Soviet 8th Guards Army
Encyclopedia
The Soviet 8th Guards Army was an army of the Soviet Union
's Red Army
/Soviet Army
, disbanded in the early 1990s.
Activated in October 1941 as the 7th Reserve Army, the Army was redesignated the 62nd Army
at Stalingrad in July 1942. It was among the victors of Stalingrad
and thus redesignated the 8th Guards Army.
In 1945 the Soviet 8th Guards Army was commanded by Lieutenant General
Vasily Chuikov
. It was part of Marshal
Zhukov's 1st Belorussian Front
. One of the cities which the Army took in its westward drive was Poznan
, which the Army seized
in January-February 1945. Afterwards, the 8th Guards Army spearheaded the Red Army
drive to Berlin
in the spring of 1945, where on 2 May 1945, Chuikov took the surrender of the German General Weidling, the commander of the Berlin Defensive Area, and the rest of the Berlin garrison. Later the Eighth Guards Army became part of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany
. On the creation of the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany in 1945, the Army consisted of:
During the Cold War
, 8th Guards Army stood opposed to NATO forces (specifically the US V Corps) along the strategically vital Fulda Gap
in West Germany
.
Войсковая часть полевая почта (В/Ч ПП 61877). Staff — Нора, позывной — Октава.
In the last years of its existence, in the late 1980s, 8th Guards Army consisted of:
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
'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...
/Soviet Army
Soviet Army
The Soviet Army is the name given to the main part of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union between 1946 and 1992. Previously, it had been known as the Red Army. Informally, Армия referred to all the MOD armed forces, except, in some cases, the Soviet Navy.This article covers the Soviet Ground...
, disbanded in the early 1990s.
Activated in October 1941 as the 7th Reserve Army, the Army was redesignated the 62nd Army
62nd Army (Soviet Union)
The 62nd Order of Lenin Army was a field army established by the Soviet Union's Red Army during the Second World War. Formed as the 7th Reserve Army as part of the Stavka Reserve in May 1942, the formation was designated as the 62nd Rifle Army the following month...
at Stalingrad in July 1942. It was among the victors of Stalingrad
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was a major battle of World War II in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in southwestern Russia. The battle took place between 23 August 1942 and 2 February 1943...
and thus redesignated the 8th Guards Army.
In 1945 the Soviet 8th Guards Army was commanded by Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
Vasily Chuikov
Vasily Chuikov
Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov was a Russian lieutenant general in the Red Army during World War II, twice Hero of the Soviet Union , who after the war became a Marshal of the Soviet Union.-Early life and career:Born into a peasant family in the village of Serebryanye Prudy, he joined the Red Army during...
. It was part of Marshal
Marshal of the Soviet Union
Marshal of the Soviet Union was the de facto highest military rank of the Soviet Union. ....
Zhukov's 1st Belorussian Front
1st Belorussian Front
The 1st Belorussian Front was a Front of the Soviet Army during World War II...
. One of the cities which the Army took in its westward drive was Poznan
Poznan
Poznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...
, which the Army seized
Battle of Poznan (1945)
The Battle of Poznań during World War II in 1945 was a massive assault by the Soviet Union's Red Army that had as its objective the elimination of the Nazi German garrison in the stronghold city of Poznań in occupied Poland...
in January-February 1945. Afterwards, the 8th Guards Army spearheaded the 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...
drive to Berlin
Battle of Berlin
The Battle of Berlin, designated the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, was the final major offensive of the European Theatre of World War II....
in the spring of 1945, where on 2 May 1945, Chuikov took the surrender of the German General Weidling, the commander of the Berlin Defensive Area, and the rest of the Berlin garrison. Later the Eighth Guards Army became part of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany
Group of Soviet Forces in Germany
The Group of Soviet Forces in Germany , also known as the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany and the Western Group of Forces were the troops of the Soviet Army in East Germany....
. On the creation of the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany in 1945, the Army consisted of:
- Headquarters at WeimarWeimarWeimar is a city in Germany famous for its cultural heritage. It is located in the federal state of Thuringia , north of the Thüringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle and Leipzig. Its current population is approximately 65,000. The oldest record of the city dates from the year 899...
- 4th Guards Rifle Corps (35th, 47th, and 57th Guards Rifle Divisions)
- 28th Guards Rifle Corps (39th39th Guards Rifle DivisionThe 39th Guards Rifle Division of the Workers and Peasant's Red Army was formed during the German-Soviet War as part of the 62nd Army and assigned to the defense of Stalingrad, officially arriving in the theater in August 1942...
