The 1st Tank Division was a Division sized unit of the Red Army that existed from 1940–42. It was later reformed, from a separate formation, with a different lineage. Within the Soviet Ground Forces it existed as a second line ready division from 1945–2008, at Kaliningrad in the Baltic Military District.
First formation
The division was first formed in July 1940 and had the following structure:[1]
When under the control of the Leningrad Military District the division was assigned to the 1st Mechanized Corps where it remained until its disbandment. When the division was disbanded the division was broken up and used to create the new 122nd, 123rd, and 124th Tank Brigades. Before disbandment the division contained the following units:[2]
The Division was re-formed for its second time on 18 August 1941 from the 1st Motor Rifle Division. The division had the following formation upon creation:[3]
Headquarters
12th Tank Regiment
6th Motorized Rifle Regiment
175th Motorized Rifle Regiment
13th Artillery Regiment
300th Separate Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion
Mortar Battalion
93rd Reconnaissance Battalion
28th Separate Signals Battalion
87th Medical Battalion
45th Motor Transport Battalion
54th Repair and Recovery Company
22nd Engineer Company
30th Field Bakery
218th Field Post Station
63rd Field Ticket Officer of the State Bank
Insterburgskaya Tank Division
The division was established 4 July 1945 in Kaliningrad, Kaliningrad Oblast, from the 1st Tank Corps.
After the end of the war the division was stationed in Kaliningrad and had the following structure:[4]
Headquarters
89th Tank Regiment
117th Tank Regiment
159th Tank Regiment
44th Motorized Rifle Regiment
98th Guards Heavy Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment
108th Mortar Regiment
1720th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment
Independent Howitzer Artillery Battalion
10th Independent Guards Mortar Battalion
86th Independent Motorcycle Battalion
183rd Independent Sapper Battalion
767th Independent Signals Battalion
190th Independent Medical Battalion
Independent Auto-Transport Battalion
72nd Independent Tank Training Battalion
Early 1950s
After force reductions in early 1953, Soviet divisions were re-organized and most were drawn down to just cadre brigades, including the 1st Tank Division. The reforms mostly were because of the draw-down after the end of the Second World War and the changes were mostly organized by Nikita Khrushchev and his cabinet. The "division" had the following structure after the re-forms:
Just three years later in 1960, the 72nd Independent Tank Training Battalion was disbanded.
Structure in 1990
After many years the Soviet Ground Forces had a major re-fit under Dmitry Yazov including the 1st Tank Division. In 1990 the division consisted of the following just before its major re-organization:
In 1993 the 1st Tank Division was reduced in status to the 2nd Independent Tank Brigade. Finally, in 1998 the brigade was re-organized and became the 385th Weapons and Equipment Storage Base. The base was finally disbanded in 2008 as a result of the 2008 Russian military reform.