16th Guards Tank Division

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16th Guards Tank Division
(1965–1997)

9th Guards Tank Division
(1945–1965)

9th Guards Tank Corps
(1944–1945)

3rd Tank Corps
(1942–1944)
Active1942–1997
Country
Branch
TypeDivision
RoleArmored
Garrison/HQMarkovsky
EngagementsWorld War II
DecorationsOrder of Lenin Order of Lenin

Order of the Red Banner Order of the Red Banner

Order of Suvorov
Battle honoursUman
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Nikolai Vedeneyev

The 16th Guards Tank Division was a tank division of the Soviet Army and later the Russian Ground Forces.

The division traced its lineage back to the

Berlin Offensive
, ending the war in the German capital.

In the summer of 1945, the corps became a tank division and was relocated to Neustrelitz, becoming part of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSFG). In 1965, the division was renumbered as the 16th Guards Tank Division. The division served with the GSFG through the Cold War and after the Dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1992 began a withdrawal to Russia which was completed in 1993. The division remained at Markovsky, Perm Krai until its 1997 disbandment, when it became a storage base. The storage base was disbanded in 2009.

World War II

Formation

The formation of the 3rd Tank Corps began on 31 March and ended on 10 May 1942 in

KV tanks, 60 T-34 tanks, and 48 T-60 light tanks.[2]

Zhizdra-Bolkhov and Kozelsk Offensives

The corps became part of the Western Front reserve on 28 June. On 5 July, it was subordinated to the 61st Army as its exploitation force for the upcoming Zhizdra-Bolkhov Offensive. The offensive was a Soviet counterattack against the German 2nd Panzer Army defending the northern part of the Oryol salient, and was an attempt to divert German troops from their attacks on the Bryansk Front and also to draw the 4th Panzer Army away from Voronezh. Despite the 61st Army failing to achieve a breakthrough in the direction of Bolkhov when the offensive began on 5 July, the 3rd Tank Corps with 192 tanks was committed to the fight two days later. Attacking heavily fortified positions, the corps suffered heavy losses from anti-tank fire. 61st Army's attack was halted five days later without making gains.[3] From the end of the offensive on 10 July to 11 August, the corps was located in the Bely area. From 19 August it was under the operational control of the 3rd Tank Army.[2]

From 22 August, the corps fought in the

3rd Mechanized Corps on 10 September.[6] In early October, the corps was relocated to the Kaluga area. All three tank brigades received new T-34s, which became part of the first and second companies of each tank battalion. The third companies of the battalions were re-equipped with the T-70 light tank. The corps conducted training during its time in the reserve. On 10 December, the 57th Motor Rifle Brigade arrived from the Ural Military District, replacing the 3rd Motor Rifle Brigade.[7] On 24 December, the corps received the order to prepare to move by rail to the Southwestern Front. Three days later, the corps began its rail journey to the front.[8]

Operation Gallop

On 28 December, the corps became part of the Southwestern Front. At the time it had 164 tanks, including 98 T-34s, 42 T-70s, and 24 T-60s. The corps unloaded at the

38th Guards Rifle Division, the corps reached the area northeast of Sloviansk by 4 February. The corps was then ordered to reinforce the 4th Guards Tank Corps, dug in at Kramatorsk and fighting attacks from the 7th Panzer Division. The 3rd Tank Corps joined the 4th Guards at Kramatorsk on 5 February. Both corps numbered a total of 60 tanks at this time. The German troops were reinforced by the 333rd Infantry Division, which claimed to have inflicted heavy losses on both corps, which now defended Kramatorsk with their tanks.[11][12]

On 7 February, the 3rd Tank Corps and 4th Guards Tank Corps were ordered to destroy German troops at Sloviansk and

Stalino from the west. On 11 February the 3rd Tank Corps took over the defenses of the 4th Guards Tank Corps as the latter advanced on Krasnoarmiysk.[13] Attacks from the 333rd Infantry Division recaptured eastern Kramatorsk from the 3rd Tank Corps, and the corps stopped an assault from the north of the city by Group Balck on 13 February.[14] On the evening of 18 February the corps was ordered to turn over its positions at Kramatorsk to arriving Soviet infantry units and move south to Krasnoarmiysk by 20 February to assist the 4th Guards Tank Corps. Before the 3rd could reach the positions of the 4th Guards, the 11th Panzer Division completed the encirclement of the 4th Guards by capturing Novo-Alekseyevsky and Aleksandrovka, blocking the advance of the 3rd Tank Corps on 19 February. The 4th Guards held out in Krasnoarmiysk until the night of 20–21 February when its remnants broke out.[15]

Third Battle of Kharkov

The corps with twelve tanks was pushed back by the German counterattack which began the

1st Guards Army until the German breakthrough to the Donets on 28 February. The remnants of the 3rd Tank Corps then withdrew across the ice over the Donets.[19]

Kursk

On 11 March the corps was transferred to Stavka reserve for rebuilding in the

2nd Tank Army. The corps fought in the Battle of Kursk during the summer of 1943.[1] The corps was positioned in the center of the 13th Army sector behind the third defensive line.[20]

First Jassy–Kishinev Offensive

On 1 April 1944, 3rd Tank Corps was in

93rd Guards Rifle Division made modest gains until being counterattacked by two armored battle groups against its flanks, which brought the assault to a halt and temporarily ended the Soviet offensive on this sector.[21]

