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The 3rd Guards Tank Army (russian: 3-я гвардейская танковая армия) was a tank
army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
established by the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
's
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. The 3rd Tank Army was created in 1942 and fought in the southern areas of the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
and
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...
, then in
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...
and
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
until the defeat of Germany in 1945. Postwar, the army served as occupation troops in
East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
, went through several name changes, and was finally deactivated in 1969.


History


Second World War


First Formation

The 3rd Tank Army was formed as part of the
Reserve of the Supreme High Command The Reserve of the Supreme High Command (Russian: Резерв Верховного Главнокомандования; also known as the '' Stavka'' Reserve or RVGK ( ru , РВГК)) comprises reserve military formations and units; the Sta ...
(RVGK,
Stavka The ''Stavka'' ( Russian and Ukrainian: Ставка) is a name of the high command of the armed forces formerly in the Russian Empire, Soviet Union and currently in Ukraine. In Imperial Russia ''Stavka'' referred to the administrative staff, ...
reserve) on the basis of the 58th Army in the
Moscow Military District The Order of Lenin Moscow Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The district was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1968. In 2010 it was merged with the Leningrad Military ...
in May 1942. It was placed under the command of Lieutenant General
Prokofy Romanenko Prokofy Logvinovich Romanenko (; – 10 March 1949) was a Ukrainian Soviet Army colonel general. Serving in the Imperial Russian Army during World War I, Romanenko joined the Red Army during the Russian Civil War, becoming a cavalry comman ...
. Its initial composition was 12th and
15th Tank Corps The 15th Tank Corps (, ''15-y tankoviy korpus'') was a tank corps of the Soviet Union's Red Army. It formed in 1938 from a mechanized corps and fought in the Soviet invasion of Poland, during which it participated in the capture of the Grodno ...
, one motor rifle division, and two rifle divisions. As part of the Soviet Western Front, the 3rd Tank Army successfully counter-attacked the German Second Panzer Army in August 1942. Soon afterwards, in September 1942, Romanenko handed over to Colonel General
Pavel Rybalko Pavel Semyonovich Rybalko (23 October 1894 – 28 August 1948; russian: Па́вел Семёнович Рыба́лко, uk, Павло Семенович Рибалко) was a commander of armoured troops in the Red Army during and following Wor ...
, who held command of the Army for the remainder of the war. Committed to the fighting for
Kharkov Kharkiv ( uk, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest city and municipality in Ukraine.
in March 1943 as part of the
Voronezh Front The 1st Ukrainian Front ( Russian: Пéрвый Украи́нский фронт), previously the Voronezh Front ( Russian: Воронежский Фронт) was a major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to ...
, the 3rd Tank Army was subsequently encircled and virtually destroyed by German forces. The Army's remnants were reorganised as the 57th Army.


Second Formation

The army was reformed as the 3rd Guards Tank Army in May 1943, including the 9th Mechanised Corps & 12th & 15th Tank Corps. In 1943, the army took part in the Orel offensive and, assigned to the
Voronezh Voronezh ( rus, links=no, Воро́неж, p=vɐˈronʲɪʂ}) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on ...
and
First Ukrainian Front The 1st Ukrainian Front ( Russian: Пéрвый Украи́нский фронт), previously the Voronezh Front ( Russian: Воронежский Фронт) was a major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to ...
s, played a leading role in the liberation of Left Bank
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...
. During the Orel offensive the 12th and 15th Tank Corps became the 6th and
7th Guards Tank Corps 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube (algebra), cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion ...
, respectively. The army was among the first Soviet troops to reach the
Dnieper River } The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukrain ...
in October 1943. In 1944, it fought in the Proskurov-Chernovits and Lvov-Sandomierz offensive operations. The army subsequently fought in southern Poland,
Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is spli ...
, and in the
Battle of Berlin The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II. After the Vistula– ...
. It overran the OKH command post at
Zossen Zossen (; hsb, Sosny) is a German town in the district of Teltow-Fläming in Brandenburg, about south of Berlin, and next to the B96 highway. Zossen consists of several smaller municipalities, which were grouped together in 2003 to form the ci ...
, headquarters for German Eastern Front operations, on April 21, 1945. Finally, the army drove on
Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
, entering that city on May 9.


