Belarusian Ground Forces | |
---|---|
Сухапутныя войскі Рэспублікі Беларусь Сухопутные войска Республики Беларусь | |
Founded | 20 March 1992 |
Country | Belarus |
Branch | Armed Forces of Belarus |
Type | Ground Force |
Size | 18,000 (2024) |
Part of | Defence Ministry of Belarus |
Headquarters | Minsk |
Nickname(s) | Belarusian Land Forces Belarusian Army |
Colors | Red |
Anniversaries | February 23 |
Commanders | |
Commander-in-chief | Alexander Lukashenko |
Chief of the General Staff | Major General Pavel Muraveiko |
Insignia | |
Flag |
The Belarusian Ground Forces, also called the Belarusian Army in English, is the land warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of Belarus.
Since the abolition of the Main Staff of the Ground Forces in 2012, the three regional operational commands of the Ground Forces have been directly subordinated to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Belarus, and all ground maneuver units are part of the operational commands. In peacetime the units are maintained at half-strength, and Belarus conducts regular training of its reservists in both infantry roles and with advanced equipment, with a significant part of the military budget being used for maintaining the capability for the mobilization of reserves. [1]
The Ground Forces do not carry out operational or strategic level exercises without participation from the Russian Armed Forces. Together with the Belarusian Special Operations Forces, the Ground Forces of Belarus form a Regional Group of Forces with the Russian 1st Guards Tank Army. The Special Operations Forces Command, just as the operational commands of the Ground Forces, is subordinated to the General Staff. [2]
The ground forces were founded on March 20, 1992, on the same day the Defence Ministry of Belarus was established. By 1994, the ground forces had over 50,000 troops, most being former soldiers of the Soviet Army's Belorussian Military District. The army equipment which was used at the time included 79 T-54s, 639 T-55s, 291 T-62s, 299 T-64s, 8 T-80s, and 1,800 T-72s. [3] [4]
In December 2001, the Ground Forces underwent a major reorganization which produced two operational-territorial commands which are similar to Russia's military districts. The two commands that were formed from this reorganization were the Western Operational Command at Grodno, and the North Western Operational Command, at Barysaw. [3] [4] At around the same time, the headquarters of the Ground Forces was established on the basis of the former 5th Guards Tank Army. [5] [6] The ground forces headquarters was abolished during reorganization in 2011 and replaced by combat training and territorial defense directorates. The change further confirmed the Belarusian Ground Forces integration into the Russian military command structure as Belarus thus does not independently plan or conduct large-scale exercises and operates under Russian command during joint exercises. As of mid-2021 the units of the operational commanders were manned at half strength, making them unready for rapid response combat operations. [7]
The specialized forces are designed to support the combat activities of the Ground Forces and solve their inherent tasks. They include formations and military units of intelligence, communications, engineering, radiation, chemical and biological defense, electronic warfare, navigation and topographic. [8]
The Signal Troops are separate special forces that act as the communications system between troops in the Armed Forces and territorial troops. It is grounded in communications and command and control equipment, radio intelligence and special radio equipment communication. The official holiday of the Signal Troops is 20 October, which was the day in 1919 when the Department of Communications of the Red Army was formed. Over the course of post-war years, with the transition of the troops to a peaceful situation, the communications troops of the Belarusian Military District, and later the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus, took measures to restore and develop the stationary communications system, deploy communication systems of garrisons and military camps, and conditions. [9] In 2019, the Ministry of Communications and Informatization commemorated its centennial with a holiday stamp. [10]
The Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Troops (Russian : Войска радиационной, химической и биологической защиты; Войска РХБ защиты)) are the forces designed to endure their combat tasks in conditions of radioactive, chemical and biological contamination, For about ten years, as part of a limited contingent of Soviet Army, chemical troops fought in Afghanistan, where such chemical support tasks as the use of flamethrowing incendiary agents and aerosols were effective in combating rebels. Many representatives of the chemical troops participating in the war were awarded military orders and medals. [11]
In the course of eliminating the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster, given the training and technical equipment of the chemical forces, they were assigned some of the most difficult work. The Department of Chemical Forces was created on 1 June 1992 on the basis of the disbanded Directorate of the Belarusian Military District and was included in the General Staff of the Armed Forces. On 21 December 2001, in connection with the creation of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus, the department of chemical forces of the Main Headquarters of the Armed Forces was reorganized and included in it as a department of the Republican Chemical Chemistry for Protection and Ecology of the General Staff of the Armed Forces. [11]
The post of commander of the Ground Forces was abolished in 2012 when the Ground Forces Command was disbanded.
The Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus are the military forces of Belarus. It consists of the Ground Forces and the Air Force and Air Defence Forces, all under the command of the Ministry of Defence. As a landlocked country, Belarus has no navy, however the Belarusian military does have control over some small Soviet inherited naval vessels in its rivers and lakes.
The Order of Lenin Moscow Military District is a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Originally it was a district of the Imperial Russian Army until the Russian Empire's collapse in 1917. It was then part of the Soviet Armed Forces. The district was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1968. In 2010, it was merged with the Leningrad Military District to form the new Western Military District. In December 2022, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu proposed to reestablish it along with the Leningrad Military District, a decision confirmed in June 2023 by Deputy Chief of the General Staff Yevgeny Burdinsky. The district was formally reconstituted on 26 February 2024 by a Presidential Decree №141, after the Western Military District was split.
