The 35th Army was formed from the 18th Rifle Corps in July 1941, part of the Far Eastern Front. It included the 35th, 66th and 78th Rifle Divisions, the 109th Fortified Region and smaller artillery and infantry units. It defended the Soviet border in Primorsky Krai. 18th Rifle Corps commander Major General Vladimir Zaytsev became the army commander.[3] On 1 May 1945 35th Army joined the Maritime Group of Forces. In June, Lieutenant General and Hero 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 the 1st Far East Front. It had as part of its structure the 66th, 264th and 363rd Rifle Divisions, the 8th and 109th Fortified Regions, the 125th, 208th, and 209th Tank Brigades, and a number of artillery and other units.[6] With these forces the army participated in the Harbin-Kirin Offensive Operation during the Soviet invasion of Manchuria.[7]
During the Harbin-Kirin Offensive, the army was tasked with attacking from positions southwest of Lesozavodsk towards Mishan. The army was to defeat elements of the Kwantung Army on the left bank of the Songacha River and capture the Hutou Fortified Area. Parts of the army were assigned to defend the right bank of the Ussuri and Songacha Rivers, as well as defending railways and roads in the Guberovo and Spassk-Dalny areas. At the beginning of the offensive, the army crossed the Ussuri and Songacha Rivers using transports of the Amur Flotilla and captured Hulin. It captured Mishan on 12 August and by the end of the next day had captured Dunan. The army then captured Kentey-Alin and Boli on 16 August. The army cut off the Kwangtung Army's line of retreat at Mudanjiang. By 19 August, the army was in the Linkou County. The army was then involved in disarming surrendering Japanese soldiers. On 1 October 1945, the army became part of the Primorsky Military District and was disbanded within a month.[8]
Until the 2008–2011 reform when it became the 35CAA, it consisted of three divisions: the 21st Guards (Belogorsk) and 270th (Krasnaya Rechka, Khabarovsk) Motor Rifle Divisions, and the 128th 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 the 2022 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 to Belarus and were participating in active combat operations.[14]
In June 2022, Russian military bloggers reported that the 35CAA was routed in the battle of Izyum and that the remnants of the army withdrew to Belgorod,[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]
^"35-я армия" [35th Army]. samsv.narod.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
^"35-я армия" [35th Army]. victory.mil.ru (in Russian). Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation. Archived from the original on 1 December 2008. Retrieved 1 December 2008.
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.
Galeotti, Mark (2017). The Modern Russian Army 1992–2016. Elite 217. Oxford: Osprey. ISBN978-1-47281-908-6.
Soviet Union (1941-1945; 1969-1991)
Russia (since 1991)
Russian Ground Forces
Armies of the Russian Armed Forces
