Soviet Second Guards Army
Encyclopedia
The 2nd Guards Army was a field army of the Soviet Union
's Red Army
that fought in World War II
, notably at Stalingrad.
2nd Guards Army was formed according to the order of the Staff of the Supreme High Command
from October, 23rd, 1942 on the basis of the 1st Reserve Army. Formation and training was spent in rear of the country, in the Tambov
, Michurinsk
and Morshansk
areas. The Army initially comprised the 1st Guards Rifle Corps - 24th, 33rd Guards and 98th Rifle Divisions under Guards General-Major I.I. Missan, and the 13th Guards Rifle Corps with the 49th, 3rd Guards
and 387th Rifle Divisions.
By the time of the Battle of Stalingrad
, the 2nd Guards Army had become the most powerful force in the Red Army. The 2nd Guards Army appeared on the scene after the Soviet Operation Uranus
had successfully encircled the German Sixth Army
at Stalingrad in November 1942. In December 1942, as preparations started for Operation Saturn
, the 2nd Guards Army was ordered by an impatient Joseph Stalin
to get ready for the attack on Rostov
. The assault and capture of Rostov was the ultimate goal of the Red Army for Operation Saturn.
In December 1942, plans for Operation Saturn had to be altered. The German
Operation Wintergewitter
, led by Field Marshal
Erich von Manstein
's Army Group Don
, made an attack on the Stalingrad Front
in an effort to relieve the Sixth Army
in Stalingrad. Thus, Operation Saturn was changed to Operation Little Saturn, which was to be a counter-attack that would be launched as soon as Operation Wintergewitter subsides. The German forces, spearheaded by Army Group Hoth, made rapid initial advances but was stalled at the Myshkova River. Colonel-General Hermann Hoth
's panzer
divisions were at a standstill and were suffering heavy casualties, even before the bulk of the 2nd Guards Army had arrived. By this time, Manstein realized that the operation was doomed. The 2nd Guards Army, under General
Rodion Malinovsky
, had been transferred to Stalingrad Front to halt the offensive. Stalin had agreed to this decision.
After Operation Wintergewitter had petered out, Soviet forces in the South-West Front
led by the First Guards Army
successfully launched Operation Little Saturn against the Italian Eighth Army. After that, the 2nd Guards Army and the 51st Army
launched another counter-offensive, this time against Army Group Hoth, right before Christmas
1942. Not only had Operation Wintergewitter been halted, the Red Army had made substantial gains against Army Group Hoth, Army Group Don, and also Army Group A
in the Caucasus
that month.
The 2nd Guards Army made a very significant contribution to the Soviet halt of Operation Wintergewitter and the successful counter-attacks that followed. The 2nd Guards Army remained a powerful force fighting on the Eastern Front
until the war's end in 1945. On 1 December 1944 the army, part of 1st Baltic Front
, consisted of 11th Guards Rifle Corps (2nd
, 32nd and 33rd Guards Rifle Divisions), 13th Guards Rifle Corps (3rd
, 24 и 87 гв., 16th Rifle Division), 1st Rifle Corps (145th, 306th, and 357th Rifle Divisions), artillery (including 21st Artillery Breakthrough Division and 2nd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division), tank forces, and other formations and units.
After the war ended, 2nd Guards Army, numbering six rifle divisions in two corps, was withdrawn to the Moscow Military District
where it was eventually disbanded.
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...
that fought in 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...
, notably at Stalingrad.
2nd Guards Army was formed according to the order of the Staff of the Supreme High Command
Stavka
Stavka was the term used to refer to a command element of the armed forces from the time of the Kievan Rus′, more formally during the history of Imperial Russia as administrative staff and General Headquarters during late 19th Century Imperial Russian armed forces and those of the Soviet Union...
from October, 23rd, 1942 on the basis of the 1st Reserve Army. Formation and training was spent in rear of the country, in the Tambov
Tambov
Tambov is a city and the administrative center of Tambov Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Tsna and Studenets Rivers southeast of Moscow...
, Michurinsk
Michurinsk
Michurinsk , before 1932—Kozlov , is the second most populous town in Tambov Oblast, Russia. Population: It was founded in 1635 at the northern end of the emerging Belgorod Line. A 25-km earthen wall was built eastward across the open steppe effectively blocking the Nogai Trail, a Tatar raiding...
and Morshansk
Morshansk
Morshansk is a town in Tambov Oblast, Russia, located on the Tsna River north of Tambov. Population: 44,000 .-History:...
areas. The Army initially comprised the 1st Guards Rifle Corps - 24th, 33rd Guards and 98th Rifle Divisions under Guards General-Major I.I. Missan, and the 13th Guards Rifle Corps with the 49th, 3rd Guards
3rd Guards Motor Rifle Division
The 3rd Volnovaskyi Guards Red Banner Order of Suvorov Motor Rifle Division was a division of the Soviet Army from 1957 to around 1992. It traced its history from the highly decorated 3rd Guards Rifle Division of World War II...
and 387th Rifle Divisions.
By the time of 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 2nd Guards Army had become the most powerful force in the Red Army. The 2nd Guards Army appeared on the scene after the Soviet Operation Uranus
Operation Uranus
Operation Uranus was the codename of the Soviet strategic operation in World War II which led to the encirclement of the German Sixth Army, the Third and Fourth Romanian armies, and portions of the German Fourth Panzer Army. The operation formed part of the ongoing Battle of Stalingrad, and was...
had successfully encircled 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...
at Stalingrad in November 1942. In December 1942, as preparations started for 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....
