The 30th 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 ...
9465) 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 (
Pruzhany
Pruzhany is a town in Brest Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Pruzhany District. The town is located at the confluence of the Mukha River and the Vets Canal, where the Mukhavets River rises. As of 2025, it has a popu ...
), 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 32nd 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 corps 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 30th Tank Division's 61st Tank Regiment concentrated west of Pruzhany by 0900. The division formed two columns, reinforced by artillery.
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:
** 60th Tank Regiment
** 61st Tank Regiment
** 30th Motorized Rifle Regiment
** 30th Motorized Howitzer Regiment
** 30th Reconnaissance Battalion
** 30th Motorized Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion
** 30th Motorized Pontoon Battalion
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