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35-702: The name of the town comes from the river Bronka , a nearby tributary of the Nurzec River. Brańsk is located in the geographical region of Europe known as the Wysoczyzny Podlasko–Białoruskie (English: Podlaskie and Belarus Plateau) and the mesoregion known as the Bielsk Plain (Polish: Równina Bielska ). The Nurzec River, a tributary of the Bug River , passes through Brańsk. The town covers an area of 32.43 square kilometres (12.5 sq mi). It

70-592: A few days the German Ninth Army was encircled and mostly destroyed. For his performance, Batov was promoted to Colonel General. 65th Army crossed the Bug River on July 22, and pushed on to cross the Narev River , north of Warsaw, by Sept. 4. Operation Bagration had run out of steam, but Batov's army held off strong German counterattacks against the Narev bridgehead for more than two months. Following this, Rokossovski

105-620: A result of the Third Partition of Poland, Brańsk was annexed to the Kingdom of Prussia and administered as a part of the newly formed Białystok Department . In 1807, as a result of the Treaties of Tilsit , Brańsk was annexed to the Russian Empire and administered at first as a part of Belostok Oblast and from 1842 on as a part of Grodno Governorate . The town was reintegrated with Poland, after

140-501: A supposed formal meeting with the command of the Soviet 65th Army . The town was soon restored to Poland. According to the 1921 census, the town was inhabited by 3,739 people, among whom 1,474 were Roman Catholic, 100 Orthodox, and 2,165 Jewish. At the same time, 1,530 inhabitants declared Polish nationality, 2,165 Jewish, 32 Belarusian and 12 Russian. There were 493 residential buildings in the village. Detailed data as of 30 June 2021: It

175-466: A time as the "four-tank army" due to the few vehicles still operational.) Pavel Batov , who had previously commanded the 51st Army and the 3rd Army , assumed command on October 22, 1942, a command he would hold until the end of the War. He had orders to rebuild these forces as a combined-arms army, the 65th Army, as part of Rokossovsky's new Don Front. This was accomplished by mid-November, and at this time

210-746: A town charter based on Magdeburg rights from the Grand Duke of Lithuania , Alexander Jagiellon . It was the first town in Podlachia to receive such a charter. Brańsk was a royal town of Poland , administratively located in the Podlaskie Voivodeship in the Lesser Poland Province . The 3rd Polish National Cavalry Brigade was stationed in Brańsk before the Third Partition of Poland . In 1795, as

245-660: 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. 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

280-419: Is at the intersection of a National Road and a Voivodeship Road : The major streets (Polish: Ulica ) in Brańsk are: Regular bus service is provided by Państwowa Komunikacja Samochodowa ( State Car Communication , PKS ) via PKS Bielsk Podlaskie, PKS Białystok and PKS Siemiatycze The closest passenger train service is provided by Polskie Koleje Państwowe ( Polish State Railways , PKP ) SA from

315-538: Is located approximately: The region has a continental climate characterized by high temperatures during summer and long and frosty winters. The average annual rainfall exceeds 550 millimetres (21.7 in). On 23–25 June 1264 the Battle of Brańsk was fought in the town's vicinity. Polish forced led by Duke Boleslaw V the Chaste defeated the forces of Yotvingia led by Komata ( Kumata ). On 18 January 1493, Brańsk received

350-618: Is the seat of Gmina Brańsk , but is not part of Gmina Brańsk . The chief executive of the government is the Mayor (Polish: Burmistrz ). The legislative portion of the government is the Council (Polish: Rada ) composed of the President (Polish: Przewodniczšcy ), the Vice President (Polish: Wiceprzewodniczšcy ) and thirteen councilors. Brańsk is bordered by Gminy Rudka and Brańsk . Brańsk

385-508: The 65th Army was reorganised as the 7th Mechanised Army at Łódź . On 20 December, it became the 7th Tank Division (Mobilization), with its divisions becoming regiments. It was headquartered in Borisov from May 1948. On 21 March 1950, it was increased in strength to an army with its old designation. In 1955 the 7th Mechanized Army was equipped with the IS-3 , T-54 , T-34 and PT-76 tanks, as well as

