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Soviet Union [USSR] Ground Forces
Despite its position as the second service in the armed forces
hierarchy, the Ground Forces were the most politically influential
Soviet service. Senior Ground Forces officers held all important
posts within the Ministry of Defense as well as the General Staff.
In 1989 the Ground Forces had 2 million men, organized into four
combat arms and three supporting services.
Motorized Rifle Troops and Tank Troops
Combat elements of the Ground Forces were organized into
combined arms and tank armies. A combined arms army included three
motorized rifle divisions and a tank division. A tank army had
three tank divisions and one motorized rifle division. In the late
1980s, the Ground Forces began to field corps that were more than
twice the size of a single division. In 1989 the Soviet Union had
150 motorized rifle and 52 tank divisions in three states of
readiness (see Glossary). A motorized rifle division had 12,000
soldiers organized into three motorized rifle regiments, a tank
regiment, an artillery regiment, an air defense regiment, surfaceto -surface missile and antitank battalions, and supporting
chemical, engineer, signal, reconnaissance, and rear services
companies. A typical tank division had 10,000 soldiers organized
into three tank regiments and one motorized rifle regiment. In 1989
the Ground Forces also included eight brigades of air assault, or
air-mobile, units that conducted helicopter landing operations.
The Motorized Rifle Troops have been mechanized infantry since
1957. The Soviet Union has fielded a new model of armored personnel
carrier (APC) every decade since the late 1950s, and in 1967 it
deployed the world's first infantry fighting vehicle (IFV). Similar
to an APC, the tactically innovative IFV had much greater
firepower, in the form of a 73mm main gun, an antitank missile
launcher, a heavy machine gun, and firing ports that allowed troops
to fire their individual weapons from inside the vehicle. In 1989
the Soviet Union had an inventory of over 65,000 APCs and IFVs,
with the latter accounting for almost half of this inventory.
The Soviet Ground Forces viewed the tank as their primary
weapon. In 1989 the Tank Troops had five types of main battle
tanks, including the T-54/55, T-62, T-64, T-72, and T-80. The
greater part of the total tank inventory of 53,000 consisted of
older, although still highly potent, T-54/55 and T-62 tanks.
Data as of May 1989
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