The 4th Guards Motor Rifle Division () was a motorized infantry division of the
Soviet Army
The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army.
After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...
during the
Cold War
The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
.
The division began its history as the 13th Tank Corps of the
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 ...
, formed in April 1942 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 ...
and fought in the Soviet counterattack against
Case Blue
Case Blue (German: ''Fall Blau'') was the ''Wehrmacht'' plan for the 1942 strategic summer offensive in southern Russia between 28 June and 24 November 1942, during World War II. The objective was to capture the oil fields of Baku ( Azerb ...
, the
Battle of Voronezh, and the
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad ; see . rus, links=on, Сталинградская битва, r=Stalingradskaya bitva, p=stəlʲɪnˈɡratskəjə ˈbʲitvə. (17 July 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II, ...
. The corps lost so many tanks that it was reorganized with a
mechanized corps
Mechanized infantry are infantry units equipped with armored personnel carriers (APCs) or infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) for transport and combat (see also armoured corps).
As defined by the United States Army, mechanized infantry is disting ...
structure in November, though it retained the 13th Tank Corps designation. For its actions the corps became the 4th Guards Mechanized Corps in early 1943 and received the
Stalingrad
Volgograd,. geographical renaming, formerly Tsaritsyn. (1589–1925) and Stalingrad. (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area o ...
honorific. It continued to fight in combat for most of the rest of the war, receiving the
Order of the Red Banner
The Order of the Red Banner () was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. It was the highest award of S ...
for its role in the
Nikopol–Krivoi Rog Offensive of early 1944, the
Order of Suvorov
The Order of Suvorov () is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named in honor of Russian Generalissimo Prince Alexander Suvorov (1729–1800).
History
The Order of Suvorov was originally a Soviet Union, Soviet award established on ...
, 2nd class for its actions in the
Odessa Offensive
The Odessa Offensive Operation (Russian language, Russian: Одесская Наступательная Операция, Odesskaya Nastupatel'naya Operatsiya), known on the German side as the Defensive battle of the 6th Army between Bug and Dni ...
, and the
Order of Kutuzov
The Order of Kutuzov ( ''orden Kutuzova'') is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named after famous Russian Field Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov, Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov (1745–1813). The Order was established during World War II t ...
, 2nd class for its actions in the
Second Jassy–Kishinev Offensive
The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...
. In the final months of the war the corps advanced into Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, and southern Czechoslovakia before being withdrawn into the reserve.
Several weeks after the end of the war, the corps was converted into the 4th Guards Mechanized Division and based at
Sofia
Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...
. In the late 1940s it was withdrawn to Ukraine, and was based at
Lugansk
Luhansk (, ; , ), also known as Lugansk (, ; , ), is a city in the Donbas in eastern Ukraine. As of 2022, the population was estimated to be making Luhansk the 12th-largest city in Ukraine.
Luhansk served as the administrative center of Luh ...
by the time it became the 63rd Guards Motor Rifle Division in 1957. It was renumbered as the 4th Guards Motor Rifle Division to preserve its traditions in 1964, and was sent to
Termez
Termez ( ) is the capital of Surxondaryo Region in southern Uzbekistan. Administratively, it is a district-level city. Its population is 182,800 (2021). It is notable as the site of Alexander the Great's city Alexandria on the Oxus, as a center ...
during the
Soviet–Afghan War
The Soviet–Afghan War took place in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from December 1979 to February 1989. Marking the beginning of the 46-year-long Afghan conflict, it saw the Soviet Union and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic o ...
to replace a division deployed to the latter. When it returned to Lugansk in 1989, the division was reduced to a storage base, which was disbanded in 1991.
World War II
The corps was formed during April and May 1942 in the
Stalingrad Military District
Volgograd,. formerly Tsaritsyn. (1589–1925) and Stalingrad. (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area of , with a population ...
as the 13th Tank Corps, under the command of Major General
Pyotr Shurov. It included the 65th, 85th, and 88th Tank Brigades as well as the 20th Motor Rifle Brigade and support units. The corps saw its first combat on 10 June in the area of Prikolotnoye southwest of
Kupiansk
Kupiansk or Kupyansk (, ; , ) is a city in Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Kupiansk Raion. It is also an important railroad junction for the oblast. Kupiansk hosts the administration of Kupiansk urban hromada, ...
as part of the
Southwestern Front. During June and July the corps was part of the
28th Army, then transferred to the
21st Army to participate in the
Battle of Voronezh (the Voronezh–
Voroshilovgrad
Luhansk (, ; , ), also known as Lugansk (, ; , ), is a city in the Donbas in eastern Ukraine. As of 2022, the population was estimated to be making Luhansk the Cities in Ukraine, 12th-largest city in Ukraine.
