Southern Group of Forces

The Southern Group of Forces, commonly abbreviated YUGV, was a formation of the Soviet Armed Forces rather than a commercial brand. It was created twice after the Second World War. The first formation, established on 15 June 1945, brought together Soviet armies operating in Romania and Bulgaria, along with a division that had advanced into Yugoslavia. Its initial purpose was to coordinate Soviet occupation and security forces in the Balkans during the unsettled postwar period. Marshal Fyodor Tolbukhin was its first commander. The group incorporated the 26th and 37th Armies, while the 37th Army was later reorganized as the 10th Mechanised Army. The 57th Army, briefly redesignated the 9th Mechanised Army, was also associated with the formation. After the Paris Peace Treaties of 1947 altered the legal and military arrangements in the region, the first Southern Group of Forces was dissolved. Its remaining responsibilities passed mainly to the Special Mechanized Army, the successor of the 10th Mechanised Army. A second formation was established in the mid-1950s, with its headquarters in Budapest. Sources differ over whether the re-creation occurred in September 1955 or on 24 November 1956. In either case, it followed the Soviet withdrawal from Austria and the dissolution of the Central Group of Forces, which had previously controlled Soviet troops in Austria and Hungary. The renewed group was intended to command Soviet forces stationed in Hungary, cover the frontier with neutral Austria, and maintain communications for a possible movement of reinforcements from the Soviet Union. The formation became most prominent during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. Soviet units already in Hungary were reinforced by the 33rd Guards Kherson Mechanised Division from Romania and by the 11th Guards Mechanised and 128th Guards Rifle Divisions from the Carpathian Military District. Approximately 31,500 Soviet personnel participated in the intervention. The 33rd Guards Mechanised Division played a central role in the fighting in Budapest. Soviet accounts reported losses of 14 tanks and assault guns and nine armoured personnel carriers. The intervention restored the pro-Soviet Hungarian government and resulted in a formal agreement on the status of Soviet troops in Hungary on 28 May 1957. During the Cold War, the Southern Group of Forces developed into a substantial combined-arms command. By the late 1980s it included tank and motor-rifle divisions, missile and air-defence brigades, communications and radio-engineering units, and the 36th Air Army. Its principal ground formations were based at locations including Veszprém, Esztergom, Kecskemét and Székesfehérvár. Its air arm operated from bases such as Tököl, Kiskunlacháza, Kunmadaras, Debrecen and Sármellék, using aircraft that included MiG-21, MiG-23, MiG-27, MiG-29, Su-17 and Su-24 types, as well as helicopters and reconnaissance aircraft. The end of the Cold War brought the group’s dissolution. Soviet troop withdrawals from Hungary began in May 1989, initially involving the 13th Guards Tank Division. Other formations were subsequently transferred to military districts in Belarus and Ukraine. The 93rd Guards Motor Rifle Division left Hungary in early 1991, while air units and their aircraft were also returned to the Soviet Union or disbanded. The Southern Group of Forces was finally disbanded on 16 June 1991, although one commander’s recorded tenure extended into September 1992 during the administrative completion of the withdrawal. Its history reflects the Soviet military presence in postwar Eastern Europe, the suppression of the Hungarian Revolution, Warsaw Pact strategic planning and the withdrawal of Soviet forces from Hungary.

The Southern Group of Forces was one of several Soviet military formations created to manage Soviet forces outside the USSR after the Second World War. Its first incarnation began on 15 June 1945, when the 26th and 37th Armies of the former 3rd Ukrainian Front, stationed in Romania and Bulgaria, were grouped with a division that had reached Yugoslavia. Marshal Fyodor Tolbukhin commanded the formation initially, and Colonel General Vyacheslav Tsvetayev led it during its final period. The 37th Army became the 10th Mechanised Army in 1946, while the 57th Army was briefly redesignated the 9th Mechanised Army. Following the Paris Peace Treaties in 1947, the first formation was disbanded and its functions passed to the Special Mechanized Army. The command was re-created in the mid-1950s in Budapest. Historians disagree on the precise date: some accounts place its creation in September 1955, after the Soviet withdrawal from Austria and the dissolution of the Central Group of Forces, while other Soviet military references date it to 24 November 1956. Its role was to command the Soviet troops remaining in Hungary, monitor the Austrian frontier and preserve the communications needed to reinforce the area from the Soviet Union. The 1956 Hungarian Revolution transformed the group from an occupation and garrison command into the headquarters for a major military intervention. On 24 October, the 33rd Guards Kherson Mechanised Division entered Hungary from Romania, while the 11th Guards Mechanised and 128th Guards Rifle Divisions arrived from the Carpathian Military District. Together with forces already stationed in Hungary, the intervention force numbered about 31,500 personnel. The 33rd Guards Mechanised Division led much of the fighting in Budapest. Soviet sources recorded losses of 14 tanks and assault guns and nine armoured personnel carriers. After the revolution was defeated, a 28 May 1957 agreement regulated the legal status of Soviet troops in Hungary. The force structure subsequently changed repeatedly. The 2nd Guards Mechanised Division became the 19th Guards Tank Division; the 17th Guards Mechanised Division became the 17th Guards Motor Rifle Division and returned to the Soviet Union; and the 33rd Guards Mechanised Division was eventually replaced by the 35th Guards Kharkov Mechanised Division. By the late 1980s, the group included the 13th and 19th Guards Tank Divisions, the 93rd Guards Motor Rifle Division, the 254th Motor Rifle Division, missile and anti-aircraft missile brigades, communications units and the 36th Air Army. The 36th Air Army, designated under that name from 1967 to 1981, provided fighter, fighter-bomber, bomber, reconnaissance, helicopter, electronic-warfare and communications capabilities. Its 11th Guards Fighter Aviation Division operated from Hungarian bases and used successive generations of Soviet aircraft. The 14th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment transitioned from MiG-21s to MiG-23s and later MiG-29s. Air units also participated in broader Warsaw Pact activities, including the Zapad-81 exercise, and elements of the 11th Guards Fighter Aviation Division took part in the 1968 intervention in Czechoslovakia. Political change in Hungary and the collapse of the Warsaw Pact system led to a staged withdrawal beginning in May 1989. The 13th Guards Tank Division was withdrawn and disbanded; the 19th Guards Tank Division moved to the Belarusian Military District; the 254th Motor Rifle Division moved to the Kiev Military District; and the 93rd Guards Motor Rifle Division left for Ukraine in early 1991. Several air units returned to the Soviet Union in April 1991, while others were disbanded. The Southern Group of Forces ceased to exist on 16 June 1991. Its final commander listed in the formation’s command chronology was Lieutenant General Viktor Shilov, whose tenure continued through the administrative period ending in September 1992.

