Group of Soviet Forces in Germany
Encyclopedia
The Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (1949–88) , also known as the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (1945–49) and the Western Group of Forces (1988–94) were the troops of the Soviet Army
in East Germany.
The Soviet
armies permanently stationed in Germany
were the predominant land-based defense against NATO from the late 1940s until 1989. The possibility of a war in Germany and other European countries was however kept low due to the dangers of nuclear escalation.
s. On its creation on 9 July 1945 it included:
5th Shock Army and 47th Army left Soviet Zone shortly after. 2nd Shock Army was replaced by 4th Guards Mechanized (Tank) Army. 3rd Guards Mechanized (Tank) Army was established, HQ Forst Zinna, later 18th Army.
Withdrawals from East Germany in 1956 and 1957/58 comprised more than 70,000 soviet army personnel, including 18th Army Staff.
GSFG had the task to ensure for the adherence to the regulations of the Potsdam Agreement
. Furthermore, they represented the political and military interests of the Soviet Union. In 1957 an agreement between the governments of the Soviet Union
and the GDR laid out the arrangements over the temporary stay of Soviet armed forces on the territory of the GDR, the numerical strength of the Soviet troops, and their assigned posts and exercise areas. It was specified that the Soviet armed forces were not to interfere into the internal affairs of the GDR, as they had done during the Uprising of 1953 in East Germany
.
Following a resolution of the government of the USSR in 1979/80 20,000 army personnel, 1,000 tanks and much equipment was withdrawn from the territory of the GDR, among them 6th Guards Tank Division, HQ Wittenberg. In the course of Perestroika
the GSFG was realigned as a more defensive force regarding strength, structure and equipment. This entailed a clear reduction of the tank forces in 1989. The GSFG was renamed the Western Group of Forces on June 1, 1989. The withdrawal of the GSFG was one of the largest peacetime troop transfers in military history. Despite the difficulties, which resulted from the dissolution of the Soviet Union
in the same period, the departure was carried out according to plan and punctually until August 1994.
The return of the troops and material took place particularly by the sea route by means of the ports in Rostock
and the island of Rügen
, as well as via Poland. The Russian Ground Forces abandoned Germany on 25 June 1994 with a military parade of the 6th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade in Berlin. The parting celebrations in Wünsdorf on 11 June 1994 and in the Treptow Park in Berlin on 31 August 1994 marked the end of Soviet military operational readiness on German soil.
In addition to German territories, Group of Soviet Forces in Germany operational territory also included the region of town of Szczecin
, part of the territories
transferred from Germany to Poland following the end of the Second World War. The rest of Poland fell under the Northern Group of Forces
, while the southern regions (Austria
, Czechoslovakia
) were under the Central Group of Forces
.
.
In 1991 there were approximately:
At the end of the 1980s, the primary Soviet formations included:
.
Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (SOFG 1945–49):
Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSFG 1949-1988):
Western Group of Forces (WGF 1988–94)
Soviet Army
The Soviet Army is the name given to the main part of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union between 1946 and 1992. Previously, it had been known as the Red Army. Informally, Армия referred to all the MOD armed forces, except, in some cases, the Soviet Navy.This article covers the Soviet Ground...
in East Germany.
The Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
armies permanently stationed in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
were the predominant land-based defense against NATO from the late 1940s until 1989. The possibility of a war in Germany and other European countries was however kept low due to the dangers of nuclear escalation.
History
The Group of Soviet Occupation Forces, Germany, was formed after the completion of the Second World War from formations of the First and 2nd Belorussian Front2nd Belorussian Front
The 2nd Belorussian Front was a military formation of Army group size of the Soviet Army during the Second World War...
s. On its creation on 9 July 1945 it included:
- the Soviet 1st Guards Tank ArmySoviet 1st Guards Tank ArmyThe 1st Tank Army was a Soviet armoured formation that fought as part of the Red Army on the Eastern Front during World War II. The army was commanded throughout most of the war by Mikhail Katukov...
(HQ Dresden) · 8th Guards Mechanised Corps3rd Mechanised Corps (Soviet Union)The 20th Motor Rifle Division is a formation of the Russian Ground Forces, originally formed within the Soviet Red Army as the 3rd Mechanised Corps....
, the 11th Guards Tank Corps - 2nd Guards Tank Army (HQ Fürstenberg) · Soviet 1st Mechanized Corps, 9th Tank Corps, 12th Guard Tank Corps12th Guards Tank DivisionThe 12th Guards Uman, Orders of Lenin, Red Banner and Suvorov Tank Division was a tank division of the Soviet Ground Forces. It drew its history from the World War II 16th Tank Corps. It was redesignated successively as 12th Guards Tank Corps and 12th Guards Tank Division .The division was...
