35th Combined Arms Army

35th Army (I Formation) (1941-c.1946) 35th Army (II Formation) (1960s-present)
Active	July 1941 - c.1946
Country	Russia/Soviet Union
Allegiance	Far East Military District
Branch	Russian Ground Forces
Size	three divisions
Garrison/HQ	Belogorsk
Engagements	Harbin-Kirin Operation

The 35th Red Banner Army is a field army of the Russian Ground Forces.

The 35th Army was originally formed within the Soviet Red Army in July 1941 on the basis of 18th Rifle Corps, and joined the Soviet Far East Front. Within Far Eastern Front it comprised 35th, 66th, 78th Rifle Divisions, the 109th Fortified Region, and a number of other artillery and rifle units. It defended the Primorski Krai frontier.

From May 1st 1945 35th Army joined the Maritime Group of Forces which was transformed on August, 5th into the 1st Far Eastern 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. With these forces the army participated in the Harbin-Kirin Offensive Operation (Soviet-Japanese War (1945)). Its commanders were General Major A. Zajtsev (July 1941 – June 1945), and General Lieutenant N.D. Zakhvataev (June–September 1945). 35th Army was disbanded around 1945–6 by being redesignated 9th Mechanised Army.

The 35th Red Banner Army today draws its history from the 1st Red Banner Army. After the end of the war with Japan, the First Army's headquarters was reorganised as the Headquarters Amur Military District, while part of its troops became part of 15th Army in the Kamchatka region and others joined 2nd Red Banner Army. After some years as an Army Corps, the Army was reformed and given the number 35. Therefore this army has nothing in common with the 35th Army which was in the District during the Second World War.

In 1988 the 35th Army consisted of the:

Headquarters 35th Red Banner Army (Belogorsk):

• 21st Guards Tank Division (Belogorsk): 2nd Guards Tank Regiment, 125 гв. тп (Екатеринославка), 111 гв. тп, 277 гв. мсп, 64 гв. сап, 1064 Guards Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment
• 67th Мotor Rifle Division (Skovorodino): 422nd Tank Regiment, 1212th Motor Rifle Regiment, 1216th Motor Rifle Regiment, 1217th Motor Rifle Regiment, 1302nd Artillery Regiment, 1042nd Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment
• 192nd Motor Rifle Division (Blagoveshchensk): 371st Tank Regiment (Свободный), 190 мсп (Шимановский), 684 мсп (Черемхово), 679 мсп, ап (Свободный), 1414 зрп
• 262nd Мotor Rifle Division (Возжаевка/Vozhaevka): тп, мсп, мсп, 785 мсп, ап, зрп
• 265th Мotor Rifle Division (Екатериновка/Yekaterinovka): 212 тп, 373 мсп, 695 мсп, мсп, ап, зрп
• 266th Мotor Rifle Division (Raychikhinsk/Raichikhinsk): 376 тп, 421 мсп, 430 мсп, мсп, ап, зрп
• Army Troops
  • Pontoon-Bridge Regiment (понтонно-мостовой полк) (Arkhara)
  • 43rd бригада материального обеспечения; 156 отдельный радиотехнический полк, 1899 отдельный радиотехнический батальон, 49 отдельный танковый полк, 161 отдельный полк связи, 1719 отдельный радиорелейно-кабельный батальон (Belogorsk)
  • 1283rd Separate Engineer-Sapper Battalion (Berezovka, Altai/Березовка)
  • 153 Rocket Brigade; 71 зенитно-ракетная бригада (Svobodny, Amur Oblast/Свободный)
  • 364 Separate Helicopter Regiment (Среднебелое)

The 35th Army is still stationed in the Far East Military District with its headquarters at Belogorsk. It consists 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.

Sources and references

• Feskov et al, The Soviet Army in the Period of the Cold War, Tomsk, 2004
• http://samsv.narod.ru/Arm/a35/arm.html