90th Guards Tank Division

The 90th Guards Tank Division was a division of the Soviet Army, and then of the Russian Ground Forces. It was first activated in 1932 as the 82nd Rifle Division. In 1939 it was renamed the 82nd Motorized Rifle Division, and the same year took part in the Battle of Khalkin Gol. It was renamed the 3rd Guards Motorized Rifle Division in March 1942. It took part in the summer battles of 1942 with the Western Front and the failed Operation Mars in November/December 1942. After moving back into Stavka Reserves in June 1943, it was reorganized into the 6th Guards Mechanized Corps on 28 June 1943, being merged with the 49th Mechanised Brigade.

The new Corps became part of the 4th Tank Army under General Lieutenant V.M. Badanov. Its first action was at Orel, the counterattack (Operation Kutuzov) on the northern side of the Kursk bulge after the German defeat at the Battle of Kursk proper. John Erickson writes that '..at 1100 on 26 July, two of Badanov's corps (11th Tank and 6th Guards Mechanised) put in a ragged attack towards Bolkhov. For the next few hours, under the very gaze of Bagramyan [commander of 11th Guards Army, whose sector 4th Tank was attacking through] and Badanov, both corps were heavily battered by the concealed German tanks and assault guns.' For the remainder of 1943, it was in reserve. It took part in the winter battles in the Ukraine in 1944 (Proskurov-Chernovitsy), then the L’vov-Sanodmierz Operation in the summer. It then participated in the Lower Silesia, Upper Silesia, Berlin, and Prague operations. In August 1944 it was given the honorific 'Lvov' for its part in the liberation of that city.

The Corps then became the 6th Guards Mechanised Division (1945–57) and then 6th Guards Motor Rifle Division (1957–82, GSFG). In 1982 it became the 90th Guards Tank Division in 20th Guards Army at Bernau in the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. During its last years in Germany the Division consisted of the 6th and 68th Guards Tank Regiments, the 81st Guards Motor Rifle Regiment, and the 803rd Motor Rifle Regiment (formed from the 215th Guards Tank Regiment after the post 1987 Soviet defensive reorganisations began taking effect). Also part of the Division were the 400th SP Artillery Regiment, the 288th Air defence Missile Regiment, and smaller supporting units.

The division was withdrawn in 1990-93 from Germany to Chernorech'e near Samara in the then Volga Military District and declined to a very low strength. In 1997-99 became the 5968th Base for Storage of Weapons and Equipment. A Russian media report on 14 July 2001 said the 5968th Base was to be broken up to reinforce the 27th Motor Rifle Division and other units.

Its final division honorifics were: Lvov, Order of the Red Banner, Order of Lenin, Order of Suvorov (Львовская краснознаменная, орденов Ленина, Суворова).

Regiments, 1980s
Source: http://orbat.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?=&p=57
 * 6th Guards "Lvovskiy" order of Lenin Red Banner orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov and Bogdan Khmelnitskiy Tank Regiment (ex. 16th Guards Mechanized Brigade)
 * 68th Guards "Zhitomirsko-Berlinskiy" Red Banner orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov, Bogdan Khmelnitskiy and Aleksandr Nevskiy Tank Regiment (ex. 68th Guards Tank Brigade, directly attached to the 4th Guards Tank Army)
 * 81st Guards "Petrokovskiy" twice Red Banner orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov and Bogdan Khmelnitskiy Tank Regiment (ex. 17th Guards Mechanized Brigade)
 * 803rd Motorized Rifle Regiment (1989 from the 25th Tank Division; replaced the 215th Guards "Kamenesk-Podolskiy" Guards Tank Regiment [ex. 35rd Guards Mechanized Brigade])
 * 400th "Transilvanskiy" Red Banner order of Bogdan Khmelnitskiy Motorized Artillery Regiment (not originally part of the 6th Guards Mechanized Corps)
 * 288th Guards Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (originally directly subordinated to the 1st Ukrainian Front)

Sources and external links

 * Keith Bonn (ed.), Slaughterhouse: The Handbook of the Eastern Front, Aberjona Press, 2005
 * Craig Crofoot, 'Group of Soviet Forces Germany,' V3.0.0, 7 February 2007, manuscript available via www.microarmormayhem.com.
 * Chernorech'e base at warfare.ru
 * 6 GMC museum: http://www.russianmuseums.info/M557
 * 6 GMC museum: http://www.russianmuseums.info/M557