5th Guards Tank Army was formed February 25, 1943 years based on the directive General Staff dated February 10, 1943 in the reserve of the Supreme Command Headquarters. It included the 3rd Guards and 29th Tank Corps, the 5th Guards Mechanized Corps, the 994th Light Bomber Aviation Regiment, artillery and other formations and units.

The main divisions of the army have changed throughout its existence. Typically, it consisted of two or more Guards Tank Corps and one or more Guards Mechanized Corps.

In connection with the breakthrough of the enemy in the Kharkov region, the 3rd Guards Tank Corps, even before the completion of the formation, was withdrawn from the army and sent to the Voronezh Front.

6 april the army became part of the Reserve Front (from April 15 - the Steppe Military District). Located in the concentration area south-west of the city of Stary Oskol, on July 9 it was transferred to the Voronezh Front.

During the defensive period Battle of Kursk(July 5-23, 1943), its troops, reinforced by the 2nd Guards Tank and 2nd Tank Corps, stopped the advance of the enemy strike group in an oncoming tank battle in the Prokhorovka area and inflicted significant damage on it.

During this period, the army included:

18th Tank Corps (commander - Major General of Tank Forces Boris Sergeevich Bakharov);
- 29th Panzer Corps;
- 2nd Tank Corps;
- 5th Guards Mechanized Corps;
- 32nd Motorized Rifle Brigade (commander - Colonel Mikhail Yemelyanovich Khvatov, until June 28, 1943, his chief of staff, Lieutenant Colonel Ilya Aleksandrovich Stukov, was the acting brigade commander);
- 110th Tank Brigade (commander - Colonel Ivan Mikhailovich Kolesnikov);
- 170th Tank Brigade (commander - Lieutenant Colonel Vasily Dmitrievich Tarasov);
- 181st Tank Brigade (commander - Lieutenant Colonel Vyacheslav Alekseevich Puzyrev);
- 36th Tank Breakthrough Regiment
- 29th separate reconnaissance battalion (29 orb)
- 78th separate motorcycle battalion (78th omtsb)
- 115th separate sapper battalion (115 osapb)
- 292th mortar regiment (292 mines)
- 419th separate communications battalion (419 obs)
- 1000th anti-tank artillery regiment (1000 iptap)
- 1694th anti-aircraft artillery regiment (1694 zenap)
- repair and other rear services of the corps.
Total tanks: about 850 units.

During Belgorod-Kharkov strategic operation(August 3-23, 1943), operating as part of the Voronezh (from August 9 - Steppe) Front, the army, in cooperation with the troops of other armies, defeated a strong enemy grouping and advanced to a depth of 120 km.

On September 10, 1943, the army was withdrawn into the reserve of the Supreme Command Headquarters, on October 7 - it was included in the Steppe (from October 20 - the 2nd Ukrainian) front, which in October-December fought to expand the bridgehead on the Dnieper River southeast of the city . Kremenchug.

In the first half of January 1944, the army took part in Kirovograd (January 5-16), then in Korsun-Shevchenkovskaya(January 24 - February 17) and Umansko-Botoshanskaya(March 5 - April 17) offensive operations. In the course of their conduct, the army's troops fought for about 500 km; participated in the defeat of large enemy groupings in the regions of Kirovograd and Korsun-Shevchenkovsky, in the forcing of the Southern Bug, Dniester and Prut rivers, the liberation of the cities of Kirovograd (January 8), Zvenigorodka (January 28) and Uman (March 10).

June 23, 1944 years after a short stay in the reserve of the Supreme Command Headquarters, the army was included in the 3rd Belorussian Front, in which it participated in Belarusian strategic operation(June 23 - August 29). The formations and units of the army brought into battle on June 25 in the 5th Army's offensive zone defeated the reinforced 5th tank division of the enemy advancing towards the city of Krupki and reached the Berezina River north and south of Borisov.

After the liberation of Borisov (July 1), the army developed an offensive in the direction of Minsk, Vilnius.

Since July 26, 1944, the formations and units of the army have been offensive battles with the aim of completing the liberation of the territory of the Lithuanian SSR and reaching the borders East Prussia.

On August 17, 1944, the army was transferred to the 1st Baltic Front, in October it participated in Memel offensive operation(October 5-22), October 20 - withdrawn to the reserve of the Supreme Command Headquarters.

In 1945, as part of the 2nd (from January 8), then the 3rd (from February 11) Belorussian fronts, the army took part in East Prussian strategic operation(January 13 - April 25). Army troops, introduced into the breakthrough on January 17 in the zone of the 48th Army, by the end of the day reached the Mlavsky fortified area, by the morning of January 19 they defeated the garrison defending it and, developing an offensive in the direction of Elbing, on January 25 reached the Frisches-Huff Bay (Vistula ), cutting off the main communications of Army Group Center.

At the end of January - February 1945, the army took part in repelling enemy counterattacks, which were trying to push back Soviet troops from the coast and restore their land communications.

In early April, the army, along with the dowry 98th rifle corps and the 1st Polish Tank Brigade fought to eliminate the remnants of German troops near the mouth of the Vistula River, where it celebrated Victory Day.

Per feats of arms during the war, over 38 thousand army soldiers were awarded orders and medals, 53 of them were awarded the title, 14 became holders of the Order of Glory of three degrees.

Commanders:
- Lieutenant General of the military unit, from October 1943 - Colonel General of the military unit, from February 1944 - Marshal of the armored forces P.A.Rotmistrov (22.2.1943 - 8.8.1944)
- Lieutenant General m / v M.D. Solomatin (9.8.1944-18.8.1944)
- Lieutenant General m / v, from October 1944 - colonel-general m / v V.T. Volsky (08/18/1944 - March 1945)
- Major General t / v M.D. Sinenko (March 1945 - 9.5.1945)

Member of the Military Council:
major general t / v P.G. Grishin (20.4.1943 -9.5.1945)

Chief of staff:
Colonel, from 7.6.1943 - Major General t / v V.N. Baskakov (03/21/1943 - 05/25/1944)
major general t / v P.I. Kalinichenko (05/25/1944 - 11/12/1944)
major general t / v G.S. Sidorovich (11/12/1944 - 05/09/1945).

In the post-war period, formations and units of the army were deployed in the Belarusian Military District.
By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of February 21, 1974, the army was awarded.

The composition of the army for 1990:

