| 5th Guards Army | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active | 1943–1947 |
| Country | Soviet Union |
| Branch | Red Army |
| Type | Field army |
| Engagements | World War II |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Aleksey Semenovich Zhadov Afanasy Beloborodov |
The5th Guards Army was aSoviet Guards formation which fought in many critical actions duringWorld War II under the command of GeneralAleksey Semenovich Zhadov.[1] The 5th Guards Army was formed in spring 1943 from the66th Army in recognition of that army's actions during theBattle of Stalingrad. The 5th Guards Army fought in theBattle of Kursk,Belgorod-Khar'kov Offensive Operation,Battle of the Dnieper,Uman–Botoșani Offensive,Lvov–Sandomierz Offensive,Vistula–Oder Offensive,Berlin Offensive, and thePrague Offensive. During the Berlin Offensive elements of the army linked up with American troops atTorgau on theElbe. Postwar, the army was disbanded as part of theCentral Group of Forces.
On 5 May 1943, the 66th Army was renamed to the 5th Guards Army in accordance with aStavka directive dated 16 April 1943. It included the32nd and33rd Guards Rifle Corps. The 5th Guards Army fought under command of theSteppe,Voronezh, and2nd and1st Ukrainian Fronts from 1943 until the end of the war. In 1943, the army fought in the Battle of Kursk atProkhorovka.[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 thePsel River[7] atOboyan, Olkhovatka, Veselyy, and Semyonovka. On the morning of 11 July the advance of theII SS Panzer Corps was checked by the 33rd Guards Rifle Corps'95th Guards Rifle Division and9th Guards Airborne Division, operating in conjunction with other units.[8] On 12 July the army's troops in conjunction with the5th 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 theBelgorod-Bogodukhov Offensive. For the offensive, the army was deployed among other armies on a line running from Gertsovka to the northernDonets 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 capturePoltava on 23 September andKremenchug 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 theKirovograd 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 ofTernopol. 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 theSandomierz–Silesian Offensive. In February and March, the army fought to encircle German troops inBreslau and destroy German troops in theOppeln pocket. In April and May the army fought in the Berlin Offensive and theBattle of Bautzen.[2][9]
It was elements of the 5th Guards Army that made contact with the U.S. Army's69th Infantry Division at Torgau on the Elbe River on25 April 1945, splitting the Third Reich into two separate parts.[12] The first contact was made between patrols nearStrehla, 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 the58th Guards Rifle Division of theFirst Ukrainian Front under the command ofLieutenant Colonel Alexander Gardiev.[13]
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On 26 April, the commanders of the69th Infantry Division of theFirst Army and the 58th Guards Rifle Division of the 5th Guards Army met at Torgau, southwest ofBerlin. The same day, another patrol underSecond Lieutenant William Robertson with Frank Huff, James McDonnell and Paul Staub met SovietLieutenant 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 liberatedLeitmeritz concentration camp on 9–10 May.[14]
At the end of the war, the 5th Guards Army included the 32nd and33rd Guards Rifle Corps, as well as the34th Guards Rifle Corps.[15][16] The army then became part of theCentral Group of Forces, possibly based in Austria.[16] In June 1946, the 33rd Guards Rifle Corps was disbanded. On 20 July 1946, Lieutenant GeneralAfanasy Beloborodov became army commander. The army was disbanded on 20 March 1947. Its14th Guards Mechanized Division became part of the3rd Guards Mechanized Army. The 32nd Guards Rifle Corps was disbanded a little later in 1947, briefly being included in the4th Guards Mechanized Army.[17]
| Armies |
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| Guards | |
| Tank/Mechanized | |
| Guards Tank/Mechanized | |
| Shock | |
| Cavalry | |
| Sapper |
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| Reserve Army |
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