- 4th Guards Tank Army4th Tank Army (Soviet Union)The 20th Guards Army, , is a field army, since 1991, part of the Russian Ground Forces.-1st Formation :It was first formed within the Stalingrad Front from July 1942 and...
(HQ Eberswalde) · 5th guard mech. corps · 6th Guards Mechanised Corps90th Guards Tank DivisionThe 90th Guards Tank Division was a division of the Soviet Army, and then of the Russian Ground Forces. It was first activated in 1932 as the 82nd Rifle Division. In 1939 it was renamed the 82nd Motorized Rifle Division, and the same year took part in the Battle of Khalkin Gol. It was renamed the...
· 10th Guards Tank Corps10th Guards Uralsko-Lvovskaya Tank DivisionThe 10th Guards Uralsko-Lvovskaya Volunteer Tank Division, also known at the Ural-Lvov Tank Division, is a tank division of the Russian Ground Forces and part of the Moscow Military District's 20th Army, under the command of Lt. General Andrey Tretyak. The division traces its heritage back to 1943,... - 2nd Shock Army2nd Shock ArmyThe 2nd Shock Army was a field army of the Soviet Union during the Second World War. This type of formation was created in accordance with prewar doctrine that called for Shock Armies to overcome difficult defensive dispositions in order to create a tactical penetration of sufficient breadth and...
(HQ Schwerin) · 109th Rifle Corps (46th, 90th, 372nd Rifle Divisions), 116th Rifle Corps (86th, 321st, 326th Rifle Division) - 3rd Shock Army3rd Shock Army (Soviet Union)The 3rd Shock Army was a field army of the Red Army formed during the Second World War. The 'Shock' armies were created with the specific structure to engage and destroy significant enemy forces, and were reinforced with more armoured and artillery assets than other combined arms armies...
(HQ Stendal) · 7th Rifle Corps (146th, 265th, 364th Rifle Divisions) · 12th Guard Rifle Corps (23rd Guards, 52nd Guards, 33rd Rifle Divisions) · 79th Rifle Corps (150th, 171st, 207th Rifle Divisions) 9th Tank Corps - 5th Shock Army (HQ Berlin) · 9th Rifle Corps (248th, 301st Rifle Divisions) · 26th Guard Rifle Corps (89th Guard, 94th Guard, 266th Rifle Divisions) · 32nd Rifle Corps (60th Guard, 295th, 416th Rifle Divisions) · 230th Rifle Division · three independent tank brigades
- 8th Guards Army (HQ Nohra)NohraNohra is a municipality in the Weimarer Land district of Thuringia, Germany. On 1 December 2007, the former municipality Utzberg was incorporated by Nohra....
4th Guards Rifle Corps (35th, 47th, 57th Guard Rifle Divisions) · 28th Guard Rifle Corps (39th, 79th, 88th Guard Rifle Division) · 29th Guard Rifle Corps (27th, 74th, 82nd Guard Rifle Divisions) · 11th Tank Corps - 47th Army (HQ Halle) · 77th Rifle Corps (185th, 260th, 328th Rifle Division) · 125th Rifle Corps (60th, 76th, 175th Rifle Divisions) · 129th Rifle Corps (82nd, 132nd, 143rd Rifle Divisions) · 1st Guards Tank Corps and the 25th Tank Corps.
5th Shock Army and 47th Army left Soviet Zone shortly after. 2nd Shock Army was replaced by 4th Guards Mechanized (Tank) Army. 3rd Guards Mechanized (Tank) Army was established, HQ Forst Zinna, later 18th Army.
Withdrawals from East Germany in 1956 and 1957/58 comprised more than 70,000 soviet army personnel, including 18th Army Staff.
GSFG had the task to ensure for the adherence to the regulations of the Potsdam Agreement
Potsdam Agreement
The Potsdam Agreement was the Allied plan of tripartite military occupation and reconstruction of Germany—referring to the German Reich with its pre-war 1937 borders including the former eastern territories—and the entire European Theatre of War territory...
