On 5 May 1943, the 66th Army was renamed to the 5th Guards Army in accordance with a Stavka directive dated 16 April 1943. It included the 32nd and 33rd Guards Rifle Corps. The 5th Guards Army fought under command of the Steppe, Voronezh, and 2nd and 1st Ukrainian Fronts from 1943 until the end of the war. In 1943, the army fought in the Battle of Kursk at Prokhorovka.[2] The Steppe Front formed the strategic reserve for the battle.[3] On 6 July, the army began moving up from its reserve positions.[4] On 8 July the army was reassigned to the Voronezh Front.[5] On the night of 10 July the army's 33rd Guards Rifle Corps arrived at Prokhorovka.[6] On the night of 11 July the army's 32nd Guards Rifle Corps took up defensive positions on the Psel River[7] at Oboyan, Olkhovatka, Veselyy, and Semyonovka. On the morning of 11 July the advance of the II SS Panzer Corps was checked by the 33rd Guards Rifle Corps' 95th Guards Rifle Division and 9th Guards Airborne Division, operating in conjunction with other units.[8] On 12 July the army's troops in conjunction with the 5th Guards Tank Army fought in the counterattack of the Voronezh Front and the Battle of Prokhorovka.[9] Soldiers of the 9th Guards Airborne Division were carried on the hulls of the tanks during the charge down the slopes in front of Prokhorovka.[10]
In early August, the army fought in the Belgorod-Bogodukhov Offensive. For the offensive, the army was deployed among other armies on a line running from Gertsovka to the northern Donets east of Gostishchevo. On the night of 3 August, the army moved up to its start line. Within three hours of the launch of the offensive on the morning of 3 August, the army had broken through the main German positions.[11] From 12 August 1943, the army fought in the Belgorod-Kharkhov Offensive Operation. On 7 September the army became part of the Steppe Front. During the Battle of the Dnieper, the army helped capture Poltava on 23 September and Kremenchug on 29 September. The army then crossed the Dnieper and seized a bridgehead on its right bank. On 20 October Steppe Front was renamed 2nd Ukrainian Front.[9]
In early January, the 5th Guards Army fought in the Kirovograd Offensive, part of the Dnieper-Carpathian Offensive. In March and April, the army fought in the Uman-Botosani Offensive. In early May, the army reached the Romanian border. On 26 June the army became part of Stavka reserve. On 13 July it was transferred to the 1st Ukrainian Front. By mid-July, its troops were concentrated south of Ternopol. During July and August, the army fought in the Lvov-Sandomierz Offensive. For the next six months after the offensive, the army fought in heavy battles to retain the Sandomierz bridgehead.[9]
In January and February 1945 the 5th Guards Army advanced out of the bridgehead in the Sandomierz–Silesian Offensive. In February and March, the army fought to encircle German troops in Breslau and destroy German troops in the Oppeln pocket. In April and May the army fought in the Berlin Offensive and the Battle of Bautzen.[2][9]
It was elements of the 5th Guards Army that made contact with the U.S. Army's 69th Infantry Division at Torgau on the Elbe River on 25 April 1945, splitting the Third Reich into two separate parts.[12] The first contact was made between patrols near Strehla, when U.S. First Lieutenant Albert Kotzebue crossed the River Elbe in a boat with three men of an intelligence and reconnaissance platoon. On the east bank, they met forward elements of the 175th Guards Rifle Regiment, part of the 58th Guards Rifle Division of the First Ukrainian Front under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Gardiev.[13]
2nd Lt. William Robertson and Lt. Alexander Silvashko, Red Army, shown in front of sign East Meets West symbolizing the historic meeting of the Soviet and American Armies, near Torgau, Germany, an arranged photo op on "Elbe Day".