, 79th, 88th, Guards Rifle Divisions) - 29th Guards Rifle Corps (27th, 74th74th Guards Rifle DivisionThe 74th Guards Rifle Division was an Guards infantry division of the Red Army during the Second World War. Its full formal name was the 74-я Guards Nizhnedneprovskiy Order of Lenin twice Red Banner Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky Rifle Division. It was formed from 45th Rifle Division on March 1, 1943...
, 82nd Guards Rifle Divisions) - 11th Tank Corps
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...
, 8th Guards Army stood opposed to NATO forces (specifically the US V Corps) along the strategically vital Fulda Gap
Fulda Gap
The Fulda Gap is a region of lower elevation between the former East German border and Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Named for the town of Fulda, the Fulda Gap was strategically important during the Cold War...
in West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
.
Войсковая часть полевая почта (В/Ч ПП 61877). Staff — Нора, позывной — Октава.
In the last years of its existence, in the late 1980s, 8th Guards Army consisted of:
- Headquarters at Weimar-Nohra
- 79th Guards Tank Division - JenaJenaJena is a university city in central Germany on the river Saale. It has a population of approx. 103,000 and is the second largest city in the federal state of Thuringia, after Erfurt.-History:Jena was first mentioned in an 1182 document...
, GDR: - disbanded, 1992- 17. Garde-Panzerregiment (Saalfeld)
- 65. Garde-Panzerregiment (Nohra)
- 211. Garde-Panzerregiment (Jena)
- 66. Garde-Mot. Schützenregiment (Nohra)
- 172. Artillerieregiment (Rudolstadt)
- 79th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment (Jena)
- 27th Guards Motor Rifle Division - General-Maerker-Kaserne, HalleHalle, Saxony-AnhaltHalle is the largest city in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is also called Halle an der Saale in order to distinguish it from the town of Halle in North Rhine-Westphalia...
, GDR: - to TotskoyeTotskoyeTotskoye is a village in Orenburg Oblast, Russia. It is the administrative center of Totsky District. Population: 7,201 ....
, Volga Military District- 68. Garde-Mot. Schützenregiment (Halle)
- 243. Garde-Mot. Schützenregiment (Halle)
- 244. Garde-Mot. Schützenregiment (Schlotheim)
- 28th Tank Regiment (Halle)
- 54th Guards SP Artillery Regiment (Halle)
- 39th Guards Motor Rifle Division39th Guards Rifle DivisionThe 39th Guards Rifle Division of the Workers and Peasant's Red Army was formed during the German-Soviet War as part of the 62nd Army and assigned to the defense of Stalingrad, officially arriving in the theater in August 1942...
- OhrdrufOhrdrufOhrdruf is a small town in the German federal state of Thuringia. It lies some 30 km southwest of Erfurt.-Medieval settling:Ohrdruf was founded in 724–726 by Saint Boniface, as the site of the first monastery in Thuringia, dedicated to Saint Michael. It was the first of several religious...
, GDR: - disbanded, 1992- 117. Garde-Mot. Schützenregiment (Meiningen)
- 120. Garde-Mot. Schützenregiment (Ohrdruf)
- 172. Garde-Mot. Schützenregiment (Gotha)
- 15. Garde-Panzerregiment (Ohrdruf)
- 87th Artillery Regiment (Gotha)
- 57th Guards Motor Rifle Division - NaumburgNaumburgNaumburg is a town in Germany, on the Saale River. It is in the district Burgenlandkreis in the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt. It is approximately southwest of Leipzig, south-southwest of Halle, and north-northeast of Jena....
, GDR – disbanded, 1992- 170. Garde-Mot. Schützenregiment (Naumburg)
- 174. Garde-Mot. Schützenregiment (Weißenfels)
- 241. Garde-Mot. Schützenregiment (Leipzig)
- 57. Garde-Panzerregiment (Zeitz)
- 128th Artillery Regiment (Zeitz)
- 47th Tank Brigade - PlauenPlauenPlauen is a town in the Free State of Saxony, east-central Germany.It is the capital of the Vogtlandkreis. The town is situated near the border of Bavaria and the Czech Republic.Plauen's slogan is Plauen - echt Spitze.-History:...
, GDR: 156 T-80, 18 2S1, 4 2S6, 4 SA-13
Further reading
- Vasily ChuikovVasily ChuikovVasily Ivanovich Chuikov was a Russian lieutenant general in the Red Army during World War II, twice Hero of the Soviet Union , who after the war became a Marshal of the Soviet Union.-Early life and career:Born into a peasant family in the village of Serebryanye Prudy, he joined the Red Army during...
, The Fall of Berlin, transl/pub 1969