| 1st Guards Army | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1942 - 1991 |
| Country |  Soviet Union |
| Branch |  Red Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Part of | Kiev Military District 1st Ukrainian Front |
| Garrison/HQ | Chernigov |
| Engagements | |
| Decorations | Order of Lenin |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Andrei Grechko Dmitry Lelyushenko |
The 1st Guards Army was a Soviet field army that fought on the Eastern Front during World War II.
Contents
First Formation[edit]
On August 6, 1942, the army formed from the 2nd Reserve Army with five Guards Rifle Divisions, the 37th, 38th, 39th, 40th and 41st. On August 9, the army was incorporated into Southeastern Front. On August 18, it was transferred to the Stalingrad Front (renamed Don Front on September 30).
During the German Sixth Army's assault on Stalingrad in August 1942, the Red Army launched a counter-offensive to drive the German forces back. The 1st Guards Army and the 24th Army launched the attack. Little success was met. The 1st Guards Army managed an advance of just a few miles, while the 24th Army was pushed back right into its start-line.
On October 16, 1942, the headquarters of the army transferred into Stavka reserve and its troops transferred to the 24th Army. On 25 October 1942 the army was disbanded, its headquarters was converted to the field management of the 2nd formation of Southwestern Front according Stavka directive of 22 October 1942.
Commanders[edit]
- Lieutenant General Filipp Ivanovich Golikov(August 1942)
- Guard Major General Artillery Kirill Semenovich Moskalenko(August–October 1942)
- Guard Major General Ivan Mikhailovich Chistyakov (October 1942).
Second Formation[edit]
On November 5, 1942, 1st Guards Army was reformed from 63rd Army according Stavka directive of November 1. The army was a part of Southwestern Front. When the German troops were making their attack on Stalingrad, the First Guards Army was facing the Italian Eighth Army in the upper part of the Don River. The Army participated in Stalingrad strategic offensive Operation Uranus. As the right flank of the front shock group, 1st Guards Army with 5th Tank Army created the appearance of the Stalingrad encirclement "boiler".
On December 5, 1942, 1st Guards Army is split, its left wing being renamed 3rd Guards Army of the Southwestern Front.
Commander[edit]
- Lieutenant General Dmitri Danilovich Lelyushenko(November - December 1942 ).
Third Formation[edit]
The 1st Guards Army was created on December 8, 1942 according Stavka directive of December 5, 1942. The troops of the army was formed from the part of the operational group of Southwestern Front, and the headquarters of the army formed of management of 4th Army Reserve. It is composed of units of the right wing of the previous version of the 1st guard army and some reinforcement units : the 4th Guards Rifle Corps, the 6th Guards Rifle Corps, the 153rd Rifle Division, and the 18th Tank Corps. After the German relief operation was held, the 1st Guards Army, along with the 6th Army and 3rd Guards Army, launched an attack in Operation Little Saturn. During the operation the Soviets defeated the Italian Eighth Army and gained a respectable amount of territory. By the end of the year, the 1st Guards Army was outside Millerovo.
The 1st Guards Army also took part in Operation Saturn, where the Red Army successfully drove back Army Group South to the Donets Basin basin in the Ukraine. The 1st Guards Army was part of the Soviet Southwestern Front, and took part in the victorious Soviet pushing into Germany in 1943 to 1945. Also, in 1943, the 1st Guards Army was the first unit of the soviet army to operate the new T-34/85 tank. Among its units when the war ended in 1945 was the 81st Rifle Division.
Commanders[edit]
- Lieutenant-General, and from May 1943, Colonel-General Vasily Ivanovich Kuznetsov(December 1942 - December 1943 )
- Colonel-General Andrei Antonovich Grechko(December 1943 - until the end of the war).
Post of WWII[edit]
1st Guards Army was active for many years in the Kiev Military District after the Second World War, headquartered at Chernigov. For a period the army HQ was actually an operations group of the District. By this time it had been awarded the Order of Lenin. It included among its forces the 72nd Guards Motor Rifle Division, and the 25th Guards Motor Rifle Division.
| Formation in 1989 | Formation in 1991-2 (Ukraine)[1] |
|---|---|
| 25th Guards Motor Rifle Division (Lubny) | 25th Mechanised Division |
| 41st Guards Tank Division (Cherkassy) | 6298th Guards Base for Storage of Weapons and Equipment[2] |
| 72nd Guards Motor Rifle Division (Belaya Tserkov) | 72nd Mechanised Division |
| 200th Motor Rifle Division (Piryatin) | 5196th Base for Storage of Weapons and Equipment |
| 172nd Motor Rifle Division (Konotop) | 5198th Base for Storage of Weapons and Equipment |
After the collapse of the Soviet Union the Army became the 1st Army Corps of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, and then Territorial Directorate "North".
Notes[edit]
- ^ Feskov et al 2004, 56, 104-105
- ^ Weapons and equipment transferred to 5193rd VKhVT at Uman. Holm, 41st Guards Tank Division (II), 2015.
References[edit]
- Feskov et al., 'The Soviet Army during the Period of Cold War 1945-89', Tomsk University Press, Tomsk, 2004
- http://samsv.narod.ru/Arm/ag01/arm.html (Russian)
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