On 26 April, the commanders of the 69th Infantry Division of the First Army and the 58th Guards Rifle Division of the 5th Guards Army met at Torgau, southwest of Berlin. The same day, another patrol under Second Lieutenant William Robertson with Frank Huff, James McDonnell and Paul Staub met Soviet Lieutenant Alexander Silvashko with some soldiers on the destroyed Elbe bridge of Torgau.[13] The army advanced into Czechoslovakia in early May.[9] Elements of the army liberated Leitmeritz concentration camp on 9–10 May.[14]
↑ Benz, Wolfgang; Distel, Barbara, eds. (2007). "Leitmeritz". Flossenbürg: das Konzentrationslager Flossenbürg und seine Außenlager[Flossenbürg: Flossenbürg Concentration Camp and its Subcamps] (in German). Munich: C. H. Beck. p.175. ISBN9783406562297.
Erickson, John (1999) [1983]. The Road to Berlin: Stalin's War with Germany. New Haven, CT, USA: Yale University Press. ISBN9780300078138.
Feskov, V.I.; Golikov, V.I.; Kalashnikov, K.A.; Slugin, S.A. (2013). Вооруженные силы СССР после Второй Мировой войны: от Красной Армии к Советской[The Armed Forces of the USSR after World War II: From the Red Army to the Soviet: Part 1 Land Forces] (in Russian). Tomsk: Scientific and Technical Literature Publishing. ISBN9785895035306.
Glantz, David M.; House, Jonathan M. (2004) [1999]. The Battle of Kursk. Lawrence, KS, USA: University Press of Kansas. ISBN978-0-7006-1335-9.
MacDonald, Charles B. (1973). The Last Offensive. United States Army in World War II: European Theater of Operations. Washington, D.C.: Office of the Chief of Military History. OCLC963582.
The 3rd Guards Army was a field army of the Soviet Red Army that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II.
The Battle of Prokhorovka was fought on 12 July 1943 near Prokhorovka, 87 kilometres (54 mi) southeast of Kursk, in the Soviet Union, during the Second World War. Taking place on the Eastern Front, the engagement was part of the wider Battle of Kursk and occurred when the 5th Guards Tank Army of the Soviet Red Army attacked the II SS-Panzer Corps of the German Waffen-SS in one of the largest tank battles in history.
The 13th Guards Poltava Order of Lenin Twice Red Banner Orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army that was highly decorated during World War II.
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 Battle of Kursk order of battle is a list of the significant units that fought in the Battle of Kursk between July and August 1943.
The 3rd Guards Tank Army was a tank army established by the Soviet Union's Red Army during World War II. The 3rd Tank Army was created in 1942 and fought in the southern areas of the Soviet Union and Poland, then in Germany and Czechoslovakia until the defeat of Germany in 1945. Postwar, the army served as occupation troops in East Germany, went through several name changes, and was finally deactivated in 1969.
The 7th Guards Cavalry Corps of the Soviet Union's Red Army was a cavalry corps active during the Second World War. It was formed from the 8th Cavalry Corps in February 1943.
The 5th Shock Army was a Red Army field army of World War II. The army was formed on 9 December 1942 by redesignating the 10th Reserve Army. The army was formed two times prior to this with neither formation lasting more than a month before being redesignated.
Aleksey Semenovich Zhadov, born with the surname "Zhidov", was a Soviet military officer in the Red Army, who during World War II commanded the 66th Army, later renamed the 5th Guards Army, from the Battle of Stalingrad up till the end of the war. For his leadership of the army, Zhadov was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. Postwar, Zhadov commanded the Central Group of Forces and was deputy commander of the Soviet Ground Forces.
The 32nd Guards Tank Division was a tank formation of the Soviet Army/Soviet Ground Forces. Its predecessor, the 9th Guards Airborne Division, was a Red Army Airborne division of World War II. On 19 June 1945, it became the 116th Guards Rifle Division. In 1946, it became the 14th Guards Mechanized Division. In 1957, it became the 14th Guards Motorized Rifle Division. In 1982, it became the 32nd Guards Tank Division, which was disbanded in June 1989.
