5th Guards Army

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
5th Guards Army
Active1943–1947
CountrySoviet Union
BranchRed Army
TypeField army
EngagementsWorld War II
  • Battle of Kursk
  • Belgorod-Kharkov Offensive Operation
  • Battle of the Dnieper
  • Uman–Botoșani Offensive
  • Lvov–Sandomierz Offensive
  • Vistula–Oder Offensive
  • Berlin Offensive
  • Prague Offensive
Commanders
Notable
commanders
Aleksey Semenovich Zhadov

Afanasy Beloborodov

The 5th Guards Army was a

Prague Offensive. During the Berlin Offensive elements of the army linked up with American troops at Torgau on the Elbe. Postwar, the army was disbanded as part of the Central Group of Forces
.

History

On 5 May 1943, the 66th Army was renamed to the 5th Guards Army in accordance with a

5th Guards Tank Army fought in the counterattack of the Voronezh Front and the Battle of Prokhorovka.[9] Soldiers of the 9th Guards Airborne Division were carried on the hulls of the tanks during the charge down the slopes in front of Prokhorovka.[10]

In early August, the army fought in the

Belgorod-Bogodukhov Offensive. For the offensive, the army was deployed among other armies on a line running from Gertsovka to the northern Donets east of Gostishchevo. On the night of 3 August, the army moved up to its start line. Within three hours of the launch of the offensive on the morning of 3 August, the army had broken through the main German positions.[11] From 12 August 1943, the army fought in the Belgorod-Kharkhov Offensive Operation. On 7 September the army became part of the Steppe Front. During the Battle of the Dnieper, the army helped capture Poltava on 23 September and Kremenchug on 29 September. The army then crossed the Dnieper and seized a bridgehead on its right bank. On 20 October Steppe Front was renamed 2nd Ukrainian Front.[9]

In early January, the 5th Guards Army fought in the

Kirovograd Offensive, part of the Dnieper-Carpathian Offensive. In March and April, the army fought in the Uman-Botosani Offensive. In early May, the army reached the Romanian border. On 26 June the army became part of Stavka reserve. On 13 July it was transferred to the 1st Ukrainian Front. By mid-July, its troops were concentrated south of Ternopol. During July and August, the army fought in the Lvov-Sandomierz Offensive. For the next six months after the offensive, the army fought in heavy battles to retain the Sandomierz bridgehead.[9]

In January and February 1945 the 5th Guards Army advanced out of the bridgehead in the

Breslau and destroy German troops in the Oppeln pocket. In April and May the army fought in the Berlin Offensive and the Battle of Bautzen.[2][9]

It was elements of the 5th Guards Army that made contact with the U.S. Army's

Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Gardiev.[13]

2nd Lt. William Robertson and Lt. Alexander Silvashko, Red Army, shown in front of sign East Meets West symbolizing the historic meeting of the Soviet and American Armies, near Torgau, Germany, an arranged photo op on "Elbe Day".

On 26 April, the commanders of the

Second Lieutenant William Robertson with Frank Huff, James McDonnell and Paul Staub met Soviet Lieutenant Alexander Silvashko with some soldiers on the destroyed Elbe bridge of Torgau.[13] The army advanced into Czechoslovakia in early May.[9] Elements of the army liberated Leitmeritz concentration camp on 9–10 May.[14]

At the end of the war, the 5th Guards Army included the 32nd and

3rd Guards Mechanized Army. The 32nd Guards Rifle Corps was disbanded a little later in 1947, briefly being included in the 4th Guards Mechanized Army.[17]

Structure

1 May 1945

Rifle forces
  • 32nd Guards Rifle Corps
  • 33rd Guards Rifle Corps
  • 34th Guards Rifle Corps
Artillery forces
  • 3rd Penetration Artillery Division
  • 155th Cannon Artillery Brigade
  • 10th Guards Fighter Anti-Tank Artillery Brigade
  • 1073rd Fighter Anti-Tank Artillery Regiment
  • 1075th Fighter Anti-Tank Artillery Regiment
  • 469th Mortar Regiment
  • 308th Guards Mortar Regiment
  • 29th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division
Armoured forces
  • 4th Guards Tank Corps
  • 150th Tank Brigade
  • 39th Separate Tank Regiment
  • 226th Separate Tank Regiment
  • 1889th Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment
Engineer forces
  • 3rd Pontoon-Bridge Brigade
  • 55th Engineer Sapper Brigade

Commanders

  • Colonel General
    Aleksey Semenovich Zhadov
    (5 May 1943 – 20 July 1946)
  • Lieutenant General Afanasy Beloborodov (20 July 1946 – 20 March 1947)

Notes

Citations

  1. ^ "Biography of Army General Aleksei Semenovich Zhadov". www.generals.dk. Retrieved 2016-07-06.
  2. ^ a b 5-я гвардейская армия [5th Guards Army]. www.samsv.narod.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2016-07-06.
  3. ^ Glantz & House 2004, pp. 3–4.
  4. ^ Glantz & House 2004, pp. 138–139.
  5. ^ Glantz & House 2004, p. 323.
  6. ^ Glantz & House 2004, pp. 166–167.
  7. ^ Glantz & House 2004, p. 206.
  8. ^ Glantz & House 2004, pp. 166, 169, 171.
  9. ^ a b c d e 5-я ГВАРДЕЙСКАЯ АРМИЯ [5th Guards Army]. bdsa.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  10. ^ Glantz & House 2004, p. 188.
  11. ^ Erickson 1999, pp. 118–119.
  12. ^ "Defeat and liberation – the meeting on the Elbe". en.stsg.de. Stiftung Sächsische Gedenkstätten zur Erinnerung an die Opfer politischer Gewaltherrschaft. Retrieved 2016-07-06.
  13. ^ a b MacDonald 1973, pp. 445–458.
  14. ISBN 9783406562297
    .
  15. Combat composition of the Soviet Army
    , 1 May 1945
  16. ^ a b Holm, Michael. "5th Guards Combined Arms Army". www.ww2.dk. Retrieved 2016-07-06.
  17. ^ Feskov et al 2013, pp. 413–415.

Bibliography
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