6th Guards Tank Army
Encyclopedia
The 6th Guards Order of Red Banner Tank Army was a tank
army
of the Soviet Union's Red Army
, first formed during World War II and disbanded in Ukraine
in the 1990s after the dissolution of the Soviet Union
.
The 6th Tank Army's first major operation was the suppression of the Korsun-Cherkassy Pocket
in January-February 1944. It then fought in the Iassy-Kishinev Offensive during August 1944 before gaining a Guards
title in October 1944. Under its new title, it was soon engaged in the Battle of Debrecen
on the 2nd Ukrainian Front, before fighting against the Germans during Operation Frühlingserwachen
in January 1945. Pushing west, the tank army moved south of Vienna, Austria and pivoted to the north in a wide encircling maneuver that cut Vienna off from the rest of the German Reich.
The 6th Guards Tank Army was then moved to the Transbaikal Military District
in order to take part in the Soviet invasion of Manchuria. The army, under the command of Colonel General A.G. Kravchenko
, spearheaded the Transbaikal Front
's offensive against the Japanese Kwantung Army on 9 August 1945. The 6th Guards Tank Army consisted of the 5th Guards Tank Corps
, and 7th and 9th Guards Mechanised Corps, and many smaller formations, in all, a total of 1,019 tanks and self-propelled gun
s. For this operation, the tank army was restructured such that the infantry, artillery, and armored components were much more balanced than they had been during the war against the Germans. This was the first example of what proved to be the standard Soviet mechanized army organization during the Cold War
. During the Soviet invasion of Manchuria, the Army was operating as part of the Transbaikal Front
, and during the "Khingano-Mukden Operation", as it was known to the Soviets, the Army was tasked to advance 800 kilometers.
It was stationed in Mongolia, reporting to the Transbaikal Military District
, for 15 years after the war. The friendship with China of those days and the Nikita Khrushchev
military reductions changed the fate of the Army, and in 1959 it was relocated to Dnipropetrovsk
in the Kiev Military District
. Toward the end of the 1980s it retained three Guards Tank Divisions - the 17th, 42nd (the former 42nd Rifle Division) and the 75th (formerly the 75th Guards Rifle Division
, though Lenskii disagrees and calls this division the 14th Guards Tank). On 11 November 1990, following the disbandment of the 75th (or 14th) Guards Tank Division, the reorganisation of the 42nd Guards Tank Division as the 5359th Base for Storage of Weapons and Equipment, and the arrival of the 93rd Guards Motor Rifle Division from the Southern Group of Forces
, the Army had on hand 462 main battle tank
s, all T-64
s, 228 BMP
s and BTRs, 218 other pieces of equipment of various types, and five helicopters (with the 16th Separate Mixed Aviation Squadron at Podgorodnoe).
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union it became part of the Ukrainian Ground Forces
. At some point during the 1990s it was disbanded by being redesignated the 6th Army Corps
. Today in Ukrainian service the 6th Army Corps
is still based at Dnipropetrovsk
and consists of several brigades, including the 17th Armored Brigade
and the 93rd Mechanized Brigade
.
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
army
Army (Soviet Army)
An army, besides the generalized meanings of ‘a country's armed forces’ or its ‘land forces’, is a type of formation in militaries of various countries, including the Soviet Union. This article serves a central point of reference for Soviet armies without individual articles, and explains some of...
of the Soviet Union's Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
, first formed during World War II and disbanded in Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
in the 1990s after the dissolution of the Soviet Union
Dissolution of the Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union was the disintegration of the federal political structures and central government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , resulting in the independence of all fifteen republics of the Soviet Union between March 11, 1990 and December 25, 1991...
.