Luhansk served as the administra ...
Operation). Shruov was mortally wounded in July and replaced by Colonel
Trofim Tanaschishin, who would be promoted to major general on 7 December 1942 and to lieutenant general on 30 August 1943. On 23 July 1942 it was transferred to the
Stalingrad Front
The Stalingrad Front was a front, a military unit encompassing several armies, of the Soviet Union's Red Army during the Second World War. The name indicated the primary geographical region in which the Front first fought, based on the city of St ...
, with which it fought in the
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad ; see . rus, links=on, Сталинградская битва, r=Stalingradskaya bitva, p=stəlʲɪnˈɡratskəjə ˈbʲitvə. (17 July 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II, ...
. Due to heavy losses of tanks, in November the corps was reorganized as a mechanized corps with the 1st, 17th, and 62nd Mechanized Brigades, though it retained the 13th Tank Corps designation.

The corps fought in
Operation Uranus
Operation Uranus () was a Soviet 19–23 November 1942 strategic operation on the Eastern Front of World War II which led to the encirclement of Axis forces in the vicinity of Stalingrad: the German Sixth Army, the Third and Fourth Romani ...
, helping to encircle the Axis southern flank, in the repulse of the German counterattack
Operation Winter Storm
Operation Winter Storm (), a German offensive in December 1942 during World War II, involved the German 4th Panzer Army failing to break the Soviet encirclement of the German 6th Army during the Battle of Stalingrad.
In late November 1942 the ...
, and in the counteroffensive of
Operation Little Saturn
Operation Little Saturn () was a Red Army offensive on the Eastern Front of World War II that led to battles in Don and Chir rivers region in German-occupied Soviet Union territory in 16–30 December 1942.
The success of Operation Uranus, lau ...
. For "showing perseverance, courage, discipline, and organization" in these actions, in addition to the "heroism displayed by its personnel," the corps was made an elite
Guards unit
Guards units () were elite units and formations in the Soviet Armed Forces that continue to exist in the Russian Armed Forces and other post-Soviet states. These units were awarded Guards status after distinguishing themselves in wartime service ...
, the 4th Guards Mechanized Corps, on 9 January 1943, and received the Stalingrad honorific on 27 January. Its subordinate brigades accordingly became the 13th, 14th, and 15th Guards Mechanized Brigades. Between January 1943 and mid-January 1944 the corps fought as part of the
Southern Front, which became the
4th Ukrainian Front
The 4th Ukrainian Front () was the name of two distinct Red Army strategic army groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II.
The front was first formed on 20 October 1943, by renaming the Southern Front and was involved in the Lower ...
on 20 October 1943. It participated in the
Rostov Offensive, the
Donbass Strategic Offensive, and the
Melitopol Offensive during this period.

Transferred to the
3rd Ukrainian Front
The 3rd Ukrainian Front () was a Front of the Soviet 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 Front. It included 1st Guards Army, 8th Gua ...
in mid-January 1944, the corps was attached to the
8th Guards Army
The 8th Guards Order of Lenin Combined Arms Army (abbreviated 8th GCAA) was an army of the Soviet Army, as a successor to the 62nd Army of the Soviet Union's Red Army, which was formed during World War II and was disbanded in 1998 after being do ...
for the
Nikopol–Krivoi Rog Offensive. Between 16 and 18 January it was relocated to support a breakthrough of the flanks on the 46th and 8th Guards Armies, with the objective of capturing the critical rail junction of Apostolovo to link up with forces of the
4th Ukrainian Front
The 4th Ukrainian Front () was the name of two distinct Red Army strategic army groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II.
