The 10th Guards Army was a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Guards formation which fought against Germany during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

under the command of several generals. Formed in 1943, the army fought under various headquarters and ended the war besieging cut-off German forces in Latvia. The 10th Guards Army was disbanded in 1948.

History

The 10th Guards Army was formed on 16 April 1943 from the 30th Army. When formed, the army was located southwest of

Vyazma Vyazma () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Vyazemsky District, Smolensk Oblast, Vyazemsky District in Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Vyazma River, about halfway between Smolensk, the ...

. As of 1 June its main order of battle was as follows: * 7th Guards Rifle Corps (

3rd Guards Motorized Rifle Division Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...

; 29th Guards Rifle Division) * 15th Guards Rifle Corps (

30th Guards Rifle Division The 30th Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in May, 1942, based on the 1st formation of the 238th Rifle Division, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. It would soon af ...

;

85th Guards Rifle Division The 85th Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in April 1943, based on the 2nd formation of the 118th Rifle Division, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. Late during the ...

) * 19th Guards Rifle Corps (

22nd Guards Rifle Division The 22nd Guards Rifle Division was a division in the Soviet Armed Forces. The division was unique in being the only Guards rifle division formed twice during the Second World War. It was first formed from the 363rd Rifle Division (Soviet Union), 36 ...

;

56th Guards Rifle Division The 56th Guards Rifle Division was formed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in June 1943, based on the 2nd formations of the 74th and 91st Rifle Brigades, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. Along wit ...

;

65th Guards Rifle Division The 65th Guards Rifle Division was formed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in May, 1943, based on the 2nd formations of the 75th and 78th Rifle Brigades, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. Along wit ...

) It fought under command of the Western, Kalinin, 2nd Baltic, and Leningrad Fronts from then until the end of the war. The 10th Guards Army had four commanders during the war against Germany: * Apr–May 1943

Vladimir Kolpakchi Vladimir Yakovlevich Kolpakchi (, ; 7 September 1899 in Kiev – 17 May 1961 in Moscow) was a Soviet general during World War II. For his role in the successful Vistula-Oder offensive he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union on 6 Ap ...

* May–Sep 1943 Kuzma Trubnikov * Sep 1943 – Jan 1944 Aleksandr Sukhomlin * Jan 1944 – August 1946 Mikhail Ilyich Kazakov

Commanders

Postwar commanders included: * August 1946 – 12 May 1947: Colonel General Vasiliy Stepanovich Popov * May 1947 – April 1948: Colonel General Ivan Ilich Lyudnikov

Notable battles

Notable battles and operations in which the 10th Guards Army participated include: * Smolensk Offensive Operation * Leningrad–Novgorod Strategic Offensive * Riga Offensive From October 1944, the 10th Guards Army was one of the Soviet formations committed to besieging German Army Group ''Kurland'' in the

Courland Peninsula The Courland Peninsula (, German: ''Kurland''), also sometimes known as the Couronian Peninsula, is a distinct geographical, historical and cultural region in western Latvia. It represents the north-westernmost part of the broader region of Co ...

. This was a lengthy operation that continued until the Germans in Courland surrendered on May 12, 1945.

Disbanment

At the end of the war in Europe, the 10th Guards Army consisted of the 7th, 15th, and 19th Guards Rifle Corps.Soviet General Staff Order of Battle for 1 May 1945 The army was disbanded on 30 March 1948 by being renamed

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'', a 1972 Soviet drama ...

Notes

External links

*
army history
{{Armies of the Soviet Army G10 Military units and formations established in 1943 Military units and formations disestablished in 1948