11th Tank Division

The 11th Tank Division was a Soviet tank division initially formed in 1940 at Tiraspol and destroyed in 1941; it was then formed as a tank corps in May 1942. This unit was subsequently reorganized as the second formation of the 11th Tank Division in 1945.

The first (1940) formation of the 11th Tank Division was subordinated to the 2nd Mechanized Corps, itself part of the 9th (independent) Army. The 11th Tank Division was destroyed near Novo-Arkhangelsk (Ukraine) in combat against the Germans in August 1941, with remnants escaping encirclement and being reorganized as the 132nd Tank Brigade, which later was became the 4th Guards Tank Brigade.

Initiating a separate unit lineage, the 11th Tank Corps was formed on May 19, 1942. By June 1942, the 11th Tank Corps was subordinated to the Bryansk Front. Subordinate units at that time included the 53rd and 160th Tank Brigades, and the 12th Motor Rifle Brigade. The corps was never permanently attached to a tank army and was subordinated to several fronts during the course of the war.

11th Tank Corps was in combat near Kharkov in 1942, Orel in 1943, the offensive to drive the Germans from Belorussia in 1944, and the offensive across central Poland in January 1945.

As the Soviet Army approached victory in April 1945 during the Battle of Berlin, the 11th Tank Corps was part of the 1st Belorussian Front. It commanded the 20th, 36th, and 65th Tank Brigades, as well as the 12th Motor Rifle Brigade. During the battle, the corps was used to flank the Seelow Heights from the north, and in the advance into the city from the east.

The 11th Tank Corps, like all Soviet tank corps, was reorganized as a division in mid-late 1945, and was renamed the 11th Tank Division. The 11th Tank Division was part of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, subordinated to 3rd Shock Army in the area of Magdeburg, before the division was disbanded in 1955.

An 11th Guards Tank Corps also existed but was a different unit.

Commanders of the 11th Tank Corps

 * May 1942 - Jul 1942: A. F. Popov
 * Jul 1942 - Jun 1943: I. G. Lazarov
 * Jun 1943 - Oct 1943: N. N. Parkevich
 * Oct 1943 - Jan 1944: D. M. Gritsenko
 * Jan 1944 - Jul 1944: F. N. Rudkin
 * Jul 1944 - May 1945: I. I. Iushuk