36th Army (Soviet Union)

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36th Army
Active1st formation: 1 August 1941 – July 1948
2nd formation: 1976 – 1989
Country
Field Army
EngagementsInvasion of Manchuria
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Alexander Luchinsky

The 36th Army was a military formation of the

Soviet Ground Forces
, formed twice.

Formed in mid-1941, the army spent much of World War II as part of the Transbaikal Military District guarding the Manchurian and Mongolian-Soviet borders. During the Soviet invasion of Manchuria in August 1945, the army advanced over the Greater Khingan mountains and overran the Japanese Hailar fortified region in fierce fighting. It was disbanded after the end of the war in mid-1948.

The army was reformed in 1976 from the 86th Army Corps, which had been itself established in 1968 as a result of rising Sino-Soviet tensions. It garrisoned the Transbaikal until being reduced to the 55th Army Corps in 1989 as the Cold War ended.

First formation

Garrison duty in the Transbaikal

The army was formed in July 1941 in the

Fortified Regions, supported by a number of artillery units, among others. The army became part of the Transbaikal Front in September when the latter was created from the district, and for the rest of World War II guarded the Manchurian-Soviet and Mongolian-Soviet borders in the Transbaikal.[1]

Soviet invasion of Manchuria

Advance of the 36th Army between 8 and 12 August 1945

For the August 1945

Argun River on the left flank to advance on Hailar. An advance of 40 kilometers was reached by the end of the day.[1]

Advance of the 36th Army between 12 and 18 August 1945

Continuing the rapid offensive, the forces of the army surrounded the Hailar fortified region on the second day of the invasion and its main forces advanced deep into Manchuria. After crossing the Greater Khingan, on 17 August they captured Boketu, Yalu, and Zalantun. As the vanguard of the 205th Tank Brigade moved towards Qiqihar, which was reached on 19 August, elements of the army continued the reduction of the Hailar fortified region, which fell on 18 August. Following the surrender of the Kwantung Army, the troops of the army helped disarm Japanese troops.[1]

Postwar

The army became part of the

57th Rifle Division, 61st Tank Division, and the 3rd and 8th Machine Gun Artillery Brigades by August of that year.[2]

Headquartered at

Chukotka Peninsula.[2] The 86th Rifle Corps and 61st Tank Division were directly subordinated to the district.[3]

Commanders

The following officers commanded the army:[4]

Second formation

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Major unit headquarters locations in the late 1980s[5]

The second formation of the 36th Army was originally formed as the 86th Army Corps of the Transbaikal Military District at

Belorussian Military District. By the end of the 1980s, the 11th, 14th, 16th, and 18th, and 19th Fortified Regions were part of the army.[5]

Abandoned barracks of the 18th Fortified Region, Krasnokamensk

On 1 June 1989, the army was downsized into the 55th Army Corps. Later that year, as Soviet military expenditure declined with the winding down of the

36th Army again in 1997.[7]

Commanders

The following officers are known to have commanded the 86th Army Corps and the army:[8]

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b c Ivanov 2004, pp. 130–131.
  2. ^ a b Feskov et al 2013, pp. 565–566.
  3. ^ Feskov et al 2013, p. 567.
  4. ^ Beloborodov 1963, p. 498.
  5. ^ a b c d Feskov et al 2013, pp. 572–573.
  6. ^ Feskov et al 2013, p. 500.
  7. ^ "36-я общевойсковая армия" [36th Combined Arms Army] (in Russian). Russian Federation Ministry of Defense. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  8. ^ Feskov et al 2013, p. 574.

Bibliography

Further reading