4th Guards Army

The Fourth Guards Army was an elite army headquarters of the Soviet Union during World War II and the postwar era.

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 20th and 21st Guards Rifle 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 Iassy-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.

Disbanded in March 1947.[2]

Part of fronts

Army commanders

Commanders

Military Soviet members

Order of battle

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

Fourth Guards Army

20th Guards Rifle Corps
5th Guards Airborne Division
7th Guards Airborne Division
80th Guards Rifle Division
21st Guards Rifle Corps
41st Guards Rifle Division
62nd Guards Rifle Division
66th Guards Rifle Division
69th Guards Rifle Division
31st Guards Rifle Corps
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)
  3. French version

Article Sources

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