65th Army (Soviet Union)
| 65th Army (1942-April 1946) 7th Mechanized Army (April 1946-1957) 7th Tank Army (1957-1993) 7th Army Corps (1993-1994) 65th Army Corps (1994-2001) North Western Operational Command (2001-present) |
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|---|---|
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| Active | October 1942-present |
| Country |
 Belarus (1992-present) |
| Branch |
 Red Army (1942-1946)Soviet Army (1946-1992) Belarus Ground Forces (1992-present) |
| Type | Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Borisov |
| Engagements | |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander |
Major General Alexander Volfovich |
| Chief of Staff | Major General Valeriy Gnilozub |
| Notable commanders |
Colonel General Pavel Batov |
Soviet Union (1942-1992)
The North Western Operational Command (SZOK) is a command of the Belarus Ground Forces. It is headquartered at Borisov and is commanded by Major General Alexander Grigoryevich Volfovich. The command includes a mechanized brigade and a mixed artillery brigade. It was formed in 2001 from the 65th Army Corps.
The command traces its lineage to the 65th Army of the Red Army, a field army of the Soviet Union during World War II. It was formed in October 1942 from rebuilding elements of the first formation of the 4th Tank Army on the Don Front. The army was commanded by Pavel Batov until after the fall of Berlin, and served in various Fronts commanded by Konstantin Rokossovsky for the duration of the war.
Postwar, the 65th Army was moved to the Belorussian Military District, where it became the 7th Mechanized Army. In 1957 it became the 7th Tank Army. With the Dissolution of the Soviet Union the army became part of the Belarus Ground Forces and was downsized into the 7th Army Corps in 1993. A year later it was renamed the 65th Army Corps.
4th Tank Army, under command of Maj. Gen. Vasily Kryuchenkin, launched numerous counterattacks against the German corridor to Stalingrad from August to October, 1942, until it was severely depleted in strength. (It was derisively known for a time as the "four-tank army" due to the few vehicles still operational.) Batov, who had previously commanded the 51st Army and the 3rd Army, assumed command on Oct. 22, with orders to rebuild these forces as a combined-arms army, the 65th, as part of Rokossovsky's new Don Front. This was accomplished by mid-November, and at this time the army consisted of:
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