Carpathian Military District

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The Carpathian Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1945 after the conclusion of the Second World War to 1990-91. It became part of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in 1991 and was disbanded by being redesignated the Western Operational Command later in the 1990s.

Two districts were formed in what was to become the district's territory in 1944-45. During May 1944 in the freed territory of the West Ukraine the Lvov Military district was activated, headed by the former deputy commander of the 2nd Ukrainian Front. In July 1945 the Carpathian military district (PriKVO) was created during from the staff of the 4th Ukrainian Front at Chernovtsakhy. The two districts were amalgamated on 6 May 1946 with the headquarters at Lvov. The District's territory included 10 regions of the Ukrainian SSR - Vinnitsa, Volyn, Zhitomir, Transcarpathian, Ivano-Frankovsk, Lvov, Rovenskuyu, Khmel'nitskiy, Ternopol, and Chernovitskuy.

The 13th Red Banner Army was located for the entire postwar period in the L'vov and Carpathian Districts, initially comprising 3 rifle corps (9 divisions). Almost all its divisions were Guards formations: the 17th, 51st, 97th (the former 40th, 15th, and 97th Rifle Divisions). Only the 24th (subsequently resubordinated to Military District control) and the 161st (a former Rifle Division) were not Guards divisions, but both were renown formations.

The District became subordinate to the Western Strategic Direction in the late 1970s/early 80s. The 8th Tank (formed from 8th Mechanised Army in 1957), 13th, and 38th Armies were stationed in the District for most of its existence. The 14th Air Army and 2nd Army of PVO were also located there. Scott and Scott reported the HQ address in 1979 as L'vov-8, Ulitsa Vatutina, Dom 12.

[edit] Order of Battle

The District's forces at the end of the 1980s included:

[edit] Commanders since World War II

The District's commanders included:

  • General of the Army А.I. Yeremenko (September 1945-October 1946),
  • Colonel General K.N. Galitskiy (101946-11 1951),
  • Marshal of the Soviet Union I.S. Konev (November 1951-March 1955),
  • General of the Army Pavel Batov (03 1955-1958)
  • General of the Army A.L. Getman (1958-1964),
  • General Colonel P.N. Lashchenko (1964-09 1967),
  • General Colonel V.Z. Bisyarin (September 1967-1969),
  • General Colonel of Tanks G.I. Obaturov (01 1970-07 1973),
  • General of the Army V.I. Varennikov (07 1973-08 1979),
  • General of the Army V.A. Belikov (08 1979-07 1986),
  • General Colonel V.V. Skokov (с 07 1986)

Former Soviet and Western sources agree on an end-1980s figure of three tank divisions and nine or ten motor rifle divisions in the District. In its last years under Ukrainian control the District saw a large reduction in the number of troops within it as Ukraine reduced the 780,000 troops it had inherited from the Soviet Union to a figure more appropriate to its new needs.

[edit] Sources

  • V.I. Feskov, K.A. Kalashnikov, V.I. Golikov, The Soviet Army in the Years of the Cold War 1945-91, Tomsk University Publishing House, Tomsk, 1994
  • A.G. Lenskii, M.M. Tsybin, The Soviet Ground Forces in the last years of the USSR, St. Peterburg, 2001
  • Scott and Scott, The Armed Forces of the Soviet Union, Westview Press, Boulder, Co., 1979
  • IISS, The Military Balance 1990-91
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