The front was first formed on 20 October 1943, by renaming the Southern Front and was involved in the Lower ...
and cut off German troops in the Nikopol bridgehead. The corps numbered 7,304 men on 31 January of which 3,394 were considered "bayonets" (combat troops), and fielded 123 tanks and self-propelled guns. Of these, 92 were T-34 medium tanks, sixteen T-70 light tanks, one
Mk III Valentine tank, eight
SU-85
The SU-85 ('' Samokhodnaya ustanovka'' 85) was a Soviet self-propelled gun used during World War II, based on the chassis of the T-34 medium tank. Earlier Soviet self-propelled guns were meant to serve as either assault guns, such as the SU-122, ...
self-propelled guns, and six
SU-152
The SU-152 () is a Soviet self-propelled heavy howitzer used during World War II.
It mounted a 152 mm gun-howitzer on the chassis of a KV-1S heavy tank. Later production used an IS tank chassis and was re-designated ISU-152. Because of it ...
heavy self-propelled guns. Artillery support was provided by eight 20 mm guns, four 37 mm guns, 23 45 mm anti-tank guns, 29 76 mm guns, 34 82 mm mortars, and fourteen 120 mm mortars. During the offensive, it helped to capture
Nikopol and
Apostolovo, earning it the
Order of the Red Banner
The Order of the Red Banner () was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. It was the highest award of S ...
for its "exemplary completion of combat missions" and "valor and courage" on 13 February 1944. The corps lost 502 killed, 1,254 wounded, and 61 missing during the offensive for a total of 1,817 casualties and 31 tanks and self-propelled guns. The 4th Guards Mechanized was attached to the
Cavalry Mechanized Group commanded by Lieutenant General
Issa Pliyev
Issa Alexandrovich Pliyev (also spelled as ''Pliev''; ; ; — 6 February 1979) was a Soviet Union, Soviet military commander. Pliyev rose to become the premier cavalry general of the Soviet Army. He became Army General (1962), twice Hero of the ...
for the subsequent
Bereznegovatoye–Snigeryovka and
Odessa Offensive
The Odessa Offensive Operation (Russian language, Russian: Одесская Наступательная Операция, Odesskaya Nastupatel'naya Operatsiya), known on the German side as the Defensive battle of the 6th Army between Bug and Dni ...
s. For helping to capture
Odessa
ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...
among other objectives during the latter, the corps was awarded the
Order of Suvorov
The Order of Suvorov () is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named in honor of Russian Generalissimo Prince Alexander Suvorov (1729–1800).
History
The Order of Suvorov was originally a Soviet Union, Soviet award established on ...
, 2nd class, on 20 April. Among the corps personnel posthumously awarded the
Hero of the Soviet Union
The title Hero of the Soviet Union () was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society. The title was awarded both ...
title for their actions in these operations were tank commanders and Junior Lieutenants
Boris Grebennikov and
Vadim Sivkov, and gunner and radio operator ''
Ryadovoy
() in the Army, Airborne troops, and Air Force of the Russian Federation is the designation of a member of the rank group of enlisted personnel. The rank is equivalent to ''matros'' () in the Russian Navy. In the armed forces of the Soviet Uni ...
''
Pyotr Krestyaninov. Tanaschishin was also killed in action during the Odessa Offensive at the end of March and replaced by Major General
Vladimir Zhdanov
Vladimir Ivanovich Zhdanov (; 29 April 1902 – 19 October 1964) was a colonel-general of tank troops in the armed forces of the Soviet Union. He was a major general in the Soviet Red Army during World War II.
Military career
In 1941, Zhdanov beca ...
, who commanded it for the rest of the war and was promoted to lieutenant general on 13 September.
Attacking in conjunction with the
7th Mechanized and
18th Tank Corps
18 (eighteen) is the natural number following 17 and preceding 19. It is an even composite number.
Mathematics
18 is a semiperfect number and an abundant number. It is a largely composite number, as it has 6 divisors and no smaller number has ...
during the August
Second Jassy–Kishinev Offensive
The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...
, the corps reached the area of
Huși
Huși (, Yiddish//''Hush'', , German language, German: ''Hussburg'') is a municipiu, city in Vaslui County, Romania, former capital of the disbanded Fălciu County in the historical region of Western Moldavia, Romanian Orthodox Church, Romanian O ...
and
Leova
Leova is a city in Moldova, located 92 km southwest of the national capital, Chișinău. It is the administrative center of Leova District. The city is situated on the east bank of the river Prut bordering Romania.
