The 11th Tank Division was a Soviet tank division initially formed in 1940 at

Tiraspol Tiraspol or Tirișpolea ( ro, Tiraspol, Moldovan Cyrillic: Тираспол, ; russian: Тира́споль, ; uk, Тирасполь, Tyraspol') is the capital of Transnistria (''de facto''), a breakaway state of Moldova, where it is the th ...

and destroyed in 1941; it was then formed as a tank corps in May 1942. This unit was subsequently reorganized as the second formation of the 11th Tank Division in 1945.

History

First Formation

The first (1940) formation of the 11th Tank Division was subordinated to the 2nd Mechanized Corps, itself part of the 9th (independent) Army. The 11th Tank Division was destroyed near Novo-Arkhangelsk (Ukraine) in combat against the Germans in August 1941, with remnants escaping encirclement and being reorganized as the 132nd Tank Brigade, which later became the 4th Guards Tank Brigade.

11th Tank Corps

Initiating a separate unit lineage, the 11th Tank Corps was formed on May 19, 1942. By June 1942, the 11th Tank Corps was subordinated to the

Bryansk Front The Bryansk Front (russian: Брянский фронт) was a major formation of the Red Army during the Second World War. First Formation (August - November 1941) General Andrei Yeremenko was designated commander of the Front when it first f ...

. Subordinate units at that time included the 53rd and 160th Tank Brigades, and the 12th Motor Rifle Brigade. The corps was never permanently attached to a tank army and was subordinated to several fronts during the course of the war. 11th Tank Corps was in combat near Kharkov in 1942, Orel in 1943, the offensive to drive the Germans from Belorussia in 1944, and the offensive across central Poland in January 1945. As the Soviet Army approached victory in April 1945 during the

Battle of Berlin The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II. After the Vistula– ...

, the 11th Tank Corps was part of the 1st Belorussian Front. It commanded the 20th, 36th, and 65th Tank Brigades, as well as the 12th Motor Rifle Brigade. During the battle, the corps was used to flank the

Seelow Heights The Seelow Heights are situated around the town of Seelow, about east of Berlin, and overlook the Oderbruch, the western flood plain of the River Oder, which is a further to the east. They are sometimes known as the "Gates to Berlin", because ...

from the north, and in the advance into the city from the east.

Second Formation

The 11th Tank Corps, like all Soviet tank corps, was reorganized as a division on 10 June 1945, and was renamed the 11th Tank Division. The 11th Tank Division was part of the

Group of Soviet Forces in Germany The Western Group of Forces (WGF),. previously known as the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (GSOFG). and the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSFG),. were the troops of the Soviet Army in East Germany. The Group of Soviet Occupa ...

, subordinated to 1st Guards Tank Army from August of that year. It was soon transferred to the

3rd Shock Army The 3rd Shock Army (russian: Третья ударная армия) was a field army of the Red Army formed during the Second World War. The "Shock" armies were created with the specific structure to engage and destroy significant enemy forces ...

. The division was relocated to

Gusev, Kaliningrad Oblast Gusev (russian: Гу́сев; german: Gumbinnen; lt, Gumbinė; pl, Gąbin) is a town and the administrative center of Gusevsky District of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Pissa and Krasnaya Rivers, near the border ...

in the

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

in early 1947. It was disbanded in February 1947, with its tank regiments becoming part of rifle divisions in the district and the 12th Motor Rifle Regiment, 243rd Mortar Regiment, 1388th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment, 115th Guards Separate Mortar Battalion, 153rd Sapper Battalion, 687th Communications Battalion, 204th Medical-Sanitary Battalion, and 677th Motor Transport Battalion were all disbanded. An 11th Guards Tank Corps also existed but was a different unit.

Commanders

The following officers commanded the 11th Tank Corps during World War II: * Major General

Alexey Popov Alexey Lvovich Popov (russian: Алексей Львович Попов; July 13, 1974 in Moscow) is a Russian journalist and TV commentator best known as a commentator on Formula 1 racing. Biography His first Formula 1 race Popov saw in 198 ...

(19 May21 July 1942)Glantz (Companion), pp. 86–87. * Major General Ivan Lazerev (22 July 19427 June 1943) * Major General Nikolai Radkevich (8 June21 October 1943) * Major General Dmitry Gritsenko (22 October 194311 January 1944) * Major General Filipp Rudkin (12 January14 July 1944) * Major General Ivan Yushchuk (15 July 1944after 9 May 1945)

References

Citations

Bibliography

* *Glantz, David, ''Stumbling Colossus: The Red Army on the Eve of World War'', University Press of Kansas, 1998. *Glantz, David, ''Companion to Colossus Reborn'', University Press of Kansas, 2005. *Poirier, Robert G., and Conner, Albert Z., ''The Red Army Order of Battle in the Great Patriotic War'', Novato: Presidio Press, 1985. *
Niehorster OB for 11th Tank Corps in 1945
{{Soviet Union divisions 1945–57

011 The following is a list of different international call prefixes that need to be dialled when placing an international telephone call from different countries. Countries by international prefix Countries using optional carrier selection code ...

Military units and formations established in 1940 Military units and formations disestablished in 1955 1940 establishments in the Soviet Union