The 72nd Guards Joint Training Centre is a training centre of the Belarus Armed Forces. It trains warrant officers and junior specialists for the Belarus Armed Forces and is based in Borisov. The centre is currently led by Colonel Igor Korol. The 72nd Guards Joint Training Centre traces its history back to the Soviet 120th Rifle Division. For its actions during the Yelnya Offensive, the division became the 6th Guards Rifle Division in September 1941. In November 1945, the division became the 15th Guards Mechanized Division. On 15 May 1957, it became the 47th Guards Tank Division. The division became a training unit in 1960 and was renamed the 45th Guards Tank Training Division in 1965. In 1987, it became the 72nd Guards District Training Centre. In 1992, it was taken over by Belarus and became the 72nd Guards Joint Training Centre.
The 58th Guards Rifle Division was an elite Guards infantry division of the Red Army during World War II.
The 14th Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in January, 1942, based on the 1st formation of the 96th Rifle Division, which was officially a mountain unit at the time, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. It was on Southern Front when it was redesignated and was soon assigned to the 57th Army. It was encircled during the May German counterattack in the Second Battle of Kharkov. Its first commander was made a prisoner of war, later dying in German captivity. A cadre of the division managed to escape and was sent to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command for rebuilding. In July it joined the 63rd Army and took part in the attacks against the Italian 8th Army that created the bridgehead south of the Don River near Serafimovich during August. In October, now in the 21st Army of Don Front, it was active in two probing attacks against the Romanian forces now containing the bridgehead which inflicted severe casualties in advance of the Soviet winter counteroffensive. At the start of that offensive the division was in 5th Tank Army, but was soon transferred to 1st Guards Army and then to the 3rd Guards Army when that was formed. It was under this Army as it advanced into the Donbas in late winter before returning to 57th Army during most of 1943, fighting through east Ukraine and across the lower Dniepr by the end of the year. After being briefly assigned to 53rd Army in December it was moved to 5th Guards Army in February, 1944 where it remained for the duration, mostly in the 33rd Guards Rifle Corps. It saw action in the Uman–Botoșani Offensive and won its first decoration, the Order of the Red Banner, as it advanced, before being involved in the frustrating battles along the Dniestr River on the Romanian border. In late spring, 1944 the division was redeployed north becoming part of 1st Ukrainian Front and taking part in the Lvov–Sandomierz Offensive into Poland. The 14th Guards made a spectacular advance across Poland during the Vistula-Oder Offensive and was awarded the Order of Lenin for its part in the liberation of Sandomierz. On January 22, 1945, its commander suffered mortal wounds in the fighting for a bridgehead over the Oder River. In the drive on Berlin in April the division and its regiments won further honors and decorations but despite these distinctions it was disbanded in August, 1946.
The 15th Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in February, 1942, based on the 1st formation of the 136th Rifle Division, and served in that role until well after the end of the Great Patriotic War. The division had already distinguished itself during the Winter War with Finland in 1940 and had been decorated with the Order of Lenin; soon after its redesignation it also received its first Order of the Red Banner. It was in Southern Front as this time but was soon moved to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command where it was assigned to 7th Reserve Army in May, then to 28th Army in Southwestern Front in June, then to 57th Army in Stalingrad Front in July. It remained in that Army for the rest of the year, with one brief exception, until it was transferred to Don Front's 64th Army in January, 1943 during the closing stages of the battle of Stalingrad. In March this Army became 7th Guards Army and was railed to the northwest, joining Voronezh Front south of the Kursk salient. In the battle that followed the 15th Guards assisted in the defeat of Army Detachment Kempf, then took part in the summer offensive into Ukraine, winning one of the first battle honors at Kharkov. It remained in either 7th Guards or 37th Army into the spring of 1944. It saw action in the Nikopol-Krivoi Rog Offensive and was awarded the Order of Suvorov before being involved in the frustrating battles along the Dniestr River on the Romanian border. In June the division became part of 34th Guards Rifle Corps in 5th Guards Army and was redeployed north becoming part of 1st Ukrainian Front and taking part in the Lvov–Sandomierz Offensive into Poland. The 15th Guards made a spectacular advance across Poland during the Vistula-Oder Offensive and was further decorated with the Order of Kutuzov for forcing a crossing of the Oder River. It then saw action in the drive on Berlin in April and the Prague Offensive in May, winning a further battle honor and an unusual second Order of the Red Banner in the process. After the war the division did garrison duty in Austria, then in Ukraine, followed by a move in late 1947 to Crimea and the Kuban where its personnel assisted in rebuilding the local economy and infrastructure for nearly 20 years. It September 1965 it was renumbered as the "51st" and became the 2nd formation of the 51st Guards Motor Rifle Division.
