Guards units (Russian:Гвардия,romanized: Gvardiya) were eliteunits and formations in theSoviet Armed Forces that continue to exist in theRussian Armed Forces and otherpost-Soviet states. These units were awarded Guards status after distinguishing themselves in wartime service, and are considered to haveelite status. The Guards designation originated duringWorld War II, its name coming both from theRussian Imperial Guard, and the oldBolshevikRed Guards.[1][2] Practical benefits of the status included double pay for ordinary soldiers, usually priority in equipment and replacements, and the designation often served as a morale-boosting source of unit pride.
The title of Guards within the Soviet Armed Forces was first introduced on 18 September 1941, at the direction of theHeadquarters of the Supreme High Command (Stavka). By order No. 308 of thePeople's Commissar of Defence, the100th,127th,153rd and161st Rifle Divisions were renamed the1st,2nd,3rd and4th Guards Rifle Divisions, respectively, for their distinguished service during the 1941Yelnya Offensive. The Soviet316th Rifle Division was renamed the8th Guards Rifle Division on 18 November 1941, following the actions of thePanfilovtsy and was given thePanfilovskaya title in honor of its late commanderIvan Panfilov. By the end of 1941, the107th,120th,64th, 316th,78th, and52nd Rifle Divisions had become the5th through10th Guards Rifle Divisions.[3] By the end of the war, over 4,500 units, formations, and ships had received the Guards designation, including elevenfield armies, six tank armies, 40rifle corps, and 117 rifle divisions.[4] However, not all Guards units received their status through combat: all artillery units equipped withKatyusha multiple rocket launchers were designated Guards Mortar units upon formation.[5] Airborne units, already considered elite, were also formed as Guards rather than receiving the status through combat action. Some twenty GuardsAirborne Brigades were converted into the 11th–16th Guards Rifle Divisions in December 1943.[6]
The introduction of the title marked a shift away from the Revolutionary symbolism of the Red Army as it referenced theRussian Imperial Guards.[7][8] The units and formations awarded the Soviet Guard title received special Guards colors in accordance with the decision of thePresidium of the Supreme Soviet of theUSSR. On 21 May 1942, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR introduced Guardsranks, which allowed soldiers of Guards units to append the title to their ranks, for example a major in a Guards unit could be referred to as Guards Major and any soldier could be a Guardsman (Gvardeyets) rather than a just aRed Army man (Krasnoarmeyets).[8] The decree also introduced Guardsbadges to be worn of the right side of the chest in all uniforms to distinguish those in Guards units from others.[9] The institution of distinctive colors was extended to Guards field armies and corps in June 1943.[10]
Guards status was more than just a decoration and had practical benefits for those in such units: enlisted personnel in Guards units received double pay compared to those in other units, and non-commissioned officers and above received 1.5 times the pay of their counterparts in other units. Such rewards of Guards status meant that it often acted as a morale booster and increased unit cohesion, with soldiers writing letters home about being awarded the status.[8] Guards status also resulted in higher priority for replacements and equipment than normal units, although they were still often understrength by 1944 due to high casualty rates and their frequent usage in offensives.[11] In an effort to keep Guards units elite, the People's Commissariat of Defense directed in December 1941 that wounded Guards personnel, excluding only the most seriously wounded, should be sent to hospitals close to the front line so that they could return to their own units, to preserve the "special nature" of their personnel and "military traditions." These efforts were emphasized in a February 1944 General Staff document that warned of locals from occupied territory, potential "criminal elements and traitors to the Motherland," being enlisted into Guards units during the Red Army's hasty late war enlistment of civilians in areas that they passed through. In spite of these efforts, the unit cohesion of Guards units could be affected by replacement quality, as exemplified by army commanderVasily Chuikov's January 1943 evaluation that Guards units were not "all that different" from other divisions, which mentioned desertions from the13th Guards Rifle Division.[7] Guards fighter units of the air force also made efforts to retain personnel, with the9th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment concentrating twelve aces with over ten victories.[12]
From March 1942, Guardsrifle divisions were organized along a differenttable of organization and equipment from standard rifle divisions that increased their allocation of personnel, artillery and infantry support weapons.[13] The Guards rifle divisions received an organicSU-76 assault gun battalion to replace their towed anti-tank gun unit in December 1944, which standard rifle divisions did not include until after the end of the war.[14] While normal rifle divisions would become seriously understrength as the war progressed and the manpower pool of infantry conscripts declined, efforts were made to keep Guards rifle divisions at higher strength: the guards rifle division was authorized 10,670 soldiers compared to the 9,435 of its normal counterpart.[15] On a wider scale, such benefits of Guards status were reflected in the field armies designated Guards, which were assigned one or two tank or mechanized corps to conduct encirclements of German defenders after their success in theBattle of Stalingrad.[16] The Guards armies tended to have proportionally more artillery and tanks assigned than normal field armies.[11] A Stavka order of April 1943 stipulated that Guards corps and armies were to be used only for offensives or counterattacks and withdrawn from the frontline for training instead of suffering losses in prolonged defense.[7]
After the end of the war, the Guards armies that had taken major roles in the final defeat of Germany and theBattle of Berlin were rewarded by being chosen as the units to garrison theSoviet occupation zone of Germany; they would later become the core of theGroup of Soviet Forces in Germany that confronted theNATO forces stationed in West Germany during theCold War.[17]
Since the break-up of the Soviet Union, Guards designations for military units have been retained byBelarus,Russia,Kazakhstan andKyrgyzstan.Ukraine retained the Guards designations until 2016 when it broke away from its Soviet military traditions due to theWar in Donbas.[18] The22nd Separate Guards Spetsnaz Brigade became the firstRussian Armed Forces unit to be awarded the title in 2001, for its performance during theSecond Chechen War.[19] In subsequent years, more Russian units received the title, including several during the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[20][21]
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