Army Headquarters, Bobruisk
- 913th separate battalion of electronic warfare Bobruisk
- 460th Missile Brigade, Target
- 56th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade
- 306th artillery brigade, Lapichi (24 2S5 "Hyacinth", 24 2A65)
- 1198th rocket artillery regiment, Slutsk (36 BM-21 "Grad")
- 13th separate mixed aviation squadron, Bobruisk (3 Mi-8, 2 Mi-6)
- 279th separate squadron of unmanned reconnaissance vehicles
- 544th separate pontoon-bridge battalion, Bobruisk
- 1590th separate engineering and road bridge building battalion
- 40th separate Korsun Order of the Red Star communications regiment, Bobruisk
8th Guards Tank Division, Osipovichi - disbanded in 1989-1990:
- 58th Guards Tank Prague Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Regiment
- 60th Guards Tank, twice Red Banner, Orders of Suvorov and Bogdan Khmelnitsky Regiment
- 94th Guards Tank Lublin twice Red Banner, Order of Alexander Nevsky Regiment
- 305th Guards Motorized Rifle Prague Red Banner, Orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov Regiment
- 732th Guards Artillery Sedletsky Red Banner, Orders of Kutuzov and Alexander Nevsky Regiment
- 823rd Guards Anti-Aircraft Missile Orders of Kutuzov and Alexander Nevsky Regiment
29th Panzer Znamenskaya Division, Slutsk - disbanded in 1989-1991:
- 31st tank Kirovograd twice Red Banner, Order of Suvorov regiment
- 32nd Tank Znamensky, Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Regiment
- 93rd Guards Tank Tallinn Red Banner, Order of Kutuzov Regiment
- 308th Motorized Rifle Znamensky Red Banner Order, Suvorov Regiment
- 851st self-propelled artillery Znamensky orders of Kutuzov and Alexander Nevsky regiment
- 927th Lviv anti-aircraft missile regiment
193rd Dnieper Panzer Division, Bobruisk
- 251st Red Banner Tank, Order of Kutuzov Regiment, Bobruisk (37 T-72, 8 BMP-2, 2 BRM-1K, 10 BTR-70)
- 262th Tank Regiment, Bobruisk (31 T-72, 8 BMP-2, 2 BRM-1K, 2 BTR-70)
- 264th Tank Baranovichi Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Regiment, Bobruisk (31 T-72, 8 BMP-2, 2 BRM-1K, 2 BTR-70)
- 297th Motorized Rifle Plonsky Orders of Suvorov and Bogdan Khmelnitsky Regiment, Bobruisk (9 T-72, 4 BMP-2, 2 BRM-1K, 2 BTR-70)
- 852nd self-propelled artillery regiment, Bobruisk (12 BM-21 "Grad")
- 929th anti-aircraft missile regiment, Bobruisk
- 52nd separate reconnaissance battalion, Bobruisk (10 BMP-2, 7 BRM-1K, 6 BTR-70)
- 381st separate communications battalion, Bobruisk
- 4th separate engineer battalion
- 1023rd separate battalion of material support
- 103rd separate repair and restoration battalion
Total: 108 tanks, 53 infantry fighting vehicles, 23 armored personnel carriers, 12 MLRS
After the disbandment of the 8th and 29th Panzer Divisions, in 1990 the army was given:
30th Guards Motorized Rifle Division, Maryina Gorka, from the Central Group of Forces:
- 164th Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment, Maryina Gorka (22 T-72, 122 BTR-60, 4 BMP-2, 2 BRM-1K, 12 2S1 "Carnation", 12 2S12 "Sani")
- 166th Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment, Maryina Gorka (22 T-72, 4 BMP-2, 2 BRM-1K, 1 BTR-60, 2 2S1 "Carnation", 12 2S12 "Sani")
- 168th Guards Motorized Rifle Gumbinnensky Regiment, Maryina Gorka (22 T-72, 58 BTR-70, 61 BTR-60, 4 BMP-2, 2 BRM-1K, 12 D-30)
- 30th Guards Tank Regiment Urechye (64 T-72, 14 BMP-2, 2 BRM-1K, 6 BTR-60, 12 2S1 "Carnation")
- 126th Guards Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment, Slutsk (12 2S3 "Akatsia", 24 D-30, 12 BM-21 "Grad")
- 823rd anti-aircraft missile regiment
- 205th separate anti-tank artillery battalion, Slutsk
- 20th separate reconnaissance battalion, Urechye (10 BMP-2, 7 BRM-1K), 6 BTR-60)
- 85th separate communications battalion, Maryina Gorka
- 63rd separate engineer battalion, Urechye
- 1054th separate battalion of material support
- 81st separate repair and restoration battalion
- 11th separate medical and sanitary battalion
Total: 130 tanks, 254 armored personnel carriers, 51 infantry fighting vehicles, 48 ​​self-propelled guns, 36 guns, 36 mortars, 12 MLRS.

Army commanders in the post-war period:

Poluboyarov, Pavel Pavlovich (1946-1949), Lieutenant General of Tank Forces
Panov, Mikhail Fedorovich (1949-1951), lieutenant general of tank forces
Katukov, Mikhail Efimovich (1951-1955), Colonel-General of Tank Forces
Kalinichenko, Pyotr Ivanovich (1955-1958), lieutenant general of tank forces
Smirnov, Vladimir Ivanovich (1958-1960), lieutenant general of tank forces
Kurkotkin, Semyon Konstantinovich (1960-1965), Lieutenant General of Tank Forces
Likhachev, Boris Sergeevich (1965-1967), Lieutenant General of Tank Forces
Magometov, Soltan Kekkezovich (1967-1969), Lieutenant General of Tank Forces
Zaitsev, Mikhail Mitrofanovich (1969-1972), Lieutenant General of Tank Forces
Belikov, Valery Alexandrovich (1972-1974), lieutenant general of tank forces
Saltykov, Vitaly Vasilievich (1974-1976), Lieutenant General
Gashkov, Ivan Andreevich (1976-1979), Lieutenant General
Ledyaev, Pyotr Vasilievich (1979-1982), Lieutenant General
Khaidorov, Vyacheslav Dmitrievich (1982-1984), Lieutenant General
Fursin, Valery Ivanovich (1984-1987), Lieutenant General
Ushakov, Anatoly Anatolyevich (1987-1989), Lieutenant General
Lagoshin, Valery Vladimirovich (1989-1992), Major General
Rumyantsev, Stanislav Stepanovich (1992), Lieutenant General.

In August 1992, the 5th Guards Tank Red Banner Army was transformed into the 5th Guards Army Red Banner Corps (later the command Ground forces) Of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus.

5th Guards Tank Army formed on February 25, 1943 on the basis of a directive of the General Staff of February 10, 1943 in the reserve of the Supreme Command Headquarters. It included the 3rd Guards. and 29th tank corps, 5th guards. the mechanized corps, the 994th light bomber aviation regiment, artillery and other formations and units.

February 22, 1943 Directive of the NKO of the USSR No. 1124821 on the formation by March 24 in the Millerovo area of ​​the 5th Guards. tank army.

March 4, 1943 General Staff Directive No. 211 / org by the commander of the Southern Front and 5th Guards. tank army on the urgent resupply of the 3rd Guards. tank corps personnel, weapons, vehicles and other property. This was due to the difficult situation of the Red Army pjd Kharkov.

March 8, 1943 Directive of the Supreme Command Headquarters to the representative of the Headquarters, Marshal A.M. Vasilevsky, commander of the Southwestern Front and the 5th Guards. tank army on the transfer from 23 hours on March 8, 3rd Guards. tank corps at the disposal of Marshal Vasilevsky for use in the defense of Kharkov. Subsequently, after the approach of new forces to the Kharkov region from the headquarters reserve, the 5th Guards were ordered. to transfer the tank army to the subordination of the commander of the Southwestern Front.

March 19, 1943 Directive of the Supreme Command Headquarters No. 46076 to the commander of the 5th Guards. tank army on the concentration of army troops by the end of March 24 in the area of ​​the station Pukhovo, Rybalchino, station Evdakovo, Khrestiki, Kolomeytsevo.

April 6, 1943 Directive of the Supreme Command Rate No. 46100 on the formation by April 30 of the Reserve Front under the command of Lieutenant-General MM Popov. The front included the 2nd reserve, 24th, 53rd, 66th, 47th and 46th, 5th guards. tank army.

May 21, 1943 Order of the commander of the 5th Guards. tank army on the introduction of the "Brief instructions on some issues of the combat use of units and formations of the 5th Guards. tank army in connection with the partial redistribution of tanks and artillery in army units. "

5 - 23 July 1943 - participation of the 1st (until July 14), 2nd and 5th Guards. (from July 12) tank armies in the Kursk strategic defensive operation. During the defensive period of the Battle of Kursk (July 5 - 23), its troops, reinforced by the 2nd Guards. tank and 2nd tank corps, in the oncoming tank battle in the Prokhorovka area, they stopped the advance of the enemy strike group and inflicted significant damage on it.

