4th Guards Army

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4th Guards Army
Soviet Guards Order.png
Active1943–1947
CountrySoviet Union
BranchRed Army/Soviet Army
TypeField army
EngagementsWorld War II
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Grigory Kulik
Georgiy Zakharov

The 4th Guards Army was an elite Guards field army of the Soviet Union during World War II and the early postwar era.

History[]

On April 16, 1943, the Supreme Command ordered the army to be established. On May 5, 1943, the army was formed on the basis of the 24th Army in the Steppe Military District. It included the and and 3rd Guards Tank Corps. On July 3 the Army was placed in Stavka reserve, on July 18 included in the Steppe Front, and on July 23 once again put in Stavka reserve.[1]

The Army fought in decisive actions such as the Battle of Kursk, the Second Jassy–Kishinev Offensive, the struggle for central Hungary, and the Vienna Offensive. At the end of the war, the Fourth Guards Army was part of the 3rd Ukrainian Front.

It was disbanded in March 1947.[2]

Part of fronts[]

Army commanders[]

Commanders[]

  • Lieutenant General Grigory Kulik (7 April – 22 September 1943)
  • Lieutenant General (22–27 September 1943)
  • Lieutenant General Ivan Galanin (September 1943 – January 1944, February–November 1944)
  • Major General Alexander Ryzhov (January–February 1944)
  • Lieutenant General Ilya Smirnov (3–22 February 1944)
  • Army General Georgiy Zakharov (November 1944 – March 1945)
  • Lieutenant General Nikanor Zakhvatayev (1 March 1945 – July 1945)
  • Colonel General Vladimir Romanovsky [ru] (1946-47)

Members of the Military Soviet (council)[]

This Political commissar position was intended to maintain control by the Communist Party.

Order of battle[]

The order of battle for the Fourth Guards Army on May 1, 1945, was:

Fourth Guards Army

5th Guards Airborne Division
7th Guards Airborne Division
80th Guards Rifle Division
41st Guards Rifle Division
62nd Guards Rifle Division
66th Guards Rifle Division
69th Guards Rifle Division
4th Guards Rifle Division
34th Guards Rifle Division
40th Guards Rifle Division
123rd Gun-Artillery Brigade
438th Antitank Regiment
466th Mortar Regiment
257th Anti-aircraft Regiment
56th Engineer-Sapper Brigade

After the war for a period the 4th Guards Army joined the Central Group of Forces in Austria until its withdrawal.

References[]

  1. ^ bdsa.ru
  2. ^ "4th Guard Army on official site of Russia Ministry of Defense. (in Russian)". Archived from the original on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2011-06-20.

Article Sources[]

  • The Red Army Order of Battle in the Great Patriotic War, Robert G. Poirier and Albert Z. Conner, Novato: Presidio Press, 1985. ISBN 0-89141-237-9.
  • Combat composition of the Soviet Army (official Soviet order of battle from General Staff archives), Moscow: Ministry of Defense, 1990.
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