The 1st Guards Army was a Soviet field army that fought on the Eastern Front

Eastern Front (World War II)

The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...

 during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, being formed from the 2nd Reserve Army with five Guards Rifle Divisions in August 1942.

During the German Sixth Army

German Sixth Army

The 6th Army was a designation for German field armies which saw action in World War I and World War II. The 6th Army is best known for fighting in the Battle of Stalingrad, during which it became the first entire German field army to be completely destroyed...

's assault on Stalingrad in August 1942, 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...

 launched a counter-offensive to drive the German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 forces back. The 1st Guards Army and the 24th 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.

When the German troops were making their attack on Stalingrad, the First Guards Army was facing the Italian Eighth Army

Italian war in Soviet Union, 1941-1943

The Italian participation in the Eastern Front during World War II began after the launch of Operation Barbarossa on 22 June 1941. Barbarossa was the German war against the Soviet Union...

 in the upper part of the Don River. During November 1942 1st Guards Army was reformed from 63rd Army

63rd Army (Soviet Union)

The 63rd Army of the Soviet Union's Red Army was formed in July 1942, by the order of Headquarters Red Army Supreme Command № 994110, by renaming Stavka's 5th Reserve Army....

, as Operation Uranus was taking place. The First Guards Army stayed in that position until Operation Wintergewitter

Operation Wintergewitter

Operation Winter Storm was a German offensive in World War II, undertaken between 12–23 December 1942, in which the German 4th Panzer-Armee failed to break the encirclement of Axis forces during the Battle of Stalingrad....

 in December 1942. After the German relief operation was held, the 1st Guards Army, along with the 6th Army

6th Army (Soviet Union)

The 6th Army was a field army of the Soviet Red Army formed four times during World War II and active with the Russian Ground Forces up until 1998...

 and Soviet Third Guards Army

Soviet Third Guards Army

The 3rd Guards Army was a field army of the Soviet Red Army that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II, notably in 1945.It was created in December 1942, as part of the Southwestern Front , according to the order of the Supreme High Command on formation of the 3rd Guards Army...

, launched an attack in Operation Little Saturn. During the operation the Soviets defeated the Italian Eighth Army

Italian war in Soviet Union, 1941-1943

The Italian participation in the Eastern Front during World War II began after the launch of Operation Barbarossa on 22 June 1941. Barbarossa was the German war against the Soviet Union...

 and gained a respectable amount of territory. By the end of the year, the 1st Guards Army was outside Millerovo

Millerovo

Millerovo is a town and the administrative center of Millerovsky District of Rostov Oblast, Russia. Population: It was founded in 1786 and named after its founder, the army officer Ivan Abramovich Müller...

.

The 1st Guards Army also took part in Operation Saturn

Operation Saturn

Operation Saturn, revised as Operation Little Saturn, was a Red Army operation on the Eastern Front of World War II that led to battles in the northern Caucasus and Donets Basin regions of the Soviet Union from December 1942 to February 1943....

, where the Red Army successfully drove back Army Group South

Army Group South

Army Group South was the name of a number of German Army Groups during World War II.- Poland campaign :Germany used two army groups to invade Poland in 1939: Army Group North and Army Group South...

 to the Donets Basin

Donets Basin

Donbas or Donbass , full rarely-used name Donets Basin , is a historical, economic and cultural region of eastern Ukraine. Originally a coal mining area, it has become a heavily industrialised territory suffering from urban decay and industrial pollution.-Geography:Donbas covers three...

 basin in the 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 Battle 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...

, the 1st Guards Army was headed by General Dmitri Lelyushenko and included six rifle divisions as well as a Guards Mechanized Corps

Mechanized Corps (Soviet)

A mechanised corps was a Soviet armoured formation used prior to the beginning of World War II.- Pre-war development of Soviet mechanised forces :...

. The 1st Guards Army was part of the Soviet Southwestern Front

Soviet Southwestern Front

The Southwestern Front was a name given to a Front by the Imperial Russian Army during the First World War, by the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic during the Russian Civil War, and by the Red Army during the Second World War.The Southwestern Front in this article describes several...

, 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 new T-34/85

T-34

The T-34 was a Soviet medium tank produced from 1940 to 1958. Although its armour and armament were surpassed by later tanks of the era, it has been often credited as the most effective, efficient and influential design of World War II...

 tank.

1st Guards Army was active for many years 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...

 after the Second World War, headquartered at Chernigov. For a period the army HQ was actually an operations group of the District. By this time it had been awarded the Order of Lenin

Order of Lenin

The Order of Lenin , named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was the highest decoration bestowed by the Soviet Union...

. It included among its forces the 72nd Guards Motor Rifle Division

72nd Mechanized Brigade (Ukraine)

The 72nd Mechanized Brigade is a formation of the Ukrainian Ground Forces. It was previously named the 29th Rifle Division and then the 72nd Guards Rifle Division of the Soviet Ground Forces.-World War II:...

, the 25th Guards Motor Rifle Division

25th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)

The 25th Rifle Division 'Chapayevskaya was a Russian, and later Soviet, Red Army formation formed during the Russian Civil War. It was named after its civil war commander, Vasily Chapayev...

, and also at one point the 163rd Motor Rifle Division.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union the Army became the 1st Army Corps of the Ukrainian Ground Forces

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...

, and then Territorial Directorate "North"

Territorial Directorate "North"

The Territorial Directorate "North" was created on the basis of Northern Operational Command by the directive №322/1/010 of the Minister of Defence of Ukraine on 20 May 2005...

.

Sources and see also

• Feskov et al., 'The Soviet Army during the Period of Cold War 1945-89', Tomsk University Press, Tomsk
  Tomsk
  Tomsk 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...
  
  , 2004
• http://samsv.narod.ru/Arm/ag01/arm.html (Russian)