July 6, 1943. Directive of the General Staff KA No. 12941 to the commander of the 5th Guards. tank army on the inclusion of the 18th Panzer Corps in its composition, without changing its deployment.

3 - 23 August 1943 - participation of the 1st and 5th Guards. tank armies in the Belgorod-Kharkov strategic offensive operation (codenamed "Commander Rumyantsev").

September 8, 1943. Directive of the General Staff of KA No. 40727 to the commander of the Steppe Front and the 5th Guards. tank army on the withdrawal of the army (18th, 29th Panzer and 5th Guards Mechanized Corps, 53rd Separate Guards Tank, 1st Guards Motorcycle, 678th Howitzer Artillery, 76th Guards. mortar, 1529th and 1549th self-propelled artillery, 689th anti-tank artillery regiments, 6th anti-aircraft artillery division, 994th separate aviation regiment of communications) to the reserve of the Supreme Command Headquarters by the morning of September 10 in the Dergachi area, Peresechnaya, Backyards.

October 3, 1943 Directive of the Supreme Command Headquarters No. 30211 on the transfer from October 7 to the troops of the Steppe Front of the 5th Guards. tank army.

October 15 - December 9, 1943 - participation of the 5th Guards. tank army in hostilities in the Kryvyi Rih direction.

5 - 6 January 1944 - participation of the 5th Guards. tank army in the Kirovograd offensive operation.

January 24 - February 17, 1944 - participation of the 1st, 2nd (from February 11), 5th Guards. and 6th tank armies in the Korsun-Shevchenko offensive operation.

March 5 - April 17, 1944 - participation of the 2nd, 5th Guards. and the 6th tank armies in the Uman-Botoshan offensive operation.

In the course of these incessant operations, the army's troops fought for about 500 km; participated in the defeat of large enemy groupings in the regions of Kirovograd and Korsun-Shevchenkovsky, in the forcing of the Southern Bug, Dniester and Prut rivers, the liberation of the cities of Kirovograd (January 8), Zvenigorodka (January 28) and Uman (March 10).

May 27, 1944 General Staff Directive No. 293747 to the commander of the 2nd Ukrainian Front and 5th Guards. tank army about sending an army as part of the 3rd Guards. and the 29th tank corps with all units of reinforcement and combat support, service establishments and army rear services by rail to the reserve of the Supreme Command Headquarters.

On June 23, 1944, after a short stay in the reserve of the Supreme Command Headquarters, the army was included in the 3rd Belorussian Front.

June 23 - 28, 1944 - participation of the 5th Guards. tank army in the Vitebsk-Orsha offensive operation.

Since July 26, formations and units of the army have been conducting offensive battles with the aim of completing the liberation of the territory of the Lithuanian SSR and reaching the borders of East Prussia.

July 28 - August 28, 1944 - participation of the 5th Guards. tank army (until August 3) in the Kaunas offensive operation.

August 3, 1944. Directive of the General Staff of KA No. 204228 to the representative of the Supreme Command Headquarters, Marshal A.M. Vasilevsky on the transfer of the 5th Guards. tank army subordinate to the commander of the 1st Baltic Front.

August 8, 1944 - dismissal of Marshal of the Armored Forces P.A.Rotmistrov from the post of commander of the 5th Guards. tank army, the appointment of lieutenant general t / v M.D. Solomatina.

August 18, 1944 - appointment as commander of the 5th Guards. tank army of the colonel-general t / v V.T.Volsky.

5 - 22 October 1944 - participation of the 5th Guards. tank army in the Memel offensive operation.

November 29, 1944 General Staff Directive No. 298111 to the commander of the 1st Baltic Front and 5th Guards. by a tank army about sending the army (3rd Guards and 29th Tank Corps, 47th Mechanized Brigade, army reinforcement units and rear services) by rail to the reserve of the Supreme Command Headquarters.

January 14 - 26, 1945 - participation of the 5th Guards. tank army in the Mlavsko-Elbing offensive operation. Army troops, introduced into the breakthrough on January 17 in the zone of the 48th Army, by the end of the day reached the Mlavsky fortified area, by the morning of January 19 they defeated the garrison defending it and, developing an offensive in the direction of Elbing, on January 25 reached the Frisches-Huff Bay (Vistula ), cutting off the main communications of Army Group Center.

February 9, 1945 Directive of the Supreme Command Headquarters No. 11022 on the transfer by 24.00 February 10 from the troops of the 2nd Belorussian Front to the 3rd Belorussian Front 50th, 48th, 5th Guards. tank armies.

February 28, 1945 Directive of the General Staff KA No. 12733 to the commander of the 3rd and 2nd Belorussian fronts on the transfer of the 5th Guards. tank army as part of the 29th Panzer Corps, 47th Dep. mechanized brigade and all army units from the 3rd Belorussian Front to the troops of the 2nd Belorussian Front.

In early April 1945, the army, together with the attached 98th Rifle Corps and the 1st Polish Tank Brigade, fought to eliminate the remnants of German troops near the mouth of the Vistula River, where they celebrated Victory Day. She was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.

For successful fighting The Supreme Commander-in-Chief declared his gratitude to the army 17 times, the capital of our Motherland, Moscow, saluted the guards 11 times. Many units and formations were awarded military orders, they were given the honorary names of the Znamensky, Kirovograd, Korsunsky, Dniester, Minsk, Kovensky, Molodechno, Vilensky, Tannenberg.

After the end of the war, the army was renamed the 5th mechanized army and withdrawn to the territory of Belarus. The headquarters is located in Bobruisk.

As part of the active army:

• from 07/10/1943 to 09/09/1943
• from 10/07/1943 to 05/31/1944
• from 06/23/1944 to 12/19/1944
• from 01/08/1945 to 05/09/1945

25.02.1943 - 09.05.1945

The 5th Guards Tank Army was formed on February 25, 1943 on the basis of a directive from the General Staff of February 10, 1943 in the reserve of the Supreme Command Headquarters. It included the 3rd Guards and 29th Tank Corps, the 5th Guards Mechanized Corps, the 994th Light Bomber Aviation Regiment, artillery and other formations and units.

On April 6, the army became part of the Reserve Front (from April 15 - Steppe VO). Located in the concentration area to the southwest Stary Oskol, July 9 was transferred to the Voronezh front.

During the defensive period of the Battle of Kursk, army troops, reinforced by the 2nd Guards Tank Corps and the 2nd Tank Corps, in an oncoming tank battle in Prokhorovka area stopped the advance of the enemy strike group and inflicted significant damage on it.

During the Belgorod-Kharkov strategic operation, operating as part of the Voronezh (from August 9 - Steppe) Front, the army, in cooperation with the troops of other armies, defeated a strong enemy grouping and advanced to a depth of 120 km.

On September 10, 1943, the army was withdrawn to the reserve of the Supreme Command Headquarters, on October 7, it was included in the Steppe (from October 20 - the 2nd Ukrainian) front, which in October-December fought to expand the bridgehead to the Dnieper river southeast of Kremenchuk.

In the first half of January 1944, the army took part in Kirovograd, from January 24 to February 17 in Korsun-Shevchenkovskaya and from March 5 to April 17 in the Umansko-Botoshansk offensive operations.