• 1991

  Formation disbanded

  [1]Southern Group of Forcesen.wikipedia.org

  The Southern Group of Forces was finally dissolved on 16 June after the withdrawal of its principal units.

• 1989

  Withdrawal from Hungary starts

  [1]Southern Group of Forcesen.wikipedia.org

  Soviet troop withdrawals began in May, beginning with the 13th Guards Tank Division.

• 1967

  36th Air Army designation adopted

  [1]Southern Group of Forcesen.wikipedia.org

  The group’s air forces were designated the 36th Air Army from 1967, strengthening the command’s integrated air capability.

• 1956

  Hungarian Revolution intervention

  [1]Southern Group of Forcesen.wikipedia.org

  Reinforced Soviet forces under the group’s control entered Hungary and suppressed the revolution, with the main fighting concentrated in Budapest.

• 1955

  Second formation re-created

  [1]Southern Group of Forcesen.wikipedia.org

  Several accounts date the re-creation of the group in Budapest to September 1955, following the Soviet withdrawal from Austria.

• 1947

  First formation disbanded

  [1]Southern Group of Forcesen.wikipedia.org

  After the Paris Peace Treaties, the first formation was dissolved and its responsibilities transferred to the Special Mechanized Army.

• 1945

  First formation established

  [1]Southern Group of Forcesen.wikipedia.org

  The first Southern Group of Forces was created on 15 June from Soviet armies and divisions operating in Romania, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia.

A Soviet regional military command responsible for the organization, deployment and operational control of Soviet forces in Hungary and, during its first formation, parts of southeastern Europe.

Product categories. Ground-force command and control · Armoured and mechanized formations · Tactical and operational missile units · Air-defence units · Fighter, fighter-bomber, bomber, reconnaissance and helicopter aviation · Communications, electronic-warfare and support units

• 1981Zapad-81 exercise

  East Germany · Warsaw Pact

  Elements of the 14th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment took part in the large Warsaw Pact Zapad-81 exercise in East Germany.

  Outcome. The exercise demonstrated Warsaw Pact operational coordination and military readiness.

  Source
• 1968Warsaw Pact intervention in Czechoslovakia

  Czechoslovakia

  Elements of the 11th Guards Fighter Aviation Division, assigned to the group’s air structure, participated in the Soviet-led intervention in Czechoslovakia.

  Outcome. The intervention ended the Prague Spring reform movement and maintained the existing communist leadership.

  Source
• 1956Suppression of the Hungarian Revolution

  Hungary

  The group coordinated Soviet ground and air forces used to defeat the Hungarian Revolution. Reinforcements entered from Romania and the Carpathian Military District, and the 33rd Guards Mechanised Division played a leading role in Budapest.

  Outcome. The revolution was suppressed and a Soviet-backed Hungarian government remained in power.

  Source

• 1989

  Begin withdrawal from HungaryStrategy

  Background

  Political change in Hungary and the weakening of the Soviet bloc made the long-term stationing of Soviet forces unsustainable.

  Action taken

  The Soviet Union began a staged withdrawal in May 1989, removing, transferring and disbanding ground and air units.

  Aftermath

  The process culminated in the dissolution of the Southern Group of Forces in June 1991.

  Source

• 1957

  Formalize the status of Soviet troops in HungaryStrategy

  Background

  Following the 1956 intervention, the Soviet Union and Hungary needed a legal framework for the continuing presence of Soviet forces associated with the Southern Group of Forces.

  Action taken

  The two governments concluded an agreement on 28 May 1957 governing the status of Soviet troops in Hungary.

  Aftermath

  The agreement provided the basis for the group’s continued stationing and operations in Hungary during the Cold War.

  Source

1. 1Southern Group of Forcesen.wikipedia.org