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420-559: The ISU-122 self-propelled gun. In 1957, the 7th Mechanized Army was transformed into 7th Tank Army. In 1960, the 47th Guards Tank Division was renamed the 45th Guards Tank Division. In 1965, the 45th Guards Rivne Tank Division became a training tank formation subordinated to the Belorussian Military District , and the 39th Guards Tank Division was reorganized into the 37th Guards Rechitsa Tank Division . From 1960 to 1980,

455-621: The Oder River , near Stettin-an-Oder , where it once again forced a difficult river crossing in April 1945. Officials of the city surrendered to Colonel A. G. Frolenkov's 193rd Rifle Division on April 26. In Demmin on and around May 1, 1945, members of the 65th Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front first broke into a distillery and then rampaged through the town, committing mass rapes, arbitrarily executing civilians, and setting fire to buildings. Many Demmin civilians committed suicide . In April 1946,

490-609: The Scud -equipped 76th Rocket Brigade . After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus were created on the basis of the Belorussian Military District , including the 7th Tank Army. In 1993, the 7th Tank Army was renamed the 7th Army Corps, and in 1994 the 65th Army Corps. In December 2001, as a result of the reform of the Armed Forces of Belarus, the corps

525-465: The 1921 census, the village was inhabited by 234 people, among whom 228 were Roman Catholic, and 6 were Mosaic. At the same time, 228 inhabitants declared Polish nationality and 6 declared Jewish nationality. There were 41 residential buildings in the village at the time. This Bielsk County location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . North Western Operational Command The Northwestern Operational Command (SZOK)

560-747: The 7th Tank Army was awarded the Order of the Red Banner . A USSR Ministry of Defense directive dated 25 January 1989 ordered the disbandment of the 3rd Guards Tank Division , effective from 1 June 1989. Instead, the 19th Guards Nikolaevsk-Budapest Tank Division was moved from the Southern Group of Forces in Hungary to Zaslonovo. On 7 November 1990 Tank Army had 764 T-62 and T-72 tanks, 208 infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers, as well as 212 guns, mortars and multiple rocket launchers. It also included

595-611: The Bug River was then occupied by the Soviet Union . All Polish and Jewish businesses of substance were confiscated by the Communist State. Several Poles from Brańsk were murdered by the Russians in the large Katyn massacre in 1940. The Soviets remained in control of Brańsk until June 1941 when the Germans invaded their erstwhile Soviet allies. The German Army occupied the town and ordered

630-614: The Jewish community to build a ghetto surrounded by barbed wire, to which the Jewish population (some 65% of the town) was confined. On 8 November 1942 the Jews of Brańsk were ordered to report to the town center, forced to march to the nearby town of Bielsk, and then transported by train to Treblinka. Within weeks, the vast majority were murdered by gassing at the Treblinka extermination camp . Several local Jews were hidden and rescued by Poles (including

665-524: 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. 4th Tank Army, under command of Maj. Gen. Vasily Kryuchenkin , launched numerous counterattacks against the German corridor to Stalingrad from August to October, 1942, until it was severely depleted in strength. (It was derisively known for

700-566: The army consisted of: 65th Army played a leading role in Operation Uranus , the encirclement of the German forces at Stalingrad. Attacking out of the Kremenskaya bridgehead on the south bank of the Don . Rokossovsky later wrote in reference to Batov and his army: "[He] displayed fine initiative with an improvised mobile task force... By striking at the enemy's flank and rear, the task force ensured

735-511: The basis of the 7th Tank Army was formed by the 3rd Guards Kotelnikovo , the 34th Dnieper, and the 37th Guards Rechitsa Tank Divisions. The formation actively participated in well-known large-scale exercises and maneuvers such as "Dnepr", "Neman", "Dvina", Exercise Zapad-81 and "Fall 88". By a Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet on 15 January 1974, for good results in combat training,

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770-534: The country regained independence following World War I in 1918. On 1 September 1939 Germany attacked Poland and started World War II . Within days of the war's beginning, Brańsk suffered German bombardment. On 17 September 1939 the Soviet Union attacked Poland from the east, and in partnership with Nazi Germany , partitioned Poland under the terms of the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact of August 23. Brańsk along with all areas of Poland east of

805-513: 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

840-492: The following stations: The land-use is as follows: Bronka Bronka [ˈbrɔŋka] is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Brańsk , within Bielsk County , Podlaskie Voivodeship , in north-eastern Poland. It lies approximately 7 kilometres (4 mi) east of Brańsk , 19 km (12 mi) west of Bielsk Podlaski , and 44 km (27 mi) south of the regional capital Białystok . According to

