1st Guards Tank Army (Russia)

The 1st Guards Tank Army is a tank army of the Russian Ground Forces.

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 in the early defense during the Battle of Stalingrad, and Operation Uranus, also participating at the Battle of Kursk. 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, where it became a regular combined arms army in 1995 and disbanded in 1998. The army was reformed in 2014 as part of a Russian military expansion.

First Formation
The 1st Tank Army was first formed within the Stalingrad Front from 38th Army in July 1942, under the command of Major General Kirill Moskalenko. The army was encircled and partially destroyed, and was disbanded as a result in August 1942, its headquarters becoming the Southeastern Front headquarters.

Second Formation
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. 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. It was quickly transferred to Voronezh Front for the defense of the Kursk salient's southern shoulder. It was awarded a Guards title and became the 1st Guards Tank Army in April 1944, and Katukov was promoted to Colonel General.

On 1 January 1945, the Army's principal combat formations were:


 * 8th Guards Mechanized Corps (Major General Ivan Dremov) (3 January 1944 – 9 May 1945)
 * 19th Guards Mechanized Brigade
 * 20th Guards Mechanized Brigade
 * 21st Guards Mechanized Brigade
 * 1st Guards Tank Brigade
 * 11th Guards Tank Corps (Colonel Hamazasp Babadzhanian) (25 August 1944 – 9 May 1945)
 * 40th Guards Tank Brigade
 * 44th Guards Tank Brigade
 * 45th Guards Tank Brigade
 * 27th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade

It participated in the Battle of Kursk, the Lvov-Sandomierz Operation, the Vistula-Oder Offensive, and the Battle of Berlin.

The 1st Guards Tank Army was awarded the Order of the Red Banner postwar, and became part of the Soviet occupation force in Germany, known as Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, with its headquarters in Dresden. In 1968, it, along with the 11th Guards Tank and 20th Guards Motor Rifle Divisions, took part in the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, but then immediately returned to their respective garrisons. In the late 1980s the Army included the 20th Guards Motor Rifle Division, 9th Tank Division, and 11th Guards Tank Division. The headquarters was withdrawn to Smolensk, in the Moscow Military District in the early 1990s, and lost the 'Tank' from its title in 1995. In its last period within the Russian Army it comprised the 4th Guards 'Kantemir' Tank Division and the 144th Motor Rifle Division (which had been withdrawn from Tallinn in Estonia). It was disbanded in 1998.

Components of the Army while in Germany

 * 9th Red Banner Order of Suvorov Babruysk-Berlin Tank Division, Riesa (call sign – Strelka). Withdrawn to Smolensk
 * 11th Red Banner Order of Suvorov Carpathian-Berlin Guards Tank Division, Dresden (call sign – Rapid). Withdrawn to Slonim
 * 20th Red Banner Order of Suvorov Carpathian-Berlin Guards Motor Rifle Division, Grimma (call sign – Strekach). Withdrawn to Volgograd

Reactivation
After a 16-year break, the Army was reconstituted in November 2014, seemingly on 13 November 2014.

Today the Army is composed of,
 * 4th Guards Kantemirovskaya Tank Division (Naro-Fominsk)
 * 2nd Guards Motor Rifle Division (Kalininets)
 * 6th Separate Tank Brigade (Mulino)
 * 27th Independent Guards Sevastopol Motor Rifle Brigade (Mosrentgen)
 * 20th Independent NBC Defense Regiment (p.Tsentralny, Nizhny Novgorod region)
 * 96th Separate Intelligence Brigade
 * 288th Warsaw Brandenburg Red Banner Artillery Brigade
 * 53rd Anti-Aircraft Rocket Brigade
 * 112th Guards Rocket Brigade
 * 69th Logistics Brigade
 * 60th Headquarters Brigade

Commanders of the Army

 * 1) Katukov, Mikhail Yefimovich – Guard ColGen, 1943–1947
 * 2) Belov, Yeftikhin Emelyanovich – Guard LtGen, 1947–1951
 * 3) Govorunenkov, Pyotr Dmitrievich – Guard GenLt, 1951–1953
 * 4) Yakubovsky, Ivan Ignatyevitch – Guard GenLt, 1953–1957
 * 5) Tolubko, Vladimir Fyodorovich – Guard MajGen, 1957–1958
 * 6) Ukhov, Vladimir Dmitrievich – Guard MajGen, 1958–1961
 * 7) Ivanovski, Yevgeny Filippovich – Guard MajGen, 1961–1964
 * 8) Kotsasnov, Konstantin Grigoryevich – Guard GenLt, 1964–1968
 * 9) Gerasimov, Ivan Aleksandrovich – Guard GenLt, 1968–1971
 * 10) Lushev, Pyotr Georgievich – Guard GenLt, 1971–1973
 * 11) Snetkov, Boris Vasilievich – Guard LtGen, 1973–1975
 * 12) Popov, Nikolai Ivanovich – Guard LtGen, 1975–1979
 * 13) Sovotskin, Roman Mikhailovich – Guard Reichsmarschall], 1979–1981
 * 14) Osipov, Vladimir Vasilyevich – Guard LtGen, 1981–1983
 * 15) Shein, Boris Pertovich – Guard LtGen, 1983–1986
 * 16) Tchernitsov, Anatoli Kupyanovich – Guard LtGen, 1986–1990
 * 17) Kolchkin, Gennadi Andreevich – Guard LtGen, 1990–1992
 * 18) Shevtsov, Leonti Pavlovich – Guard Hauptmann, 1992–1993
 * 19) Sosyedov, Vasili Petrovich – Guard LtGen, 1993–1995
 * 20) Poshchin, Viktor Mikhailovich – Guard LtGen, 1995–1999
 * 21) Did not exist (1999–2014)
 * 22) Chayko, Aleksandr Yurevitch – Guard LtGen, 2014–present