On June 23, 1944, after a short stay in the reserve of the Supreme Command Headquarters, the army was included in the 3rd Belorussian Front, as part of which it participated in the Belorussian strategic operation. The formations and units of the army entered into battle on June 25 in the offensive zone of the 5th Army were defeated in the area Krupki advancing towards the reinforced 5th tank division of the enemy and went to Berezina river north and south of Borisov.

After liberation Borisov(July 1) the army developed an offensive in the direction Minsk, Vilnius.

Since July 26, formations and units of the army have been conducting offensive battles with the aim of completing the liberation of the territory of the Lithuanian SSR and reaching the borders East Prussia.

On August 17, 1944, the army was transferred to the 1st Baltic Front, from October 5 to October 22, it participated in the Memel offensive operation.

Since January 8, 1945 as part of the 2nd Belorussian Front. From 14 to 26 January in the Mlavsko-Elbing offensive operation. Army troops, introduced into the breakthrough on January 17 in the strip of the 48th Army, by the end of the day reached the Mlavsky fortified area, by the morning of January 19, defeated the garrison defending it and, developing the offensive towards Elbing, The 25th of January went to the Frisches-Huff (Vistinsky) bay, cutting off the main communications of Army Group Center.

Since February 9, 1945, as part of the 3rd Belorussian Front, she participated in repelling enemy counterattacks, trying to push back the Soviet troops. from the coast of the Baltic Sea and rebuild their land communications.

Since February 28, 1945, as part of the 2nd Belorussian Front, together with the attached 98th Rifle Corps and the 1st Polish Tank Brigade, fought to eliminate the remnants of German troops near the mouth of the river. Vistula, where she celebrated Victory Day.

From July 9, 1945, the field administration of the 3rd Belorussian Front was directed to the formation of the administration of the Baranovichi military district, the army was renamed into the 5th mechanized army and withdrawn to the territory of the Belorussian SSR, the headquarters in Bobruisk.

Commanders:

• Lieutenant General m / v Rotmistrov Pavel Alekseevich from February 22, 1943 to August 8, 1944
• Lieutenant General m / v Solomatin Mikhail Dmitrievich from August 8 to August 18, 1944
• Colonel General m / v Volsky Vasily Timofeevich from 18 August 1944 to 16 March 1945
• Major General m / v Sinenko Maxim Denisovichfrom March 16, 1945 to May 9, 1945

Member of the Military Council:

• Major General t / v Petr Grishin from April 20, 1943 to July 31, 1945
• Colonel Zakharenko Ilya Fedorovich from May 13, 1943 to July 22, 1943
• Colonel Syromolotny Ilya Konstantinovich from July 22, 1943 to May 9, 1945

Compound :

• 4th separate Korsun communications regiment
• 117th separate repair and restoration battalion
• 142nd separate road transport battalion
• 144th separate road transport battalion
• 281st separate motor transport battalion of Vilna
• 20th separate headquarters autorot
• 36th evacuation tractor company
• 2623rd Army Hospital slightly injured
• 82nd Independent Medical Reinforcement Company
• 1127th separate cable-pole company
• 30th supply station
• 58th Army Base
• 1528th Field Army Quartermaster Depot
• 2566th Field Army Food Warehouse
• editorial office of the newspaper "Forward for the Motherland"

Army composition from September to December 1944

as part of the 1st Baltic Front:

• 3rd Guards Tank Kotelnikovsky Red Banner Corps
• 29th Tank Znamensky Order of Lenin Red Banner Order of Suvorov II degree corps
• 6th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Korsun Red Banner Order of Suvorov Division
• 47th Mechanized Dukhovshchinskaya Red Banner Order of Suvorov II degree brigade - from October 1944
• 201st separate light artillery brigade - since August 1944
• 21st Motorized Engineering Brigade of the Order of Kutuzov - since August 1944
• 678th howitzer artillery Kirovograd regiment of the RGK
• 689th anti-tank artillery artillery regiment of the RGK
• 76th Guards Mortar Regiment of Rocket Artillery
• 14th Separate Guards Heavy Tank Coven Regiment
• 376th Guards Heavy Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment
• 1051st Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment - to October 1944
• 1st Separate Guards Red Banner Motorcycle Regiment
• 994th Znamensky Aviation Regiment
• 99th Pontoon Bridge Battalion - to October, from November to December 1944

PERSONAL COMPOSITION

Total: 41

Officer staff:

• guards Colonel Engineer Fedor Ivanovich Galkin, deputy. on the technical side
• Art. Lieutenant Gorokhov Arkady Nikolaevich, military dispatcher of the military commandant of the 30th SS, born in 1918
• Art. Lieutenant Goryakov Gennady Alexandrovich, military dispatcher of the military commandant of the 30th SS, born in 1923
• Major General m / v Dmitry Zaev, 1st Deputy Commander
• guards captain of a / t / s Zarubin Mikhail Vasilievich, pom. chief of the 58th AB, born in 1917
• Major General m / v Petr Ivanovich Kalinichenko, chief of staff 12/30/1904 - 11/19/1986
• guards Major and / s Karpov Alexander Petrovich, Art. Inspector of the Finance Department, born in 1904
• Colonel Kostylev Alexander Mikhailovich, head of the political department
• Art. Lieutenant Svetlitsky Vladimir Andreevich, military dispatcher of the military commandant of the 30th SS, born in 1919
• captain Kurdyumov Sergey Fedorovich, commander of the repair company of the 83rd ARVB, born in 1913
• Major General m / v Georgy Stepanovich Sidorovich, chief of staff 11/21/1903 - 05/06/1985
• guards Colonel Fyodorov Alexey Fyodorovich, chief of the operational department of the headquarters, born in 1908
• Art. Lieutenant Yurov Mikhail Spiridonovich, head of the storage department of the 2566th APS, born in 1912

Privates:

• Corporal Andreev Nikita Gerasimovich
• Sergeant Major Boginsky Leonid Pavlovich, head of food supply of the 142nd OATB, born in 1905
• Red Army soldier Borovik Pavel Pavlovich, apprentice electrician of the repair platoon of the 142nd OATB, born in 1929
• ml. Sergeant Vakula Fyodor Trofimovich, storekeeper of fuels and lubricants of the 142nd OATB, born in 1914
• Corporal Dudchenko Semyon Kuzmich, turner of the 83rd ARVB, born in 1907
• Red Army soldier Emelyanov Petr Petrovich, turner of the 83rd ARVB, born in 1914
• guards Red Army soldier Ivanov Semyon Ivanovich, battery operator of the repair platoon of the 142nd OATB, born in 1913
• Sergeant Kozelsky Ivan Grigorievich, squad leader of the 281st OATB, born in 1912
• Red Army soldier Kudryashov Boris Grigorievich, electric driver of the 83rd ARVB, born in 1905
• Art. Sergeant Kuzmin Mikhail Gavrilovich, pom. platoon commander of the 281st OATB, born in 1914
• Sergeant Lapshov Vasily Nikonorovich, driver of the 142nd OATB, born in 1912
• ml. Sergeant Logvinenko Ivan Ivanovich, Art. electrician of the 117th ORVB, born in 1920
• Corporal Makarenko Nikolay Mikhailovich, messenger of the radio expedition of the 4th OPS, born in 1925
• Red Army soldier Makeev Evgeny Petrovich, welder of the repair platoon of the 142nd OATB, born in 1925
• Corporal Mayatsky Grigory Dorofeevich, fitter of the 83rd ARVB, born in 1913
• Sergeant Mironov Alexander Vasilievich, squad leader of the 1127th OKShR, born in 1919
• Corporal Oger Ivan Petrovich, Art. clerk of the 1528th PAIS, born in 1906
• Corporal Pertsev Grigory Ivanovich, a blacksmith-spring operator of the 83rd ARVB, born in 1914
• Art. Sergeant Rasskazov Alexander Petrovich, driver of the 281st OATB, born in 1908
• Red Army soldier Salamatin Vasily Antonovich, electric and gas welder of the 83rd ARVB, born in 1911
• Lance corporal Salko Feodosiy Ivanovich, fitter-fitter of the 83rd ARVB, born in 1907
• Red Army soldier Nikolai Prokhorovich Skubko, tractor driver of the 36th ETR, born in 1913
• Red Army soldier Smirnov Ivan Ilyich, messenger for the telegraphic expedition of the 4th OPS, born in 1925
• Lance corporal Kharchenko Petr Stepanovich, accountant of the 1528th PAIS, born in 1897
• Art. Sergeant Khutorny Nikon Prokofievich, driver of the 142nd OATB, born in 1909
• Red Army soldier Chernenko Kuzma Ivanovich, head of the storage facility for the transportation department of the 1528th PAIS, born in 1904
• ml. Sergeant Shalygin Georgy Grigorievich, fitter of the repair platoon of the 142nd OATB, born in 1911

