The 5th Guards Tank Army (Russian: 5-я гварде́йская та́нковая а́рмия) was a
Soviet Guards
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 ...
armored formation which fought in many notable actions during World War II. The army was formed in February 1943. Until the aftermath of the
Vilnius Offensive
The Vilnius offensive (; ) occurred as part of the third phase of Operation Bagration, the Soviet Red Army's strategic summer offensive against the German ''Wehrmacht'' in June and July 1944. It lasted from 5 July to 13 July 1944 and ended with ...
in July 1944, it was commanded by
Pavel Rotmistrov
Chief marshal of the armored troops Pavel Alexeyevich Rotmistrov (; 6 July 1901 – 6 April 1982) was a Soviet military commander of armoured troops in the Red Army during and following World War II. He fought from the first days and was presen ...
.
Its organisation varied throughout its history, but in general included two or more Guards
Tank Corps
An armoured corps (also mechanized corps or tank corps) is a specialized military organization whose role is to conduct armoured warfare. The units belonging to an armoured corps include military staff, and are equipped with tanks and other armou ...
and one or more Guards
Mechanised Corps. It was considered an elite formation. Under
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 ...
doctrine
Doctrine (from , meaning 'teaching, instruction') is a codification (law), codification of beliefs or a body of teacher, teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a ...
of
deep operations
Deep operation (, ''glubokaya operatsiya''), also known as Soviet deep battle, was a military theory developed by the Soviet Union for its armed forces during the 1920s and 1930s. It was a tenet that emphasized destroying, suppressing or disorga ...
, Tank Armies were primarily to be used for large-scale exploitation of major offensives. Once a breach in enemy lines had been made by other units (typically Shock Armies or combined-arms armies), the tank army would be inserted into the gap to drive deep into enemy territory, attacking rear areas and seizing major communications centers to disrupt the enemy reactions. Tank armies were expected to penetrate up to several hundred kilometers into the enemy rear.
After the war, the 5th Guards Tank Army moved to the
Belorussian Military District
The Byelorussian Military District (; alternatively Belarusian; ) was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces. Originally formed just before World War I as the Minsk Military District out of the remnants of the Vilno Military District an ...
. It was downsized to division size in late 1946 and became a mechanized army in 1948. The designation "5th Guards Tank Army" was restored in 1957. The army was taken over by the
Belarus Ground Forces
The Belarusian Ground Forces, also called the Belarusian army, is the land warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of Belarus.
Since the abolition of the Main Staff of the Ground Forces in 2012, the three regional operational commands of the ...
in June 1992 and became an army corps two months later. The 5th Guards Army Corps was disbanded in 2001. Its headquarters became the headquarters of the Belarus Ground Forces.
World War II
The 5th Guards Tank Army was formed on 25 February 1943 based on a ''
Stavka
The ''Stavka'' ( Russian and Ukrainian: Ставка, ) is a name of the high command of the armed forces used formerly in the Russian Empire and Soviet Union and currently in Ukraine.
In Imperial Russia ''Stavka'' referred to the administrat ...
'' order of 10 February 1943. It was part of 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'' ...
(the Stavka Reserve). The army included the
3rd Guards and
the 29th Tank Corps, the
5th Guards Mechanized Corps
The 5th Guards ''Zimovnikovskaya'' order Kutuzov II degree Motor Rifle Division, (Military Unit Number (V/Ch) 51852 from 1979) named on the 60th anniversary of the USSR, was a military formation of the Soviet Ground Forces. It was formed from the ...
, the
994th Night Bomber Aviation Regiment, artillery and other smaller units.
Battle of Kursk
In 1943, it played a significant role in the
Battle of Kursk
The Battle of Kursk, also called the Battle of the Kursk Salient, was a major World War II Eastern Front battle between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in southwestern Russia during the summer of 1943, resulting in ...
, being one of the formations tasked with the counterattack at the
Battle of Prokhorovka
The Battle of Prokhorovka was fought on 12 July 1943 near Prokhorovka, Belgorod Oblast, Prokhorovka, southeast of Kursk, in the Soviet Union, during the Second World War. Taking place on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front, the e ...
. Subordinated to the
Steppe Front
The Steppe Front () was a front of the Red Army during the Second World War which existed from July to October 1943.
History
On 9 July 1943, Stavka designated a new Reserve Front in the Voronezh region, that had been effective since 30 April.G ...
, at Kursk the Army controlled the
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 ...
,
29th Tank Corps
The 29th Tank Corps was a tank corps of the Soviet Union's Red Army. Formed in February 1943, the corps served through the entire war, fighting in the Battle of Prokhorovka, the Belgorod-Kharkov Offensive, the Battle of the Dnieper, the Dniepe ...