The 6th Tank Army's first major operation was the suppression of the Korsun-Cherkassy Pocket
Korsun-Cherkassy Pocket
The Korsun–Shevchenkovsky Offensive led to the Battle of the Korsun-Cherkassy Pocket which took place from 24 January to 16 February 1944. The offensive was part of the Dnieper–Carpathian Offensive...
in January-February 1944. It then fought in the Iassy-Kishinev Offensive during August 1944 before gaining a Guards
Russian Guards
Guards or Guards units were and are elite military units in Imperial Russia, Soviet Union and the Russian Federation. The tradition goes back to the retinue of a knyaz of medieval Kievan Rus' and the streltsy, the Muscovite harquebusiers formed by Ivan the Terrible by 1550...
title in October 1944. Under its new title, it was soon engaged in the Battle of Debrecen
Battle of Debrecen
The Battle of Debrecen, called by the Red Army the Debrecen Offensive Operation, was conducted by the 2nd Ukrainian Front on the Eastern Front of World War II...
on the 2nd Ukrainian Front, before fighting against the Germans during Operation Frühlingserwachen
Operation Frühlingserwachen
Operation Frühlingserwachen was the last major German offensive launched during World War II. The offensive was launched in Hungary on the Eastern Front...
in January 1945. Pushing west, the tank army moved south of Vienna, Austria and pivoted to the north in a wide encircling maneuver that cut Vienna off from the rest of the German Reich.
The 6th Guards Tank Army was then moved to the Transbaikal Military District
Transbaikal Military District
The Transbaikal Military District was a military district of first the Military of the Soviet Union and then the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, formed on May 17, 1935 and included the Buryat Republic, Chita Oblast, and Yakutia. Chita was the headquarters of the district...
in order to take part in the Soviet invasion of Manchuria. The army, under the command of Colonel General A.G. Kravchenko
Kravchenko
Kravchenko, also Krawchenko, Krawczenko or Kravtchenko is a common Ukrainian surname, widely found in the former Soviet Union and respective diasporas abroad...
, spearheaded the Transbaikal Front
Transbaikal Front
The Transbaikal Front was a front formed on September 15, 1941 on base of the Transbaikal Military District. Initially, it included the 17th and 36th armies, but in August 1942 the 12th Air Army was added to the front, and, finally, in June-July 1945 the 39th and the 53rd armies, the 6th Guards...
's offensive against the Japanese Kwantung Army on 9 August 1945. The 6th Guards Tank Army consisted of the 5th Guards Tank Corps
5th Guards Tank Division
The 5th Guards Tank Division was a tank division of the Soviet Ground Forces and Russian Ground Forces, active from around 1945 to 2009. It drew its heritage from a illustrious Soviet World War II cavalry formation, the 5th Guards Cavalry Corps...
, and 7th and 9th Guards Mechanised Corps, and many smaller formations, in all, a total of 1,019 tanks and self-propelled gun
Self-propelled gun
A self-propelled gun is form of self-propelled artillery, and in modern use is usually used to refer to artillery pieces such as howitzers....
s. For this operation, the tank army was restructured such that the infantry, artillery, and armored components were much more balanced than they had been during the war against the Germans. This was the first example of what proved to be the standard Soviet mechanized army organization during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
. During the Soviet invasion of Manchuria, the Army was operating as part of the Transbaikal Front
Transbaikal Front
The Transbaikal Front was a front formed on September 15, 1941 on base of the Transbaikal Military District. Initially, it included the 17th and 36th armies, but in August 1942 the 12th Air Army was added to the front, and, finally, in June-July 1945 the 39th and the 53rd armies, the 6th Guards...
, and during the "Khingano-Mukden Operation", as it was known to the Soviets, the Army was tasked to advance 800 kilometers.
It was stationed in Mongolia, reporting to the Transbaikal Military District
Transbaikal Military District
The Transbaikal Military District was a military district of first the Military of the Soviet Union and then the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, formed on May 17, 1935 and included the Buryat Republic, Chita Oblast, and Yakutia. Chita was the headquarters of the district...
, for 15 years after the war. The friendship with China of those days and the Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
military reductions changed the fate of the Army, and in 1959 it was relocated to Dnipropetrovsk
Dnipropetrovsk
Dnipropetrovsk or Dnepropetrovsk formerly Yekaterinoslav is Ukraine's third largest city with one million inhabitants. It is located southeast of Ukraine's capital Kiev on the Dnieper River, in the south-central region of the country...
in the Kiev Military District
Kiev Military District
The Kiev Military District was a Russian unit of military-administrative division of the Imperial Russian Army and subsequently of the Ukrainian Army, RKKA, and Soviet Armed Forces...