The Ukrainian Ground Forces, also referred to as the Ukrainian army, are the land forces of Ukraine and one of the eight branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. They were formed from Ukrainian units of the Soviet Army after Ukrainian independence, and trace their ancestry to the 1917–22 army of the Ukrainian People's Republic.
The North Caucasus Military District was a military district of the Russian Armed Forces from 1992-2010. Before 1992 it had been part of the Soviet Armed Forces since 1918. In 2010 it became the Southern Military District and lately also included the Black Sea Fleet and Caspian Flotilla.
The Air Force and Air Defence Forces of the Republic of Belarus is the air force of the Armed Forces of Belarus, formed in 1992 from the 26th Air Army of the Soviet Air Forces which had been serving in the Byelorussian SSR.
The 103rd Separate Guards Airborne Brigade is an airborne brigade of the Belarusian Special Forces. Its predecessor unit was the 103rd Guards Airborne Division, which was a division of the Soviet Airborne Troops. It was established in 1946 and disbanded in 1993, a year after its transfer to the Armed Forces of Belarus. The division was formed from the 103rd Guards Rifle Division, which fought as infantry during the final months of World War II in the Vienna Offensive following its formation in late 1944.
The 51st Guards Artillery Brigade is an artillery brigade of the Belarusian Ground Forces, based at Osipovichi.
The Northwestern Operational Command (SZOK) is a command of the Belarus Ground Forces. It is headquartered at Borisov and is commanded by Major General Alexander Volfovich. The command includes a mechanized brigade and a mixed artillery brigade. It was formed in 2001 from the 65th Army Corps.
The Russian Signal Troops , also known as the Signal Communications Troops, is a Combat Arm of the Russian Ground Forces, responsible for military communications.
The 11th Guards Mechanized Brigade is a unit of the Armed Forces of Belarus based in Slonim. The 11th Guards Brigade traces its history back to the 1942 formation of the 6th Tank Corps of the Soviet Army during World War II.
The Red Banner Central Asian Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces, which existed in 1926–1945 and 1969–1989, with its headquarters at Tashkent (1926–1945) and Almaty (1969–1989). By USSR Order No.304 of 4 June 1926, the Turkestan Front was renamed the Central Asian Military District.
The Western Operational Command (ZOK) is a command of the Belarus Ground Forces. It is headquartered in Grodno. It is composed of two Mechanized Brigades and an artillery brigade. The command was created in 2001 from the 28th Army Corps, the former 28th Army.
The Special Operations Forces of Belarus (SSO) is a service branch of the Armed Forces of Belarus. Like all post-Soviet states, Belarus inherited its special forces units from the remnants of the Soviet armed forces, GRU and KGB units. The units of the Belarusian SSO, which include two airborne brigades and one Spetsnaz brigade, are the only fully manned ground combat units in the Armed Forces of Belarus.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus is the central body of military management and operational control of the Armed Forces of Belarus. The Chief of the General Staff is appointed by the President of Belarus, who is the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. The General Staff is part of the Ministry of Defence of Belarus.
The Coastal Troops are a service arm of the Russian Navy. Their missions are to protect Russian fleets' forces, personnel, and seashore objects from enemy surface ships; to defend naval bases and other important facilities of the Fleets from land attacks, including amphibious and air assaults; to participate in amphibious and air assaults; to support the Russian Ground Forces in defending against airborne and amphibious assaults; and to destroy enemy surface ships, boats and amphibious transports in their operational area.
The Missile Troops and Artillery, are a Combat Arm of the Russian Ground Forces, They are the primary means of providing fire on the enemy during combined-arms operations. They are designed to perform the following main tasks:
The Belarusian Transport Troops is the service branch of the Armed Forces of Belarus. It is responsible for the movement of personnel and material by truck, rail, and air, and is designed to carry the tasks of the transport support of the military formations from other service branches across the country.
The 465th Missile Brigade ; Military Unit Number 61732) is a tactical ballistic missile brigade of the Belarusian Ground Forces. The sole active ballistic missile brigade of the Armed Forces of Belarus, the brigade is armed with Tochka-U tactical ballistic missiles inherited from the Soviet Union and the Russian-supplied Iskander system. Based at the Yuzhny military base near Osipovichi, the brigade reports directly to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Belarus.
The 336th Rocket Artillery Brigade is a rocket artillery brigade of the Belarusian Ground Forces. The only rocket artillery brigade of the Armed Forces of Belarus, the brigade is armed with BM-30 Smerch multiple rocket launcher system inherited from the Soviet Union with one battalion equipped with the domestically produced Polonez multiple rocket launcher. Based at the Yuzhny military base near Osipovichi, the brigade reports directly to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Belarus.
The 147th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment is a surface-to-air missile regiment of the Belarusian Air and Air Defense Forces. Stationed at Babruysk, the regiment is equipped with the Osa-AKM short-range, low altitude surface to air missile system to provide air defense for the local air base. Before being reduced to a regiment in 2017, it was the 147th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade.
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