The 1st 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 field army that fought on the Eastern Front 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 ...

First Formation

On August 6, 1942, the army formed from the 2nd Reserve Army with five Guards Rifle Divisions, the 37th, 38th, 39th, 40th and 41st. On August 9, the army was incorporated into

Southeastern Front The Southeastern Front was a front of the Red Army during World War II. It was formed on August 5, 1942, out of parts of the Stalingrad Front, using the command elements from the First Tank Army and the disbanded Southern Front. The front's mai ...

. On August 18, 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 ...

(renamed

Don Front The Don Front was a front of the Soviet Red Army during the Second World War, which existed between September 1942 and February 1943, and was commanded during its entire existence by Konstantin Rokossovsky. The name refers to Don River, Russia. F ...

on September 30). During the German Sixth Army's assault on

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 ...

in August 1942, 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 ...

launched a counter-offensive to drive the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

forces back. The 1st Guards Army and the 24th Army launched the attack. Little success was met. The 1st Guards Army managed an advance of just a few miles, while the 24th Army was pushed back right into its start-line. On October 16, 1942, the headquarters of the army transferred into

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 ...

reserve and its troops transferred to the 24th Army. On 25 October 1942 the army was disbanded, its headquarters was converted to the field management of the 2nd formation of Southwestern Front according to the Stavka directive of 22 October 1942.

Commanders

*Lieutenant General Filipp Ivanovich Golikov (August 1942) *Guard Major General Artillery Kirill Semenovich Moskalenko (August–October 1942) *Guard Major General Ivan Mikhailovich Chistyakov (October 1942)

Second Formation

On November 5, 1942, 1st Guards Army was reformed from 63rd Army according to the Stavka directive of November 1. The army was a part of Southwestern Front. When the German troops were making their attack on

, the First Guards Army was facing the Italian Eighth Army in the upper part of the

Don River The Don () is the fifth-longest river in Europe. Flowing from Central Russia to the Sea of Azov in Southern Russia, it is one of Russia's largest rivers and played an important role for traders from the Byzantine Empire. Its basin is betwee ...

. The Army participated in Stalingrad strategic offensive

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 ...

. As the right flank of the front shock group, 1st Guards Army with 5th Tank Army created the appearance of the Stalingrad encirclement "boiler". On December 5, 1942, 1st Guards Army is split, its left wing being renamed

3rd Guards Army The 3rd Guards Army () was a field army of the Soviet Red Army that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The army fought in the Battle of Berlin, during which it mopped up German resistance around Cottbus. 1942 to 1945 It was formed o ...

of the Southwestern Front.

Commander

*Lieutenant General

Dmitri Danilovich Lelyushenko Dmitry Danilovich Lelyushenko (; ( – 20 July 1987) was a Soviet military officer and a commander in the Red Army during World War II. He rose to prominence during the first months of the Eastern Front of the Second World War, where he became a ...

(November–December 1942)

Third Formation

The 1st Guards Army was created on December 8, 1942, according to the Stavka directive of December 5, 1942. The troops of the army was formed from the part of the operational group of Southwestern Front, and the headquarters of the army formed of management of 4th Army Reserve. It is composed of units of the right wing of the previous version of the 1st Guards Army and some reinforcement units : the

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 ...

, the 6th Guards Rifle Corps, the 153rd Rifle Division, and 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 ...

. After the German relief operation was held, the 1st Guards Army, along with the 6th Army and

, launched an attack in

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 ...

. During the operation the

Soviets The Soviet people () were the citizens and nationals of the Soviet Union. This demonym was presented in the ideology of the country as the "new historical unity of peoples of different nationalities" (). Nationality policy in the Soviet Union ...

defeated the Italian Eighth Army and gained a respectable amount of territory. By the end of the year, the 1st Guards Army was outside Millerovo. The 1st Guards Army also took part in

Operation Saturn Operation Little Saturn () was a Red Army offensive on the Eastern Front (World War II), 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 suc ...

, where the Red Army successfully drove back

Army Group South Army Group South () was the name of one of three German Army Groups during World War II. It was first used in the 1939 September Campaign, along with Army Group North to invade Poland. In the invasion of Poland, Army Group South was led by Ge ...

to the

Donbas The Donbas (, ; ) or Donbass ( ) is a historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine. The majority of the Donbas is occupied by Russia as a result of the Russo-Ukrainian War. The word ''Donbas'' is a portmanteau formed fr ...

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 ...

. The 1st Guards Army was part of the

Soviet Southwestern Front The Southwestern Front was a front of the Red Army during the Second World War, formed thrice. It was first created on June 22, 1941 from the Kiev Special Military District. The western boundary of the front in June 1941 was 865 km long, f ...

, and took part in the victorious Soviet pushing into Germany in 1943 to 1945. Also, in 1943, the 1st Guards Army was the first unit of the soviet army to operate the new T-34/85 tank. Among its units when the war ended in 1945 was the

81st Rifle Division The 81st Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army during World War II. It was established at Lubny (Kiev or Kharkov Military Districts) around 1936. As 81st Mechanised Division, part of 4th Mechanised Corps, with 6th Army, Southw ...