The 33rd Guards Rifle Division was formed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in May 1942, based on the 2nd formation of the 3rd Airborne Corps, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. It was the second of a series of ten Guards rifle divisions formed from airborne corps during the spring and summer of 1942. It was briefly assigned to the 47th Army in the North Caucasus Front but was soon moved to the Volga Military District and saw its first action as part of 62nd Army in the fighting on the approaches to Stalingrad. It was withdrawn east of the Volga in September, but returned to the front with the 2nd Guards Army in December, and it remained in this Army until early 1945. After helping to defeat Army Group Don's attempt to relieve the trapped 6th Army at Stalingrad the 33rd Guards joined in the pursuit across the southern Caucasus steppe until reaching the Mius River in early 1943. Through the rest of that year it fought through the southern sector of eastern Ukraine as part of Southern Front and in the spring of 1944 assisted in the liberation of the Crimea, earning a battle honor in the process. The Crimea was a strategic dead-end, so 2nd Guards Army was moved north to take part in the summer offensive through the Baltic states and to the border with Germany as part of 1st Baltic Front. During the offensive into East Prussia the division and its 13th Guards Rifle Corps was reassigned to 39th and the 43rd Armies before returning to 2nd Guards Army in April. For its part in the capture of the city-fortress of Königsberg the 33rd Guards would receive the Order of Suvorov. In mid-1946 it was converted to the 8th Separate Guards Rifle Brigade.
The 78th Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in March 1943, based on the 1st formation of the 204th Rifle Division, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War.
The 118th Rifle Division was thrice formed as an infantry division of the Red Army, first as part of the prewar buildup of forces. The first formation was based on the shtat of September 13, 1939. It was based at Kostroma through its early existence. After the German invasion in June 1941 it was rushed to the front as part of the 41st Rifle Corps and arrived at the Pskov Fortified Area between July 2–4. Under pressure from the 4th Panzer Group the division commander, Maj. Gen. Nikolai Mikhailovich Glovatsky, requested permission on July 8 to retreat east across the Velikaya River. There is some question if he received written orders and in any case the retreat fell into chaos due to a prematurely-blown bridge. Glovatskii was arrested on July 19, sentenced to death a week later and shot on August 3. The battered division had by then moved north to Gdov and came under command of 8th Army but could not be rebuilt due to a lack of replacements and on September 27 it was disbanded.
The 95th Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in May 1943, based on the 1st formation of the 226th Rifle Division, and served in that role until well after the end of the Great Patriotic War. It ended the war on the approaches to Prague and continued to serve well into the postwar era in the Central Group of Forces.
The 214th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, originally formed in the months just before the start of the German invasion, based on the shtat of September 13, 1939. It was moved to the fighting front to join 22nd Army in late June and took part in the fighting between Vitebsk and Nevel in early July, escaping from encirclement in the process, and then played a significant role in the liberation of Velikiye Luki, the first Soviet city to be retaken from the invading armies. In October it was again encircled near Vyasma during Operation Typhoon and was soon destroyed.
The 222nd Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, originally formed in the months just before the start of the German invasion, based on the shtat of September 13, 1939. It was formed at Starodub and was considered a "sister" to the 217th Rifle Division. It first saw action in July 1941 as part of 28th Army in the fighting between Smolensk and Roslavl and the division took heavy casualties when it was partly encircled and forced to abandon the latter city in early August. It was again encircled during Operation Typhoon but managed to escape complete destruction and soon came under command of 33rd Army, where it remained for almost the entire length of the war.
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