,
2nd Tank Corps,
5th Guards Mechanised Corps plus smaller units with a total of approximately 850 tanks. Early in 1944, it took part in the reduction of the
Korsun-Cherkassy Pocket.
Operation Bagration
In June 1944, the 5th Guards Tank Army was used as the main exploitation force during the Soviet summer offensive,
Operation Bagration
Operation Bagration () was the codename for the 1944 Soviet Byelorussian strategic offensive operation (), a military campaign fought between 22 June and 19 August 1944 in Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Byelorussia in the Eastern ...
. The formation was committed to an attack along and parallel to the main Moscow–
Minsk
Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...
road, following initial breakthroughs by the rifle divisions of
11th Guards Army
The 11th Guards Army () was a field army of the Red Army, the Soviet Ground Forces, and the Russian Ground Forces, active from 1943 to 1997.
History
World War II
For its prowess in battle, the second formation of the 16th Army was redesignat ...
, and was instrumental in completing the encirclement and destruction of German forces at Minsk. It was then employed in the
third phase of Operation Bagration. High casualties in this campaign, however, led to the unit's commander Lieutenant-General
Pavel Rotmistrov
Chief marshal of the armored troops Pavel Alexeyevich Rotmistrov (; 6 July 1901 – 6 April 1982) was a Soviet military commander of armoured troops in the Red Army during and following World War II. He fought from the first days and was presen ...
being relieved of command and replaced with
Vasily Volsky.
Baltic Offensive
Late in 1944, the 5th Guards Tank Army was committed against
3rd Panzer Army
The 3rd Panzer Army () was a German armoured formation during World War II, formed from the 3rd Panzer Group on 1 January 1942.
3rd Panzer Group
The 3rd Panzer Group () was formed on 16 November 1940. It was a constituent part of Army Grou ...
as part of the
Baltic Offensive, pushing the German forces into a pocket at
Memel. It was then moved south and took part in the
East Prussian Operation as part of
Konstantin Rokossovsky
Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovsky ( 1896 – 3 August 1968) was a Soviet and Polish general who served as a top commander in the Red Army during World War II and achieved the ranks of Marshal of the Soviet Union and Marshal of Poland. He a ...
's
2nd Belorussian Front
The 2nd Belorussian Front (, ''Vtoroi Belorusskiy front'', also romanized "Byelorussian SSR, Byelorussian"), was a Front (military formation), major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to a Western army group.
I ...
; driving to the coast at
Elbing, it successfully cut off the ''
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...
'' forces in
East Prussia
East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...
in what became known as the
Heiligenbeil pocket
The Heiligenbeil Pocket or Heiligenbeil Cauldron () was the site of a major encirclement battle on the Eastern Front during the closing weeks of World War II, in which the Wehrmacht's 4th Army was almost entirely destroyed during the Soviet B ...
.
However, by March 1945, the 5th Guards Tank Army was being drawn down, with the subordinate
10th Tank Corps
The 10th Tank Corps was a tank corps of the Red Army, formed twice.
First Formation
In May–June 1938, the 7th Mechanized Corps headquarters was relocated from Novy Petergof to Luga and converted into the 10th Tank Corps when the Red Army ...
moved first to direct subordination of the 3rd Belorussian Front and then the STAVKA Reserve by 1 April 1945. This left the 5th Guards Tank Army with a single tank corps, the 29th, under its control. This reduction in strength coincided with the hospitalization of the 5th GTA's commanding general, Vasily Volsky, for
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
. Volsky did not return to the army (he died in February 1946) and Major General
Maxim Sinenko took command from 16 March 1945 to the end of the war.
In early April 1945, the army moved to a position on the Baltic coast and attacked on 9 April 1945 to clear German defensive positions by the mouth of the Vistula River. For this operation, the army no longer controlled the 29th Tank Corps, but had attached the 98th Rifle Corps and the 1st Polish Tank Brigade. This operation continued until the end of the war.
After the war, Rotmistrov wrote a memoir and history of the unit, ''The Steel Guards''.
Cold War
In July 1945, the army was relocated to
Slutsk
Slutsk is a town in Minsk Region, in central Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Slutsk District, and is located on the Sluch (Belarus), Sluch River south of the capital Minsk. As of 2025, it has a population of 59,450.
Geography ...
, part of the
Baranovichi Military District. In February 1946, it moved to
Bobruisk
Babruysk (, ) or Bobruysk (, ; , ) is a city in Mogilev Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Babruysk District, though it is administratively separated from the district. It is situated on the Berezina River. Babruysk o ...
,
after the Baranovichi and Minsk Military Districts had been combined into the
Belorussian Military District
The Byelorussian Military District (; alternatively Belarusian; ) was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces. Originally formed just before World War I as the Minsk Military District out of the remnants of the Vilno Military District an ...
