Northwestern Operational Command

Northwestern Operational Command
Active	2001-
Country	Belarus
Branch	Belarus Ground Forces
Type	Command
Garrison/HQ	Barysaw
Engagements	World War II Operation Uranus Operation Ring Battle of Kursk Lower Dnieper Offensive Operation Bagration Lublin-Brest Offensive East Pomeranian Offensive Berlin Strategic Offensive
Commanders
Commander	Alyaksandr Naumeka[1]
Chief of Staff	Vadzim Shadura[2]
Notable commanders	Colonel General Pavel Batov Major General Alexander Volfovich

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.