, the 2nd Guards Army was ordered by an impatient Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
to get ready for the attack on Rostov
Rostov
Rostov is a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, one of the oldest in the country and a tourist center of the Golden Ring. It is located on the shores of Lake Nero, northeast of Moscow. Population:...
. The assault and capture of Rostov was the ultimate goal of the Red Army for Operation Saturn.
In December 1942, plans for Operation Saturn had to be altered. 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...
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....
, led by Field Marshal
Field Marshal
Field Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...
Erich von Manstein
Erich von Manstein
Erich von Manstein was a field marshal in World War II. He became one of the most prominent commanders of Germany's World War II armed forces...
's Army Group Don
Army Group Don
Army Group Don was a short-lived German army group during World War II.Army Group Don was created from the headquarters of the Eleventh Army in the southern sector of the Eastern Front on 22 November 1942. The army group only lasted until February 1943 when it was combined with Army Group B and...
, made an attack on the Stalingrad Front
Stalingrad Front
The Stalingrad Front was a front of the Soviet Union's Red Army during the Second World War. The name indicated the primary geographical region in which the Front first fought, based on the city of Stalingrad on the Volga River....
in an effort to relieve the 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...
in Stalingrad. Thus, Operation Saturn was changed to Operation Little Saturn, which was to be a counter-attack that would be launched as soon as Operation Wintergewitter subsides. The German forces, spearheaded by Army Group Hoth, made rapid initial advances but was stalled at the Myshkova River. Colonel-General Hermann Hoth
Hermann Hoth
Hermann "Papa" Hoth was an officer in the German military from 1903 to 1945. He attained the rank of Generaloberst during World War II. He fought in France, but is most noted for his later exploits as a panzer commander on the Eastern Front...
's panzer
Panzer
A Panzer is a German language word that, when used as a noun, means "tank". When it is used as an adjective, it means either tank or "armoured" .- Etymology :...
divisions were at a standstill and were suffering heavy casualties, even before the bulk of the 2nd Guards Army had arrived. By this time, Manstein realized that the operation was doomed. The 2nd Guards Army, under General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Rodion Malinovsky
Rodion Malinovsky
Rodion Yakovlevich Malinovsky was a Soviet military commander in World War II and Defense Minister of the Soviet Union in the late 1950s and 1960s. He contributed to the major defeat of Nazi Germany at the Battle of Stalingrad and the Battle of Budapest...
, had been transferred to Stalingrad Front to halt the offensive. Stalin had agreed to this decision.
After Operation Wintergewitter had petered out, Soviet forces in the South-West 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...
led by the First Guards Army
Soviet First Guards Army
The 1st Guards Army was a Soviet field army that fought on the Eastern Front during World War II, being formed from the 2nd Reserve Army with five Guards Rifle Divisions in August 1942....
successfully launched Operation Little Saturn against the Italian Eighth Army. After that, the 2nd Guards Army and the 51st Army
51st Army (Soviet Union)
The 51st Army was a field army of the Red Army that saw action against the Germans in World War II on both the southern and northern sectors of the front. In particular, it was involved in the Crimean debacle of May 1942, and the final cutting-off of German forces in the Courland area next to the...
launched another counter-offensive, this time against Army Group Hoth, right before Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
1942. Not only had Operation Wintergewitter been halted, the Red Army had made substantial gains against Army Group Hoth, Army Group Don, and also Army Group A
Army Group A
Army Group A was the name of a number of German Army Groups during World War II.-Western Front, 1940:During the German invasion of the Low Countries and France Army Group A was under the command of General Gerd von Rundstedt, and was responsible for the break-out through the Ardennes...
in the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
that month.
The 2nd Guards Army made a very significant contribution to the Soviet halt of Operation Wintergewitter and the successful counter-attacks that followed. The 2nd Guards Army remained a powerful force fighting 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...
until the war's end in 1945. On 1 December 1944 the army, part of 1st Baltic Front
1st Baltic Front
The First Baltic Front was a Front of the Soviet Army during the Second World War. The commanders of it were Army General Andrey Yeryomenko and succeeded by Army General Bagramyan. It was formed by re-naming the Kalinin Front in October 12, 1943 and took part in several important military...
, consisted of 11th Guards Rifle Corps (2nd
2nd Guards Tamanskaya Motor Rifle Division
The 2nd Guards Motor Rifle 'Tamanskaya' Order of October Revolution, Red Banner,, Order of Suvorov Division named after M.I. Kalinin, also known as the Tamanskaya Division, Taman Division and Taman Guards The 2nd Guards Motor Rifle 'Tamanskaya' Order of October Revolution, Red Banner,, Order of...
, 32nd and 33rd Guards Rifle Divisions), 13th Guards Rifle Corps (3rd
3rd Guards Motor Rifle Division
The 3rd Volnovaskyi Guards Red Banner Order of Suvorov Motor Rifle Division was a division of the Soviet Army from 1957 to around 1992. It traced its history from the highly decorated 3rd Guards Rifle Division of World War II...
, 24 и 87 гв., 16th Rifle Division), 1st Rifle Corps (145th, 306th, and 357th Rifle Divisions), artillery (including 21st Artillery Breakthrough Division and 2nd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division), tank forces, and other formations and units.
After the war ended, 2nd Guards Army, numbering six rifle divisions in two corps, was withdrawn to the Moscow Military District
Moscow Military District
The Moscow Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In 2010 it was merged with the Leningrad Military District, the Northern Fleet and the Baltic Fleet to form the new Western Military District.-History:In the beginning of...
where it was eventually disbanded.
External links
- http://samsv.narod.ru/Arm/ag02/arm.html