. In August, the 1st Guards Army became the headquarters of 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 ...

Commanders

*Lieutenant-General, and from May 1943, Colonel-General Vasily Ivanovich Kuznetsov (December 1942 – December 1943) *Colonel-General Andrei Antonovich Grechko (December 1943 – the end of the war)

After World War II

The 98th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Brigade was expanded into the 86th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division on 22 August 1956, stationed at

Constanța Constanța (, , ) is a city in the Dobruja Historical regions of Romania, historical region of Romania. A port city, it is the capital of Constanța County and the country's Cities in Romania, fourth largest city and principal port on the Black ...

. The Special Mechanized Army became the 1st Separate Combined Arms Army in 1957, and in July 1958 withdrew from Romania to the

. When air defense units were reorganized on 30 July 1960 due to the replacement of anti-aircraft guns by

surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground or the sea to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-ai ...

s, the division was reorganized as the 108th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Brigade of the 1st Separate Army, a unit of the Air Defense of the Ground Forces. In July 1958, the army was moved from its headquarters in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

Chernigov Chernihiv (, ; , ) is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within the oblast. Chernihiv's population is The city was designated as a Hero City of Ukrain ...

and renamed the 1st Combined Arms Army. The 108th AA Rocket Brigade was based at

Zolotonosha Zolotonosha (, ) is a city located in Cherkasy Oblast (region) in central Ukraine. Located at around , the city serves as the administrative center of Zolotonosha Raion (district). It hosts the administration of Zolotonosha urban hromada, one ...

as the air defense brigade of the army for the rest of 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 ...

In 1960 the army consisted of the 72nd, 81st and 115th Guards Motor Rifle Divisions, as well as the 35th Guards Tank Division. On 5 October 1967, it was renamed the 1st Guards Combined Arms Army at the request of now-

Minister of Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

Grechko, who had commanded the army's third formation during World War II. On 22 February 1968, it 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 ...

. For a period the army HQ was actually an operations group of the District. By this time it had been awarded the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

. It included among its forces the 72nd Guards Motor Rifle Division, and the 25th Guards Motor Rifle Division. After the collapse of the Soviet Union the Army leadership pledged allegiance to Ukraine which was formed out of the Soviet

union republic In the Soviet Union, a Union Republic () or unofficially a Republic of the USSR was a constituent federated political entity with a system of government called a Soviet republic, which was officially defined in the 1977 constitution as "a ...

, the

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

. In 1992 it was reduced to the 1st Army Corps of the

Ukrainian Ground Forces The Ukrainian Ground Forces (SVZSU, ), also referred to as the Ukrainian army, is a land force, and one of the eight Military branch, branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It was formed from Ukrainian units of the Soviet Army after Declaratio ...

, and then Territorial Directorate "North".

Commanders

The following officers commanded the 1st Guards Combined Arms Army and the previous 1st Combined Arms Army. * Lieutenant General

Vasily Arkhipov Vasily Aleksandrovich Arkhipov ( rus, Василий Александрович Архипов, p=vɐˈsʲilʲɪj ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪtɕ arˈxʲipəf; 30 January 1926 – 19 August 1998; sometimes romanized as Vasili Arkhipov) was a senior ...

(formation in 23 May 1960) * Colonel General

Alexander Rodimtsev Alexander Ilich Rodimtsev (; 8 March 1905 13 April 1977) was a colonel general in the Red Army during World War II and who was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union in 1937 and 1945. Career Rodimtsev joined the Red Army in 1927. He fought ...

(23 May 1960 – 18 March 1966) * Lieutenant General Grigory Batalov (18 March 1966 – 13 June 1969) * Lieutenant General

Sergey Molokoedov Sergey may refer to: * Sergey (name), a Russian given name (including a list of people with the name) * Sergey, Switzerland, a municipality in Switzerland * ''Sergey'' (wasp), a genus in subfamily Doryctinae The Doryctinae or doryctine wasps ar ...

(13 June 1969 – 2 September 1970) * Lieutenant General Grigory Gorodetsky (2 September 1970 – 1973) * ?? (1973–1976) * Lieutenant General Alexander Elagin (1976 – September 1979) * Lieutenant General Aleksey Fyodorov (September 1979 – May 1982) * Lieutenant General Alexey Demidov (May 1982 – April 1985) * Major General

Leonty Kuznetsov Leonty Vasilyevich Kuznetsov (Russian: Леонтий Васильевич Кузнецов; born 13 August 1938) is a retired officer of the Soviet and later Russian Army who served as a Commander of the Moscow Military District from 1992 to 1 ...

(May 1985 – May 1988; promoted major general 16 February 1988) * Lieutenant General Valentin Bobryshev (May 1988 – 1 August 1991) * Major General Andrei Nikolayev (1 August 1991 – February 1992)

Notes

References

* *
http://samsv.narod.ru/Arm/ag01/arm.html
(Russian) {{DEFAULTSORT:1st Guards Army (Soviet Union) G001 Military units and formations established in 1942 Military units and formations disestablished in 1991 Guards Armies Romania–Soviet Union relations