The 47th Guards Tank Division () is a tank division of the
Russian Ground Forces
The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска ВSukhoputnyye voyska V}), also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the land forces of the Russian Armed Forces.
The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Forces ...
.
It was formed in October 1942, 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
from the first formation of the 154th Rifle Division as the 47th Guards Rifle Division. It served with the
8th Guards Army
The 8th Guards Order of Lenin Combined Arms Army (abbreviated 8th CAA) is an army of the Russian Ground Forces, headquartered in Novocherkassk, Rostov Oblast, within Russia′s Southern Military District, that was reinstated in 2017 as a success ...
from late 1943. In late 1945, the division was converted into the 19th Guards Mechanized Division as part of the
Group of Soviet Occupation 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 ...
. It was ultimately relocated to
Hillersleben
Hillersleben is a village and a former municipality in the Börde district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. A large proving ground
A proving ground (US) is an installation or reservation in which technology such as weapons, military tactics and autom ...
as part of the 3rd Shock Army (later the 3rd Army) and served there with the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany for the rest of the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
, being converted to the 26th Guards Tank Division in 1957 and renumbered to restore its original number in 1965. Disbanded in 1997, the division was reestablished in 2022.
World War II
The 47th Guards Rifle Division was formed on 20 October 1942 by the conversion of the first formation of the 154th Rifle Division for the latter's "courage and heroism" during the Kozelsk Offensive. It included the 437th, 473rd, and 510th Rifle Regiments, the 571st Artillery Regiment, and smaller units. The commander of the 154th, Major General Yakov Fokanov, continued in command of the 47th Guards. The division's units received Guards designations on 26 December, with the rifle regiments becoming the 137th, 140th, and 142nd Guards, while the artillery regiment became the 99th Guards.
On February 13, 1944, by Order No. 28, the honorary name " Nizhnedneprovskaya"- was granted to the division by the order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief.
Postwar
In late May 1945, the division with the 8th Guards Army became part of the newly created
Group of Soviet Occupation 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 ...
(renamed the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSFG) in 1954). In late 1945, the 47th Guards Rifle Division was converted into the 19th Guards Mechanized Division. The latter included three mechanized regiments and two tank regiments: the 62nd, 63rd, and 64th Guards Mechanized Regiments, formed from the 137th, 140th, and 142nd Guards Rifle Regiments, and the 26th and 153rd Tank Regiments, the former 244th Separate Tank Regiment and 153rd Tank Brigade, respectively. It was subsequently transferred to the 3rd Shock Army (the 3rd Army from 1954) in 1947, joining the
79th Rifle Corps The 79th Rifle Corps () was a rifle corps of the Red Army in World War II that became part of the Soviet Army during the Cold War.
World War II
The corps was formed in July 1943 as a headquarters with no troops assigned, and subordinated to th ...
. The corps was renumbered as the 23rd in 1955 and disbanded a year later, leaving the division directly subordinated to the army headquarters. On 17 May 1957, the division was converted into the 26th Guards Tank Division. The 63rd and 64th Guards Mechanized Regiments were accordingly disbanded, while the 62nd Guards became the 245th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment. To replace the disbanded units, the 49th Guards Tank Regiment was transferred to the 26th Guards from the 12th Guards Tank Division.
The division was renumbered as the 47th Guards to restore its World War II designation on 11 January 1965. The 49th Guards was subsequently renumbered as the 197th Guards in addition. As the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
ended, the GSFG was reduced in size and renamed the Western Group of Forces. Following the
Dissolution of the Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...
at the end of 1991, the division became part of the
Russian Ground Forces
The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска ВSukhoputnyye voyska V}), also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the land forces of the Russian Armed Forces.
The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Forces ...
. In April 1993, the division began its withdrawal to Mulino,
Nizhny Novgorod Oblast
Nizhny Novgorod Oblast (russian: link=no, Нижегородская область, ''Nizhegorodskaya oblast''), is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localiti ...
, 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 Di ...
Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...
in 1997.
21st century
The division was reestablished from the 6th Separate Tank Brigade under the command of Colonel Yevgeny Doroshenko on 1 December 2021 as part of the
1st Guards Tank Army
The 1st Guards Tank Army () is a tank Field army, army of the Russian Ground Forces.
The army traces its heritage back to the 1st Tank Army, formed twice in July 1942 and in January 1943 and converted into the 1st Guards Tank Army in January 1 ...
at Mulino. The command structure and composition of the division remain unclear. Among others, the 47th Guards include elements of the former 6th Tank Brigade, now forming the 26th Tank Regiment, the 7th Separate Reconnaissance Battalion, the 1077th Separate Material Supply Battalion, and the 63rd Separate Anti-Aircraft Missile Battalion.
The division allegedly suffered significant losses in personnel and equipment. One of the division's tank regiments (26th Tank Regiment) may have been neutralized in March 2022 near Kamyanka,
Kharkiv region
Kharkiv Oblast ( uk, Харківська́ о́бласть, translit=Kharkivska oblast), also referred to as Kharkivshchyna ( uk, Ха́рківщина), is an oblast (province) of eastern Ukraine. The oblast borders Russia to the north, Luhans ...
.
The 26th Tank Regiment took part in the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
Kharkiv
Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine. Reportedly, conscripts from the 26th Tank Regiment refused to fight in Ukraine and requested to terminate their contracts.
On April 12, 2022, Ukrainian Defence Intelligence wrote that soldiers of the 47th GTD had failed to receive promised additional payments for fighting in Ukraine and that the military leadership had ignored appeals for the money.