36th Army (Soviet Union)

36th Army
Active	1st formation: 1 August 1941 – July 1948 2nd formation: 1976 – 1989
Country	Soviet Union
Branch	Red Army(Soviet Armyfrom 1946)
Type	Field Army
Engagements	Invasion of Manchuria
Commanders
Notable commanders	Alexander Luchinsky

The36th Armywas a military formation of theRed Armyand theSoviet Ground Forces,formed twice.

Formed in mid-1941, the army spent much ofWorld War IIas part of theTransbaikal Military Districtguarding the Manchurian and Mongolian-Soviet borders. During theSoviet invasion of Manchuriain August 1945, the army advanced over theGreater Khinganmountains and overran the JapaneseHailarfortified region in fierce fighting. It was disbanded after the end of the war in mid-1948.

The army was reformed in 1976 from the 86th Army Corps, which had been itself established in 1968 as a result of risingSino-Soviet tensions.It garrisoned theTransbaikaluntil being reduced to the 55th Army Corps in 1989 as theCold Warended.

First formation

Garrison duty in the Transbaikal

The army was formed in July 1941 in theTransbaikal Military Districtfrom the12th Rifle Corps,under the command of Major GeneralSergey Fomenko,promoted to lieutenant general on 16 October 1943. It initially included the65th,93rd,94th,and114th Rifle Divisionsas well as the 31st and 32ndFortified Regions,supported by a number of artillery units, among others. The army became part of theTransbaikal Frontin September when the latter was created from the district, and for the rest ofWorld War IIguarded the Manchurian-Soviet and Mongolian-Soviet borders in theTransbaikal.

Soviet invasion of Manchuria

Advance of the 36th Army between 8 and 12 August 1945

For the August 1945Soviet invasion of Manchuria,the army included the2ndand86th Rifle Corps,the293rdand298th Rifle Divisions,the 31st and 32ndFortified Regions,and tank, artillery, and other units. As part of theKhingan–Mukden Offensive Operation,the army was tasked with an advance from theDauriyaarea and positions northeast ofDuroytoHailarin order to secure the attack of the main force of the Transbaikal Front against a Japanese counterattack from the north. To expedite the advance of the army a mobile group consisting of the205th Tank Brigade,rifle regiments aboard vehicles, artillery and anti-aircraft artillery regiments, self-propelled artillery and missile launcher battalions as well as sapper companies was formed. Beginning their attack on the night of 9 August without artillery or aerial bombardment, the forces of the army swiftly overran Japanese covering units, captured theJalainur-Manchuria fortified region on the right flank, and crossed theArgun Riveron the left flank to advance on Hailar. An advance of 40 kilometers was reached by the end of the day.

Advance of the 36th Army between 12 and 18 August 1945

Continuing the rapid offensive, the forces of the army surrounded the Hailar fortified region on the second day of the invasion and its main forces advanced deep into Manchuria. After crossing theGreater Khingan,on 17 August they capturedBoketu,Yalu, andZalantun.As the vanguard of the 205th Tank Brigade moved towardsQiqihar,which was reached on 19 August, elements of the army continued the reduction of the Hailar fortified region, which fell on 18 August. Following the surrender of theKwantung Army,the troops of the army helped disarm Japanese troops.

Postwar

The army became part of theTransbaikal-Amur Military Districtwhen the front headquarters became a military district on 10 September. By 1 October, it included the 2nd Rifle Corps with the103rd,275th,and292nd Rifle Divisions,the 86th Rifle Corps with the94th,210th,and the 298th Rifle Divisions, and the 293rd Rifle Division and 31st and 32nd Fortified Regions directly subordinated to the army headquarters. The headquarters of the 2nd Rifle Corps, and the 103rd and 275th Divisions were quickly disbanded as part of the postwar demobilization. The demobilization continued in early to mid-1946, during which the 210th, 292nd, 293rd, and the 298th Divisions were disbanded. As a result, the army was reduced to the 86th Rifle Corps with the36thand 94th Rifle Divisions and the57th Rifle Division,61st Tank Division,and the 3rd and 8th Machine Gun Artillery Brigades by August of that year.

