The 25th Tank Division of the Soviet Union's

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 ...

was a tank formation, active in 1941-45 on the Eastern Front of World War II, and during the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

. Formed in the Moscow Military District in June 1941, the 25th Tank Division initially faced the daunting challenges of the German

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...

. It formed part of the 13th Mechanized Corps. The division was formed from the 44th Light Tank Brigade at

Gomel Gomel (, ) or Homyel (, ) is a city in south-eastern Belarus. It serves as the administrative centre of Gomel Region and Gomel District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2025, it is the List of cities and largest ...

and was later relocated to Łapy. The division had most of the corps' tanks. Its early days were marked by intense battles, where the division experienced both setbacks and successes. On June 22, 1941, the 13th Mechanized Corps was located within Western Front in the vicinity of Bialystok in the second echelon of Soviet troops.

Battle of Bialystok-Minsk

From that day, the 25th Tank Division fought in the Bialystok salient. By noon, the German 263rd Infantry Division 9th Army Corps broke through to Bransk (Bryansk), where they encountered the division's reconnaissance battalion. The corps' 18th motorcycle regiment was sent to the rescue of the

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

s; his advanced detachment broke through to Bransk, but the main forces of the

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

were stopped and driven back. On July 4, 1941, the 25th Tank Division was disbanded.

Second formation

As the war progressed, the 25th Tank Corps participated in pivotal battles. It operated a mix of tank models, reflecting the Soviet Union's efforts to modernize its armoured forces. Over time, advancements in tank technology influenced the division's composition, incorporating heavier tanks to meet increasing demands. By the latter stages of the war, the 25th Tank Corps had become a seasoned and battle-hardened unit. Its experiences shaped the Soviet military's understanding of armoured warfare and contributed to the development of post-war

military doctrine Military doctrine is the expression of how military forces contribute to campaigns, major operations, battles, and engagements. A military doctrine outlines what military means should be used, how forces should be structured, where forces shou ...

. The 25th Tank Corps became a Tank Division soon after the war ended, and moved from Hungary to Eastern Germany. The division underwent further modernization, incorporating new tanks and armoured personnel carriers. From 1958-67 it was organised as a Heavy Tank Division. In the late 1980s the division included the 175th and 162nd Tank Regiments; 335th Guards Tank Regiment; and 803rd Guards Motor Rifle Regiment. The division was stationed at Vogelsang with the 20th Guards Combined Arms Army. The end of the Cold War saw significant transformations in the Soviet military structure, and the eventual dissolution of the Soviet Armed Forces. The 25th Tank Division was withdrawn from

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

Chuguev Chuhuiv () or Chuguev () is a city in Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine. The city is the Capital (political), administrative center of Chuhuiv Raion (district). It hosts the administration of Chuhuiv urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Population ...

in the

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

from June 1989 and disbanded.

References

* * {{Cite web , title=Tank Division, Soviet Army, 22 June 1941 , url=http://niehorster.org/012_ussr/41_organ/div_tank/td.html , access-date=2024-01-24 , website=niehorster.org Tank divisions of the Soviet Union Military units and formations disestablished in 1989