Northwestern Operational Command

Northwestern Operational Command
Active2001-
Country Belarus
BranchBelarus Ground Forces
TypeCommand
Garrison/HQBarysaw
EngagementsWorld War II
Commanders
CommanderAlyaksandr Naumeka[1]
Chief of StaffVadzim Shadura[2]
Notable
commanders
Colonel General Pavel Batov
Major General Alexander Volfovich
Map showing main military units of the Belarusian Armed Forces

The Northwestern Operational Command (SZOK) is a command of the Belarus Ground Forces. It is headquartered at Borisov and is commanded by Major General Alexander Volfovich. The command includes a mechanized brigade and a mixed artillery brigade. It was formed in 2001 from the 65th Army Corps.[3]

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.

  1. ^ "Навуменка Аляксандр Віктаравіч — Ваенны інфармацыйны партал Міністэрства абароны Рэспублікі Беларусь". www.mil.by. Retrieved 2024-04-08.
  2. ^ "Шадура Вадзім Яўгенавіч — Ваенны інфармацыйны партал Міністэрства абароны Рэспублікі Беларусь". www.mil.by. Retrieved 2024-04-08.
  3. ^ "Северо-западное оперативное командование" [North Western Operational Command]. www.mil.by (in Russian). Retrieved 2015-12-25.