The 3rd Guards Tank Army () was a tank

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

established by the

Soviet Union 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 ...

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

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 ...

. The 3rd Tank Army was created in 1942 and fought in the southern areas of the

and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, then in

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and

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

until the defeat of Germany in 1945. Postwar, the army served as occupation troops in

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, went through several name changes, and was finally deactivated in 1969.

History

Second World War

First Formation

The 3rd Tank Army was formed as part of the Reserve of the Supreme High Command (RVGK, Stavka reserve) on the basis of the 58th Army in the Moscow Military District in May 1942. It was placed under the command of Lieutenant General Prokofy Romanenko. Its initial composition was 12th and 15th Tank Corps, one motor rifle division, and two rifle divisions. As part of the Soviet Western Front, the 3rd Tank Army successfully counter-attacked the German Second Panzer Army in August 1942. Soon afterwards, in September 1942, Romanenko handed over command to Colonel General Pavel Rybalko, who held command of the Army for the remainder of the war. Committed to the fighting for

Kharkov Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

in March 1943 as part of the Voronezh Front, the 3rd Tank Army was subsequently encircled and virtually destroyed by German forces. The Army's remnants were reorganised as the 57th Army.

Second Formation

The army was reformed as the 3rd Guards Tank Army in May 1943, including the 9th Mechanised Corps & 12th & 15th Tank Corps. In 1943, the army took part in the Orel offensive and, assigned to the Voronezh and First Ukrainian Fronts, played a leading role in the liberation of Left Bank

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. During the Orel offensive the 12th and 15th Tank Corps became the 6th and 7th Guards Tank Corps, respectively. The army was among the first Soviet troops to reach the Dnieper River in October 1943. In 1944, it fought in the Proskurov-Chernovits and Lvov-Sandomierz offensive operations. The army subsequently fought in southern Poland,

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

, and in the Battle of Berlin. It overran the OKH command post at Zossen, headquarters for German Eastern Front operations, on April 21, 1945. Finally, the army drove on

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, entering that city on May 9.

Cold War

Soon after the end of the war, the 6th and 7th Guards Tank Corps were converted into tank divisions with the same numbers, and the 9th Mechanized Corps into the 9th Mechanized Division. By 1946, the army had been re-designated as the 3rd Guards Mechanized Army and was headquartered in Luckenwalde, East Germany, as part of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. The 3rd Guards Mechanized Army was one of several Soviet armies used in the suppression of the 1953 uprising in East Germany, moving the 6th Guards Tank Division into

Dessau Dessau is a district of the independent city of Dessau-Roßlau in Saxony-Anhalt at the confluence of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the ''States of Germany, Bundesland'' (Federal State) of Saxony-Anhalt. Until 1 July 2007, it was an independent ...

and

Wittenberg Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is the fourth-largest town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, in the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. It is situated on the River Elbe, north of Leipzig and south-west of the reunified German ...

as well as the 9th Mechanized Division into Lübben, Cottbus, and Spremberg. On 29 April 1957, the 3rd Guards Mechanized Army became the 18th Guards Army. At the same time the 14th Guards Mechanized Division became the 14th Guards Motor Rifle Division. In 1958, the 82nd Motor Rifle Division, the former 9th Mechanized Corps, was withdrawn to Slavuta in the Carpathian Military District, where it disbanded. Up to 1964 it had preserved two formations which had served with it during World War II: the 6th and 7th Guards Tank Divisions (former similarly numbered Tank Corps). In August 1964, the headquarters of the 18th Guards Army was relocated to Alma-Ata, where it became the operational group of the Turkestan Military District. The 6th and 7th Guards Tank Divisions and the 14th Guards Motor Rifle Division were transferred to other units within the GSFG. The operational group was converted back into the 18th Army (without the Guards designation) on 4 March 1969, but was used to activate the headquarters of the Central Asian Military District on 24 June.

