2nd Guards Tank Corps

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24th Tank Corps
2nd Guards Tank Corps
2nd Guards Tank Corps.png
Guards banner of the corps
Active1942–2001
Country Soviet Union (1942–1991)
 Russia (1991–2001)
BranchRed Army flag.svg Red Army (1942–1991)
Russian Ground Forces (1991–2001)
TypeArmored
RoleBreakthrough and Exploitation in Deep Operations
SizeCorps (120–200 tanks)
EngagementsWorld War II
DecorationsOrder of Suvorov
Order of the Red Banner
Battle honoursTatsinsk
Commanders
Notable
commanders
V. M. Badanov

The 2nd Guards Tatsinskaya Tank Corps was a Red Army tank corps that saw service during World War II on the Eastern Front of Europe. The unit's most notable moment was in the raid on Tatsinskaya during Operation Little Saturn and the Nemmersdorf massacre, both of which occurred during World War II. After the war, it continued to serve with the Soviet occupation forces in Central Europe. It was originally the 24th Tank Corps. The unit had approximately the same size and combat power as a Wehrmacht Panzer Division, and less than a British Armored Division had during World War II.

World War II[]

The first of the Guards Tank Corps was formed when the 26th Tank Corps was renamed the 1st Guards Tank Corps in December 1942.

24th Tank Corps[]

The 24th Tank Corps was formed in 1942 during re-establishment of the tank corps as a formation in the Soviet Red Army. It was equipped with a mix of T-34 medium, T-60 light, KV-1 heavy, and U.S. Lend-Lease M3 Stuart light tanks. It was assigned to the 6th Army and participated in the Stalingrad Defensive Operation on the Don River in July 1942, where it lost approximately two-thirds of its tanks. Its 24th Motorized Brigade conducted offensive operations along the Don together with 25th Guards Rifle Division.

After re-building, the corps was assigned to the 3rd Guards Army under the command of General Dmitri Danilovich Lelyushenko, to participate in encircling German Army Group A in Operation Saturn during the Battle of Stalingrad.

The 24th Tank Corps consisted of the following units:

Combat Units

  • 4th Guards Tank Brigade (Colonel G.I. Kolypov)
  • 54th Tank Brigade (Colonel V.M. Polyakov)
  • 130th Tank Brigade (Colonel S.K. Nesterov)
  • 24th Motor Rifle Brigade (Colonel V.S. Savchenko)

Support Units

  • 13th Mining Engineer Company
  • 158th Mobile Repair Base
  • Corps Train

The Corps undertook the raid on Tatsinskaya during Operation Little Saturn. In light of the successful raid, where many Axis aircraft were destroyed on the ground, it was renamed the 2nd Guards Tank Corps and given the honorific 'Tatsinskaya'.

2nd Guards Tank Corps[]

The 2nd Guards Tank Corps initially was based on the same units as the 24th Tank Corps. Its individual combat units were also renamed and renumbered as Guards units. With changing organization and equipment during the war, additional units were added. Depending on the specific tasks assigned to the Corps, units from the Reserve of the Supreme High Command (Stavka Reserve) could be added to help it achieve its mission.

At the Battle of Kursk, the following Order of Battle (OOB) applied:

Main Combat Units (totaling 187 tanks at Prokohorovka):

  • 25th Guards Tank Brigade
  • 26th Guards Tank Brigade
  • 4th Guards Tank Brigade
  • 4th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade
  • 47th Guards Breakthrough Tank Regiment
  • 1500th SU-regiment (Self-propelled Artillery)
  • 1695th AA-regiment
  • 273rd Mortar regiment
  • 755th Antitank battalion

Support Units (unconfirmed)

  • Aviation Liaison Section (F.A.C.)
  • 51st Sapper Battalion
  • Corps Train

Among personnel decorated for their fighting actions with the corps was Mariya Oktyabrskaya, awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union posthumously in 1945 for her actions in the fighting around Vitebsk in 1944.

