The 2nd Guards Tank Army () was a large military formation of the Red Army and later the Soviet Army, now part of the Russian Ground Forces of the

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eight ...

. The army was originally formed in early 1943 as the 2nd Tank Army. It was the first Red Army unit to enter Berlin during the

Battle of Berlin The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II. After the Vistula–O ...

World War II

It was formed during January and February 1943 from the 3rd Reserve Army of the Belorussian Front. Originally the Army comprised 11th and 16th Tank Corps, 60th, 112th and 194th Rifle Divisions, the 11th Guards Separate tank brigade, 115th Rifle Brigade, the 28th ski brigade and other units. In the middle of February the army joined the Soviet Central Front and as part of Central Front in February – March took part in offensive operation on the direction of

Bryansk Bryansk ( rus, Брянск, p=brʲansk) is a city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, situated on the River Desna, southwest of Moscow. Population: Geography Urban layout The location of the settlement was originally as ...

; in July – August – took part in the Orel strategic offensive operation – Operation Kutuzov – within the Kromy’-Orel offensive operation and the Chernigov-Pripyat offensive operation (26.08–30.09.1943) operations. In the beginning of September 1943 the Army was redeployed to the

Stavka The ''Stavka'' (Russian and Ukrainian: Ставка) is a name of the high command of the armed forces formerly in the Russian Empire, Soviet Union and currently in Ukraine. In Imperial Russia ''Stavka'' referred to the administrative staff ...

VGK reserve, and in the middle of January 1944 joined the

1st Ukrainian Front The 1st Ukrainian Front (Russian: Пéрвый Украи́нский фронт), previously the Voronezh Front (Russian: Воронежский Фронт) was a major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to a ...

and remained in its structure until the end of January when it participated in repulsing counter-strokes of the German forces in the direction of

Vinnitsa Vinnytsia ( ; uk, Вінниця, ; yi, װיניצע) is a city in west-central Ukraine, located on the banks of the Southern Bug. It is the administrative center of Vinnytsia Oblast and the largest city in the historic region of Podillia. ...

; in February the army participated in the south-west in the area of the cities of Korsun-Shevchenkovsky operation. As part of the

2nd Ukrainian Front The 2nd Ukrainian Front (2-й Украинский фронт), was a front of the Red Army during the Second World War. History On October 20, 1943 the Steppe Front was renamed the 2nd Ukrainian Front. During the Second Jassy–Kishinev Off ...

, and from the middle of June 1944 within the

1st Belorussian Front The 1st Belorussian Front (Russian: Пéрвый Белорусский фронт, ''Perviy Belorusskiy front'', also romanized " Byelorussian") was a major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to a Western army g ...

, the Army participated in the Uman-Botoşani offensive, Lublin – Brest, Warsaw-Poznan offensive, the East Pomeranian Offensive, the Seelow-Berlin offensive operation and the

Battle for Berlin The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II. After the Vistula– ...

operations. For services in combat operations listed above the Army became the Second Guards '

Red Banner Red Banner (russian: Красное знамя) was a symbol of revolutionary struggle used late Russian Empire, in Soviet Russia, and in the USSR and the background of the Soviet state flag and other similar flags. Military units, instit ...

' Tank Army in November 1944 and almost all of its formations and units received combat awards, with the majority of sub-units awarded honorifics commemorating operations they distinguished themselves in. It was the first Soviet Army to enter Berlin. During the war, over 103,000 soldiers of the army were awarded awards and medals, 221 of them being awarded the decoration of the

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...

, while

Semyon Bogdanov Semyon Ilyich Bogdanov (russian: Семён Ильи́ч Богда́нов; – 12 March 1960) was a Soviet Marshal of tank forces, and twice Hero of the Soviet Union. Following the German invasion of the Soviet Union, he was deputy commander ...

was awarded the HSU's Gold Star twice.

Cold War

After the war ended the Army, now named Second Guards '

' Tank Army, was located with the

Group of Soviet Forces in Germany The Western Group of Forces (WGF),. previously known as the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (GSOFG). and the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSFG),. were the troops of the Soviet Army in East Germany. The Group of Soviet Occupati ...

with the staff in Fuerstenberg. However the only wartime formation that continued to serve with the Army was the

16th Guards Tank Division The 16th Guards Tank Division was a tank division of the Soviet Army and later the Russian Ground Forces. The division traced its lineage back to the World War II 3rd Tank Corps, formed in the spring of 1942. The corps received its baptism of ...

(the former 9th Guards Tank Corps). Although up to the 1970s it had retained of its wartime units – 12th Guards Tank Division (the former 12th Tank Corps) and 35th Motor Rifle Division (former 1st Mechanised Corps), without considering those formations that joined the Army as early as 1946. The three last wartime divisions were replaced at the end of the 1970s – the 94th Guards,

21st 21 (twenty-one) is the natural number following 20 and preceding 22. The current century is the 21st century AD, under the Gregorian calendar. In mathematics 21 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being 1, 3 and 7, and a defici ...

