Western Operational Command (Belarus)

Last updated
Western Operational Command
Belarus Western Operational Command Insignia.png
Active2001–present
CountryFlag of Belarus.svg  Belarus
Branch Belarus Ground Forces
TypeCommand
Garrison/HQ Grodno
Commanders
Current
commander
Uladzimir Bely [1]
Chief of staffColonel Alyaksandr Laurenov [2]
Notable
commanders
Colonel Viktor Khrenin
Map showing main military units of the Belarusian Armed Forces Armed Forces of Belarus in 2021 (en).png
Map showing main military units of the Belarusian Armed Forces

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. [3]

Contents

History

The Western Operational Command traces its lineage back to the Soviet 28th Army. In July 1945, the 28th Army headquarters was relocated to Grodno. By 1988, the army was composed of the 6th Guards Tank Division, 28th Tank Division, 50th Guards Motor Rifle Division and the 514th Territorial Training Center. On 20 March 1992, the army was taken over by Belarus. [4] In 1993, the 28th Army was downsized to become the 28th Army Corps. In 1994, the 50th Division became a separate mechanized brigade, and was further reduced to a storage base in 2001, then finally disbanded in 2006. [5] The Western Operational Command was created in December 2001 from the 28th Army Corps. [3] It participated in the exercises "Neman-2001", "Berezina-2002", "Chistoye Nebo-2003", "Shchit Otechestva-2004", "Shchit Soyuza-2006", "Zapad-2009", "Shchit Soyuza-2011" and the joint strategic exercises with Russian military units "Zapad-2013". [6] [7] In 2015, Colonel Viktor Hrenin (former deputy commander of the command) [8] became the command's head and Colonel Oleg Melnikov was appointed chief of staff of the command. [3]

Formations and units

The command is composed of the following units. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armed Forces of Belarus</span> Combined military forces of Belarus

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belarusian Air Force</span> Aerial warfare branch of Belarus armed forces

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">6th Combined Arms Army</span> Soviet and Russian field army

The 6th Combined Arms Army is a field army of the Red Army and the Soviet Army that was active with the Russian Ground Forces until 1998 and has been active since 2010 as the 6th Combined Arms Army. Military Unit number в/ч 31807.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Byelorussian Military District</span> Military unit

The Byelorussian Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces. Originally formed just before World War I as the Minsk Military District out of the remnants of the Vilno Military District and the Warsaw Military District, it was headed by the Russian General Eugen Alexander Ernst Rausch von Traubenberg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">34th Tank Division (Soviet Union)</span> Tank division of the Soviet military

The 34th Tank Division was a formation of the Red Army and Soviet Ground Forces that was formed twice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transbaikal Military District</span> Soviet and Russian military command

The Transbaikal Military District was a military district of first the Soviet Armed Forces and then the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, formed on 17 May 1935 and included the Buryat Republic, Chita Oblast, and Yakutia. Chita was the headquarters of the district. It was finally disbanded on 1 December 1998 by being amalgamated with the Siberian Military District, though Chita remained the headquarters of the new amalgamated district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">5th Guards Tank Army</span> Soviet Army formation

The 5th Guards Tank Army was a Soviet Guards armored formation which fought in many notable actions during World War II. The army was formed in February 1943. Until the aftermath of the Vilnius Offensive in July 1944, it was commanded by Pavel Rotmistrov.

The 12th Guards Uman Orders of Lenin Red Banner and Suvorov Tank Division was a tank division of the Soviet Ground Forces. It drew its history from the World War II 16th Tank Corps. It was redesignated successively as 12th Guards Tank Corps (1943) and 12th Guards Tank Division (1946).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">28th Army (Soviet Union)</span> Soviet Army formation

The 28th Army was a field army of the Red Army and the Soviet Ground Forces, formed three times in 1941–42 and active during the postwar period for many years in the Belorussian Military District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern Military District</span> Military district of Russia

The Eastern Military District is a military district of Russia.

