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| 1st Guards Army | |
|---|---|
 Soviet Guards insignia | |
| Active |
|
| Country |  Soviet Union |
| Branch | .svg) Red Army (Soviet Army from 1946) |
| Type | Field army |
| Part of | Kiev Military District 1st Ukrainian Front |
| Garrison/HQ | Chernigov (1967–1992) |
| Engagements | World War II |
| Decorations | Order of Lenin |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Andrei Grechko Dmitry Lelyushenko |
The1st Guards Army was aSovietGuards field army that fought on theEastern Front duringWorld War II.
On August 6, 1942, the army formed from the2nd Reserve Army with five Guards Rifle Divisions, the 37th, 38th, 39th, 40th and 41st. On August 9, the army was incorporated intoSoutheastern Front. On August 18, it was transferred to theStalingrad Front (renamedDon Front on September 30).
During theGerman Sixth Army's assault onStalingrad in August 1942, theRed Army launched a counter-offensive to drive theGerman forces back. The 1st Guards Army and the24th 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 intoStavka reserve and its troops transferred to the24th Army. On 25 October 1942 the army was disbanded, its headquarters was converted to the field management of the 2nd formation ofSouthwestern Front according to the Stavka directive of 22 October 1942.
On November 5, 1942, 1st Guards Army was reformed from63rd Army according to the Stavka directive of November 1.The army was a part ofSouthwestern Front. When the German troops were making their attack onStalingrad, the First Guards Army was facing theItalian Eighth Army in the upper part of theDon River. The Army participated in Stalingrad strategic offensiveOperation Uranus. 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 renamed3rd Guards Army of theSouthwestern Front.
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 ofSouthwestern Front, and the headquarters of the army formed of management of4th Army Reserve. It is composed of units of the right wing of the previous version of the 1st Guards Army and some reinforcement units : the4th Guards Rifle Corps, the6th Guards Rifle Corps, the153rd Rifle Division, and the18th Tank Corps. After the German relief operation was held, the 1st Guards Army, along with the6th Army and3rd Guards Army, launched an attack inOperation Little Saturn. During the operation theSoviets defeated theItalian Eighth Army and gained a respectable amount of territory. By the end of the year, the 1st Guards Army was outsideMillerovo.
The 1st Guards Army also took part inOperation Saturn, where the Red Army successfully drove backArmy Group South to theDonbas inUkraine. The 1st Guards Army was part of theSoviet Southwestern Front, 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 newT-34/85 tank. Among its units when the war ended in 1945 was the81st Rifle Division. In August, the 1st Guards Army became the headquarters of theKiev Military District.[1]
The 98th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Brigade was expanded into the 86th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division on 22 August 1956, stationed atConstanța. TheSpecial Mechanized Army became the 1st Separate Combined Arms Army in 1957, and in July 1958 withdrew from Romania to theKiev Military District. When air defense units were reorganized on 30 July 1960 due to the replacement of anti-aircraft guns bysurface-to-air missiles, 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 inBudapest toChernigov and renamed the 1st Combined Arms Army.[2] The 108th AA Rocket Brigade was based atZolotonosha as the air defense brigade of the army for the rest of theCold War[3]
In 1960 the army consisted of the72nd,81st and115th Guards Motor Rifle Divisions, as well as the35th Guards Tank Division. On 5 October 1967, it was renamed the 1st Guards Combined Arms Army at the request of now-Minister of Defense Grechko, who had commanded the army's third formation during World War II. On 22 February 1968, it was awarded theOrder of the Red Banner.[4] For a period the army HQ was actually an operations group of the District. By this time it had been awarded theOrder of Lenin. It included among its forces the72nd Guards Motor Rifle Division, and the25th Guards Motor Rifle Division.
| Formation in 1989 | Formation in 1991–92 (Ukraine) |
|---|---|
| 25th Guards Motor Rifle Division (Lubny) | 25th Mechanised Division |
| 47th Motor Rifle Division | Base for Storage of Weapons and Equipment |
| 72nd Guards Motor Rifle Division (Belaya Tserkov) | 72nd Mechanised Division |
| 41st Guards Tank Division (Cherkassy) | 6298th Guards Base for Storage of Weapons and Equipment[5] |
| 850th Territorial Training Centre (Pyriatyn) | Base for Storage of Weapons and Equipment |
| 851st Territorial Training Centre (Konotop) | Base for Storage of Weapons and Equipment |
After the collapse of the Soviet Union the Army leadership pledged allegiance to Ukraine which was formed out of the Sovietunion republic, theUkrainian SSR. In 1992 it was reduced to the 1st Army Corps of theUkrainian Ground Forces, and thenTerritorial Directorate "North".
The following officers commanded the 1st Guards Combined Arms Army and the previous 1st Combined Arms Army.[4]
| Armies |
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|---|---|
| Guards | |
| Tank/Mechanized | |
| Guards Tank/Mechanized | |
| Shock | |
| Cavalry | |
| Sapper |
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| Reserve Army |
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