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| Odessa Military District | |
|---|---|
 Boundaries of the Odessa Military District (in red) on 1 January 1989 | |
| Active | 1862 - 1998 |
| Country |  Russian Empire (1862 - 1918) Soviet Union (1939 - 1941), (1944 - 1991) Ukraine (1991 - 1998) Moldova (1991 - 1992) |
| Type | Military district |
| Headquarters | Odessa (nowOdesa) |
| Engagements | Invasion of Poland(selected units),Invasion of Romania,World War II |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Georgy Zhukov (06/1946 - 02/1948) |
TheOdessa Military District (Russian:Одесский военный округ, ОВО;Ukrainian:Червонопрапорний Одеський військовий округ,romanized: Chervonoprapornyi Odeskyi viiskovyi okruh,lit. 'Red Banner Odesa Military District', abbreviatedОдВО,OdVO) was a military administrative division of theArmed Forces of Ukraine. This district consisted ofMoldavia and fiveUkrainian oblasts ofOdesa (then spelledOdessa),Mykolaiv,Kherson,Crimea andZaporizhzhia. In 1998 most of its territory was transformed into theSouthern Operational Command.
The district was originally established by theSoviet Armed Forces, and then was inherited by Ukraine. As the Soviet Union dissolved, the district's14th Guards Army was split three ways. The army headquarters and some of its forces, stationed in Transnistria, as well as the 59th Guards Motor Rifle Division, came under the jurisdiction of Russia - the rest were divided between Ukraine and theArmed Forces of Moldova.[1]
An earlier district of the same name was established in 1864 by theImperial Russian Army.
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The Odessa Military District was established during the reforms of the Russian military ministerDmitry Milyutin. It was the second of two districts on the territory of the future Ukraine, the other beingKiev Military District. OVO existed from 1862–1918 as part of the Imperial Russian Armed Forces. It encompassed the territories ofKherson,Yekaterinoslav,Tauride, andBessarabiaguberniyas. The district borderedKingdom of Romania,Kiev Military District,Don Voisko Oblast, andBlack Sea. In the 1870s and 1880s (until August 12, 1889) the Commander of the district served as the interimGovernor General ofOdesa city (then spelledOdessa) concurrently. In January 1918 the Odessa Military District headquarters was transformed into the headquarters of the SovietRomanian Front under the jurisdiction ofRumcherod. With the establishment of the Ukrainian government on its territory, it was terminated. OVO was reinstated as the Ukrainian forces were pushed out the area in April to August 1919.
The district was reformed by the decision of October 11, 1939 specifically for the occupation of Bessarabia after the Soviet Union signedMolotov–Ribbentrop Pact. At that time its territory included the newly createdMoldovian SSR, six oblasts of theUkrainian SSR (Izmail,Odesa (then Odessa),Dnipropetrovsk,Zaporizhzhia,Mykolaiv,Kirovohrad) and also theCrimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic as part of theRussian SFSR. TheOdessa MD was reinforced by several units from theUkrainian Front that took part in theSoviet invasion of Poland andRomania, previously formed on base of the Odessa Army Group of theKiev Special Military District (reformed Kiev Military District).
By directivesOV/583 andOV/584 of the SovietPeople's Commissariat of Defense, units of the Odessa Military District, currently commanded by Mjr. Gen.I.V. Boldin, were ordered intobattle ready state in the spring of 1940. Soviet troop concentrations along the Romanian border took place between April 15 and June 10, 1940. In order to coordinate the efforts of the Kiev and Odessa Military districts in the preparation of action against Romania, the Soviet Army created theSouthern Front under GeneralGeorgy Zhukov, composed of the5th, 9th and12th Armies. TheSouthern Front had 32 infantry divisions, 2 motorized infantry divisions, 6 cavalry divisions, 11 tank brigades, 3 paratrooper brigades, 30 artillery regiments, and smaller auxiliary units.
Two action plans were devised. The first plan was prepared for the case that Romania would not accept to evacuateBessarabia andBukovina. The Soviet 12th Army was supposed in such a situation to strike Southward along thePrut river towardsIaşi, while Soviet 9th Army was supposed to strike East-to-West south ofChişinău towardsHuşi. The target of this plan was to surround the Romanian troops in theBălţi-Iaşi area. The second plan took into consideration the case that Romania would succumb to Soviet demands and would evacuate its military. In such a situation, Soviet troops were given the mission to reach quickly the Prut river, and take charge of the evacuation process of the Romanian troops. The first plan was taken as the basis of action. Along the portions where the offensive was supposed to take place, Soviets prepared to have at least a triple superiority of men and means.
