 The defenders also had some 40 machine guns.On 18 September, the commander of the Belarusian Front, Comandarm (roughly a general), Mikhail Kovalyov, ordered the capture of Wilno by groups of the 3rd and 11th Armies.The 3rd Army delegated the 24th Cavalry Division and the 22nd and 25th Armoured Divisions under Combrig (senior to colonel but junior to divisional commander), Pyotr Akhlyustin, to advance from the northeast and the 11th Army delegated the 36th Cavalry Division and the 6th Armoured Division under Combrig Semyon Zybin to advance from the southeast.