Headquartered atChitaby May 1947, the army headquarters was used to reform the Transbaikal Military District headquarters there on 10 July. Simultaneously, the 86th Rifle Corps headquarters became a new army headquarters atTsugol.The existence of this formation was brief, and in accordance with an order of 24 March 1948 the army headquarters was disbanded by July and used to help form the14th Assault Armyin theChukotka Peninsula.The 86th Rifle Corps and 61st Tank Division were directly subordinated to the district.

Commanders

The following officers commanded the army:

• Major GeneralSergey Fomenko(promoted to lieutenant general 16 October 1943; 27 July 1941 – June 1945)
• Lieutenant GeneralAlexander Luchinsky(promoted tocolonel general8 September 1945; June–September 1945)
• Lieutenant General Sergey Fomenko (September 1945 – 1948)

Second formation

38th GMRD

Army HQ

122nd GMRD

11th GMRD

class=notpageimage|

Major unit headquarters locations in the late 1980s

The second formation of the 36th Army was originally formed as the 86th Army Corps of the Transbaikal Military District atBorzyaon 19 April 1968, as a result of theSino-Soviet split.The numbering of the corps was a reference to the 86th Rifle Corps, in an attempt to continue traditions. The corps included the122nd Guards Motor Rifle DivisionatDauriyawhose predecessors had been stationed in the region since 1945, and two other Guards Motor Rifle Divisions transferred from theMoscow Military District:the11th(Bezrechnaya),32nd,and the38th(Sretensk). However, the 32nd Guards returned to the Moscow Military District in 1970.The 86th Corps was redesignated as the second formation of the 36th Army on 1 June 1976, covering the southeast border of Transbaikal. In addition to its divisions, the army included other units transferred fromEuropean Russia,such as the 240th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade at Borzya, transferred in early 1975 from the7th Tank Armyof theBelorussian Military District.By the end of the 1980s, the 11th, 14th, 16th, and 18th, and 19th Fortified Regions were part of the army.

Abandoned barracks of the 18th Fortified Region, Krasnokamensk

On 1 June 1989, the army was downsized into the 55th Army Corps. Later that year, as Soviet military expenditure declined with the winding down of theCold War,the 38th Guards and 122nd Guards became the 131st Guards and 122nd Guards Machine Gun Artillery Divisions, respectively. The five fortified regions were merged to form regiments in the latter, while the 11th Guards Division was reduced to a weapons and equipment storage base in 1990.The corps was transferred to theRussian Ground Forceswhen the Soviet Union dissolved, and was redesignated as the36th Armyagain in 1997.

Commanders

The following officers are known to have commanded the 86th Army Corps and the army:

• Major GeneralYakov Gugnyak(23 May 1968 – 30 December 1969)
• Major GeneralAlexander Borodayev(31 January 1970 – 9 November 1972)
• Major GeneralVladimir Krayev(promoted to Lieutenant General 31 October 1980; August 1980 – 1985)
• Major GeneralLeonty Kuznetsov(1985–November 1987)
• Major GeneralGeorgy Kondratiev(December 1987 – March 1989)

References

Bibliography

• Beloborodov, Afanasy, ed. (1963).Военные кадры Советского государства в Великой Отечественной войне 1941 – 1945 гг[Military Leaders of the Soviet State in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945] (in Russian). Moscow: Voenizdat.
• Feskov, V.I.; Golikov, V.I.; Kalashnikov, K.A.; Slugin, S.A. (2013).Вооруженные силы СССР после Второй Мировой войны: от Красной Армии к Советской[The Armed Forces of the USSR after World War II: From the Red Army to the Soviet: Part 1 Land Forces] (in Russian). Tomsk: Scientific and Technical Literature Publishing.ISBN9785895035306.
• Ivanov, Sergei, ed. (2004). "Тридцать шестая армия" [Thirty-Sixth Army].Военная энциклопедия в 8 томах [Military Encyclopedia in 8 volumes](in Russian). Vol. 8. Moscow: Voenizdat. pp. 130–131.ISBN5-203-01875-8.

Further reading

• Luchinsky, Alexander (1971)."Забайкальцы на сопках Маньчжурии"[Transbaikalians into the hills of Manchuria](PDF).Voyenno-istorichesky Zhurnal (Military-Historical Journal)(in Russian) (8): 67–74.