Konev planned a second drive on Târgu Frumos to start on 27 April, but due to a complex regrouping of his forces this had to be pushed back to 2 May. The operation was preceded by a diversion on 25 April in the direction of Jassy, in which the 103rd Tank Brigade took part. Prior to the real offensive, by 1 May the Corps was reinforced with a complete heavy tank penetration regiment and a heavy self-propelled artillery regiment, so that it fielded a total of 50 tanks and self-propelled guns, including 27 T-34s in its organic tank brigades, 5 IS-85 tanks in the attached 8th Guards Penetration Tank Regiment, and 18 ISU-152s in the 375th Heavy Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment.[22] The mission of 2nd Tank Army was to support 27th Army's penetration, capture Târgu Frumos by enveloping the town from the east, and to exploit by rolling up the German/Romanian left wing and capture Jassy by enveloping the city from the southwest.[23]

The attack sector was still being defended primarily by 24th Panzer, supported by elements of the

Grossdeutchland Division. After a 30-minute artillery preparation, and against stubborn resistance, 35th Guards Rifle Corps, in coordination with 2nd Tank Army units, wedged into the German defenses and advanced 4 – 6 km along the Târgu Frumos axis by 1100 hrs., at which point counterattacks by infantry and up to 70 tanks pressed the attackers back somewhat. Following this:

"The units of the 3rd Tank Corps fought with mixed success in the vicinity of Hills 256 and 197 [seven kilometres north of Târgu Frumos] and the northern outskirts of Cucuteni throughout the entire day."

In the late afternoon the Corps halted its attacks to rest and regroup and, if possible, resume its assault the next morning. However, the Germans also regrouped overnight, bringing up elements of the 3rd SS Panzer Division from LVII Panzer Corps reserves.[24]

On the morning of 3 May, 3rd Tank Corps was concentrated on a 1.5 km sector west of the Hirlau–Târgu Frumos road. Konev was still confident that he had sufficient armor to, if not envelop Jassy, at least take the illusive prize of Târgu Frumos. But the German strength in both tanks and anti-tank guns denied any success to the new assault. Tanks that passed through the German infantry lines were shot up by anti-tank assets in the rear. While elements of 2nd Tank Army penetrated for a second time to the northern outskirts of the objective, losses forced them back to the start line by the afternoon. A further effort on 4 May gained nothing, and by day's end Konev had given up all hopes of resuming his offensive. In the course of the fighting from 1–8 May, the Corps reported the non-recoverable loss of 21 tanks and SUs from the total of 50 at start. The Corps further reported:

"During the combat from 2 through 5 May 1944, the Corps' units caused the following enemy losses: 26 tanks destroyed, including ten T-6 (Tiger) tanks, and 14 tanks damaged, including nine T-6. Twenty-five guns were destroyed... six prisoners, ten light machine guns and six heavy machine guns were seized."

The Corps also reported personnel losses of 80 men killed and 321 men wounded.[25]

Near the end of May Konev planned to renew his offensive by regrouping 2nd Tank Army and other forces north and northwest of Jassy. This was pre-empted on 30 May when German

2nd Jassy-Kishinev Offensive began.[26]

Postwar

By 1 December 1945, in accordance with a directive dated 10 June 1945, the corps became the 9th Guards Tank Division. The division was stationed at Neustrelitz, and around the same time the 2nd Guards Tank Army became a mechanized army. In 1957, the army became a tank army again. On 11 January 1965, the division was renumbered as the 16th Guards Tank Division to "preserve historical traditions" and in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the end of World War II. In 1989, the 67th Guards Tank Regiment became the 723rd Guards Motor Rifle Regiment. The Soviet Union was dissolved in 1991, resulting in the withdrawal of remaining units from Germany. In 1992, the 723rd was relocated to

90th Guards Tank Division became part of the storage base. In December 2009, the storage base was disbanded.[1]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d Nebolsin, Igor. "9-й гвардейский танковый Уманский ордена Ленина Краснознаменный, ордена Суворова корпус" [9th Guards Tank Uman Order of Lenin Red Banner Order of Suvorov Corps]. www.2gvta.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "3-й танковый корпус" [3rd Tank Corps]. tankfront.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  3. ^ Forczyk 2014, pp. 212–213.
  4. ^ Forczyk 2014, pp. 217–218.
  5. ^ Dunn 2009, p. 125.
  6. ^ "3-я механизированная бригада" [3rd Mechanized Brigade]. tankfront.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  7. ^ Nechayev 1989, pp. 31–32.
  8. ^ a b Nechayev 1989, pp. 34–35.
  9. ^ Forczyk 2016, p. 72.
  10. ^ Glantz 2014, p. 93.
  11. ^ Glantz 2014, pp. 104–106.
  12. ^ Forczyk 2016, pp. 74–75.
  13. ^ Glantz 2014, pp. 108–109.
  14. ^ Glantz 2014, p. 112.
  15. ^ Glantz 2014, pp. 118–119.
  16. ^ Glantz 2014, pp. 133–134.
  17. ^ Glantz 2014, p. 138 (Map 29).
  18. ^ Glantz 2014, p. 139 (Map 30).
  19. ^ Erickson 1999, p. 53.
  20. ^ Dunn 2008, p. 67.
  21. ^ Glantz 2007, pp. 56, 60, 65, 69–70.
  22. ^ Charles C. Sharp states that this regiment was still equipped with SU-152 guns when it was assigned to 3rd Tank Corps; Sharp, "Red Hammers", Soviet Self-Propelled Artillery and Lend Lease Armor 1941 - 1945, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Nafziger, 1998, p. 38
  23. ^ Glantz 2007, pp. 170, 177, 194–195.
  24. ^ Glantz 2007, pp. 233–235, 240, 252–253.
  25. ^ Glantz 2007, pp. 251–261, 273–274.
  26. ^ Glantz 2007, pp. 328, 336–338, 346–347, 356, 360.

References

External links

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