(stationed at Perleburg) and

207th Motor Rifle Division The 207th Rifle Division began its combat path under unusual circumstances. It was partly formed for the first time as a standard Red Army rifle division in the spring of 1941, before the German invasion, but was never completed. A second formation ...

s. It also included the 5th Separate Tank Brigade.

Post-Cold War service

The Army was withdrawn to Samara in the

Volga Military District The Volga Military District (PriVO) was a military district of the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation that existed from 1918 to 1989 and 1992 to 2001. The district headquarters was located at Kazan, Saratov and Kuibyshev (Samara) at different ...

in 1993 and changed its name into 2nd Guards Red Banner Army matching its nature of combined-arms army that same year. It holds the Fighting Banner of the 2nd Guards Tank Army in storage. It was allocated the 16th and 90th Guards Tank Divisions for some years before being disbanded in 1998.

was reduced to a Guards weapons and equipment storage base in December 1997. The Army was reformed in 2001 as the 2nd Guards Combined Arms Army from the former Volga MD headquarters and formerly consisted of the

27th Guards Motor Rifle Division The 27th Guards Motor Rifle Division (Military Unit Number 35100)Michael Holm27th Guards Motorised Rifle Division/ref> was a Red Army rifle division in World War II which later became a Soviet Army motor rifle division. History The division dr ...

and the

201st Motor Rifle Division The Russian 201st Military Base ( tg, Пойгоҳи низомии 201-и Русия; russian: 201-я российская военная база) is a Russian military base based in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, part of the Central Military Distric ...

. In 2006 the Army conducted a large Command-Staff exercise "Southern Shield – 2006" that included a call up of some 4–5,000 reservists. The exercise proved successful and confirmed the Army's readiness status., including that of two component divisions which conducted a tactical exercise within the scope of the "Southern Shield – 2006". The tactical exercise was again conducted in 2007 by the 27th Motor Rifle Division. This division, and several other Army sub-units are today entirely staffed by service personnel serving under professional contracts. A former commander of the 2nd Guards Tank Army, Army General Nikolai Makarov, became Chief of Material of the Armed Forces, Deputy Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation, and is now Chief of General Staff. As of February 2008, the Army's commander was General-Major Oleg Leont'evich Makarevich (former Chief of Staff, 22nd Army, Moscow Military District). In 2009, the 27th Division at

Totskoye Totskoye (russian: То́цкое) is a rural locality (a '' selo'') and the administrative center of Totsky District of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. Population: During World War I, it was the site of a prisoner-of-war camp that became notorio ...

was converted into the 21st Guards Motor Rifle Brigade. One of the army's units is the 15th Separate Guards Berlin Motor Rifle Brigade, in

Roshchinsky, Samara Oblast Roshchinsky (russian: Ро́щинский) is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) in Volzhsky District of Samara Oblast, Russia. Population: 11,920 ( 2010 Census); 12,878 ( 2002 Census). History It started as a small village in 1932 ...

, equipped with BTR (

Military Unit Number A Military Unit Number (Russian: Войсковая часть) is a numeric alternate designation for military units in the armed forces and internal troops of post-Soviet states, originally used by those of the Soviet Union. For ground forces ...

90600). The 385th Guards Artillery Brigade was established in August 1981 from the previous 98th Guards Cannon Artillery Regiment. It returned from

Planken Planken is a municipality in Oberland, Liechtenstein. It has four exclaves, two enclaves and a population of 473. Thus by population it is the smallest municipality of Liechtenstein. Geography It is located on the western slope of Drei Schwes ...

in East Germany to

in 1993.

Structure

1990

(Neustrelitz) *

21st Motor Rifle Division 021 is: * in Brazil, the telephone area code for the city of Rio de Janeiro and surrounding cities ( Greater Rio de Janeiro) * in China, the telephone area code for the city of Shanghai. * in Indonesia, the area code for the city of Jakarta ...

(

Perleberg Perleberg (; North Margravian: ''Perlberg'') is the capital of the district of Prignitz, located in the northwest of the German state of Brandenburg. The town received city rights in 1239 and today has about 12,000 inhabitants. Located in a mos ...

) * 94th Guards Motor Rifle Division ( Schwerin) *

(

Stendal The Hanseatic City of Stendal () is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is the capital of the Stendal District and the unofficial capital of the Altmark region. Geography Situated west of the Elbe valley, the Stendal town centre is located ...