A destroyed T-34/85 of the corps' 25th Guards Tank Brigade at Nemmersdorf, October 1944

Members of the corps committed the notorious Nemmersdorf massacre, torturing and killing tens of German civilians in October 1944.[1]

Postwar[]

2nd Guards Tank Division[]

On 24 July 1945, it became the 2nd Guards Tank Division in Pskov, part of the Leningrad Military District. In 1947, the division moved to Võru. On 23 May 1953, the 4th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment became the 122nd Guards Mechanized Regiment. The 873rd Artillery Regiment was activated from the 273rd Mortar Regiment and the separate howitzer artillery battalion. The 79th Separate Motorcycle Battalion was converted into a reconnaissance battalion. The 338th Separate Chemical Defence Company was activated on the same day. In 1953, the 1695th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment was downsized into the 14th Separate Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion. The division also moved to Luga, Leningrad Oblast that year. In April 1955, the battalion became the 1108th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment. The division underwent major reorganization in June 1957. The 25th Guards Tank Regiment was disbanded and the 26th Guards Tank Regiment became the 268th Guards Tank Regiment. The 90th Guards Heavy Tank Self-Propelled Regiment dropped the designation "Self-Propelled". The 122nd Guards Mechanized Regiment became the 272nd Guards Motor Rifle Regiment.[2]

In 1960, the division's tank training battalion was disbanded. In 1962, the 90th Guards Heavy Tank Regiment became a regular tank regiment. On 19 February 1962, the 139th Separate Equipment Maintenance and Recovery Battalion was activated along with the 201st Separate Missile Battalion. The division was transferred to Choibalsan in Mongolia in April 1968 and became part of the 39th Army. Before the move, the 79th Separate Reconnaissance Battalion was replaced by the 86th Separate Reconnaissance Battalion. After the division arrived at Choibalsan, the 272nd Guards Motor Rifle Regiment was replaced by the 456th Motor Rifle Regiment. The 51st Separate Guards Sapper Battalion became an engineer-sapper battalion. In 1980, the motor transport battalion became the 1084th Separate Material Supply Battalion. During the mid-1980s, the division replaced its T-62 tanks with newer T-72 tanks.[2]

The organization of the division in 1988 before being reduced:[3]

  • Division Headquarters, Choibalsan
  • 1st Independent Guards Communications Battalion
  • 86th Independent Reconnaissance Battalion
  • 4th Guards Tank Regiment
  • 90th Guards Tank Regiment
  • 268th Guards Tank Regiment
  • 456th Motor Rifle Regiment
  • 873rd Artillery Regiment
  • 201st Independent Missile Battalion
  • 1108th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment
  • 51st Independent Guards Engineer-Sapper Battalion
  • 1084th Independent Material Supply Battalion
  • 139th Independent Equipment Maintenance and Recovery Battalion
  • 159th Independent Medical Battalion
  • 338th Chemical Defence Company

3742nd Guards Central Tank Reserve Base[]

In May 1990, the division was withdrawn to Bezrechnaya-2 and became part of the . It was downsized into the 3742nd Guards Central Tank Reserve Base in March 2001. In 2005, the base was disbanded.[2]

Combat history[]

1942[]

  • Operation Saturn
    • Tatsinskaya Raid (almost destroyed)

1943[]

1944[]

  • Operation Bagration
    • Minsk Offensive(1944) - the 4th Guards Tank Brigade was the first Soviet unit to enter Minsk during this battle.
  • Baltic Operation

1945[]

Assignment[]

1942[]

  • 1st Guards Army

1943[]

1944[]

Commanders[]

  • Lt. General Vasilii M. Badanov (Dec 1942 – June 1943)
  • Lt. General Alexei S. Burdeinei (June 1943 – May 1945)

Decorations[]

References[]

  1. ^ Ian Kershaw, The End, 2012, Penguin Books, pp. 111–117
  2. ^ a b c Michael Holm, 2nd Guards Tank Division, 2015.
  3. ^ "2nd Guards Tank Division". www.ww2.dk. Retrieved 2020-05-04.

Books[]

  • Bonn, K.E. 'Slaughterhouse - The Handbook of the Eastern Front', Aberjona Press
  • Erickson, J. 'The Road to Stalingrad'
  • Glantz, D. 'From the Don to the Dnepr'
  • Porfiryev, ‘Raid to Tatsinskaya’, VIZH 11/1987

Websites[]

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