13th Light Tank Brigade

13th Light Tank Brigade (1938–1940) 31st Mechanized Brigade (1932–1938)
Active	1932–1940
Country	Soviet Union
Branch	Red Army
Type	Armor
Size	256 tanks (1939)[1]
Garrison	Stary Petergof (1932–1938) Porkhov (1938–1940)
Equipment	T-26, BT-7
Engagements	Winter War Invasion of Estonia
Decorations	Order of the Red Banner (1940)
Battle honours	named for Uritsky (1934–1938)
Commanders
Notable commanders	Ivan Korchagin Viktor Baranov

The 13th Light Tank Brigade (Russian: 13-я лёгкая танковая бригада (13 лтбр)) was an armored brigade of the Red Army that fought in the Winter War. It was formed as the 31st Uritsky Mechanized Brigade in 1932 at Stary Petergof near Leningrad, assigned to the 11th Mechanized Corps, one of the first armored units of the Red Army. Two years later, the brigade became part of the new 7th Mechanized Corps, and it sent crews to fight in the Spanish Civil War. When the corps was redesignated as the 10th Tank Corps, the brigade became the 13th Light Tank Brigade in 1938. In late 1939, it and the corps participated in the massing of forces on the Estonian and Latvian borders to force their governments to agree to Soviet demands.

After Finland refused Soviet demands to cede territory, the brigade and its parent corps were committed to the invasion that began the Winter War. An ambitious plan for the employment of the 10th Tank Corps to encircle Finnish troops in the Karelian Isthmus at the beginning of the war in December quickly failed due to the unexpected strength of Finnish anti-tank defenses, and instead it was tasked with exploiting an anticipated infantry breakthrough in the Battle of Summa. This did not materialize, although the brigade lost several tanks to Finnish artillery while waiting to go into action. It was withdrawn from combat and served as an independent unit from late December, training intensively for the breakthrough of the Mannerheim Line. When Soviet infantry assaults supported by other tank units accomplished the latter in mid-February 1940, the brigade was sent into the breach. However, unfavorable terrain and Finnish resistance limited its advance and it suffered heavy losses. In the final weeks of the war, the brigade participated in the steady Soviet advance on Vyborg (Viipuri). Awarded the Order of the Red Banner for its actions in the war, the brigade was used to form the 3rd Tank Division in mid-1940 after participating in the invasion of Estonia.