History
The city of Leova is ...
to encircle and destroy a large Axis group of eighteen divisions. For this action it received the
Order of Kutuzov
The Order of Kutuzov ( ''orden Kutuzova'') is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named after famous Russian Field Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov, Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov (1745–1813). The Order was established during World War II t ...
, 2nd class, on 7 September. In early September the corps swept southward into Bulgaria, then west during the
Belgrade Offensive to capture the
Yugoslav capital of
Belgrade
Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...
on 20 October. For their actions in the latter 214 corps personnel received Yugoslav decorations, and Zhdanov was made a
Hero of Yugoslavia. The corps was transferred to the
2nd Ukrainian Front
The 2nd Ukrainian Front () 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.
In mid-May 1944 Malinovsky took over the 2nd Ukrainian Front.
During t ...
in late October, and served with it until February 1945. The corps was successively attached to the
46th Army from 1 November, Cavalry-Mechanized Group Pliev from 28 November, the
6th Guards Tank Army
The 6th Guards Order of Red Banner Tank Army was a tank army of the Soviet Union's Red Army, first formed in January 1944 as the 6th Tank Army,Glantz (Companion), p. 66. and disbanded in Ukraine in the 1990s after the dissolution of the Soviet U ...
from 23 December, and the
7th Guards Army
The 7th Guards Army was a field army of the Red Army during World War II and of the Soviet Army during the Cold War.
History
The 7th Guards Army was formed from the 64th Army on April 16, 1943.
64th Army had originally been formed from 1s ...
from 26 January 1945 during the
Budapest Offensive. It saw its last combat action during the advance into southern
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 ...
on the
Hron
The Hron (; ; ; ) is a long left tributary of the Danube[P ...]
north of
Esztergom
Esztergom (; ; or ; , known by Names of European cities in different languages: E–H#E, alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the righ ...
, and in late February was withdrawn into the front reserve. The corps then transferred to the
Reserve of the Supreme High Command
The Reserve of the Supreme High Command (Russian: Резерв Верховного Главнокомандования; also known as the '' Stavka'' Reserve or RVGK () or RGK ( comprises reserve military formations and units; the ''Stavka'' ...
on 15 April, in which it ended the war. For their actions during the war, 16,500 personnel of the corps were decorated, while nineteen others were made Heroes of the Soviet Union.
Postwar
The 4th Guards Mechanized Corps was converted into the 4th Guards Mechanized Division in June 1945; its three mechanized brigades and one tank brigade were likewise converted into regiments with the same numbers. By that time, the division was a separate division of the
Southern Group of Forces
The Southern Group of Forces (YUGV) was a Soviet Armed Forces formation formed twice following the Second World War, most notably around the time of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.
First Formation
On June 15, 1945, the 26th and 37th Armies (fr ...
. It became part of the
10th Mechanized Army when that force was formed in June 1946 while stationed at
Sofia
Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...
. It briefly became part of the
Special Mechanized Army
The Special Mechanized Army () was a mechanized army of the Soviet Army. It was formed from the Southern Group of Forces in 1947 in Romania. Elements of the army fought in Operation Whirlwind, the suppression of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. I ...
there on 20 December 1947, but was withdrawn to the
Kiev Military District
The Kiev Military District (; , abbreviated ) was a military district of the Imperial Russian Army and subsequently of the Red Army and Soviet Armed Forces. It was first formed in 1862, and was headquartered in Kiev (Kyiv) for most of its exist ...
in early 1948, joining the
14th Guards Rifle Corps. On 4 June 1957 it was redesignated as the 63rd Guards Motor Rifle Division. At the same time, the 13th, 14th, and 15th Guards Mechanized Regiments became the 365th, 367th, and 15th Guards Motor Rifle Regiments, respectively, while the 36th Guards Tank Regiment was renumbered as the 304th Guards. That year, the division became part of the 6th Guards Tank Army, whose headquarters had recently been transferred to the district. In the Kiev Military District the division was stationed at
Lugansk
Luhansk (, ; , ), also known as Lugansk (, ; , ), is a city in the Donbas in eastern Ukraine. As of 2022, the population was estimated to be making Luhansk the 12th-largest city in Ukraine.