The 55th Guards Rifle Division was a Red Army military unit, engaged in the Second World War. Its full name was the 55th Guards Rifle Irkutsk-Pinsk Order of Lenin, Order of the October Revolution, three Red Banner, Order of Suvorov 2nd degree division named after the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northwestern Operational Command</span> Military unit

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">11th Guards Berlin-Carpathian Mechanized Brigade</span> Military unit

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">19th Guards Mechanized Brigade (Belarus)</span> Belarusian Ground Forces formation

The 19th Guards Mechanized Brigade is a formation of the Armed Forces of Belarus based in Zaslonovo, a few kilometers east of Lepiel. The brigade traces its history back to the 1942 formation of the 2nd Guards Mechanized Corps of the Soviet Army during World War II. Subsequent designations during the Cold War included 2nd Guards Mechanized Division and 19th Guards Tank Division. Following the Cold War, the 19th Guards Tank Division was relocated to Belarus and became part of their armed forces in 1992. Thereafter, the unit was reduced to a personnel and equipment cadre unit and titled the 19th Guards Base for Storage of Weapons and Equipment before being upgraded to a mechanized brigade in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">8th Tank Army</span> Military unit

The 8th Tank Army was one of ten Soviet tank armies. It was formed from the 52nd Army after the end of World War II. It was stationed around the city of Zhytomyr, in the western Ukrainian SSR, part of the Carpathian Military District. During the Cold War, the army was involved in the crushing of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, Operation Whirlwind, and the crushing of the Prague Spring, Operation Danube. After the Dissolution of the Soviet Union, the 8th Tank Army became the Ukrainian 8th Army Corps.

The 37th Guards "Rechitsa" Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army which fought during World War II.

The 22nd Missile Brigade was a Tactical ballistic missile brigade of the Soviet Army from 1961 to 1992 and of the Armed Forces of Belarus from 1992 to 2005. For most of its history, the brigade was stationed in Dombóvár with the Southern Group of Forces. It moved to Tsel in the Belorussian Military District after the Soviet withdrawal from Hungary and was taken over by Belarus in 1992. The brigade was disbanded in 2005.

The 24th Tank Division was a tank division of the Soviet Union, formed twice. The division's first formation was formed in the spring of 1941 and fought in the Leningrad Strategic Defensive before being broken up into two smaller brigades. The division's second formation was originally formed in 1956 as the 24th Heavy Tank Division and became a regular tank division in 1957. It became a training division in 1960 and was redesignated the 54th District Training Center in 1987 before being disbanded in 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belarusian Ground Forces</span> Land forces of Belarus

The Belarusian Ground Forces is a service branch of the Armed Forces of Belarus.

Colonel Uladzimir Uladzimravich Bely, is a Belarusian army officer who is currently the commander of the Western Operational Command since March 2023.

References

  1. "Белы Уладзімір Уладзіміравіч — Ваенны інфармацыйны партал Міністэрства абароны Рэспублікі Беларусь". www.mil.by. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
  2. "Лаўрэнаў Аляксандр Аляксандравіч — Ваенны інфармацыйны партал Міністэрства абароны Рэспублікі Беларусь". www.mil.by. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
  3. 1 2 3 "Западное оперативное командование" [Western Operational Command]. www.mil.by (in Russian). Ministry of Defense of Belarus. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
  4. Holm, Michael. "28th Combined Arms Army". www.ww2.dk. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
  5. "В Бресте с расформированной 50-й БХВТ ушла последняя техника". TUT.BY (in Russian). Retrieved 2017-05-28.
  6. "ЗАПАДНОМУ ОПЕРАТИВНОМУ КОМАНДОВАНИЮ — 72! | Во славу Родины – Свежий выпуск" [Western Operational Command – 72! | To the glory of the motherland – Fresh release]. vsr.mil.by (in Russian). Retrieved 2015-12-28.
  7. "Западное оперативное командование Вооружённых сил Республики Беларусь" [Western Operational Command of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus]. НОВОСТИ (Novosti) (in Russian). Retrieved 2015-12-28.
  8. "Reshuffles in Belarus army". euroradio.fm. 7 July 2014. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
  9. "Западное оперативное командование" [Western Operational Command]. belarmy.by (in Russian). 14 March 2011. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
  10. Holm, Michael. "6th Guards Tank Division". www.ww2.dk. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
  11. Holm, Michael. "28th Tank Division". www.ww2.dk. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
  12. Holm, Michael. "50th Guards Motorised Rifle Division". www.ww2.dk. Retrieved 2016-02-10.