. Toward the end of the 1980s it retained three Guards Tank Divisions - the 17th, 42nd (the former 42nd Rifle Division) and the 75th (formerly the 75th Guards Rifle Division
75th Guards Rifle Division
The 75th Guards Rifle Division was a Red Army infantry division during World War II and afterwards, which later became the 75th Guards Tank Division and was finally disbanded in the 1990s.-Background:The Division was formed in the Tula area in September 1942 on the basis of units of the 13th...
, though Lenskii disagrees and calls this division the 14th Guards Tank). On 11 November 1990, following the disbandment of the 75th (or 14th) Guards Tank Division, the reorganisation of the 42nd Guards Tank Division as the 5359th Base for Storage of Weapons and Equipment, and the arrival of the 93rd Guards Motor Rifle Division from the Southern Group of Forces
Southern Group of Forces
The Southern Group of Forces was a Soviet Armed Forces formation formed twice following the Second World War, most notably around the time of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956....
, the Army had on hand 462 main battle tank
Main battle tank
A main battle tank , also known as a battle tank or universal tank, is a tank that fills the heavy direct fire role of many modern armies. They were originally conceived to replace the light, medium, heavy and super-heavy tanks. Development was spurred onwards in the Cold War with the development...
s, all T-64
T-64
The T-64 is a Soviet main battle tank, introduced in the early 1960s. It was used solely by the Soviet Army in its front-line divisions and was a more advanced counterpart to the T-62...
s, 228 BMP
BMP
-In computing:* BMP file format, the file name extension for the Bitmap image file format.* Basic Multilingual Plane, related to the Unicode character set.* Beep Media Player, a multimedia player.-Biology:...
s and BTRs, 218 other pieces of equipment of various types, and five helicopters (with the 16th Separate Mixed Aviation Squadron at Podgorodnoe).
Ukrainian Ground Forces
The Ukrainian Ground Forces are the land force component of the Military of Ukraine. They were formed from Soviet Army formations, units, and establishments, including three military districts , that were on Ukrainian soil when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1990-92.Between the fall of the USSR and...
. At some point during the 1990s it was disbanded by being redesignated the 6th Army Corps
6th Army Corps (Ukraine)
The 6th Army Corps is one of three army corps of the Ukrainian Ground Forces. The Corps is headquartered in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine.-History:...
. Today in Ukrainian service the 6th Army Corps
6th Army Corps (Ukraine)
The 6th Army Corps is one of three army corps of the Ukrainian Ground Forces. The Corps is headquartered in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine.-History:...
is still based at Dnipropetrovsk
Dnipropetrovsk
Dnipropetrovsk or Dnepropetrovsk formerly Yekaterinoslav is Ukraine's third largest city with one million inhabitants. It is located southeast of Ukraine's capital Kiev on the Dnieper River, in the south-central region of the country...
and consists of several brigades, including the 17th Armored Brigade
17th Armored Brigade (Ukraine)
The 17th Guards Armored Brigade is a formation of the Ukrainian Ground Forces. Full name of the Brigade is 17th Separate Guards Kryvyi Rih orders of Red Banner and Suvorov Brigade. It was formally known as 17th Guards Tank Division....
and the 93rd Mechanized Brigade
93rd Mechanized Brigade (Ukraine)
The 93rd Guards Mechanized Brigade is a formation of the Ukrainian Ground Forces. The full name of the Brigade is the 93rd Separate Guards Mechanized Kharkiv twice Order of the Red Banner, Suvorov's and Kutuzov's awards Brigade....
.
Sources and references
- Feskov et al., The Soviet Army in the Period of the Cold War, TomskTomskTomsk is a city and the administrative center of Tomsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Tom River. One of the oldest towns in Siberia, Tomsk celebrated its 400th anniversary in 2004...
University Press, 2004 - David M. Glantz, When Titans Clashed, Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1995. ISBN 0-7006-0899-0.
- Wikipedia articles mentioned above