On June 22, 1941 primary combat formations included:[2]
In August 194151st Independent Army was formed in theCrimea.
On September 10, 1941 the district was abolished as it was overran by the Armed Forces ofNazi Germany and its allies.
The District was reformed on April 23, 1944 with its headquarters atKirovohrad, which in October 1944 relocated to Odesa. In 1948,4th Guards Army, with10th Guards Budapest Rifle Corps (33rd Mech, 59, 86) and24th Guards Rifle Corps (35 Guards Mech,180th Rifle Division, 51 Ind Rifle Brigade), plus82nd Rifle Corps (34th Guards Mech, 28th Guards Rifle, 52 Ind Rifle Brigade) were in the district.[3]
Marshal of the Soviet Union,Giorgi Zhukov was assigned command of the Odessa Military District after the war, far from Moscow and lacking in strategic significance and troops. He arrived there on 13 June 1945. Zhukov suffered a heart attack in January 1948, spending a month in hospital. In February 1948, Zhukov was moved to another secondary posting, this time command of theUrals Military District.[4] General ColonelNikolay Pukhov took command.
82nd Rifle Corps existed until 13 June 1955, when it was renamed25th Rifle Corps, and 25.6.57 it was renamed25th Army Corps. HQ in Nikolayev with the28th Guards Motor Rifle Division, 34th Guards MRD and 95th MRD in the late 1950s. Disbanded in June 1960.[5]
In May 1955 the district's forces included the10th Guards Budapest Rifle Corps (35th,59th Guards,86th Guards Rifle Division),25th Rifle Corps (including the20th Rifle Division (Zaporozhia), and 28th Guards RDs) and32nd Rifle Corps, and the48th, and66th Guards Rifle Divisions.[6] In May 1957 the 20th Rifle Division became the 93rd Motor Rifle Division, but the division was disbanded in March 1959.[7]
In 1960 the 113th Guards Motor Rifle Division and 95th Motor Rifle Division were disbanded.
In April 1960 the Odessa Military District consisted of three oblasts (Mykolaiv Oblast,Izmail Oblast andOdesa Oblast) as well as theMoldavian SSR and the three new oblasts from the disbandedTavria Military District:Zaporizhzhia Oblast,Crimean Oblast, andKherson Oblast.
From September 1984 the District came under command of the South-Western Strategic Direction, with its headquarters atKishinev.[8]
In the Odessa District's territory were additionally deployed the14th Guards Army (created on the basis of10th Guards Budapest Rifle Corps), the32nd Army Corps (possibly reformed on the basis of the headquarters units of the former Tauric Military District) in 1956,[9] complemented by the98th Guards Airborne Division as well as seven additional motor rifle divisions.
The5th Air Army of theSoviet Air Forces provided tacticalair support for the District's units and the49th Air Defence Corps,8th Air Defence Army was tasked with national air defence for the territory.
The Odessa Military District was transferred to the jurisdiction of Ukraine after thedissolution of the Soviet Union on January 3, 1992 at 18:00.[citation needed]William E. Odom says that 'in accordance with the Minsk agreements [from the CIS summit in Minsk of 30–31 December 1991],Shaposhnikov sent an order on 3 January 1992, formally transferring conventional forces to Ukraine. President Kravchuk then approved the firing of the three military district commanders (..). On 7–8 January each were removed, none resisting because within their headquarters Kravchuk's people had quietly created a network of officers loyal to his government.'[10]
Its units were split between theArmed Forces of Ukraine and some units, mostly from the14th Guards Army, in the formerMoldovian SSR that became part of theArmed Forces of the Russian Federation.
Around 1988, the District contained the following forces:[12]
Following thedissolution of the Soviet Union the 14th Guards Army became entangled in the laterWar of Transnistria. The98th Guards Airborne Division was split between Russia and Ukraine; the Ukrainian half became the1st Airmobile Division and the Russian part was withdrawn toIvanovo in theMoscow Military District and became part of theRussian Airborne Troops.
The 5381st Equipment Storage Base with its headquarters atFlorești, the former 86th Guards Motor Rifle Division, was taken over by Moldova.[18]
The 5th Air Army was later redesignated the 5th Aviation Corps of theUkrainian Air Force in 1994.[19]
Colonel GeneralVolodymyr Shkidchenko commanded the Odessa Military District from December 1993 until it became theOperational Command South in February 1998. Since January 3, 1998 the Odessa Military District was transformed into theSouthern Operational Command of theUkrainian Ground Forces according to the Decree ofMinistry of Defense of Ukraine from July 1, 1997.[citation needed] The command encompasses nineoblasts: Odesa, Mykolaiv, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kirovohrad, Kharkiv, and the autonomous republic of Crimea.
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