20th Guards Combined Arms Army


The 20th Guards Combined Arms Army is a field army. In 1991, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the army became part of the Russian Ground Forces.

1st Formation (4th Tank Army)

The army was first formed by order of the STAVKA within Stalingrad Front on July 22, 1942, based on the remaining elements of the headquarters of the former 28th Army, which had been largely destroyed in recent fighting. Mjr. Gen. V.D. Kryuchenkin, commander of the former 28th Army, was given command of 4th Tank Army. The new formation incorporated the 22nd Tank Corps, under Mjr. Gen. Shamshin, and Mjr. Gen. Khashin's 23rd Tank Corps, plus three rifle divisions transferred from the Far Eastern Front, two anti-tank regiments and two anti-aircraft regiments. 8th Separate Fighter Air Brigade provided support.
It was committed to battle without being fully formed, as German forces had broken through. The Army attempted to stop the German 6th Army, but was not successful and lost a large number of tanks. On 1 August 1942 official Soviet records show the Army as comprising the 22nd Tank Corps, the 18th and 205th Rifle Divisions, an independent brigade, and two artillery regiments. In August 1942 it fought on the southern approaches to Stalingrad, having conducted some successful counterattacks against units of the German 48th Panzer Corps.
4th Tank Army later came under command of Gen. K.K. Rokossovsky's Don Front. On 22 October Kryuchenkin was replaced by Gen. P.I. Batov. The much diminished army was re-designated the 65th Army on 27 October, and served for the duration under Batov's command.

2nd Formation (4th Guards Tank Army)

On 15 July 1943, after an abortive attempt to form the Army for a second time had been called off in February, it was reformed as 4th Guards Tank Army drawing on the headquarters of the previous 19th Cavalry Corps. Initially the new army consisted of 11th and 30th Ural Volunteer Tank Corps and 6th Guards Mechanised Corps.
Its first operation as 4th Tank Army, under Lt. General Tank Tr. Vasily Badanov, was at Orel, the counterattack on the northern side of the Kursk bulge after the German defeat at the Battle of Kursk proper. John Erickson writes that '..at 1100 on 26 July, two of Badanov's corps put in a ragged attack towards Bolkhov. For the next few hours, under the very gaze of Bagramyan and Badanov, both corps were heavily battered by the concealed German tanks and assault guns.' It took part in the winter battles in Ukraine in 1944, then the L’vov-Sanodmierz Operation in the summer. Its commander was Lt. Gen. D.D. Lelushenko.. It then participated in the Lower Silesia, Upper Silesia, Berlin, and Prague operations. In the last days of the war, it achieved Guards status by an order of the NKO dated March, 17th, 1945.

Cold War

It was initially part of the Central Group of Forces, but in 1947 was moved to eastern Germany. In the first days of the Soviet occupation of eastern Germany, it had its headquarters at Eberswalde and consisted of the 5th and 6th Guards Mechanised Corps and the 10th Guards Tank Corps.
From 1946 to 1957 the Army was named 4th Guards Mechanised Army. It was renamed 20th Guards Army in 1960, and served for many years as part of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. It took part in the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968. In 1982 the 14th Guards Motor Rifle Division became the 32nd Guards Tank Division, and two motor rifle regiments became tank regiments. In 1985 the former 6th Guards Motor Rifle Division became the 90th Guards Tank Division. In the late 1980s it controlled the 25th Tank Division, 32nd Guards Tank Division, 90th Guards Tank Division, the 35th Motor Rifle Division, the 6th Guards Separate Motor Rifle Brigade at Berlin-Karlshorst and many combat support and service support units, including the 387th Guards Artillery Brigade, 27th and 464th Rocket Brigades, a SAM brigade, an engineer-sapper brigade, and two helicopter regiments. After the fall of the Soviet Union 20th Guards Army was withdrawn to Voronezh in the Moscow Military District.

Post Cold War

In June 2006 elements of the Army took part in the "Shield of Union" joint Russian-Belorussian exercises. From 2009 to 2014 the 6th Separate Czestochowa Tank Brigade at Mulino was part of the army. In 2014 it transferred to the 1st Guards Tank Army. In mid-August 2016, Major General Yevgeny Nikiforov became the army commander. 68th Army Corps commander Major General Alexander Peryazev took command in February 2017 as Nikiforov transferred to the 58th Army.

Composition

The following officers have commanded the army: