1st Guards Tank Army
The 1st Guards Tank Army (Russian: 1-я гвардейская танковая Краснознамённая армия, romanized: 1-ya gvardeyskaya tankovaya Krasnoznamonnaya armiya) is a tank army of the Russian Ground Forces. в/ч 73621.[4]
1st Tank Army (1942 – April 1944)
1st Guards Tank Army (1944–1999), (2014–present)
Soviet Union (1942–1991)
Russia (1991–1999, 2014–present
Armoured
Breakthrough and Exploitation in Deep Operations
Bakovka, Odintsovo
The army traces its heritage back to the 1st Tank Army, formed twice in July 1942 and in January 1943 and converted into the 1st Guards Tank Army in January 1944. The army fought as part of the Red Army on the Eastern Front during World War II. The army was commanded throughout most of the war by Mikhail Katukov.
It fought on the defensive during Case Blue, ultimately being partially destroyed and disbanded. After its reformation in 1943, it participated in the Battle of Kursk, the Proskurov-Chernovtsy Operation, the Lvov-Sandomierz Operation, the Vistula-Oder Offensive and the Battle of Berlin. After the war, the army was stationed in East Germany as part of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany.
After the end of the Cold War and the resultant withdrawal of Soviet units in Germany, the army was relocated to Smolensk, and disbanded in 1999. The army was reformed in 2014 as part of Russia's military expansion. This reformed army fought in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, where it was claimed to have suffered heavy casualties following its eventual retreats from the north and later Kharkiv.
First formation[edit]
The 1st Tank Army was first formed within the Stalingrad Front from the 38th Army in July 1942, under the command of Major General Kirill Moskalenko. The army was encircled and partially destroyed. It was disbanded as a result in August 1942, its headquarters becoming the Southeastern Front headquarters.[5]
The 1st Tank Army was formed a second time on 30 January 1943 (order No.46021) from the headquarters of the 29th Army, under the command of famous armoured troops commander Lieutenant General of Tank Troops Mikhail Katukov, personally appointed by Stalin. The army was transferred to the North-Western Front. The 3rd Mechanised Corps (later to become 8th Guards Mechanised Corps) and 6th Tank Corps (later to become 11th Guards Tank Corps) joined it on formation, and served with the army throughout the war.[6] It was quickly transferred to the Voronezh Front for the defense of the Kursk salient's southern shoulder, adding the newly formed 31st Tank Corps to its subordinate commands.
Its order of battle prior to Operation Citadel was as follows:
1st Tank Army[7]
* Guards Mortar Regiment (or Battalion) (Russian: гвардейский минометный полк (дивизион)) was the overt designation used for Katyusha rocket launcher units.
After Kursk, 1st Tank Army participated in the Proskurov-Chernovtsy Operation, the Lvov-Sandomierz Operation, the Vistula-Oder Offensive, and the Battle of Berlin. It was awarded a Guards title and became the 1st Guards Tank Army in April 1944, and Katukov was promoted to Colonel General.[5]
On 1 January 1945, the Army's principal combat formations were:[11]
* Guards Mortar Regiment (or Battalion) (Russian: гвардейский минометный полк (дивизион)) was the overt designation used for Katyusha rocket launcher units.
After a 15-year hiatus, the Army was reconstituted in November 2014,[16] probably on 13 November 2014.
The army was formed as the main ground forces manoeuvre and reserve operational formation of the Western Military District, in addition to the 6th Combined Arms Army (headquartered in Saint Petersburg) and the 20th Guards Combined Arms Army (headquartered in Voronezh). It is considered an elite formation of the Russian Ground Forces. The army carries on the traditions of the chronologically first army of the Soviet Union to reach 'Guards' status.
It commands the 2nd Guards Motor Rifle and the 4th Tank Divisions, which are considered the elite formations of their respective combat arms. The most decorated divisions of the Soviet Army, they were garrisoned the closest to Moscow for the city's defense.[17] Due to their proximity to the capital, extra scrutiny was applied to personnel of these formations, making these postings especially prestigious. These units received the latest hardware and were thus known as the 'household' divisions of the Soviet Army. Their loyalty to the government was demonstrated by their involvement in the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt. The divisions retained their elite status within the Russian Army. The army also included the 27th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade. While the 4th Guards Tank Division uses T-80 tanks, the rest of the Army uses T-72B and T-90 tanks, and Kurganets-25 fighting vehicles.[17]
As of 2017 the Army was composed of:[18]
Russo-Ukrainian War[edit]
During the 2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis, elements of the 1st Guards Tank Army were reported to have forward deployed to the Pogonovo training ground south of Voronezh. Main battle tanks, self-propelled and towed artillery, and long-range multiple rocket launchers (MRLs), reportedly drawn from the 4th Guards Tank Division and the 2nd Motorised Rifle Division, were reported to have been positioned in the vicinity of Voronezh.[25] A few months before the invasion, the 47th Guards Tank Division was formed from the 6th Separate Guards Tank Brigade.[26][27]
Members of the 1st Guards Tank Army's 2nd Guards Motor Rifle Division were sentenced in absentia to imprisonment by Ukrainian courts for alleged war crimes including the shelling of the city hospital of Trostianets[28][29] and ordering the killing of a civilian in Boromlia, both in Sumy Oblast.[30][31] Units of the army's 4th Guards Tank Division, including the 12th and 13th Guards Tank Regiments, were also reported to have been among the Russian forces which occupied Trostianets.[32][33] By the beginning of April 2022, elements of the 1st Guards Tank Army had been redeployed from Sumy Oblast to Izium in the Kharkiv Oblast.[34]
Ukraine reported in May 2022 that the Ukrainian Main Intelligence Directorate had obtained documents showing that after 3 weeks of fighting the 1st Guards Tank Army had sustained 409 casualties (61 KIA, 209 WIA, 44 missing, 96 surrendered), and 308 units of military equipment had been seized.[35]
The United Kingdom Ministry of Defence reported on 19 May 2022 that army commander General-Lieutenant Sergey Kisel had been suspended for his failure to capture Kharkiv.[36] Kisel was transferred to serve as chief of staff of the Russian troops in Syria.[37] On 13 September 2022, UK Defence Intelligence identified 1st Guards Tank Army as the primary force that retreated from Kharkiv Oblast during the Ukrainian Kharkiv counteroffensive. Having suffered "heavy casualties", the Ministry claimed that the army as "severely degraded" and its ability to counter NATO "severely weakened."[38] By December, the UK MoD reported that the Army had been replenished with recruits, and was active on the Luhansk Oblast front.[39]