4th Guards Army
| 4th Guards Army | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active | 1943–1947 |
| Country | Soviet Union |
| Branch | Red Army/Soviet Army |
| Type | Field army |
| Engagements | |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Grigory Kulik Georgiy Zakharov |
The Fourth Guards Army was an elite army headquarters of the Soviet Union during World War II and the postwar era.
On April 16, 1943, the Supreme Command ordered the army to be established. On May 5, 1943, the army was formed on the basis of the 24th Army in the Steppe Military District. It included the 20th and 21st Guards Rifle and 3rd Guards Tank Corps. On July 3 the Army was placed in Stavka reserve, on July 18 included in the Steppe Front, and on July 23 once again put in Stavka reserve.[1]
The Army fought in decisive actions such as the Battle of Kursk, the Iassy-Kishinev Offensive, the struggle for central Hungary, and the Vienna Offensive. At the end of the war, the Fourth Guards Army was part of the 3rd Ukrainian Front.
Disbanded in March 1947.[2]
Part of fronts
Army commanders
Commanders
- Lieutenant General Grigory Kulik (ru: генерал-лейтенант Кулик Г. И.) (7 April — 22 September 1943)
- Lieutenant General Alexei Zygin (ru: генерал-лейтенант Зыгин А. И.) (22–27 September 1943)
- Lieutenant General Ivan Galanin (ru: генерал-лейтенант Галанин И. В.) (September 1943 — January 1944, February — November 1944)
- Major General Alexander Ryzhov (ru: генерал-майор Рыжов А. И.) (January — February 1944)
- Lieutenant General Ilya Smirnov (ru: генерал-лейтенант Смирнов И. К.) (3–22 February 1944)
- Army General Georgiy Zakharov (ru: генерал армии Захаров Г. Ф.) (November 1944 — March 1945)
- Lieutenant General Nikanor Zakhvatayev (ru: генерал-лейтенант Захватаев Н. Д.) (1 March 1945 — till end of the War)
Military Soviet members
- Colonel, Major General Gavrilov I.A. (ru: полковник, генерал-майор Гаврилов И. А.)
- Colonel Shepilov D.T. (ru: полковник Шепилов Д.Т)
- Colonel Commissar Stahursky M.M. (ru: полковой комиссар Стахурский М. М.)
- Major General Semenov V.N. (ru: генерал-майор Семенов В. Н.)
- Major General Bocharov L.P. (ru: генерал-майор Бочаров Л. П.)[3]
Order of battle
The order of battle for the Fourth Guards Army on May 1, 1945 was:
Fourth Guards Army
- 20th Guards Rifle Corps
- 5th Guards Airborne Division
- 7th Guards Airborne Division
- 80th Guards Rifle Division
- 21st Guards Rifle Corps
- 41st Guards Rifle Division
- 62nd Guards Rifle Division
- 66th Guards Rifle Division
- 69th Guards Rifle Division
- 31st Guards Rifle Corps
- 123rd Gun-Artillery Brigade
- 438th Antitank Regiment
- 466th Mortar Regiment
- 257th Anti-aircraft Regiment
- 56th Engineer-Sapper Brigade
After the war for a period the 4th Guards Army joined the Central Group of Forces in Austria until its withdrawal.
References
- ↑ bdsa.ru
- ↑ 4th Guard Army on official site of Russia Ministry of Defense. (in Russian)
- ↑ French version
Article Sources
- The Red Army Order of Battle in the Great Patriotic War, Robert G. Poirier and Albert Z. Conner, Novato: Presidio Press, 1985. ISBN 0-89141-237-9.
- Order of Battle of the Soviet Army 1941 - 1945 (official Soviet order of battle from General Staff archives), Moscow: Ministry of Defense, 1990.
| Armies |
|
|---|---|
| Guards | |
| Tank/Mechanized | |
| Guards Tank/Mechanized | |
| Shock | |
| Cavalry | |
| Sapper |
|
| Reserve Army |
|
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