 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "35th Combined Arms Army" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(December 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| 35th Combined Arms Army | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35-я общевойсковая армия | |||||
 35th Army great emblem (from 2015) | |||||
| Active |
| ||||
| Country |  Soviet Union (1941–1945; 1969–1991) Russia (since 1991) | ||||
| Branch | Soviet Army (until 1991) Russian Ground Forces | ||||
| Type | Combined Arms | ||||
| Size | Field army | ||||
| Part of | Eastern Military District | ||||
| Garrison/HQ | Belogorsk, Amur Oblast | ||||
| Engagements | |||||
| Decorations | |||||
| Commanders | |||||
| Current commander | Major General Sergei Nyrkov | ||||
| Notable commanders | Nikanor Zakhvatayev | ||||
| Insignia | |||||
| NATO Map Symbol |
| ||||
The35th Combined Arms Red Banner Army (Russian: 35-я общевойсковая армия) is a fieldarmy of theRussian Ground Forces. The army was first formed in July 1941 with theFar Eastern Front. After spending most of World War II guarding the border inPrimorsky Krai, the army fought in theSoviet invasion of Manchuria in August 1945, and was disbanded shortly after the end of the war. Reformed atBelogorsk whenSino-Soviet tensions rose in the late 1960s in the Far East, the army became part of theEastern Military District in 2010.
The 35th Army was formed from the18th Rifle Corps in July 1941, part of theFar Eastern Front. It included the35th,66th and78th Rifle Divisions, the 109th Fortified Region and smaller artillery and infantry units. It defended the Soviet border inPrimorsky Krai. 18th Rifle Corps commander Major GeneralVladimir Zaytsev became the army commander.[3] On 1 May 1945 35th Army joined the Maritime Group of Forces. In June, Lieutenant General andHero of the Soviet UnionNikanor Zakhvatayev became the army commander.[4] Zaytsev was still a major general and became the army's deputy commander.[5] The Maritime Group of Forces was transformed on 5 August 1945 to the1st Far East Front. It had as part of its structure the66th,264th and363rd Rifle Divisions, the 8th and 109thFortified Regions, the 125th, 208th, and 209th Tank Brigades, and a number of artillery and other units.[6] With these forces the army participated in theHarbin-Kirin Offensive Operation during theSoviet invasion of Manchuria.[7]
During the Harbin-Kirin Offensive, the army was tasked with attacking from positions southwest ofLesozavodsk towardsMishan. The army was to defeat elements of theKwantung Army on the left bank of theSongacha River and capture theHutou Fortified Area. Parts of the army were assigned to defend the right bank of theUssuri and Songacha Rivers, as well as defending railways and roads in theGuberovo andSpassk-Dalny areas. At the beginning of the offensive, the army crossed the Ussuri and Songacha Rivers using transports of theAmur Flotilla and capturedHulin. It captured Mishan on 12 August and by the end of the next day had captured Dunan. The army then capturedKentey-Alin andBoli on 16 August. The army cut off the Kwangtung Army's line of retreat atMudanjiang. By 19 August, the army was in theLinkou County. The army was then involved in disarming surrendering Japanese soldiers. On 1 October 1945, the army became part of thePrimorsky Military District and was disbanded within a month.[8]
In June 1969 the29th Army Corps became the 35th Army. In 1968–69 four divisions were gathered to become part of the corps, later army, in the Far East:265th Motor Rifle Division arrived in 1968,266th Motor Rifle Division arrived from theNorth Caucasus Military District and the31st Guards Motor Rifle Division from the Baltic Military District in 1969, and the192nd Motor Rifle Division was activated that same year.[9]
On 16 May 1977, the 31st Guards Motor Rifle Division became the 21st Guards Tank Division. In February 1980, the67th Motor Rifle Division was transferred to the army from theLeningrad Military District.[9]
In 1988 the 35th Army consisted of the:[10]
Headquarters 35th Red Banner Army (Belogorsk, Amur Oblast):
The 35th Army is still stationed in theEastern Military District with its headquarters atBelogorsk.
Until the2008–2011 reform when it became the 35CAA, it consisted of three divisions: the 21st Guards (Belogorsk) and270th (Krasnaya Rechka, Khabarovsk) Motor Rifle Divisions, and the128th Machine-Gun Artillery Division (Babstovo), along with smaller combat and support units.
In 2009, the 128th Machine-Gun Artillery Division became the 69th Separate Fortress Brigade.[11] In 2010, the 270th Motor Rifle Division became the 243rd Weapons and Equipment Storage Base.[12] The 21st Guards Motor Rifle Division appears to have become the 38th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade.
In 2016, the army consisted of the following units:[13]
In the context of the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, elements of the 35th Army (including units from the 38th Motor Rifle Brigade, 64th Motor Rifle Brigade, 69th Fortress Brigade, 165th Artillery Brigade and 107th Rocket Brigade) had been deployed toBelarus and were participating in active combat operations.[14]
In June 2022, Russian military bloggers reported that the 35CAA was routed in the battle ofIzyum and that the remnants of the army withdrew toBelgorod,[15] claiming that the number of infantry in the brigades of the army had fallen to "12-15 people (64th brigade), the combined number of 38th and 64th motorised brigades – less than 100 of truly combat-ready infantry in each brigade."[16] On 4 June 2022 Ukrainian sources claimed that Ukrainian forces had almost completely annihilated the 35CAA.[17]
In August 2022 the remnants of the 35CAA were reportedly sent to defend the occupied territory ofKherson Oblast on the West Bank of theDnieper river, alongside the49th Combined Arms Army.[18]
On 30 August 2025, The UkrainianI Want to Live project claimed that 18 Russian officers were killed in an arson attack on a command post of the 35th Combined Arms Army nearVoskresenska, Zaporizhzhia Oblast.[19]
The following officers commanded the 35th Army from 1969 to 1991.[9]
| Armies |
|
|---|---|
| Guards | |
| Tank/Mechanized | |
| Guards Tank/Mechanized | |
| Shock | |
| Cavalry | |
| Sapper |
|
| Reserve Army |
|
-_Infantry_(NATO_APP-6).svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)