The 2nd Tank Division (2-я танковая дивизия) was a division 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 ...

and

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 ...

, which was formed twice under very different circumstances.

First Formation

The 3rd Mechanised Corps was first formed in July 1940; on 22 June 1941, was stationed at

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

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 ...

under MG Alexey Kurkin. It consisted of 2nd Tank Division (Maj. Gen. Yegor Solyankin) 5th Tank Division, 84th Motorised Division, 15th Motorcycle Regiment, an artillery regiment, and engineer and signals battalions. On 22 June, the 2nd Tank Division was located in the forest in Gajzhuny, in the Ionava area. On 22 June 1941, the 3rd Mechanised Corps had 31,975 men & 651 tanks, of which 110 were new

T-34 The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank from World War II. When introduced, its 76.2 mm (3 in) tank gun was more powerful than many of its contemporaries, and its 60-degree sloped armour provided good protection against Anti-tank warfare, ...

and

KV-1 The Kliment Voroshilov (KV; ) tanks are a series of Soviet heavy tanks named after the Soviet defence commissar and politician Kliment Voroshilov who operated with the Red Army during World War II. The KV tanks were known for their heavy armour ...

types. The division was heavily engaged in the first battles of

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 ...

, particularly during the

Baltic Operation (1941) The Baltic strategic defensive operation () encompassed the operations of the Red Army from 22 June to 9 July 1941 conducted over the territories of the occupied Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia in response to the offensive launched by the Wehrm ...

and at the

Battle of Raseiniai The Battle of Raseiniai (23–27 June 1941) was a large tank battle that took place in the early stages of Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union. The battle was fought between the elements of the German 4th Panzer Group an ...

. On 23 June,

Kampfgruppe In military history, the German term (pl. ; abbrev. KG, or KGr in usage during World War II, literally "fighting group" or " battlegroup") can refer to a combat formation of any kind, but most usually to that employed by the of Nazi Germa ...

Von Seckendorff of the German 6th Panzer Division, consisting of 114th Panzergrenadier Regiment (motorized infantry), Aufklärungsabteilung 57 (Panzer Reconnaissance

Battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

57), one company of

Panzerjäger ''Panzerjäger'' (German: literally "armor hunter", more broadly "anti-tank") is a term used for an anti-tank vehicle (self-propelled anti-tank gun), as well as anti-tank units. The term was first used in the Wehrmacht (German armed forces, 19 ...

Battalion 41, and, that morning only, Motorcycle Battalion 6, was overrun by 2nd Tank Division near Skaudvilė. The German

Panzer 35(t) The Panzerkampfwagen 35(t), commonly shortened to Panzer 35(t) or abbreviated as Pz.Kpfw. 35(t), was a Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovak-designed light tank used mainly by Nazi Germany during World War II. The letter (t) stood for ''tschechisch'' (Ge ...

tanks and antitank weapons were ineffective against the Soviet heavy

and

KV-2 The Kliment Voroshilov (KV; ) tanks are a series of Soviet heavy tanks named after the Soviet defence commissar and politician Kliment Voroshilov who operated with the Red Army during World War II. The KV tanks were known for their heavy armour ...

tanks—some of them were out of ammunition but closed in and destroyed German antitank guns by driving over them. The Germans concentrated on immobilising the Soviet tanks by firing at their tracks and then by tackling them with

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

, anti-aircraft guns, or by blowing them up with explosive charges of the

sticky bomb The "Grenade, Hand, Anti-Tank No. 74", commonly known as the S.T. grenade or simply sticky bomb, was a British hand grenade designed and produced during the Second World War. The grenade was one of a number of anti-tank weapons developed for u ...

type. On 24 June 1941, a single

heavy tank of 2nd Tank Division, at a crossroads in front of

Raseiniai Raseiniai (; Samogitian dialect, Samogitian: ''Raseinē'') is a city in Lithuania. It is located on the south eastern foothills of the Samogitians highland, some north from the A1 highway (Lithuania), Kaunas–Klaipėda highway. History Grand ...

, managed to cut off elements of the 6th Panzer Division which had established bridgeheads on the

Dubysa The Dubysa, at 131 km, is the 15th longest river solely in Lithuania. It originates just a few kilometers from Lake Rėkyva near Šiauliai city in northern Lithuania. At first it flows south, before turning southeast at Lyduvėnai and so ...

. It stalled the Division's advance for a full day while being attacked by a variety of antitank weapons, until it finally ran out of ammunition. General

Erhard Raus Erhard Raus (8 January 1889 – 3 April 1956) was an Austrian general in the ''Wehrmacht'' of Nazi Germany during World War II. He commanded the 6th Panzer Division during the early years of the war on the Eastern Front before taking army and ...