Luhansk served as the administrative center of Luh ...
by 1957 and renumbered as the 4th Guards Motor Rifle Division to restore its World War II number on 17 November 1964. Its Stalingrad honorific was removed in 1961 and replaced with Volgograd to reflect the name change of that city on 29 September 1964.
By 1965, the division was directly subordinated to the district headquarters. It was transferred to
Termez
Termez ( ) is the capital of Surxondaryo Region in southern Uzbekistan. Administratively, it is a district-level city. Its population is 182,800 (2021). It is notable as the site of Alexander the Great's city Alexandria on the Oxus, as a center ...
and directly subordinated to the
Turkestan Military District
The Turkestan Military District (, ''Turkestansky voyenyi okrug (TurkVO)'') was a military district of both the Imperial Russian Army and the Soviet Armed Forces, with its headquarters at Tashkent. The District was first created during the 1874 R ...
headquarters during February 1980, replacing the
108th Motor Rifle Division
The 108th Nevelskaya Motor Rifle Division, abbreviated as the "108th MRD," was a unit of the Soviet Ground Forces and the Armed Forces of Uzbekistan. It was the successor to the 360th Rifle Division. The division was created in August 1941 by t ...
, which had been sent to fight in the
Soviet–Afghan War
The Soviet–Afghan War took place in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from December 1979 to February 1989. Marking the beginning of the 46-year-long Afghan conflict, it saw the Soviet Union and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic o ...
. The division left behind the 15th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment, which was used to form the
46th Motor Rifle Division at Lugansk, part of the new
64th Army Corps. The 15th Guards were replaced by the newly formed 1213th Motor Rifle Regiment at Termez. When the 4th Guards returned to Lugansk in March 1989 after the 108th returned to Termez when the Soviet Army withdrew from Afghanistan, the 46th Motor Rifle Division disbanded that same month, followed by the 64th Army Corps in July. Later that year, the division itself was reduced to the 5197th Guards Weapons and Equipment Storage Base, where nearly 40 vehicles – 26
R-145BM
The BTR-60 is the first vehicle in a series of Soviet eight-wheeled armoured personnel carriers (APCs). It was developed in the late 1950s as a replacement for the BTR-152 and was seen in public for the first time in 1961. BTR stands for ''bronet ...
, 3
R-156BTR, 3
PRP-3, 2
BMP-1KSh, 3
1V18, 1
1V19, and 1
UR-67 – were stored; the base was disbanded in March 1991.
Commanders
The following officers commanded the corps and division:
* Major General Pyotr Yevdokimovich Shurov (23 May–2 July 1942)
* Major General
Trofim Tanaschishin (17 July 1942–31 March 1944, promoted lieutenant general 30 August 1943)
* Major General
Vladimir Zhdanov
Vladimir Ivanovich Zhdanov (; 29 April 1902 – 19 October 1964) was a colonel-general of tank troops in the armed forces of the Soviet Union. He was a major general in the Soviet Red Army during World War II.
Military career
In 1941, Zhdanov beca ...
(31 March 1944–July 1946, promoted lieutenant general 13 September 1944)
* Lieutenant General Nikolay Dreyer (July 1946–16 September 1949)
* Major General Vasily Gorishny (16 September 1949–15 December 1951)
* Major General Nikolay Grigoryevich Dushak (30 January 1952–27 July 1954)
* Colonel Vasily Mikhailovich Meshkov (27 July 1954–3 January 1957)
* Colonel Grigory Ivanovich Semenko (3 January 1957–8 August 1963)
* Major General Nikolay Grigoryevich Usoltsev (8 August 1963–)
* Major General Vladimir Nikolayevich Konchits (–28 November 1969)
* Colonel Vladimir Dmitryevich Kostylev (28 November 1969–19 July 1972, major general 20 May 1971)
* Colonel Nikolay Fyodorovich Grachyov (19 July 1972–1974, major general 8 May 1974)
References
Citations
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
Military documents
* (
Central Archives of the Russian Ministry of Defense, fond 243, opus 0002928, file 0043g)
Further reading
*
*
*
External links
Museum of the 4th Guards Mechanized Corps{{Soviet Union divisions 1957–1989
Motor rifle divisions of the Soviet Union
Military units and formations established in 1964
Military units and formations disestablished in 1989
1964 establishments in the Soviet Union
1989 disestablishments in the Soviet Union