If your family archive contains photographs of your relative and you send his biography, this will give us the opportunity to perpetuate the memory of a warrior, a participant in the hostilities of the Great Patriotic War 1941 - 1945, on the territory of the Republic of Latvia.

The feat that the soldiers performed during the defense and liberation of the Republic of Latvia led to Our Victory, and the memory of the people who gave their lives for this will not be forgotten.

Tank troops of the USSR ["Cavalry" of the Second World War] Daines Vladimir Ottovich

5th Guards Tank Army

According to the GKO decree of January 28, 1943, the fifth tank army was supposed to be formed by March 30 of the same year. On February 22, the USSR People's Commissar for Defense I.V. Stalin signed Directive No. 1124821 on the formation of the 5th Guards Tank Army five days earlier in the Millerovo area. In the directive No. 36736 of the General Staff of the Red Army, sent on February 27 to the commander of the Southern Front, it was noted that the army included the 3rd Guards Kotelnikovsky and 29th Tank, 5th Guards Zimovnikovsky Mechanized Corps, as well as army reinforcement units. By March 5, it was required by order of the Front Military Council to concentrate the 3rd Guards Kotelnikovsky Tank and 5th Guards Zimovnikovsky Mechanized Corps in the Millerovo area, and the rest of the units, formations and institutions were to arrive from March 5 to 12. The use of the army was allowed only on the special instructions of the Supreme Command Headquarters. The commander of the army was appointed Lieutenant General of the tank forces P.A. Rotmistrov (see Appendix No. 3).

P.A. Rotmistrov, recalling his appointment to the post of army commander, in the book "Steel Guard" tells in detail about the meeting with I.V. Stalin in mid-February 1943 in the Kremlin. "I.V. Stalin was also interested in the views I expressed on the use of tank armies in offensive operations, writes Rotmistrov. - They boiled down to the fact that tank armies should be used as a means of the front commander or even the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command for delivering massive strikes, first of all, against enemy tank groupings in the main directions without indicating to them the offensive zones, which only hamper the maneuver of tanks. It was felt that Stalin was well aware of the importance of the massive use of tank troops and he was not the only one who heard me on this issue. " At the end of the meeting, Stalin offered Rotmistrov to lead one of the tank armies. The first deputy commander of the army was appointed Major General I.A. Pliev, the second deputy is Major General K.G. Trufanov, a member of the Military Council - Major General of Tank Forces P.G. Grishin and the chief of staff of the army - Colonel V.N. Baskakov.

In the course of its formation, the composition of the army was subjected to changes more than once, as well as the place of its deployment and subordination. So, on March 4, directive No. 211 / org of the General Staff was issued on the urgent resupply of the 3rd Guards Kotelnikovsky tank corps with personnel, weapons, vehicles and other property. The corps was ordered to be loaded at the Glubokaya station and sent to Starobelsk by March 7. It included the 266th mortar regiment, the 1436th self-propelled artillery regiment and the 73rd motorcycle battalion. On March 8, a directive of the Supreme Command Headquarters was issued on the transfer of the corps to the disposal of the Marshal Soviet Union A.M. Vasilevsky to use it for the defense of Kharkov. Subsequently, after the arrival of new forces in the Kharkov region from the headquarters reserve, the 5th Guards Tank Army was ordered to be transferred to the subordination of the commander of the Southwestern Front. Thus, only two corps remained in the army (29th tank, 5th Zimovnikovsky guards mechanized). In this composition, according to directive No. 46076 of the Supreme Command Headquarters of March 19, by the end of March 24 by rail, it was supposed to concentrate in the area of ​​the Pukhovo station, Rybalchino, Evdakovo station, Khrestiki, Kolomeytsevo. This was not the end of the army's "ordeals". According to directive No. 4610 ° of the Supreme Command Headquarters dated April 6, it became part of the Reserve Front being formed. According to the directive № 12941 of the General Staff of 6 July, another corps was transferred to it - the 18th tank corps.

While the Supreme Command Headquarters and the General Staff of the Red Army were resolving issues related to the formation and regrouping of troops of the 5th Guards Tank Army, they were engaged in combat training. On May 21, an order was issued by General Rotmistrov on the implementation of the "Brief instructions on some issues of the combat use of units and formations of the 5th Guards Tank Army in connection with the partial redistribution of tanks and artillery in army units." Its appearance was due to the fact that the composition and equipment of the compounds were not the same. So, the 32nd tank brigade of the 29th tank corps and the 24th tank brigade of the 5th guards Zimovnikovsky mechanized corps had T-34 tanks (a total of 65 tanks in the brigade). In the 25th and 31st tank brigades, the first tank battalions were equipped with T-34 tanks (in the battalion 31 tanks), and the second battalions with T-70 tanks (in the battalion 31 tanks).

The Instruction noted that "the experience of combat operations of tank and mechanized corps showed that in all types of combat the corps commander must have a strong reserve in his hands," and it is advisable to include in his composition not randomly assigned subunits or units, but one strong tank brigade. To this end, it was considered necessary to carry out a partial redistribution of tanks in the tank and mechanized brigades of the 29th Tank Corps and the 5th Guards Zimovnikovsky Mechanized Corps in order to create one strong tank brigade in each corps at the expense of reserve tanks. The 32nd tank brigade of the 29th tank corps, equipped only with T-34 tanks, was required to keep the corps commander in reserve and use it to parry an enemy strike and conduct counterattacks. She was supposed to conduct independent actions in the most important directions, on the flanks of the corps or at the junction between the brigades. In the same way, it was planned to use the 24th tank brigade of the 5th Guards Zimovnikovsky Mechanized Corps. The 25th and 31st tank brigades, equipped with T-34 and T-70 tanks, were supposed to be used in the first echelon of the corps together with the 53rd motorized rifle brigade, including for conducting defense together with this brigade or independently. For support tank attack corps anti-tank artillery and self-propelled artillery regiments should have been attracted.

The troops of the 5th Guards Tank Army, engaged in combat training, were preparing for the Kursk strategic defensive operation.

In the chapter "The First Guards Tank Army" we got acquainted with the situation at the beginning of the Battle of Kursk, the forces of the parties and their plans. Therefore, we will immediately turn to the description of the hostilities.