. Furthermore, they represented the political and military interests of the Soviet Union. In 1957 an agreement between the governments of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and the GDR laid out the arrangements over the temporary stay of Soviet armed forces on the territory of the GDR, the numerical strength of the Soviet troops, and their assigned posts and exercise areas. It was specified that the Soviet armed forces were not to interfere into the internal affairs of the GDR, as they had done during the Uprising of 1953 in East Germany
Uprising of 1953 in East Germany
The Uprising of 1953 in East Germany started with a strike by East Berlin construction workers on June 16. It turned into a widespread anti-Stalinist uprising against the German Democratic Republic government the next day....
.
Following a resolution of the government of the USSR in 1979/80 20,000 army personnel, 1,000 tanks and much equipment was withdrawn from the territory of the GDR, among them 6th Guards Tank Division, HQ Wittenberg. In the course of Perestroika
Perestroika
Perestroika was a political movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union during 1980s, widely associated with the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev...
the GSFG was realigned as a more defensive force regarding strength, structure and equipment. This entailed a clear reduction of the tank forces in 1989. The GSFG was renamed the Western Group of Forces on June 1, 1989. The withdrawal of the GSFG was one of the largest peacetime troop transfers in military history. Despite the difficulties, which resulted from the dissolution of the Soviet Union
Dissolution of the Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union was the disintegration of the federal political structures and central government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , resulting in the independence of all fifteen republics of the Soviet Union between March 11, 1990 and December 25, 1991...
in the same period, the departure was carried out according to plan and punctually until August 1994.
The return of the troops and material took place particularly by the sea route by means of the ports in Rostock
Rostock
Rostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.Afterwards the place was settled by German traders...
and the island of Rügen
Rügen
Rügen is Germany's largest island. Located in the Baltic Sea, it is part of the Vorpommern-Rügen district of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.- Geography :Rügen is located off the north-eastern coast of Germany in the Baltic Sea...
, as well as via Poland. The Russian Ground Forces abandoned Germany on 25 June 1994 with a military parade of the 6th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade in Berlin. The parting celebrations in Wünsdorf on 11 June 1994 and in the Treptow Park in Berlin on 31 August 1994 marked the end of Soviet military operational readiness on German soil.
In addition to German territories, Group of Soviet Forces in Germany operational territory also included the region of town of Szczecin
Szczecin
Szczecin , is the capital city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland. It is the country's seventh-largest city and the largest seaport in Poland on the Baltic Sea. As of June 2009 the population was 406,427....
, part of the territories
Recovered Territories
Recovered or Regained Territories was an official term used by the People's Republic of Poland to describe those parts of pre-war Germany that became part of Poland after World War II...
transferred from Germany to Poland following the end of the Second World War. The rest of Poland fell under the Northern Group of Forces
Northern Group of Forces
The Northern Group of Forces was the military formation of the Soviet Army stationed in Poland from the end of Second World War in 1945 until 1993 when they were withdrawn in the aftermath of the fall of Soviet Union...
, while the southern regions (Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
) were under the Central Group of Forces
Central Group of Forces
The Central Group of Forces was a Soviet military formation used to control Soviet troops in Central Europe on two occasions: in Austria and Hungary from 1945-55 and troops stationed in Czechoslovakia after the Prague Spring of 1968....
.
Structure and equipment in 1991
The Soviet troops occupied 777 barracks plants at 276 locations on the territory of the GDR. This also included 47 airfields and 116 exercise areas. At the beginning of 1991 there were still about 338,000 soldiers in 24 divisions, distributed among five land armies and an air army in what was by then the WGF. In addition there were still about 208,000 relatives of officers as well as civil employees came, among them were about 90,000 children. Most locations were in the area of today's BrandenburgBrandenburg
Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
.
In 1991 there were approximately:
- 4,200 tanks
- 8,200 armored vehicles
- 3,600 artillery pieces
- 106,000 other motor vehicles
- 690 airplanes
- 680 helicopters
- 180 rocket systems
At the end of the 1980s, the primary Soviet formations included:
- 1st Guards Tank Red Banner Army - DresdenDresdenDresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
- 9th Tank Division9th Tank DivisionThe 9th Tank Division was a division of the Red Army that saw action briefly in 1941. It was formed in the Central Asian Military District in the summer of 1940. In April 1941 the Division joined the newly formed 27th Mechanised Corps...
- RiesaRiesaRiesa is a town in the district of Meißen in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is located at the river Elbe, approx. 40 km northwest of Dresden.The world's first 110 kV power line was inaugurated between Riesa and Lauchhammer in 1912.... - 11th Guards Tank Division - Dresden-Klotzsche
- 20th Guards Motor Rifle Division - GrimmaGrimmaGrimma is a town in the Free State of Saxony, Germany on the left bank of the Mulde, southeast of Leipzig. Founded in c. 1170, it is part of the Leipzig district.- Location :...