875-531: The local parish priest) in Brańsk and nearby villages. Some hiding places in nearby villages were discovered by the Germans, who then murdered captured Jews. Their Polish rescuers were either also murdered or managed to hide from the Germans until the end of the German occupation. On 1 August 1944 the town was captured by Soviet forces. On 4 August 1944 the Russians arrested 12 officers of the Polish underground Home Army in Brańsk, after they were deceitfully gathered for

910-564: The new Central Front in the region around Kursk . 65th Army exploited a gap between the weak Second German Army and the Second Panzer Army , but was brought to a halt by the spring rasputitsa , German reserves released by their evacuation of the Rzhev Salient , and the German counter-offensive to the south of Kursk. 65th Army then dug in during the three-month lull in operations, towards

945-560: The northwestern sector of the Kursk salient. At this time the order of battle of the 65th Army was as follows: Army strength: 100,000, 1,837 guns and mortars, 124 tanks and self-propelled guns. Due to its position in the western sector of the salient, the 65th emerged mostly unscathed from the Battle of Kursk, and was well equipped to exploit the German defeat. In late July and August the Army joined in

980-726: The pursuit of German forces to the Dnepr River . On 15 Oct., with divisional and army artillery firing 1,000 shells per minute in support, the 193rd Rifle Division forced a crossing of the Dnepr. From this point on, the 65th Army began earning a well-deserved reputation for its abilities in river-crossing and bridgehead operations. Rokossovsky's command was renamed 1st Belorussian Front , and in June, 1944, 65th Army took part in major strategic operations in Belorussia . The Army's order of battle at this time

1015-431: The rear of the main German line. About 0900 hours, shock groups of five rifle divisions of the Army, supported by the 91st Tank Brigade and six Guards heavy tank regiments (60-70 KV tanks and 21 Churchill Mark IV tanks ). The front of the 44th Division was smashed quite quickly and four depleted battalions were overrun. Following the German surrender at Stalingrad, Rokossovsky's forces were redeployed northwest to become

1050-524: The splendid combat qualities of its men, commanders, and, of course, Pavel Batov, a brave and talented soldier." In March, 1945, the order of battle of 65th Army was as follows: For the Danzig operation the army also had the 66th Guards SU Brigade attached, the Red Army's only heavy SU brigade, a potent force of 60 ISU-122 self-propelled guns. The offensive propelled 65th Army into eastern Germany, finally to

1085-437: The swift advance of the other units." In the lead up to Operation Ring the 65th mounted an attack by two rifle divisions against the positions of the German 44th Infantry Division on January 7, 1943. This attack penetrated the German defensive line and inflicted severe casualties. A counterattack by German armor contained the Soviet advance, but did not regain the original line, consumed scarce fuel and ammunition, and exposed

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1120-416: The vehicles to concentrated artillery fire, leading to losses. When Ring kicked off at 0805 hours on January 10, 65th Army was backed by a 55-minute artillery barrage from over 500 guns and howitzers and 450 rocket launchers on an attack front of 12 km, the highest density of Soviet artillery achieved to that point of the war. This was followed by air attacks from the 16th Air Army against positions to

1155-399: Was as follows: In a well-known confrontation at the planning stage, Rokossovski convinced Stalin that, given the terrain, it was better to strike two strong blows against the German forces than just one. He was counting on Batov's ability to lead his Army across swampy regions south of Bobruisk , using corduroy roads , swamp shoes, and other means. 65th Army did not disappoint, and within

1190-637: Was reassigned to command of 2nd Belorussian Front . A shift in Front boundaries accompanied this, and 65th and 70th Armies became part of his new command. In the following months forces were built up in the Narev bridgehead for an offensive to be launched in January. During the new offensive, 65th Army forced a crossing of the Vistula River in early February. Rokossovski later noted: "I had been with 65th Army since Stalingrad and had had ample opportunity to observe

1225-713: Was transformed into the North-Western Operational Command (NWOC). Since then the troops and staff of the NWOC have participated in the exercises "Neman-2001", "Berezina-2002", "The Shield of the Fatherland – 2004", "Shield of the Union – 2006", "West-2009" and others. A joint operational exercise of the armed forces of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation, "Shield of the Union", was held in 2011. The exercise

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