On July 5, 1943, the enemy launched an offensive on the Kursk Bulge. In the strip of the Voronezh Front, he struck with the forces of the 4th Panzer Army (2nd SS Panzer Corps, 48th Panzer and 52nd Army Corps; about 1,000 tanks and assault guns) of General G. Goth and the Kempf Army Group "(Over 400 tanks and assault guns). After fierce five days of fighting, the enemy managed to wedge into the defenses in the Oboyan direction to a depth of about 35 km and in the Korochansky direction - up to 10 km. On the morning of July 10, General Goth planned to launch a powerful new strike to the northeast. To this end, the 2nd SS Panzer Corps was to defeat the troops of the Voronezh Front southwest of Prokhorovka and push them back to the east. The 48th Panzer Corps was to destroy the Soviet 6th Guards Tank Corps on the western bank of the river in front of Oboyan. Pena and continue the offensive from the Novoselovka area in the southwestern direction. The 52nd Army Corps was required to maintain its former positions in readiness to advance across the Pena in the Alekseevka-Zavidovka sector.

In connection with the tense situation in the Belgorod-Kursk direction, the commander of the Voronezh Front, General of the Army N.F. On July 7, Vatutin turned to I.V. Stalin with a request to strengthen the front with two armies from the strategic reserve. They were intended to "firmly cover the Oboyan direction and, most importantly, to ensure the timely transition of troops to the counteroffensive at the most favorable moment." It was planned to move both armies to the areas of Oboyan, Prokhorovka, Maryino and Ghost. By Stalin's decision, the Voronezh Front was reinforced from the Steppe Front by the 5th guards army General A.S. Zhadov and the 5th Guards Tank Army. At the same time, by the end of July 9, the tank army was to concentrate in the Bobryshevo, Bolshaya Psinka, Prelestnoe, Prokhorovka area with the task of being ready to repel the enemy's offensive, which occupied Kochetovka on July 8. Army General Zhadov had to go to the river. Psel, take up defensive positions and prevent further advance of the enemy to the north and northeast.

By the end of July 9, the 5th Guards Tank Army entered the area indicated to it. At eleven o'clock in the evening, General Rotmistrov assigned the following tasks to the troops. 29th Tank Corps, Major General of Tank Forces I.F. By dawn on July 10, Kirichenko was supposed to take up defenses along the southern edge of the forest (5 km south of Maryino), the southern outskirts of Svinnoe, Pogorelovka, Zhuravka. The reserve required at least two tank brigades. The task of the corps is to be ready to repel enemy attacks and proceed to active offensive actions. 5th Guards Zimovnikovsky Mechanized Corps, Major General of Tank Forces B.M. Skvortsov had two brigades to take up defenses along the northern bank of the river. Psel on the site of the river. Zapselets, (lawsuit) Vesely, with one tank and one motorized rifle brigade in reserve. 18th Tank Corps, Major General of Tank Forces B.S. Bakharov was ordered to go over to the defensive along the northern bank of the river. Psel on the site Vesely, Polezhaev, southern outskirts of Prelestnoye, southern outskirts of Aleksandrovsky. The order did not indicate how the change of positions should be carried out, who is responsible for the stability of the defense, and there is also no mention of the 5th Guards Army entering this line, which had the task of organizing a solid defense at the same line.

On the morning of July 10, the formations of the 2nd SS Panzer Corps went over to the offensive. However, as a result of the stubborn defense of the 6th Guards and 69th armies, the enemy's advance by the end of the day was stopped. The enemy offensive on July 11 in the Prokhorovka direction was not crowned with success either. However, General Goth did not give up hope for the defeat of the troops of the Voronezh Front. He decided with the forces of the 48th Panzer Corps to push back the 10th Panzer Corps, attached to the 1st Panzer Army of General M.E. Katukov, beyond Psel southeast of Oboyan. In the future, turning to the northeast, create conditions for a planned offensive through Psel by the remaining forces of the 4th Panzer Army. The 52nd Army Corps would continue to cover the left flank of the 48th Panzer Corps, ready to exploit its success on its right flank. On the left flank of the army, the 167th Infantry Division was supposed to support the offensive of the 2nd SS Panzer Corps to Provorot, defeating the Soviet units near Leskov, and subsequently attacking the heights east of Teterevin. The 2nd SS Panzer Corps received the task of crushing Soviet troops south of Prokhorovka and creating the preconditions for a further offensive through Prokhorovka.

In turn, the commander of the Voronezh Front, on the night of July 11, made a decision on the transition of part of the forces to a counteroffensive in order to encircle and defeat the main enemy grouping, rushing to Oboyan and Prokhorovka. To this end, it was planned in the morning of July 12 by the forces of the 5th Guards and 5th Guards Tank Armies to inflict a powerful counterattack from the Prokhorovka area, and the 6th Guards and 1st Tank Armies - from the Melovoe, Orlovka line in general direction to Yakovlevo. Parts of the forces of the 40th, 69th and 7th Guards armies were also involved in the counterattack. The ground forces covered the 2nd and 17th air armies from the air.

The decisive role in the counterstrike was assigned to the 5th Guards Tank Army. By order of the front commander, the 2nd and 2nd Guards Tatsinsky tank corps, numbering only 187 tanks and an insignificant amount of artillery, were transferred to operational subordination to General Rotmistrov. The army was reinforced by the 10th Anti-Tank Artillery Brigade, 1529th Regiment SAU-152, 1148th and 1529th Howitzer Regiments, 93rd and 148th Cannon Artillery Regiments, 16th and 80th Guards Mortar Regiments BM-13. All these units had a large shortage of standard weapons and personnel due to losses in previous battles. According to the army headquarters, by July 12, it consisted of 793 tanks and 45 self-propelled guns, 79 guns, 330 anti-tank guns, 495 mortars and 39 BM-13 rocket launchers. P.A. Rotmistrov gives other information: along with the attached tank formations, the army had about 850 tanks and self-propelled guns.

General Rotmistrov decided to inflict the main blow with the forces of the 18th, 29th and 2nd Guards Tatsinsky tank corps along the railway and highways and further to Pokrovka and Yakovlevo. The 18th Panzer Corps was to strike along the river. Psel to destroy the enemy in Krasnaya Dubrava, Bolshiye Mayachki, Krasnaya Polyana, and later, turning the front to the north, ensure the offensive of the remaining army forces in the southern direction. 29th Panzer Corps was ordered to strike along railroad destroy the enemy in the area of ​​Luchki, Bolshiye Mayachki, Pokrovka and be ready for further operations in a southern direction. The 2nd Guards Tatsinsky Tank Corps received the task of attacking Kalinin, Luchki, to destroy the enemy in the Yakovlevo area, the forest to the east, and then be ready to act in a southern direction. The 2nd Panzer Corps was ordered, while remaining in its positions, to cover the army's entrance to the battle line, and when the attack began to support the tank corps with all its firepower. The following were allocated to the reserve of the army commander: 5th Guards Zimovnikovsky Mechanized Corps; detachment of Major General K.G. Trufanov (1st Guards motorcycle, 53rd Guards heavy tank, 57th howitzer artillery, 689th anti-tank artillery regiment).

By three o'clock in the morning on July 12, the troops of the 5th Guards Tank Army and a division of the 33rd Guards Rifle Corps took up their starting positions for the transition to the attack. “A combat report has already been signed and sent that the army has taken the starting position for a counterstrike and is ready to carry out the assigned task. But at four o'clock in the morning, - recalled P.A. Rotmistrov, - was followed by the order of the front commander, Army General N.F. Vatutin urgently send my reserve to the zone of the 69th Army. It turned out that the enemy, by bringing the main forces of the 3rd Panzer Corps of Operational Group Kempf into battle, threw back units of the 81st and 92nd Guards Rifle Divisions and captured the settlements of Rzhavets, Ryndinka, Vypolzovka. In the event of further advancement of the enemy's mobile units to the north, not only a threat was created to the left flank and rear of the 5th Guards Tank Army, but also the stability of all the troops of the left wing of the Voronezh Front was disrupted. In this regard, General Rotmistrov ordered the commander of the consolidated detachment, General Trufanov, to advance into the zone of the 69th Army in the area of ​​the breakthrough with a forced march and "together with its troops, stop the enemy tanks, preventing their advance in the northern direction."