- 9th Tank Division
- 2nd Guards Tank Army - Fürstenberg/HavelFürstenberg/HavelFürstenberg is a town in the Oberhavel district, in Brandenburg, Germany. Fürstenberg was the site of the Ravensbrück concentration camp, and a memorial now occupies the site.-Geography:...
- 16th Guards Tank Division - NeustrelitzNeustrelitzNeustrelitz is a town in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated on the shore of the Zierker See in the Mecklenburg Lake District. From 1738 until 1918 it was the capital of the duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz...
- 21st Guards Motor Rifle Division - Perleberg
- 94th Guards Motor Rifle Division - SchwerinSchwerinSchwerin is the capital and second-largest city of the northern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The population, as of end of 2009, was 95,041.-History:...
- 207th Guards Motor Rifle Division - StendalStendalStendal is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is the capital of Stendal District and unofficial capital of the Altmark. Its population in 2001 was 38,900. It is located some west of Berlin and around east of Hanover...
- 16th Guards Tank Division - Neustrelitz
- 3rd Shock Army - MagdeburgMagdeburgMagdeburg , is the largest city and the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Magdeburg is situated on the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe....
- 7th Guards Motor Rifle Division - Dresden-Roßlau
- 10th Guards Uralsko-Lvovskaya Tank Division10th Guards Uralsko-Lvovskaya Tank DivisionThe 10th Guards Uralsko-Lvovskaya Volunteer Tank Division, also known at the Ural-Lvov Tank Division, is a tank division of the Russian Ground Forces and part of the Moscow Military District's 20th Army, under the command of Lt. General Andrey Tretyak. The division traces its heritage back to 1943,...
- Altengrabow - 12th Guards Tank Division12th Guards Tank DivisionThe 12th Guards Uman, Orders of Lenin, Red Banner and Suvorov Tank Division was a tank division of the Soviet Ground Forces. It drew its history from the World War II 16th Tank Corps. It was redesignated successively as 12th Guards Tank Corps and 12th Guards Tank Division .The division was...
- NeuruppinNeuruppinNeuruppin is a town in Brandenburg, Germany. Located on the shore of Ruppiner See , it is the capital of the district of Ostprignitz-Ruppin. Population: 32,800 .-Overview:... - 47th Guards Tank Division - Hillersleben/Altmark
- 8th Guards Order of Lenin Army - Weimar-Nohra
- 27th Guards Motor Rifle Division27th Guards Rifle DivisionThe 27th Guards Rifle Division was a Red Army rifle division in World War II which later became a Soviet Army motor rifle division.The division draws its history from the 75th Naval Rifle Brigade formed in the end of 1941. As part of the 3rd Shock Army, Kalinin Front in 1942 the brigade...
- Halle/Saale - 39th Guards Motor Rifle Division - OhrdrufOhrdrufOhrdruf is a small town in the German federal state of Thuringia. It lies some 30 km southwest of Erfurt.-Medieval settling:Ohrdruf was founded in 724–726 by Saint Boniface, as the site of the first monastery in Thuringia, dedicated to Saint Michael. It was the first of several religious...
- 57th Guards Motor Rifle Division - NaumburgNaumburgNaumburg is a town in Germany, on the Saale River. It is in the district Burgenlandkreis in the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt. It is approximately southwest of Leipzig, south-southwest of Halle, and north-northeast of Jena....
- 79th Guards Tank Division - JenaJenaJena is a university city in central Germany on the river Saale. It has a population of approx. 103,000 and is the second largest city in the federal state of Thuringia, after Erfurt.-History:Jena was first mentioned in an 1182 document...
- 27th Guards Motor Rifle Division
- 20th Guards Red Banner Army - EberswaldeEberswaldeEberswalde is a major town and the administrative seat of the district Barnim in the German Federal State of Brandenburg, about 50 km northeast of Berlin. Population 42144 , geographical location . The town is often called Waldstadt , because of the large forests around it, including the...
- 6th Guards Motor Rifle Division - Karlhorst
- 35th Guards Motor Rifle Division1st Mechanized Corps (Soviet Union)The 1st Mechanized Corps was a formation in the Soviet Red Army during World War II. Initially formed in March 1940 it was attached to the Leningrad Military District, & held in reserve near Pskov fortified region in Soviet Union It was under the command of Major General M. L. Cherniavsky when the...
