The 8th Guards Order of Lenin Combined Arms Army (abbreviated 8th CAA) is an

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

of the Russian Ground Forces, headquartered in

Novocherkassk Novocherkassk (russian: Новочерка́сск, lit. ''New Cherkassk'') is a city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located near the confluence of the Tuzlov and Aksay Rivers, the latter a distributary of the Don River. Novocherkassk is best known as ...

, Rostov Oblast, within Russia′s

Southern Military District 200px, Headquarters of the district at 53 Pushkinskaya Street / 43 Budenovsky avenue, Rostov-on-Don The Southern Military District ( Russian: Южный военный округ) is a military district of Russia. It is one of the five milita ...

, that was reinstated in 2017 as a successor to the 8th Guards Army of the Soviet Union's Red Army (later Soviet Army), which was formed during World War II and was disbanded in 1998 after being downsized into a corps. The Soviet 8th Guards Army was formed from the

62nd Army The 62nd Army (russian: 62-я армия) was a field army established by the Soviet Union's Red Army during the Second World War. Formed as the 7th Reserve Army as part of the Reserve of the Supreme High Command in May 1942, the formation was desi ...

in May 1943 and received

Guards Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

status in recognition of its actions in the

Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad (23 August 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II where Nazi Germany and its allies unsuccessfully fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (later r ...

. It went on to defend the right bank of the

Donets The Seversky Donets () or Siverskyi Donets (), usually simply called the Donets, is a river on the south of the East European Plain. It originates in the Central Russian Upland, north of Belgorod, flows south-east through Ukraine ( Kharkiv, D ...

and fight in the Donbass Strategic Offensive in August and September. It then fought in the Lower Dnepr Offensive, where it captured Zaporizhia. During winter and spring 1944 the army fought in the Dnieper–Carpathian Offensive. After the capture of

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

, the army was transferred to the Kovel area and fought in the Lublin–Brest Offensive during the summer, capturing

Lublin Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of ...

, crossing the Vistula and seizing the Magnuszew bridgehead. The army defended the bridgehead until January 1945, when it helped launch the Vistula–Oder Offensive. The army helped capture Łódź, Poznań and Kostrzyn nad Odrą. The army then fought in 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 ...

. During the war it was led by its commander during the Battle of Stalingrad,

Vasily Chuikov Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov (russian: link=no, Васи́лий Ива́нович Чуйко́в; ; – 18 March 1982) was a Soviet Union, Soviet military commander and Marshal of the Soviet Union. He is best known for commanding the 62nd Arm ...

. After the war the army was stationed at Nohra, covering the strategic

Fulda Gap The Fulda Gap (german: Fulda-Lücke), an area between the Hesse-Thuringian border (the former Inner German border) and Frankfurt am Main, contains two corridors of lowlands through which tanks might have driven in a surprise attack by the Sovi ...

during the Cold War. In 1993 the army was withdrawn from Germany to Volgograd (the former Stalingrad) and there downsized to a corps, before being disbanded in 1998.

World War II

Activated in October 1941 as the 7th Reserve Army, the Army was re-designated the

Stalingrad Volgograd ( rus, Волгогра́д, a=ru-Volgograd.ogg, p=vəɫɡɐˈɡrat), formerly Tsaritsyn (russian: Цари́цын, Tsarítsyn, label=none; ) (1589–1925), and Stalingrad (russian: Сталингра́д, Stalingrád, label=none; ) ...

in July 1942. It was among the victors of

and thus re-designated the 8th Guards Army on 5 May 1943, in accordance with a Stavka directive dated 16 April 1943. In July 1943, it took part in the Izyum-Barvenkovo Offensive (July 17–27), and in August–September - in the Donbass strategic offensive operation (August 13 - September 22) . Developing the offensive in the direction of the Dnieper, the Army with other troops of the Southwestern Front liberated

Zaporozhye Zaporizhzhia ( uk, Запоріжжя) or Zaporozhye (russian: Запорожье) is a city in southeast Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper River. It is the administrative centre of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Zaporizhzhia has a populat ...

(October 14), crossed the Dnieper south of

Dnipropetrovsk Dnipro, previously called Dnipropetrovsk from 1926 until May 2016, is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper Riv ...

south and captured a bridgehead on its right bank. By this time 28th, 29th and 4th Guards Rifle Corps were part of the army. The army was part of the

3rd Ukrainian Front The 3rd Ukrainian Front ( Russian: Третий Украинский фронт) was a Front of the Red Army during World War II. It was founded on 20 October 1943, on the basis of a Stavka order of October 16, 1943, by renaming the Southwestern ...

during the Dnieper-Carpathian Offensive. By March 25, 1944, the Prut River had fallen and the

was dispatched to secure

.Willmott, p. 373 On April 2,

Vasili Chuikov Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov (russian: link=no, Васи́лий Ива́нович Чуйко́в; ; – 18 March 1982) was a Soviet military commander and Marshal of the Soviet Union. He is best known for commanding the 62nd Army which saw he ...

