 18th Rifle Corps in July 1941, part of the Far Eastern Front. It included the 35th, 66th and 78th Rifle Divisions, the 109th Fortified Region and smaller artillery and infantry units. It defended the Soviet border in Primorsky Krai. 18th Rifle Corps commander Major General Vladimir Zaytsev became the army commander.[3] On 1 May 1945 35th Army joined the Maritime Group of Forces. In June, Lieutenant General and Hero of the Soviet Union Nikanor Zakhvatayev became the army commander.[4] Zaytsev was still a major general and became the army's deputy commander.[5] The Maritime Group of Forces was transformed on 5 August 1945 to the 1st Far East Front. It had as part of its structure the 66th, 264th and 363rd Rifle Divisions, the 8th and 109th Fortified Regions, the 125th, 208th, and 209th Tank Brigades, and a number of artillery and other units.[6] With these forces the army participated in the Harbin-Kirin Offensive Operation during the Soviet invasion of Manchuria.[7]

During the Harbin-Kirin Offensive, the army was tasked with attacking from positions southwest of Lesozavodsk towards Mishan. The army was to defeat elements of the Kwantung Army on the left bank of the Songacha River and capture the Hutou Fortified Area. Parts of the army were assigned to defend the right bank of the Ussuri and Songacha Rivers, as well as defending railways and roads in the Guberovo and Spassk-Dalny areas. At the beginning of the offensive, the army crossed the Ussuri and Songacha Rivers using transports of the Amur Flotilla and captured Hulin. It captured Mishan on 12 August and by the end of the next day had captured Dunan. The army then captured Kentey-Alin and Boli on 16 August. The army cut off the Kwangtung Army's line of retreat at Mudanjiang. By 19 August, the army was in the Linkou County. The army was then involved in disarming surrendering Japanese soldiers. On 1 October 1945, the army became part of the Primorsky Military District and was disbanded within a month.[8]

Commanders

Cold War 1969 reformation

In June 1969 the 29th Army Corps became the 35th Army. In 1968–69 four divisions were gathered to become part of the corps, later army, in the Far East: 265th Motor Rifle Division arrived in 1968, 266th Motor Rifle Division arrived from the North Caucasus Military District and the 31st Guards Motor Rifle Division from the Baltic Military District in 1969, and the 192nd Motor Rifle Division was activated that same year.[9]

On 16 May 1977, the 31st Guards Motor Rifle Division became the 21st Guards Tank Division. In February 1980, the 67th Motor Rifle Division was transferred to the army from the Leningrad Military District.

In 1988 the 35th Army consisted of the:[10]

Headquarters 35th Red Banner Army (Belogorsk, Amur Oblast):

Russian Federation

The 35th Army is still stationed in the Eastern Military District with its headquarters at Belogorsk.

Until the 2008–2011 reform when it became the 35CAA, it consisted of three divisions: the 21st Guards (Belogorsk) and 270th (Krasnaya Rechka, Khabarovsk) Motor Rifle Divisions, and the 128th Machine-Gun Artillery Division (Babstovo), along with smaller combat and support units.

In 2009, the 128th Machine-Gun Artillery Division became the 69th Separate Fortress Brigade.[11] In 2010, the 270th Motor Rifle Division became the 243rd Weapons and Equipment Storage Base.[12] The 21st Guards Motor Rifle Division appears to have become the 38th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade.

In 2016, the army consisted of the following units:

2022 invasion of Ukraine

In the context of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, elements of the 35th Army (including units from the 38th Motor Rifle Brigade, 64th Motor Rifle Brigade, 69th Fortress Brigade, 165th Artillery Brigade and 107th Rocket Brigade) had been deployed to Belarus and were participating in active combat operations.[13]

In June 2022, Russian military bloggers reported that the 35CAA was routed in the battle of Izyum and that the remnants of the army withdrew to Belgorod,[14] claiming that the number of infantry in the brigades of the army had fallen to "12-15 people (64th brigade), the combined number of 38th and 64th motorised brigades – less than 100 of truly combat-ready infantry in each brigade."[15] On 4 June 2022 Ukrainian sources claimed that Ukrainian forces had almost completely annihilated the 35CAA.[16]

In August 2022 the remnants of the 35CAA were reportedly sent to defend the occupied territory of Kherson Oblast on the West Bank of the Dnieper river, alongside the 49th Combined Arms Army.[17]

Commanders

Soviet era

The following officers commanded the 35th Army from 1969 to 1991.

Russian Federation

References

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. Web site: На войне в Украине погиб еще один российский генерал . . 13 June 2023 . June 13, 2023.
  2. Web site: Russians Mourn 'Best' General as Ukraine Counteroffensive Gains Ground . 13 June 2023 .
  3. Web site: Biography of Lieutenant-General Vladimir Aleksandrovich Zaitsev – (Владимир Александрович Зайцев) (1899–1955), Soviet Union. generals.dk. 2016-02-13.
  4. Web site: Захватаев Никонор Дмитриевич. warheroes.ru. 2016-02-13. ru. Zakhvatayev Nikanor Dmitryevich.
  5. Web site: ЗАЙЦЕВ Владимир Александрович. myfront.in.ua. 2016-02-13. ru. Zaytsev Vladimir Alexandrovich.
  6. [Combat composition of the Soviet Army]
  7. Web site: 35-я армия. samsv.narod.ru. ru. 35th Army. https://web.archive.org/web/20160303170402/http://samsv.narod.ru/Arm/a35/arm.html. 3 March 2016. 2016-02-13.
  8. Web site: 35-я армия. 1 December 2008. victory.mil.ru. Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation. https://web.archive.org/web/20081201082716/http://victory.mil.ru/rkka/units/03/87.html. 1 December 2008. ru. 35th Army.
  9. Holm, 35th Combined Arms Army
  10. Feskov et al 2013, 594, Holm.
  11. Web site: 272nd Motorised Rifle Division. ww2.dk. 2016-02-09. Holm. Michael.
  12. Web site: 270th Motorised Rifle Division. ww2.dk. 2016-02-09. Holm. Michael.
  13. Web site: Rondeli Russian Military Digest: Issue 118, 24 January – 30 January 2022 .
  14. Web site: Institute for the Study of War Daily Update, 3 June 2022.
  15. Web site: Masinski . Dmitri . 2022-06-03 . Russian 35th combined-arms army (Izyum) is destroyed by its own command . 2022-06-04 . WarTranslated – Dmitri Masinski . en-GB.
  16. Web site: 2022-06-04 . Ukraine forces wipe out almost entire 35th Combined-Arms Russian Army in Izium . . en.
  17. News: Kuczyński . Grzegorz . Ukraine Starts Counteroffensive in Country's South . Warsaw Institute . 31 August 2022.

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