- Krampnitz - 90th Guards Tank Division90th Guards Tank DivisionThe 90th Guards Tank Division was a division of the Soviet Army, and then of the Russian Ground Forces. It was first activated in 1932 as the 82nd Rifle Division. In 1939 it was renamed the 82nd Motorized Rifle Division, and the same year took part in the Battle of Khalkin Gol. It was renamed the...
- BernauBernauBernau may refer to:*Bernau bei Berlin, a town in Brandenburg, Germany*Bernau am Chiemsee, a municipality in the district of Rosenheim in Bavaria, Germany*Bernau im Schwarzwald, a municipality in Baden-Württemberg, Germany... - 34th Artillery Division - PotsdamPotsdamPotsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....
- 16th Air ArmySpecial Purpose CommandThe Special Purpose Command was a formation of the Russian Air Force, the strongest among the tactical aviation and anti-aircraft groupings. Its zone of responsibility amounted to 1.3 million km², taking in 40 million people, as well as the country's capital, Moscow...
- Zossen-Wünsdorf- 6th Fighter Aviation Division - MerseburgMerseburgMerseburg is a town in the south of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt on the river Saale, approx. 14 km south of Halle . It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese founded by Archbishop Adalbert of Magdeburg....
- 16th Guards Fighter Aviation Division16th Guards Fighter Aviation DivisionThe 16th Guards Fighter Aviation Division was an Aviation Division of the Soviet Air Forces, active from 1942 to 1998. Originally activated in 1942 as the 258th Fighter Aviation Division from the Air Forces of the 14th Army, then the 258th Mixed Aviation Division; redesignated in accordance with...
- Ribnitz-DamgartenRibnitz-DamgartenRibnitz-Damgarten is a town in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated at the Ribnitzer See . Ribnitz-Damgarten is the largest town of the district Vorpommern-Rügen, but not its capital.-Geography:...
. Withdrawn 30 October 1993 to MillerovoMillerovoMillerovo is a town and the administrative center of Millerovsky District of Rostov Oblast, Russia. Population: It was founded in 1786 and named after its founder, the army officer Ivan Abramovich Müller...
, North Caucasus Military DistrictNorth Caucasus Military DistrictThe North Caucasus Military District was a military district of the Russian Ground Forces, which became in 2010 the Southern Military District and lately also includes the Black Sea Fleet and Caspian Flotilla....
, and joined 4th Air Army4th Air ArmyThe 4th Air Army was a Soviet Air Force formation and from 1992 to 2009 was part of the Russian Air Force. From 1998 the army was designated the 4th Army of Air Forces and Air Defence. It was first established on 22 May 1942 from the Air Forces of the Soviet Southern Front, and fought on the...
. - 105th Fighter-Bomber Aviation Division - GroßenhainGroßenhainGroßenhain is a Große Kreisstadt in the district of Meißen, Saxony, Germany.-History:...
- 125th Fighter-Bomber Aviation Division - RechlinRechlinRechlin is a municipality in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. The town's airport has a long history and was the Luftwaffe's main testing ground for new aircraft designs during the Third Reich....
[town, not in airfield] - disbanded July 1993 or October 1993. - 126th Fighter Aviation Division - ZerbstZerbstZerbst is a town in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Until the administrative reform of 2007, Zerbst was the capital of the Anhalt-Zerbst district. Since the 1 January 2010 local government reform, Zerbst has about 24,000 inhabitants.It is not clear when was it founded;...
- 6th Fighter Aviation Division - Merseburg
Commanders-in-Chief of the GSFG
The first three Commanders-in-Chief were also Chiefs of the Soviet Military Administration in GermanySoviet Military Administration in Germany
The Soviet Military Administration in Germany was the Soviet military government, headquartered in Berlin-Karlshorst, that directly ruled the Soviet occupation zone of Germany from the German surrender in May 1945 until after the establishment of the German Democratic Republic in October...
.
Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (SOFG 1945–49):
- Georgy ZhukovGeorgy ZhukovMarshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov , was a Russian career officer in the Red Army who, in the course of World War II, played a pivotal role in leading the Red Army through much of Eastern Europe to liberate the Soviet Union and other nations from the Axis Powers' occupation...
– 9 June 1945 to 21 March 1946 - Vasily SokolovskyVasily SokolovskyVasily Danilovich Sokolovsky was a Soviet military commander.Sokolovsky was born into a peasant family in Kozliki, a small town in the province of Grodno, near Białystok in Poland . He worked as a teacher in a rural school, where he took part in a number of protests and demonstrations against the...
