The 22nd Tank Division (
Military Unit Number
A Military Unit Number (Russian: войсковая часть, в/ ч; Ukrainian: військова частина, в/ ч) is a numeric alternate designation for military units in the armed forces and internal troops of post-Soviet ...
5389) 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 March 1941–July 1941.
Formed in March 1941 and stationed in western Belarus, the division was destroyed in the
Battle of Białystok–Minsk
The Battle of Białystok–Minsk was a German strategic operation conducted by the Wehrmacht's Army Group Centre under Field Marshal Fedor von Bock during the penetration of the Soviet border region in the opening stage of Operation Barbaros ...
in June of the same year.
History of division formation
The division began forming in February–March 1941 in the Western special military district as part of the
14th mechanized corps at the base of the 29th tank brigade in the southern
military townlet
In military of Russia and some other post-Soviet states (as well as in the former Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, ...
on the outskirts of
Brest.
The division was equipped with 235 tanks,
most of which were the obsolete
T-26
The T-26 tank was a Soviet light tank used during many conflicts of the Interwar period and in World War II. It was a development of the British Vickers 6-Ton tank and was one of the most successful tank designs of the 1930s until its light ...
. The corps had half of its authorized 375 tanks.
Battle
The German artillery bombardment on the morning of 22 June destroyed much of the 22nd Tank Division's fuel, supplies, and ammunition at Brest.
A tank battalion from the 22nd Tank Division was sent towards the river and was unable to stop the crossing.
Attacking on the morning of 23 June, the 200 T-26s of the 22nd and 30th destroyed numerous German tanks but suffered heavier losses.
The German forces continued their attack, inflicting heavy losses on the 22nd Tank Division and killing Puganov.
Formation
The division was formed in March 1941 and had the following structure:
** 43rd Tank Regiment
** 44th Tank Regiment
** 22nd Motorized Rifle Regiment
** 22nd Motorized Howitzer Regiment
** 22nd Reconnaissance Battalion
** 22nd Motorized Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion
** 22nd Motorized Pontoon Battalion
** 663rd Field Post Office
** 568th State Bank Field office
References
Bibliography
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{{Soviet Union divisions before 1945
Tank divisions of the Soviet Union
Tank divisions of the Soviet Union in World War II
1941 establishments in the Soviet Union
1941 disestablishments in the Soviet Union