By six o'clock in the morning it became known that the enemy's 3rd Panzer Corps was continuing its advance and was located 28 kilometers southeast of Prokhorovka. By order of the representative of the Headquarters, Marshal Vasilevsky, the commander of the 5th Guards Tank Army ordered the commander of the 5th Guards Zimovnikovsky Mechanized Corps to send the 11th and 12th mechanized brigades from the Krasnoye area to reinforce General Trufanov's consolidated detachment. The commander of the 2nd Guards Tatsin Tank Corps was ordered to deploy the 26th Tank Brigade in the Raft area with a front to the south and cover the left flank of the army. Soon, the commander of the Voronezh Front ordered to combine all these units under the command of General Trufanov into an operational group with a task: together with the 81st and 92nd Guards Rifle Divisions and the 96th Tank Brigade of the 69th Army of General V.D. Kryuchenkin "to surround and destroy the enemy in the Ryndinka, Rzhavets area and by the end of the day to reach the Shakhovo - Shchelkanovo line."

As a result, the forces of the 5th Guards Tank Army were dispersed, and General Rotmistrov lost his powerful reserve. Two of the four brigades remained in the 5th Guards Zimovnikovsky Mechanized Corps: the 24th Tank and 10th Mechanized.

At 0830 hours on July 12, after aviation and artillery preparation, the troops of the 6th and 5th Guards Armies, the 1st and 5th Guards Tank Armies went on the offensive. In the direction of the main attack in the sector of the Oktyabrsky and Yamki state farm, the most powerful in composition was the 29th Panzer Corps of the 5th Guards Tank Army. To the right, between the r. Psel and the Oktyabrsky state farm, its 18th tank corps advanced, and to the left - the 2nd Guards Tatsinsky tank corps. The 42nd Guards Rifle and 9th Guards Airborne Divisions were also involved in the direction of the main attack. In this regard, the statement of P.A. Rotmistrov that in this unprecedented scale tank battle "in the battle formations of tanks in the direction of the main attack of the infantry there was almost no one on either side."

At the same time, the enemy's strike group went on the offensive. A major oncoming tank battle began, in which 1160 tanks and self-propelled (assault) guns participated on both sides (from the Soviet side - 670, from the enemy side - 490). In the "Report on the hostilities of the 5th Guards. TA in the period from 7 to 27.7.43 " it was noted that "a tank battle, unusual in its scale, unfolded, in which more than 1,500 tanks participated in a narrow sector of the front on both sides."

The oncoming tank battle was characterized by frequent and abrupt change situation, activity, decisiveness and a wide variety of forms and methods of combat operations. Oncoming battles unfolded in some directions, in others - defensive actions combined with counterattacks, in others - offensive with repulsing counterattacks.

Parts of the 18th Panzer Corps of General B.S. Bakharova, having broken the fierce resistance of the enemy, by the evening of July 12 advanced only 3-4 km, having lost 55 tanks. The corps commander decided to abandon further fruitless attacks and go on the defensive. Perhaps that is why General Bakharov, by order of the People's Commissar of Defense of Stalin on July 25, was relieved of his post and appointed deputy commander of the 9th Panzer Corps.

The 29th Panzer Corps under the command of General I.F. Kirichenko also overcame the resistance of the enemy and by the end of the day advanced 1.5 km. The enemy was forced to withdraw to the Greznoye area. At the same time, the corps, which had 212 tanks and self-propelled guns, lost 150 vehicles. The 2nd Guards Tatsinsky Tank Corps launched an attack at 10 o'clock in the morning, knocked down the enemy's cover and began to slowly advance in the direction of Yasnaya Polyana. However, the enemy, having created superiority in manpower and equipment, stopped the corps units, and in some areas pushed them back. Of the 94 tanks that took part in the offensive, the enemy destroyed 54. Parts of General Trufanov's consolidated detachment managed to stop the advance of the enemy's 3rd tank corps. At the same time, the interaction between parts and connections was not properly organized. As a result, the 53rd Guards Separate Tank Regiment attacked the battle formations of the 92nd Guards rifle division and the 96th separate tank brigade. After that, the regiment entered into a fire battle with enemy tanks, and then received an order to withdraw. By order of the commander of the 69th Army, General Trufanov was reprimanded, and the commander of the 92nd Guards Rifle Division, Colonel V.F. Trunin was later removed from his post.

The troops of the 5th Guards Army with their right flank, overcoming the resistance of the enemy troops, reached the northern outskirts of Kochetovka, and on the left flank fought defensive battles on the river. Psel. The troops of the 6th Guards and 1st Tank Armies, although they took part in the counterattack, advanced to an insignificant depth. This is mainly due to the lack of time that they had at their disposal to prepare for the counterattack, and weak artillery and engineering support.

Thus, the troops of the Voronezh Front were unable to defeat the enemy grouping, which had wedged into the defenses for 30–35 km. General of the Army Vatutin reported to Stalin at midnight on July 12: “The Panzer Army of Rotmistrov with the 2nd and 2nd Guards attached to it. shopping mall directly south-west of Prokhorovka on a narrow section of the front immediately entered oncoming battle with the SS Panzer Corps and 17 TD of the enemy, which moved towards Rotmistrov. As a result, a fierce massive tank battle took place on a small field. The enemy was defeated here, but Rotmistrov suffered losses and hardly advanced forward. True, Rotmistrov did not bring in the troops of his mechanized corps and Trufanov's detachment, which were partially used to parry enemy attacks on Kryuchenkin's army and on the left flank of Zhadov's army. According to updated data, the enemy lost 200 tanks and assault guns out of 420 on July 12, and the 5th Guards Tank Army lost 500 tanks and self-propelled guns out of 951.

At half past four in the morning on July 13, General Rotmistrov ordered the commander of the 18th Panzer Corps to gain a foothold on the occupied line, turning Special attention to support the right flank on the Petrovka-Mikhailovka line. Other corps received the same orders.

However, all attempts by the divisions of the 33rd Guards Rifle Corps and the corps of the 5th Guards Tank Army to press the enemy on July 13 were unsuccessful. At about three o'clock in the morning on July 14, Marshal Vasilevsky reported to Stalin: “... Yesterday he personally observed a tank battle of our 18th and 29th corps with more than two hundred enemy tanks in a counterattack south-west of Prokhorovka. At the same time, hundreds of guns and all the PCs we have took part in the battle. As a result, the entire field was littered with burning German and our tanks for an hour. Within two days of fighting, Rotmistrov's 29th Panzer Corps lost 60% irrecoverable and temporarily out of order, and 18th Corps - up to 30% of its tanks. The next day, the threat of a breakthrough of enemy tanks from the south in the area of ​​Shakhovo, Avdeevka, Aleksandrovka continues to be real. During the night I take all measures to remove the IPTAP shelves. Considering the large tank forces of the enemy in the Prokhorovka direction, here on July 14, the main forces of Rotmistrov, together with Zhadov's rifle corps, were tasked with crushing the enemy in the Storozhevoye area, north of Storozhevoy, the Komsomolets state farm, reaching the Greznoye - Yasnaya Polyana line, and all the more firmly to provide a Prokhorovka direction ”.

