| 41st Guards Combined Arms Army | |
|---|---|
| 41-я гвардейская общевойсковая армия | |
 Great emblem of the 41st Combined Arms Army | |
| Active | May 16, 1942 – April 9, 1943 / 1998–present |
| Country |  Soviet Union (until 1991) Russia |
| Branch | Soviet Army (until 1991) Russian Ground Forces |
| Type | Combined Arms |
| Size | Field army |
| Part of | Central Military District |
| Garrison/HQ | Novosibirsk |
| Engagements | World War II |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Lieutenant General Sergey Ryzhkov |
| Notable commanders | German Tarasov Ivan Managarov Iosif Popov |
| Insignia | |
| Patch |  |
The41st Guards Combined Arms Army (Russian:41-я гвардейская общевойсковая армия) is a field army of theRussian Ground Forces, currently part of theCentral Military District. Originally, it was formed in 1942 as part of theSovietRed Army, duringWorld War II. It was reformed in 1998, when theTransbaikal Military District andSiberian Military District were amalgamated.
The 41st army was created in May 1942, on the base ofAlexander Dmitrievich Berezin andGerman Tarasov's operational groups. Its structure also included the134th,135th,179th and234th Rifle Divisions, the17th Guards Rifle Division, the 21st Tank Brigade, two separate Guards mortar battalions, and several other separate elements.[2]
From May to November 1942, the army was focused on defending the South-Western approach to the city ofBely. In late November, the army joined the Rzhev offensive operation (also known as "Operation Mars"). During that time, the army fought theWehrmachtXLI Panzer Corps. The army's offensive failed, and they were surrounded by the GermanXXX Army Corps (Germany). By December 8, the surrounded forces were destroyed.
In March 1943, the newly reinforced 41st Army joined theRzhev-Vyazma operation. The offensive was a success and German forces in the Rzhev-Vyazma area were annihilated.[3] Following the operation, the forces of the army were transferred to the39th Army and the43rd Army, while the 41st Army itself was sent to theReserve of the Supreme High Command. On April 9, 1943, the army was disbanded and its remaining forces would form theReserve Front.
The 41st Army was reformed on 1 December 1998 from the former headquarters of theSiberian Military District atNovosibirsk, part of the Siberian Military District. In 2002, the122nd Guards Motor Rifle Division was relocated toAleysk and became part of the army. During theRussian military reform in 2009, the division was converted into the 35th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade.[4][5] On 1 September 2010, the army was transferred to theCentral Military District after the Siberian Military District was disbanded.[6]
A dedicatedelectronic warfare battalion is scheduled to be formed within the 41st Combined Arms Army by the end of 2019.[7][needs update]
In the context of theprelude to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, major elements of the 41st Army were reported to have deployed west to reinforce units in theWestern andSouthern Military Districts assembled to threaten Ukraine. These units were said to include elements of the 35th, 55th Mountain and74th Guards Motorised Rifle Brigades, as well as elements of the 120th Artillery Brigade, and 119th Missile Brigade, and the 6th Tank Regiment of the90th Guards Tank Division. All told, some 700 MBTs, IFVs, and SPHs, as well asIskander ballistic missile launchers were reported to have been repositioned to the west.[8]
Starting during the early hours of February 24, 2022, elements of the 41st Armyinvaded Ukraine, crossing the border in the area ofthe tripartite border (Russia, Ukraine, Belarus) and going on theoffensive towardsKyiv. Units of the 41st Army, including the35th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade,[9][10] the74th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade,[11][12] and the55th Mountain Motor Rifle Brigade[13] were reportedly operating near the city of Chernihiv throughout February and March 2022.
Major-GeneralAndrei Sukhovetsky, the deputy chief of the 41st army, was killed during the invasion on February 28.[14][15] In May 2022, parts of the 41st Combined Arms Army were part of the forces fighting in thebattle of the Siverskyi Donets.
By February 2023, the army continued fighting inLuhansk along the Svatove–Kreminna line where the army's 35th Motor Rifle Brigade was seen fighting Ukrainian forces atChervonopopivka.
During the 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive, the army was observed to be in the process of a slow redeployment from Luhansk to southern Ukraine in August as fighting intensified there.[16]
June 1, 1942:[17]
September 1, 1942:[18]
December 1, 1942:[19]
March 1, 1943:[20]
Later (at least by 2020) the 24th (Kyzyl) and the 40th Engineer-Sapper Regiments (Ishim, Tyumen Oblast) were subordinated to the army.
An electronic warfare (EW) battalion will be formed by the end of 2019 in Russia's Central Military District (CMD) as part of the 41st Combined Arms Army, based in Novosibirsk, local media reports.
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| Guards Tank/Mechanized | |
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| Reserve Army |
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