Commanders

The 3rd Tank Army was commanded by the following officers: * Lieutenant General Prokofy Romanenko (25 May–24 September 1942) * Major General (promoted to Lieutenant General 19 January 1943) Pavel Rybalko (25 September 1942 – 26 April 1943) The 3rd Guards Tank Army, 3rd Guards Mechanized Army, and 18th Guards Army were commanded by the following officers: * Lieutenant General (promoted to Colonel General 30 December 1943 and Marshal of Tank Troops 1 June 1945) Pavel Rybalko (14 May 1943–February 1947) * Lieutenant General Vasily Mitrofanov (February 1947–May 1950) * Lieutenant General Vasily Butkov (May 1950–30 September 1953) * Lieutenant General (promoted to Colonel General 8 August 1955) Viktor Obukhov (30 September 1953 – 15 April 1958) * Major General (promoted to Lieutenant General 25 May 1959) Sergey Sokolov (15 April 1958 – 21 January 1960) * Major General (promoted to Lieutenant General 7 May 1960) Georgy Anishchik (22 January 1960 – 28 August 1964)

Order of Battle

World War 2

On February 1, 1943, on the eve of the Third Battle of Kharkov, 3rd Tank Army comprised the following formations: 3rd Tank Army * 12th Tank Corps (Major General of Tank Forces M.I. Zinkovich) ** 30th Tank Brigade ** 97th Tank Brigade ** 106th Tank Brigade ** 13th Motor Rifle Brigade ** 6th Armored Car Battalion * 15th Tank Corps (Major General of Tank Forces Vasily Koptsov) ** 88th Tank Brigade ** 113rd Tank Brigade ** 195th Tank Brigade ** 52nd Motor Rifle Brigade ** 5th Armored Car Battalion * 48th Rifle Division * 62nd Guards Rifle Division * 111th Rifle Division * 160th Rifle Division * 184th Rifle Division * 179th Tank Brigade * 39th Armored Car Battalion * 37th Rifle Brigade *8th Artillery Division ** 2nd Light Artillery Brigade ** 12th Gun Artillery Brigade ** 28th Howitzer Artillery Brigade * 1172nd Tank Destroyer Brigade * 1245th Tank Destroyer Brigade * 15th Guards Mortar Brigade* * 62nd Guards Mortar Regiment* * 97th Guards Mortar Regiment* * 315th Guards Mortar Regiment* * 71st Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment * 470th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment * 391st Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment * Guards Mortar Regiment (or Battalion) () was the overt designation used for Katyusha rocket launcher units. Following 3rd Tank Army's destruction, it was reconstructed as 3rd Guards Tank Army, and by December 31, 1943, it was organized as follows: 3rd Guards Tank Army * 6th Guards Tank Corps (Major General of Tank Forces A. P. Panfilov) ** 51st Tank Brigade ** 52nd Tank Brigade ** 53rd Guards Tank Brigade ** 22nd Guards Motor Rifle Brigade ** 1442nd Self Propelled Gun Regiment ** 1893rd Self Propelled Gun Regiment ** 3rd Guards Motorcycle Battalion ** 55th Guards Tank Destroyer Battalion ** 272nd Guards Mortar Regiment ** 286th Guards Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment * 7th Guards Tank Corps (Major General of Tank Forces S. A. Ivanov) ** 54th Tank Brigade ** 55th Tank Brigade ** 56th Guards Tank Brigade ** 23rd Guards Motor Rifle Brigade ** 1419th Self Propelled Gun Regiment ** 1894th Self Propelled Gun Regiment ** 4th Guards Motorcycle Battalion ** 56th Guards Tank Destroyer Regiment ** 467th Guards Mortar Regiment ** 287th Guards Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment * 9th Mechanized Corps (Major General of Tank Forces K.A. Malygin) ** 69th Mechanized Brigade ** 70th Mechanized Brigade ** 71st Mechanized Brigade ** 47th Tank Regiment ** 59th Guards Tank Regiment ** 1454th Self Propelled Gun Regiment ** 1823rd Self Propelled Gun Regiment ** 100th Motorcycle Battalion ** 396th Tank Destroyer Regiment ** 616th Mortar Regiment ** 1719th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment * 91st Tank Brigade * 166th Tank Regiment * 1835th Self-Propelled Gun Regiment * 1836th Self-Propelled Gun Regiment * 50th Motorcycle Regiment * 39th Armored Car Battalion * 36th Guards Mortar Regiment* * 91st Guards Mortar Regiment* * 1381st Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment * 1394th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment * 182nd Engineering Battalion * Guards Mortar Regiment (or Battalion) () was the overt designation used for Katyusha rocket launcher units.

Notes

References

* *Bonn, Keith E. (ed.) ''Slaughterhouse''. Bedford: Aberjona Press, 2005. . * *Glantz, David M. ''Companion to Colossus Reborn''. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2005. . *Poirier, Robert G., and Conner, Albert Z. ''The Red Army Order of Battle in the Great Patriotic War''. Novato: Presidio Press, 1985. .