's Eighth Guards Army and Forty-Sixth Army attacked through a blizzardPimlott, p. 333 and, by April 6, had driven the defenders past the

Dniester River The Dniester, ; rus, Дне́стр, links=1, Dnéstr, ˈdⁿʲestr; ro, Nistru; grc, Τύρᾱς, Tyrās, ; la, Tyrās, la, Danaster, label=none, ) ( ,) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and th ...

and isolated Odessa. Odessa capitulated on April 10, and Soviet troops began entering Romania proper. In June 1944 the army was transferred to 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 ...

and took part in the Lublin–Brest Offensive, seizing and defending a bridgehead over the Vistula river at Magnuszew. Soldiers who perished during battles over Warsaw are buried at the Soviet Military Cemetery in Warsaw. In 1945 the army was commanded by Lieutenant General

. It was part of Marshal

Zhukov Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov ( rus, Георгий Константинович Жуков, p=ɡʲɪˈorɡʲɪj kənstɐnʲˈtʲinəvʲɪtɕ ˈʐukəf, a=Ru-Георгий_Константинович_Жуков.ogg; 1 December 1896 – ...

. One of the cities which the army took in its westward drive was Poznań, which the Army seized in January–February 1945. In a deliberate symbolic move the 8th Guards Army was then sent northwards to the center of the front, coming under command of

; Stalin was determined that the army that had defended Stalingrad would take part in the capture of Berlin (

). On 2 May 1945, Chuikov took the surrender of the German General Weidling, the commander of the Berlin Defensive Area, and the rest of the Berlin garrison. Later the Eighth Guards Army became part of 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 ...

. On the creation of the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany in 1945, the Army consisted of: *Headquarters at Weimar *

4th Guards Rifle Corps Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

(

35th Military units *35th Fighter Wing, an air combat unit of the United States Air Force *35th Infantry Division (United States), a formation of the National Guard since World War I *35th Infantry Regiment (United States), a regiment created on 1 July 1 ...

, 47th Guards, and 57th Guards Rifle Divisions) * 28th Guards Rifle Corps ( 39th Guards Rifle Division, 79th Guards Rifle Division, 88th Guards Rifle Division) * 29th Guards Rifle Corps ( 27th, 74th, 82nd Guards Rifle Divisions) *

11th Tank Corps 11 (eleven) is the natural number following 10 and preceding 12. It is the first repdigit. In English, it is the smallest positive integer whose name has three syllables. Name "Eleven" derives from the Old English ', which is first attested i ...

Commanders

* Guard Lieutenant-General

(April 17, 1943 - October 18, 1943), * Guard Colonel-General

Ivan Maslennikov Ivan Ivanovich Maslennikov (russian: Иван Иванович Масленников; September 16, 1900 – April 16, 1954), General of the Army, was a Soviet military and NKVD commander of Army and Front level during World War II. A career Re ...

(October 21, 1943 - November 15, 1943), * Guard Colonel-General

(November 15, 1943 - May 9, 1945).

Cold War

In the summer of 1946, the 4th Guards Rifle Corps was disbanded along with the 35th, 74th, 82nd and 88th Guards Rifle Divisions. In July 1956, the 28th and 29th Guards Rifle Corps were disbanded. During the Cold War, 8th Guards Army stood opposed to NATO forces (specifically the

US V Corps V Corps (), formerly known as the Fifth Corps, is a regular corps of the United States Army at Fort Knox. It was previously active during World War I, World War II, the Cold War, the Kosovo War, and the War on Terrorism. Shoulder sleeve i ...

) along the strategically vital

in West Germany. In June 1964, the

21st Guards Motor Rifle Division The 38th Separate Guards Vitebskaya order of Lenin Red Banner order of Suvorov Motor Rifle Brigade is a mechanized infantry brigade of the Russian Ground Forces, part of the Eastern Military District. The brigade was formed during the 2009 Rus ...

transferred to the

1st Guards Tank Army 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 arm ...

and was replaced by the

20th Guards Motor Rifle Division The 20th Guards Motor Rifle Division () is a formation of the Russian Ground Forces, originally formed within the Soviet Red Army as the 3rd Mechanised Corps. The division was reformed in 2021 from the former 20th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade. Th ...