, the Officer commanding 6th Panzer Division's

Raus, which was the unit held up by the lone vehicle, described the incident. Raus said that the vehicle was damaged by several shots from an 88

Anti-Tank Gun An anti-tank gun is a form of artillery designed to destroy tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, normally from a static defensive position. The development of specialized anti-tank munitions and anti-tank guns was prompted by the appearance ...

firing at the vehicle from behind whilst it was distracted by

tanks from Panzer Battalion 65 and the crew were killed by

grenade A grenade is a small explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a Shell (projectile), shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A mod ...

s from a Pioneer Engineer unit. The grenades were pushed through two holes made by the gun whilst the turret had started moving again, the other five or six shots having not apparently penetrated completely. The crew had remarkably only been apparently stunned by the shots which had entered the turret. Afterwards they were buried nearby with honours by the German soldiers of the unit held up. The 2nd Tank Division was encircled and destroyed at

. On 11 July 1941 Col P Poluboiarov, Northwestern Front armoured directorate reported that the 3rd Mechanised Corps had 'completely perished', having only 400 men remaining who escaped encirclement with 2nd Tank Division and only one

BT-7 } The BT-7 was the last of the BT series of Soviet cavalry tanks that were produced in large numbers between 1935 and 1940. It was lightly armoured, but reasonably well-armed for the time, and had much better mobility than other contemporary t ...

tank.

Second Formation

The second formation of the division was originally formed on 14 May 1932 in village Lutkovka-medical in the Veditsky Shmakovsky raion of the Ussuriysk Oblast,

Far Eastern Military District The Far Eastern Military District () was a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In 2010 it was merged with the Pacific Fleet and part of the Siberian Military District to form the new Eastern Military District. Histo ...

, as the 1st or 2nd (sources differ) Collective Farm Division. It was renamed the 66th Rifle Division on 21 May 1936. The division formed part of the 35th Army of the Independent Coastal Group in the Far East in May 1945. In August 1945 the division, as a part of

1st Far East Front First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

, participated in the Soviet operation against Japan. On 9 August 1945 the division began operations as part of 35th Army, advancing 12 kilometers, having forced the Songacha River in northern

Heilongjiang Heilongjiang is a province in northeast China. It is the northernmost and easternmost province of the country and contains China's northernmost point (in Mohe City along the Amur) and easternmost point (at the confluence of the Amur and Us ...

. The division fought on the

Ussuri River The Ussuri ( ; ) or Wusuli ( ) is a river that runs through Khabarovsk and Primorsky Krais, Russia and the southeast region of Northeast China in the province of Heilongjiang. It rises in the Sikhote-Alin mountain range, flowing north and for ...

at Khotunsky (Хотунского), Mishansky (Мишаньского), Border (Пограничного), and Duninsky (Дунинского) fortified districts, capturing the cities of Mishan,

Jilin ) , image_skyline = Changbaishan Tianchi from western rim.jpg , image_alt = , image_caption = View of Heaven Lake , image_map = Jilin in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_al ...

, Jantszy, and

Harbin Harbin, ; zh, , s=哈尔滨, t=哈爾濱, p=Hā'ěrbīn; IPA: . is the capital of Heilongjiang, China. It is the largest city of Heilongjiang, as well as being the city with the second-largest urban area, urban population (after Shenyang, Lia ...

. For its valour in combat and courage on 19 September 1945 the 66th Rifle Division was awarded the

Order of Kutuzov The Order of Kutuzov ( ''orden Kutuzova'') is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named after famous Russian Field Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov, Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov (1745–1813). The Order was established during World War II t ...

, Second Degree. Three

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union () was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society. The title was awarded both ...

medals, 1266 awards, and 2838 medals were given to the division's personnel. On 29 November 1945, it was reorganised as the 2nd Tank Division. It was renamed again in 1957 as the 32nd Tank Division, and in 1965 as the 66th Tank Division. See also http://www.ww2.dk/new/army/td/2td.htm. On 30 March 1970, the division became the 277th Motor Rifle Division.Feskov 2013, p. 589

References

Bibliography

* * *Michael Holm
2nd Tank Division
(Second Formation) * * {{Soviet Union divisions 1945–1957

002 002, 0O2, O02, OO2, or 002 may refer to: Airports *0O2, Baker Airport *O02, Nervino Airport Astronomy *1996 OO2, the minor planet 7499 L'Aquila *1990 OO2, the asteroid 9175 Graun Fiction *002, fictional British 00 Agent *''002 Operazione Luna'' ...

Tank divisions of the Soviet Union in World War II