– 22 March 1946 until 31 March 1949
Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSFG 1949-1988):
- Vasily ChuikovVasily ChuikovVasily Ivanovich Chuikov was a Russian lieutenant general in the Red Army during World War II, twice Hero of the Soviet Union , who after the war became a Marshal of the Soviet Union.-Early life and career:Born into a peasant family in the village of Serebryanye Prudy, he joined the Red Army during...
– 1 April 1949 until 26 May 1953 - Andrei GrechkoAndrei GrechkoAndrei Antonovich Grechko was a Soviet general, Marshal of the Soviet Union and Minister of Defense.-Biography:Born in a small town near Rostov-on-Don, the son of Ukrainian peasants, he joined the Red Army in 1919, where he was a part of the legendary “Budyonny Cavalry”...
– 27 May 1953 until 16 November 1957 - Matvei ZakharovMatvei ZakharovMatvei Vasilevich Zakharov Marshal of the Soviet Union, Chief of General Staff, Deputy Defense Minister, was born in Tver, to peasant parents. Zakharov joined the Red Guards in 1917. He served under Kliment Voroshilov during the Russian Civil War...
– 17 November 1957 until 14 April 1960 - Ivan Ignatyevich YakubovskyIvan Ignatyevich YakubovskyIvan Ignatyevich Yakubovsky was a Marshal of the Soviet Union, twice made a Hero of the Soviet Union and serving as commander-in-chief of the Warsaw Pact from 1967 to 1976.-Early life:...
– 15 April 1960 until 9 August 1961 - Ivan KonevIvan KonevIvan Stepanovich Konev , was a Soviet military commander, who led Red Army forces on the Eastern Front during World War II, retook much of Eastern Europe from occupation by the Axis Powers, and helped in the capture of Germany's capital, Berlin....
– 9 August 1961 to 18 April 1962 - Ivan Ignatyevich Yakubovsky – 19 April 1962 to 26 January 1965
- Pyotr KoshevoyPyotr KoshevoyPetr Kirillovich Koshevoi was a Soviet military leader.Koshevoi was born to a peasant Ukrainian Cossack family and joined the Red Army in 1920...
– 27 January 1965 to 31 October 1969 - Viktor KulikovViktor KulikovViktor Georgiyevich Kulikov was the Warsaw Pact commander-in-chief from 1977 to 1989. He has held the rank of the Marshal of the Soviet Union for over 30 years, since January 14, 1977.Kulikov was born into a peasant family and joined the Red Army in 1939...
– 1 November 1969 to 13 September 1971 - Semyon KurkotkinSemyon KurkotkinSemyon Konstantinovich Kurkotkin was appointed Marshal of the Soviet Union in 1983. He commanded the Transcaucasus Military District in 1968–1971 and the Soviet forces stationed in East Germany since 1971. Kurkotkin was appointed Assistant Minister of Defense in 1972.Kurkotkin was born near...
– 14 September 1971 to 19 July 1972 - Yevgeni F. IvanovskiYevgeni F. IvanovskiArmy General Yevgeni F. Ivanovski served in numerous high commands following the Second World War, including the command of the Moscow Military District from 1968 to 1972, command of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany from 20. July 1972 to 25. November 1980. On 3...
– 20 July 1972 to 25 November 1980 - Mikhail M. Zaytsev – 26 November 1980 to 6 July 1985
- Petr G. Lushev – 7 July 1985 to 11 July 1986
- Waleri A. Belikow – 12 Juli 1986 to 12 November 1987
Western Group of Forces (WGF 1988–94)
- Boris W. Snetkow – 26 November 1987 bis 13.Dezember 1990
- Matvei Prokopjevitsch Burlakov – 13 December 1990 to 31 August 1994
See also
- Divisions of the Soviet Union 1917-1945
- List of Soviet Army divisions 1989–91
- Omoiyari YosanOmoiyari Yosan, is a popular term for money provided by Japan for the U.S. forces stationed in Japan. The official term is . Although technically only the portion of financial support not mandated under the 1960 U.S.-Japan Status of Forces Agreement , it is popularly used to refer to Japanese support as a...
(DDR Government→ГСВГ)
External links
- U.S. Military Liaison Mission memorial site, Group of Soviet Forces in Germany
- German Armed Forces Military History Research OfficeGerman Armed Forces Military History Research OfficeThe German Armed Forces Military History Research Office is located at Potsdam, the capital of Brandenburg, Germany.-Mission:...
, Database of GSFG and NPA locations - GSFG
- The Group of Soviet Forces in Germany