) *112th Guards Rocket Brigade ( Genzrode) (12 9K72 Elbrus) *458th Rocket Brigade (

Neustrelitz Neustrelitz (; East Low German: ''Niegenstrelitz'') is a town in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated on the shore of the Zierker See in the Mecklenburg Lake District. From 1 ...

) *61st Anti-Aircraft Rocket Brigade ( Staats) *290th Artillery Brigade ( Schweinrich) *118th Logistic Support Brigade ( Ravensbrück) *172nd Helicopter Regiment (Parchim) *439th Helicopter Regiment (

Parchim Parchim (; Mecklenburgisch: ''Parchen'') is a town in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is the capital of the Ludwigslust-Parchim district. It was the birthplace of Helmuth von Moltke the Elder, to whom a monument was erected in 1876. Founde ...

) *9th Helicopter Squadron ( Neuruppin) *480th Engineer Sapper Brigade *69th Pontoon-Bridge Regiment ( Rathenow) *15th Transporting-Landing Battalion *5th Signal Regiment (Ravensbrück) *52nd NBC Protection Battalion (12 K-611) (Rathenow) *250th Radio-Technical Regiment (Stendal) *52nd Radio-Technical Battalion (Ravensbrück) *836nd Radio Relay Cable Battalion *908th Electronic Warfare Battalion *297th Repair Recovery Battalion *310th Repair Recovery Battalion *240th Security and Support Battalion ( Fürstenberg/Havel)

2018

In 2018, the army included the following units: *

15th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade , image = File:Great emblem of the 15th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade.svg , image_size = 200px , alt = 15th Separate Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade shoulder sleeve insignia , ...

( Roshchinsky) (

90600) * 21st Guards Motor Rifle Brigade (

) (MUN 12128) * 30th Motor Rifle Brigade ( Roshchinsky) (MUN 45863) * 92nd Rocket Brigade (Totskoye) (MUN 30785) *

385th Guards Artillery Brigade The 385th Guards "Odesskaya Red Banner Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky" Artillery Brigade (Military Unit Number 32755) (Russian: 385-я гвардейская артиллерийская бригада) is an artillery formation of the Russian G ...

(Totskoye) (MUN 32755) * 950th Rocket Artillery Regiment (Totskoye) * 297th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Brigade (Leonidovka) (MUN 02030) * 91st Headquarters Brigade (Samara) (MUN 59292) * 105th Logistic Support Brigade (Roshchinsky and Kryazh) * 2nd NBC Protection Regiment (

Chapayevsk Chapayevsk (russian: Чапа́евск) is a town in Samara Oblast, Russia, located from the city of Samara, on the right bank of the Chapayevka River (a tributary of the Volga River). Population: It was previously known as ''Ivashchenkovo' ...

) (MUN 18664) * 39th Engineer Sapper Regiment ( Kizner) (MUN 53701) * 53rd Electronic Warfare Battalion (Samara) * 71st communications center (Kalinovka village) * 2934th satellite communication station (Roshinsky village) * 323rd mail and telephone communication center (Samara) * 1388th Command Intelligence Center (Samara) (MUN 23280)

Commanders

*Lieutenant General

Prokofy Romanenko Prokofy Logvinovich Romanenko (; – 10 March 1949) was a Ukrainian Soviet Army colonel general. Serving in the Imperial Russian Army during World War I, Romanenko joined the Red Army during the Russian Civil War, becoming a cavalry command ...

(January – February 1943) *Lieutenant General Alexei Rodin (February – September 1943) *Colonel General

Semen Bogdanov Semyon Ilyich Bogdanov (russian: Семён Ильи́ч Богда́нов; – 12 March 1960) was a Soviet Marshal of tank forces, and twice Hero of the Soviet Union. Following the German invasion of the Soviet Union, he was deputy commander ...

(September 1943 – July 1944 and January 1945 – 1947) *Lieutenant General Alexei Radzievsky (July 1944 – January 1945) * September 2001 – February 2005 Major/Lieutenant General Aleksei Ivanovich Verbitsky * February 2005 – January 2006 Lieutenant General Aleksandr Igorevich Studenikin * January 2006 – 2008 Major/Lieutenant General Sergei Ivanovich Skokov * January 2008 – 2009 Major General Oleg Leontevich Makarevich * 2009 – June 2010 Major General Hasan Bekovich Kaloev * June 2010 – January 2014 Major General Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Zhuravlyov * January 2014 – September 2016 Major/Lieutenant General Igor Anatolyevich Seritsky * September 2016 – December 2017 Major General Gennady Valeryevich Zhidko * December 2017 – December 2018 Major General Rustam Usmanovich Muradov * December 2018 – February 2022 Major/Lieutenant General Andrey Vladimirovich Kolotovkin * February 2022 – present Major General Vyacheslav Nikolaevich Gurov

Sources and references

Citations

Bibliography

* *http://samsv.narod.ru/