. The army moved to Belarus with the
8th Guards and 29th Tank Divisions, and the
8th Mechanized Division, all formed from the corps of the same numbers after the end of the war. There, the 8th Mechanized Division was transferred and the newly created
15th Guards and
12th Mechanized Divisions joined the army. The army was briefly redesignated the 5th Guards Mechanized Army on 12 June 1946, and was reduced to the mobilization 5th Guards Mechanized Division (or 5th Separate Guards Tank Division (mobilization)) on 31 October 1946, with its divisions reduced to regiments. The unit was expanded into the 5th Guards Mechanized Army on 28 October 1948 as Cold War tensions increased. In the early 1950s, the
22nd Mechanized Division replaced the 15th Guards. By 1955 the army numbered 1,219 tanks and self-propelled guns, including 161
IS-4
The IS-4, also known as the Object 701, was a Soviet heavy tank that started development in 1943 and began production in 1946. Derived from the IS-2 and part of the IS tank family, the IS-4 featured a longer hull and increased armor. With the ...
, 893
T-54
The T-54 and T-55 tanks are a series of Soviet medium tanks introduced in the years following the Second World War. The first T-54 prototype was completed at Nizhny Tagil by the end of 1945.Steven Zaloga, T-54 and T-55 Main Battle Tanks 1944–2 ...
, sixteen
T-34/85, 75
PT-76
The PT-76 is a Soviet Union, Soviet amphibious vehicle, amphibious light tank that was introduced in the early 1950s and soon became the standard reconnaissance tank of the Soviet Army and the other Warsaw Pact armed forces. It was widely exporte ...
, and 74
ISU-122
The ISU-122 (acronym of'' Istrebitelnaja - or Iosif Stalin-based - Samokhodnaya Ustanovka 122'') was a Soviet assault gun used during World War II, mostly in the anti-tank role.
History and purpose
A prototype of the ISU-122 (in Russian ИСУ ...
, 24
ZSU-57 self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, and 705 guns. From then until the late 1980s the army's composition remained virtually unchanged – only the mechanized divisions were redesignated in 1957.
On 20 May of that year, the army was redesignated as the 5th Guards Tank Army. The 22nd Mechanized became the 36th Tank Division, then the 193rd in 1965, while the 12th Mechanized Division became the 5th Heavy Tank Division and was disbanded in 1960. On 21 February 1974, the army was awarded 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 ...
. In August 1979, the 84th Motor Rifle Division (a mobilization unit) was attached to the army at Marina Gorka after transferring from the
28th Army; it was disbanded in 1987.
Until the late 1980s, the army included three tank divisions – the 8th Guards at
Marina Gorka, the 29th at
Slutsk
Slutsk is a town in Minsk Region, in central Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Slutsk District, and is located on the Sluch (Belarus), Sluch River south of the capital Minsk. As of 2025, it has a population of 59,450.
Geography ...
, and the 193rd at Bobruisk-25. Support units included the 302nd Anti-Aircraft Rocket Brigade at Marina Gorka, the 460th Rocket (formed 1988) and 306th Gun Artillery Brigades at Osipovichi, and the 56th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Brigade at Slutsk.
In 1990, as the Cold War drew to a close, the 8th Guards and 29th Tank Divisions were reduced to storage bases. To replace the 8th Guards, the
30th Guards Motor Rifle Division, withdrawn from the
Central Group of Forces
The Central Group of Forces (Russian: Центральная группа войск) was a formation of the Soviet Armed Forces used to incorporate Soviet troops in Central Europe on two occasions: in Austria and Hungary from 1945 to 1955 and tr ...
in Czechoslovakia, joined the army. By November of that year, according to
CFE Treaty data, the army fielded 238
T-72
The T-72 is a family of Soviet Union, Soviet main battle tanks that entered production in 1973. The T-72 was a development based on the T-64 using thought and design of the previous Object 167M. About 25,000 T-72 tanks have been built, and refu ...
tanks, 381 infantry fighting vehicles, and 228 guns, mortars, and MLRS.
Belorussian Army
In June 1992 the army was taken over by Belarus after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and on 12 August 1992 renamed 5th Guards Army Corps.
The 5th Guards Army Corps was still active in September 2001, when the Belarus Minister of Defence, General Lieutenant
Leonid Maltsev
Colonel General Leonid Semyonovich Maltsev (, ; born August 29, 1949) is a retired Belarusian Ground Forces officer. He served as the Minister of Defence of Belarus twice (1995–1996 and 2001–2009) and the Chief of the General Staff of the Arm ...
, congratulated the remaining Belarus
Guards units on 60 years of existence. However, later in 2001, the headquarters of the
Ground Forces
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 p ...
of the
Armed Forces of Belarus
The Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus are the military forces of Belarus. It consists of the Ground Forces and the Air Force and Air Defence Forces, all under the command of the Ministry of Defence. As a landlocked country, Belarus has ...
was established on its basis.
