The 1st Tank Division was a Division sized unit of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

that existed from 1940–42. It was later reformed, from a separate formation, with a different lineage. Within the

Soviet Ground Forces The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...

it existed as a second line ready division from 1945–2008, at

Kaliningrad Kaliningrad,. known as Königsberg; ; . until 1946, is the largest city and administrative centre of Kaliningrad Oblast, an Enclave and exclave, exclave of Russia between Lithuania and Poland ( west of the bulk of Russia), located on the Prego ...

in the

Baltic Military District The Baltic Military District () was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces in the Baltic states, formed shortly before the German invasion during World War II. After the end of the war the Kaliningrad Oblast was added to the District's co ...

First formation

The division was first formed in July 1940 and had the following structure: * Headquarters under

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

Vasiliy Ivanovich Ivanov ** 1st Tank Regiment ** 2nd Tank Regiment ** 1st Motorized Rifle Regiment ** 1st Motorized Howitzer Regiment ** 1st Reconnaissance Battalion ** 1st Motorized Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion ** 1st Motorized Pontoon Battalion ** 63rd Field Post Office ** 204th State Bank Field Officer When under the control of the

Leningrad Military District The Order of Lenin Leningrad Military District () is a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The district was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1968. In 2010, it was merged with the Moscow Military District, the Northern ...

the division was assigned to the 1st Mechanized Corps where it remained until its disbandment. When the division was disbanded the division was broken up and used to create the new 122nd, 123rd, and 124th Tank Brigades. Before disbandment the division contained the following units: * Headquarters under Major General Yakov Grigorevich Kreizer ** 1st Tank Regiment ** 2nd Tank Regiment ** 1st Howitzer Artillery Regiment ** 1st Separate Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion ** 1st Reconnaissance Battalion ** 1st Pontoon Battalion ** 1st Signals Battalion ** 1st Field Hospital Battalion ** 1st Motor Transport Battalion ** 1st Maintenance ''(Repair and Recovery)'' Battalion ** 1st Chemical Defense Company ** 1st Field Bakery ** 63rd Field Post Station ** 204th Field Ticket Officer of the State Bank

Second formation

The Division was re-formed for its second time on 18 August 1941 from the 1st Motor Rifle Division. The division had the following formation upon creation: * Headquarters ** 12th Tank Regiment ** 6th Motorized Rifle Regiment ** 175th Motorized Rifle Regiment ** 13th Artillery Regiment ** 300th Separate Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion ** Mortar Battalion ** 93rd Reconnaissance Battalion ** 28th Separate Signals Battalion ** 87th Medical Battalion ** 45th Motor Transport Battalion ** 54th Repair and Recovery Company ** 22nd Engineer Company ** 30th Field Bakery ** 218th Field Post Station ** 63rd Field Ticket Officer of the State Bank

Insterburgskaya Tank Division

The division was established 4 July 1945 in Kaliningrad, Kaliningrad Oblast, from the 1st Tank Corps. After the end of the war the division was stationed in

and had the following structure: * Headquarters ** 89th Tank Regiment ** 117th Tank Regiment ** 159th Tank Regiment ** 44th Motorized Rifle Regiment ** 98th Guards Heavy Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment ** 108th Mortar Regiment ** 1720th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment ** Independent Howitzer Artillery Battalion ** 10th Independent Guards Mortar Battalion ** 86th Independent Motorcycle Battalion ** 183rd Independent Sapper Battalion ** 767th Independent Signals Battalion ** 190th Independent Medical Battalion ** Independent Auto-Transport Battalion ** 72nd Independent Tank Training Battalion

Early 1950s

After force reductions in early 1953, Soviet divisions were re-organized and most were drawn down to just cadre brigades, including the 1st Tank Division. The reforms mostly were because of the draw-down after the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and the changes were mostly organized by

Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and the Premier of the Soviet Union, Chai ...

and his cabinet. The "division" had the following structure after the re-forms: * Headquarters at

** 89th Tank Regiment ** 117th Tank Regiment ** 159th Tank Regiment ** 127th Mechanized Rifle Regiment **886th Artillery Regiment ** 98th Guards Heavy Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment ** 1720th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment ''(1955 re-named to 1043rd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment)'' ** 10th Independent Guards Mortar Battalion ** 86th Independent Reconnaissance Battalion ** 183rd Independent Sapper Battalion ** 767th Independent Signals Battalion ** 190th Independent Medical Battalion ** Independent Auto-Transport Battalion **Independent Chemical Defense Company ** 72nd Independent Tank Training Battalion Later in June 1957 the division was re-organized yet again including: * 159th Tank Regiment - disbanded * 98th Guards Heavy Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment – re-named 98th Guards Heavy Tank Regiment * 127th Mechanized Rifle Regiment – renamed to 290th Motorized Rifle Regiment Just three years later in 1960, the 72nd Independent Tank Training Battalion was disbanded.

Structure in 1990

After many years the

had a major re-fit under Dmitry Yazov including the 1st Tank Division. In 1990 the division consisted of the following just before its major re-organization: * Headquarters -

** 89th Tank Regiment - Kornevo ** 117th Tank Regiment - Kornevo ** 501st Independent Guard and Service Battalion -

Mamonovo Mamonovo (, , or , ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, near the border with Poland. Population figures: Etymology Mamonovo is named after a Soviet Commander, , killed in action near Pułtusk on ...

** 79th Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment -

** 886th Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment -

** 1043rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment -

** 79th Independent Reconnaissance Battalion - Kornevo ** 218th Independent Missile Battalion -

** 183rd Independent Engineer-Sapper Battalion -

** 767th Independent Communications Battalion -

** 140th Independent Maintenance Battalion -

** Independent Chemical Defense Company -

** 190th Independent Medical Battalion -

** 1037th Independent Supply Battalion -

In 1993 the 1st Tank Division was reduced in status to the 2nd Independent Tank Brigade. Finally, in 1998 the brigade was re-organized and became the 385th Weapons and Equipment Storage Base. The base was finally disbanded in 2008 as a result of the 2008 Russian military reform.

References

{{Soviet Union divisions 1945–1957 Tank divisions of the Soviet Union Tank divisions of the Soviet Union in World War II Tank divisions of Russia Military units and formations disestablished in 1993