. On 22 February 1968, it was awarded the of Lenin for success in combat training. In May 1983, the 20th Guards Motor Rifle Division transferred to the 1st Guards Tank Army and was replaced by the 27th Guards Motor Rifle Division. Nohra - GSSD-Kaserne Leninstatue

In 1988, 8th Guards Army consisted of: *Headquarters at Weimar-Nohra *227th Separate Protection and Enforcement Battalion - Weimar-Nohra *794th Separate Spetsnaz Company - Weimar-Nohra *747th Communications Center - Weimar-Nohra * 11th Missile Brigade - Jena-Forst * 449th Missile Brigade -

Arnstadt Arnstadt () is a town in Ilm-Kreis, Thuringia, Germany, on the river Gera about south of Erfurt, the capital of Thuringia. Arnstadt is one of the oldest towns in Thuringia, and has a well-preserved historic centre with a partially preserved town ...

* 79th Guards Tank Division -

Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a popu ...

, GDR: - disbanded, 1992 **17th Guards Tank Regiment (Saalfeld) **45th Guards Tank Regiment (Weimar) **211th Guards Tank Regiment (Jena) **247th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment (Weimar) **172nd Guards Artillery Regiment (Rudolstadt) **1075th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Weimar) *

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 ...

- General-Maerker-Kaserne, Halle, GDR: - to Totskoye,

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 ...

**68th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment (Halle) **243rd Guards Motor Rifle Regiment (Halle) **244th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment (Schlotheim) **28th Tank Regiment (Halle) **54th Guards Artillery Regiment (Halle) **286th Guards Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Halle) * 39th Guards Motor Rifle Division - Ohrdruf, GDR: - disbanded, 1992 **117th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment (Meiningen) **120th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment (Ohrdruf) **172nd Guards Motor Rifle Regiment (Gotha) **15th Guards Tank Regiment (Ohrdruf) **87th Guards Artillery Regiment (Gotha) **915th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Ohrdruf) * 57th Guards Motor Rifle Division -

Naumburg Naumburg () is a town in (and the administrative capital of) the district Burgenlandkreis, in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, Central Germany. It has a population of around 33,000. The Naumburg Cathedral became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2018 ...

, GDR – disbanded, 1993 **170th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment (Naumburg) **174th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment (Weißenfels) **241st Guards Motor Rifle Regiment (Leipzig) **57th Guards Tank Regiment (Zeitz) **128th Guards Artillery Regiment (Zeitz) **901st Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Naumburg) *119th Separate Tank Regiment -

Bad Langensalza Bad Langensalza (; until 1956: Langensalza) is a spa town of 17,500 inhabitants in the Unstrut-Hainich district, Thuringia, central Germany. Geography Location Bad Langensalza is located in the Thuringian Basin, the fertile lowlands along ...

*390th Guards Artillery Brigade - Ohrdruf, disbanded, 1998 *227th Separate Protection and Enforcement Battalion - Nohra *18th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade - Gotha *943rd Separate Anti-Tank Battalion - Altenburg *194th Separate Radio Engineering Regiment - Weimar *46th Separate Radio Engineering Battalion - Nohra *678th Separate Electronic Warfare Battalion - Frankendorf *91st Separate Communications Regiment - Weimar *446th Separate Radio Relay Cable Battalion - Naumburg *325th Separate Engineer Battalion - Gera *722nd Separate Airborne Ferry Battalion - Halle *134th Separate NBC Reconnaissance Battalion - Gera *116th Material Support Brigade - Altenburg *173rd Separate Equipment Maintenance and Recovery Battalion - Markensdorf *202nd Separate Equipment Maintenance and Recovery Battalion - Oberlungwitz *794th Separate Special Purpose Company - Nohra * 900th Separate Air Assault Battalion - Leipzig *336th Separate Helicopter Regiment - Nohra *65th Pontoon-Bridge Regiment - Merseburg In February 1989, the 486th Separate Helicopter Regiment was activated at

Jüterbog Jüterbog () is a historic town in north-eastern Germany, in the Teltow-Fläming district of Brandenburg. It is on the Nuthe river at the northern slope of the Fläming hill range, about southwest of Berlin. History The Slavic settlement of ...

from the 241st, 311th, 327th and 345th Separate Helicopter Squadrons. After the Soviet withdrawal from Germany the army was reduced in size to become 8th Guards Army Corps on 1 June 1993, and withdrawn to Volgograd, the former Stalingrad. There it appears to have taken the place of the 34th Army Corps. From June 1993 to February 1995, it was commanded by

Lev Rokhlin Lev Yakovlevich Rokhlin (russian: Лев Яковлевич Рохлин; 1947–1998) was a career officer in the Soviet Army, Soviet and Russian armies. Rokhlin reached the top of the Russian military, quickly rising through the ranks during an ...

. 8th Guards Army Corps was disbanded in May 1998.

