2nd Guards Tank Corps
 |
| 24th Tank Corps 2nd Guards Tank Corps 5th Independent Guards Tank Brigade | |
|---|---|
 Guards banner of the corps | |
| Active | 1942–2001, 2009-Present |
| Country |  Soviet Union (1942–1991) Russia (1991–2001) (2009–Present) |
| Branch |  Red Army (1942–1991) Russian Ground Forces (1991–2001) (2009–Present) |
| Type | Armored |
| Role | Breakthrough and Exploitation in Deep Operations |
| Size | Corps (120–200 tanks) |
| Part of | 36th Combined Arms Army (as of 2022) |
| Garrison/HQ | Ulan-Ude |
| Nickname(s) | Tatsinkaya |
| Engagements | World War II
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
|
| Decorations |
|
| Honorifics | V. M. Badanov |
The 2nd Guards Tatsinskaya Tank Corps was a
After the war the Corps became the 2nd Guards Tank Division in 1945.
During the 21st century, the division was reformed and took part in the
World War II
The 24th Tank Corps was formed in 1942 during re-establishment of the
After re-building, the corps was assigned to the
The 24th Tank Corps consisted of the 4th Guards Tank Brigade (Colonel G.I. Kolypov); 54th Tank Brigade (Colonel V.M. Polyakov); the 130th Tank Brigade (Colonel S.K. Nesterov); and the 24th Motor Rifle Brigade (Colonel V.S. Savchenko). Support units included the 13th Mining Engineer Company; the 158th Mobile Repair Base; and the Corps Train.
The Corps undertook the
During the year at some points the corps was assigned to the 1st Guards Army.
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
In the remainder of 1943 the Corps fought during the
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In 1944 the Corps fought at during
For the successful operations during the liberation of the capital of Belarus, the city of Minsk, the corps headquarters, as well as the 4th, 25th, 26th Guards Tank and 4th Guards Motor Rifle Brigades, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 23 July 1944, were awarded the Order of the Red Banner. The 4th Guards Tank Brigade was awarded the honorary title "Minsk."
Members of the corps committed the notorious Nemmersdorf massacre during the Gumbinnen Operation, torturing and killing tens of German civilians in October 1944.[3]
The corps was withdrawn to the 3rd Belorussian Front reserve on 2 December 1944. It fought in the Insterburg-Königsberg Offensive, part of the
Wartime assignments
In 1943 the corps was assigned to the 3rd Tank Army and the 5th Guards Tank Army, and in 1944 to the 11th Guards Army and the 5th Guards Tank Army.
Postwar
2nd Guards Tank Division
On 24 July 1945, the corps 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.[6]
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.[6]
Units of the division in 1988 before being reduced, included:[6]
- 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
1990s and twenty-first century
In May 1990, the division was withdrawn to
On 1 December 2001 the
As the 5th Guards Tank Brigade
Following the beginning of the
The brigade has been involved in Russian interference in Ukraine since 2015 at least. It took part in fierce fighting, engaging Ukrainian tanks to encircle Debaltseve in January–February 2015.[10] A tank gunner in the Brigade suffered horrific burns after his tank was knocked out near the village of Logvinovo. On February 16, 2016, the brigade commander, Colonel Ruslan Galitsky, was decorated on the anniversary of the Debaltsevo fighting, but then he was killed in December 2016 in Aleppo, Syria. The brigade then played a leading role in the Selenga-2016 military exercises held in August and September 2016 with the Mongolian Armed Forces.
The brigade was involved in the
Notes
- ^ Erickson 2015.
- ^ Glantz 1991, pp. 68–71.
- ^ Ian Kershaw, The End, 2012, Penguin Books, pp. 111–117
- ^ Shilovsky 2005, pp. 5–7.
- ^ Ivanov 2004, pp. 48–49.
- ^ a b c d Michael Holm (2015). "2nd Guards Tank Division [2-я гвардейская танковая Тацинская Краснознамённая ордена Суворова дивизия]".
- ^ "245th Motorised Rifle Division [245-я мотострелковая дивизия]".
- ^ "245-я мотострелковая дивизия: Гусиноозерский тупик". PUTI-shestvuy. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
- ^ "5th Separate Guards Tatinskaya Tank Brigade [5-я отдельная гвардейская Тацинская танковая бригада]". Archived from the original on 2015-12-22. Retrieved 2015-10-08.
- ^ Vaux, Pierre; Weiss, Michael (2016-12-07). "A Rising Star in the Russian Military Killed in Syria". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2022-04-24.; "Мы все знали, на что идем и что может быть". Новая газета. 2 March 2015. Archived from the original on 3 March 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
References
- Keith E. Bonn (2005). Slaughterhouse: The Handbook of the Eastern Front. Bedford, PA: Aberjona Press.
- ISBN 9781474602808.
- ISBN 978-0-7146-3350-3.
- Ivanov, Sergei, ed. (2004). "Тацинский танковый корпус" [Tatsinskaya Tank Corps]. Военная энциклопедия в 8 томах [Military Encyclopedia in 8 volumes] (in Russian). Vol. 8. Moscow: Voenizdat. pp. 48–49. ISBN 5-203-01875-8.
- Porfiryev, ‘Raid to Tatsinskaya’, VIZH 11/1987
- Shilovsky, Yevgeny (2005). Штурм Кенигсберга. Январь-апрель 1945 г. [Storming of Koenigsberg, January–April 1945] (in Russian). Moscow: Strategiya-KM. ISBN 5-901266-01-3.