Cold War

Soon after the end of the war, the 6th and 7th Guards Tank Corps were converted into tank divisions with the same numbers, and the 9th Mechanized Corps into the 9th Mechanized Division. By 1946, the army had been re-designated as the 3rd Guards Mechanized Army and was headquartered in Luckenwalde, East Germany, as part of the
Group of Soviet Forces in Germany The Western Group of Forces (WGF),. previously known as the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (GSOFG). and the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSFG),. were the troops of the Soviet Army in East Germany. The Group of Soviet Occupati ...
. The 3rd Guards Mechanized Army was one of several Soviet armies used in the suppression of the 1953 uprising in East Germany, moving the 6th Guards Tank Division into
Dessau Dessau is a town and former municipality in Germany at the confluence of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the '' Bundesland'' (Federal State) of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2007, it has been part of the newly created municipality of Dessau-Ro ...
and
Wittenberg Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the River Elbe, north of ...
as well as the 9th Mechanized Division into Lübben,
Cottbus Cottbus (; Lower Sorbian: ''Chóśebuz'' ; Polish: Chociebuż) is a university city and the second-largest city in Brandenburg, Germany. Situated around southeast of Berlin, on the River Spree, Cottbus is also a major railway junction with exte ...
, and Spremberg. On 29 April 1957, the 3rd Guards Mechanized Army became the 18th Guards Army. At the same time the 14th Guards Mechanized Division became the 14th Guards Motor Rifle Division. In 1958, the 82nd Motor Rifle Division, the former 9th Mechanized Corps, was withdrawn to Slavuta in the Carpathian Military District, where it disbanded. Up to 1964 it had preserved two formations which had served with it during World War II: the 6th and 7th Guards Tank Divisions (former similarly numbered Tank Corps). In August 1964, the headquarters of the 18th Guards Army was relocated to
Alma-Ata Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to 1936 as an autonomous republic as part of ...
, where it became the operational group of the
Turkestan Military District The Turkestan Military District (russian: Туркестанский военный округ (ТуркВО), ''Turkestansky voyenyi okrug (TurkVO)'') was a military district of both the Imperial Russian Army and the Soviet Armed Forces, with it ...
. The 6th and 7th Guards Tank Divisions and the 14th Guards Motor Rifle Division were transferred to other units within the GSFG. The operational group was converted back into the 18th Army (without the Guards designation) on 4 March 1969, but was used to activate the headquarters of the Central Asian Military District on 24 June.


Commanders

The 3rd Tank Army was commanded by the following officers: * Lieutenant General
Prokofy Romanenko Prokofy Logvinovich Romanenko (; – 10 March 1949) was a Ukrainian Soviet Army colonel general. Serving in the Imperial Russian Army during World War I, Romanenko joined the Red Army during the Russian Civil War, becoming a cavalry comman ...
(25 May–24 September 1942) * Major General (promoted to Lieutenant General 19 January 1943)
Pavel Rybalko Pavel Semyonovich Rybalko (23 October 1894 – 28 August 1948; russian: Па́вел Семёнович Рыба́лко, uk, Павло Семенович Рибалко) was a commander of armoured troops in the Red Army during and following Wor ...
(25 September 1942–26 April 1943) The 3rd Guards Tank Army, 3rd Guards Mechanized Army, and 18th Guards Army were commanded by the following officers: * Lieutenant General (promoted to Colonel General 30 December 1943 and Marshal of Tank Troops 1 June 1945) Pavel Rybalko (14 May 1943–February 1947) * Lieutenant General
Vasily Mitrofanov Vasily Andreyevich Mitrofanov (; – 25 August 1970) was a Soviet Army lieutenant general and Hero of the Soviet Union. Mitrofanov joined the Red Army during the Russian Civil War and served as a staff clerk. After graduating from a commanders' s ...
(February 1947–May 1950) * Lieutenant General
Vasily Butkov Vasili, Vasily, Vasilii or Vasiliy (Russian: Василий) is a Russian masculine given name of Greek origin and corresponds to ''Basil''. It may refer to: *Vasili I of Moscow Grand Prince from 1389–1425 *Vasili II of Moscow Grand Prince fro ...
(May 1950–30 September 1953) * Lieutenant General (promoted to Colonel General 8 August 1955) Viktor Obukhov (30 September 1953–15 April 1958) * Major General (promoted to Lieutenant General 25 May 1959) Sergey Sokolov (15 April 1958–21 January 1960) * Major General (promoted to Lieutenant General 7 May 1960)
Georgy Anishchik Georgy may refer to: *Georgy (given name) *Diminituve for Georgina *Georgy, the protagonist in ''Georgy Girl'' novel, film, and song * ''Georgy'' (musical), a musical from the novel ''Georgy Girl'' See also *Georgi (disambiguation) *Georgiy, a give ...
(22 January 1960–28 August 1964)


Notes


References

* *Bonn, Keith E. (ed.) ''Slaughterhouse''. Bedford: Aberjona Press, 2005. . * *Glantz, David M. ''Companion to Colossus Reborn''. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2005. . *Poirier, Robert G., and Conner, Albert Z. ''The Red Army Order of Battle in the Great Patriotic War''. Novato: Presidio Press, 1985. .


Further reading

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:3rd Guards Tank Army 3 Military units and formations established in 1942 Guards Armies