Since 2017

The formation of the new 8th Combined Arms Army began in 2017; the first stage was intended to be completed in June 2017. The 8th Combined Arms Army includes the

150th Motor Rifle Division The 150th Idritsa-Berlin Order of Kutuzov 2nd Class Motor Rifle Division (russian: Russian: 150-я Идрицко-Берлинская ордена Кутузова 2-й степени мотострелковая дивизия) of the Russian G ...

(re-established in 2016), also based at

. As of July 2017, Major General

Sergey Kuzovlev Sergey Yuryevich Kuzovlev (Russian: Сергей Юрьевич Кузовлев; born 7 January 1967) is a Russian military officer. , he holds the rank of colonel general, and commands the Southern Military District. Biography Sergey Kuzovle ...

was appointed its commander. As of 2021, the

in the Volgograd region and the 464th Rocket Brigade are also reported to be subordinate to the 8th Army, with the former 20th Guards Brigade reportedly having expanded into a division-strength formation. The division was reportedly established by the end of summer, 2021 and incorporated the following formations: 242nd Mechanized Regiment (Kamyshin, Volgograd Oblast); 255th Mechanized Regiment (Volgograd); 33rd Motor Rifle Regiment (Kamyshin); 944th Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment; 358th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment; 428th Separate Tank Battalion (Volgograd proximity); and, 487th Separate Anti-Tank Artillery Battalion. According to experts, the 8th Combined Arms Army is intended to be a centrepiece of the

in the southern European part of the Russian Federation, protecting from threats in that region. Combined-arms field armies were in 2017 reported to be created by Russia in all strategic directions (apart from motorized rifle and tank divisions and brigades, Combined-arms field armies were intended to include artillery and engineering regiments and brigades, air defence units, as well as communications and

CBRN Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defence (CBRN defence) are protective measures taken in situations in which chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear warfare (including terrorism) hazards may be present. CBRN defence consist ...

units. As of 2021, the 47th Missile Brigade (equipped with the Iskander surface-to-surface missile system) and the 238th Artillery Brigade (equipped with 2A65 Msta-B guns and 9K57 Uragan multiple launch rocket systems) were also established as sub-units within the 8th Army. Additionally, the 77th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade was deployed at Korenovsk and equipped with S-300V4 anti-aircraft missile system. Support to the army is to be provided by fighter aircraft, bombers and ground attack aircraft (primarily drawn from the

4th Air and Air Defence Forces Army The 4th Air and Air Defence Forces Army () is an air army of the Russian Air Force, part of the Southern Military District and headquartered in Rostov-on-Don. The 4th Air Army (''4 Vozdushnaya Armiya'') was a Soviet Air Force formation and fro ...

) and, in certain areas, by ships and submarines of the

Black Sea Fleet Chernomorskiy flot , image = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet , dates = May 13, ...

of the Russian Navy).

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

Ukraine, the United States, and some analysts also describe the 1st (Donetsk) and 2nd (Luhansk) Army Corps of the Russian separatist forces in Donbas, Ukraine, as under the command of the 8th CAA HQ. As of 2021, subordinate units within these corps are said to include: 4 Motorized Rifle Brigades, 2 Motorized Rifle Regiments, 2 special forces battalions, 1 tank battalion, 1 reconnaissance battalion and 1 artillery brigade (1st Corps) and 3 Motorized Rifle Brigades, 1 Motorized Rifle Regiment, 1 tank battalion, 1 reconnaissance battalion and 1 artillery brigade (2nd Corps). As of 2022, units from the 8th Guards Army are participating in the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

. Ukrainian officials reported that the commander of the army's

, Major General Oleg Mityaev, was killed on 15 March in the Siege of Mariupol. Army commander Lieutenant General

Andrey Mordvichev Andrey Nikolayevich Mordvichev (russian: Андрей Николаевич Мордвичев; born 14 January 1976) is a Russian lieutenant general who is the overall commander of the Central Military District Mordvichev commanded the 4th Sep ...

, was claimed by Ukrainian intelligence to have been killed in action near Kherson airport in

Chornobaivka Chornobaivka ( uk, Чорнобаївка, Chornobayivka, ) is a suburban village in Kherson Raion, Kherson Oblast, southern Ukraine. It is the center of the village council. It hosts the administration of the Chornobaivka rural hromada, one ...

on March 18, 2022 during the

2022 Chornobaivka attacks The 2022 Chornobaivka attacks were a series of Ukrainian attacks against the Russian-held Kherson International Airport at Chornobaivka, which began on 27 February 2022 during the southern Ukraine campaign of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukrai ...

. This was proven wrong when a video showing Mordvichev and Ramzan Kadyrov was released ten days later. On 16 April, Russian officials admitted the death of army deputy commander Major General Vladimir Petrovich Frolov in combat in Ukraine.

References