There is a memorial to the soldiers of the 5th Guards Tank Army at
Znamianka
Znamianka (, ) is a city in central Ukraine, Kropyvnytskyi Raion, Kirovohrad Oblast. It hosts the administration of Znamianka urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Population:
It is located about halfway between the regional center Kr ...
,
Kirovograd Oblast
Kirovohrad Oblast (), also known as Kirovohradshchyna (), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (''province'') in central Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Kropyvnytskyi. The oblast's population is It is ...
, in Ukraine.
Commanders
The following officers commanded the army.
* Marshal of Tank Troops
Pavel Rotmistrov
Chief marshal of the armored troops Pavel Alexeyevich Rotmistrov (; 6 July 1901 – 6 April 1982) was a Soviet military commander of armoured troops in the Red Army during and following World War II. He fought from the first days and was presen ...
(22 February 1943 – 8 August 1944)
* Colonel General
Mikhail Solomatin (9 August 1944 – 18 August 1944)
* Colonel General
Vasily Volsky (19 August 1944 – 16 March 1945)
* Lieutenant General
Maxim Sinenko (16 March 1945 – January 1946)
* Colonel General Mikhail Solomatin (January-26 April 1946)
* Lieutenant General
Pavel Poluboyarov (27 April 1946 – 23 March 1949)
* Lieutenant General
Mikhail Panov
Mikhail Feodorovich Panov (Russian: ''Михаил Фёдорович Панов''; 21 November 1901, in Ovchinikov, Vitebsk Governorate, Russian Empire – 8 May 1979, in Moscow, Soviet Union) was a Soviet general.
Biography
Early life
Born to ...
(23 March 1949 – 17 September 1951)
* Colonel General
Mikhail Katukov
Marshal of Armoured Troops Mikhail Yefimovich Katukov ( – 8 June 1976) served as a commander of armored troops in the Red Army during and following World War II. He is viewed as one of the most talented Soviet armor commanders. Mikhail Kat ...
(17 September 1951 – 23 June 1955)
* Lieutenant General
Pyotr Kalininchenko (23 June 1955 – 16 April 1958)
* Lieutenant General
Vladimir Smirnov (13 May 1958 – 7 May 1960)
* Lieutenant General
Semyon Kurkotkin (7 May 1960 – 28 January 1965)
* Lieutenant General
Boris Likhachev (28 January 1965 – 13 November 1967)
* Lieutenant General
Saltan Magometov (13 November 1967 – 2 December 1969)
* Lieutenant General
Mikhail Zaitsev
Mikhail Mitrofanovich Zaitsev (; 23 November 1923 – 22 January 2009) was a general of the Soviet Army. Zaitsev's principal commands were the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany and the southern military districts of the Soviet Union.
Second Worl ...
(2 December 1969 – 11 August 1972)
* Lieutenant General
Valery Belikov (11 August 1972 – 20 May 1974)
* Lieutenant General
Vitaly Saltykov
Vitali, Vitalii, Vitaly, Vitaliy and may refer to:
People Given name
* Vitaly Borker (born 1975 or 1976), Ukrainian American Internet fraudster and cyberbully
* Vitaly Churkin (1952–2017), Russian politician
* Vitaliy Dyrdyra (1938–2024), Ukr ...
(3 June 1974 – 5 November 1976)
* Lieutenant General
Ivan Gashkov (5 November 1976 – July 1979)
* Lieutenant General
Pyotr Ledyayev (July 1979 – 1982)
* Lieutenant General
Vyacheslav Khaydorov Vyacheslav, also transliterated Viacheslav or Viatcheslav (, ; , ), is a Russian and Ukrainian masculine given name. It is the equivalent of Belarusian Вячаслаў/Вацлаў (transliterated ''Viačaslaŭ/Vaclaŭ'', or ''Viachaslau/Vaclau''), ...
(1982–1984)
* Lieutenant General
Valery Fursin
Valery () is a male given name and occasional surname. It is derived from the Latin name ''Valerius''. The Slavic given name Valeriy or Valeri is prevalent in Russia and derives directly from the Latin.
Given name
* Valery Afanassiev, Russian pia ...
(1984–1987)
* Lieutenant General
Anatoly Ushakov (1987–1989)
* Major General
Valery Lagoshin (1989-2 May 1991)
* Lieutenant General
Stanislav Rumyantsev (3 May 1991 – 12 September 1992)
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
*
*Glantz, David M. 'Companion to Colossus Reborn' Univ. Press of Kansas, 2005.
Further reading
*
External links
*
army history
{{Armies of the Soviet Army
Tank armies of the Soviet Union
Military units and formations established in 1943
Military units and formations of Belarus
Military units and formations awarded the Order of the Red Banner
Guards Armies