The offensive of the 5th Guards and 5th Guards Tank Armies on July 14-15 was also unsuccessful. This forced on July 16 the commander of the Voronezh Front to give the order to go over to a tough defense. By this time, as noted earlier, the Supreme High Command of the Wehrmacht also decided to stop further offensive on the Kursk Bulge. On July 16, the enemy began a systematic withdrawal of its main forces to their initial position. The troops of the Voronezh, and on the night of July 19 and the Steppe fronts, switched to pursuit him and by July 23 reached the line Cherkasskoye, (claim.) Zadelnoe, Melekhovo and further along the left bank of the river. Seversky Donets. Basically, this was the line occupied by Soviet troops before the start of the operation. This ended the Kursk strategic defensive operation. The idea of ​​Operation Citadel was finally buried. Soviet command not only unraveled the plans of the enemy, but also quite accurately determined the place and time of his attacks. The transition to deliberate defense played a role.

Subsequently P.A. Rotmistrov, summing up the results of the battle at Prokhorovka, noted: “At the same time, it should be noted that the 5th Guards Tank Army, which was tasked with reaching the Yakovlevo area, Pokrovka on July 12, did not fulfill this task. There were many reasons for this. " He referred to them: superiority of the enemy in forces over the first echelon of the 5th Guards Tank Army in the main direction; the withdrawal of the active forces in front and the loss of the army's deployment lines on July 11, which frustrated the results of two days of intense organizational work; the absence of a reserve for the development of success in the direction of the main attack at the height of the battle of the army commander; insufficient artillery and air support for the tank army's counterstrike. All these reasons were the result of miscalculations made by both the command of the Voronezh Front and the 5th Guards Tank Army. In addition, the entry into battle of the army was planned and was carried out in the forehead of a powerful enemy tank group.

On the night of July 24, 1943, the 5th Guards Tank Army, without the 2nd Guards Tatsinsky Corps and the 2nd Tank Corps transferred to the 5th Guards Army, was withdrawn into the reserve of the Voronezh Front. The commanders and staffs immediately began to put their units and formations in order. The army, together with the 1st Tank Army, was to take part in the Belgorod-Kharkov strategic offensive operation.

Belgorod-Kharkov strategic offensive operation "Commander Rumyantsev" (August 3-23, 1943)

In accordance with the concept of Operation Commander Rumyantsev, set out in the chapter "First Guards Tank Army", the troops of the 5th Guards Tank Army were to develop their success in the direction of Zolochev, Olshany, by the end of the third day, capture the Olshany area, Lyubotin and cut off the escape routes of the Kharkov grouping to the west. The depth of the task is about 100 km.

10 days were allotted to prepare for the offensive. During this time command staff 5th Guards Tank Army studied the terrain in the zone of impending actions, the nature of the enemy's defense and organized interaction. At the same time, military equipment was being repaired and stocks of materiel were replenished. With all interacting parts and connections, telephone and radio communications were organized, as well as communications using mobile means. Task forces were created in the army, which were supposed to move behind the first echelon of the advancing troops. In preparation for the offensive, training and exercises were conducted on boxes of sand with headquarters officers to practice command and control. Much attention was paid to the conduct of measures to misinform the enemy, which made it possible to draw his attention to the Sumy direction and ensure the surprise of strikes in the Belgorod region. The army headquarters worked out a plan of interaction and a scheme for bringing the army into battle. Support issues were reflected in the plans of the chiefs of engineering troops, reconnaissance and rear of the army. The political department drew up a work plan for the period from 2 to 5 August.

The army consisted of one mechanized and two tank corps, a separate tank, motorcycle, two self-propelled artillery, howitzer artillery, anti-tank artillery, guards mortar and light bomber regiments, an anti-aircraft artillery division and a separate engineer battalion. The army had 550 tanks.

General Rotmistrov decided to lead the army into a breakthrough in a two-echelon formation: in the first - the 18th and 29th tank corps, in the second - the 5th Guards Zimovnikovsky Mechanized Corps. A detachment of General K.G. Trufanov. To coordinate issues of interaction between the 5th Guards Army, the 1st Tank and 5th Guards Tank Armies on command post Commander of the 5th Guards Army, General A.S. Zhadov, a meeting was held. Generals A.S. Zhadov, P.A. Rotmistrov and M.E. Katukov discussed all issues of interaction in terms of the stages of the operation, outlined the routes of movement of tank corps introduced into the breakthrough in the 5th Guards Army's offensive zone.

On the evening of August 2, units of the first echelon of the 5th Guards Tank Army (18th and 29th Panzer Corps) began to move to their original areas. At two o'clock in the morning on August 3, they concentrated on the Bykovka, Krapivenskiye Dvory line, where the army artillery that had been transferred the day before the tanks arrived, took up firing positions.

On the morning of August 3, after a powerful artillery and aviation training shock groupings of the Voronezh and Steppe fronts went over to the offensive. At the same time, the partisans began to conduct Operation Rail War behind enemy lines. On the Voronezh Front, the 5th and 6th Guards armies advanced only 4–5 km by mid-afternoon. Therefore, to build up the strike in the zone of the 5th Guards Army, the formations of the first echelon of tank armies and the 5th Guards Tank Corps were brought into battle. The entry was carried out in a narrow strip: the 1st Tank Army - 4-6 km, and the 5th Guards Tank Army - about 5 km. From the air, General Rotmistrov's formations were supported by the 291st Assault Aviation Division of General A.N. Vitruk and the 10th Fighter Aviation Corps of Colonel M.M. Smut.

Building on the success of the rifle divisions, the tank armies completed the breakthrough of the tactical defense zone, advanced units to the Tomarovka-Orlovka line, advancing 12–26 km. As a result, the Tomarovsk and Belgorod nodes of enemy resistance were disunited. In the offensive zone of the 53rd and 69th armies of the Steppe Front, the 1st Mechanized Corps entered the battle, which completed the breakthrough of the enemy's main defense zone and entered the area north of Rakov.

On the morning of August 4, the shock group of the Voronezh Front moved on to pursuit the enemy. By nine o'clock, the forward detachments of the corps of the first echelon of the 5th Guards Tank Army reached Orlovka and Kozichev. But here they were stopped by the German 6th Panzer Division, reinforced by units of other formations. The enemy, relying on a previously prepared defense along the impassable river Gostenka, put up stubborn resistance. As a result, part of the 18th Panzer Corps of General A.V. Egorov were forced to suspend the offensive. The 29th Panzer Corps of General I.F. Kirichenko. The commander of the army was forced to bring up the artillery and bring into the battle the second echelon of the army - the 5th Guards Zimovnikovsky Mechanized Corps of General B.M. Skvortsova. He was ordered to strike at Kazachev, Udy, bypassing the left flank of the enemy's 6th Panzer Division, and by the end of the day to reach the Zolochev area. But this plan remained unfulfilled, since the commander of the Voronezh Front demanded that the 5th Guards Zimovnikovsky Mechanized Corps be turned to Belgorod in order to assist the troops of the Steppe Front in capturing the city.

General Rotmistrov, left without a second echelon, urgently brought into battle his reserve (the detachment of General K.G. Trufanov), giving him the same task as the 5th Guards Zimovnikovsky Mechanized Corps. At the same time, the 18th Panzer Corps was ordered to bypass Orlovka from the north-west to Gomzino, and the 29th Panzer Corps, in cooperation with the troops of the 5th Guards Army, to destroy the enemy in the Orlovka area.

Fulfilling the assigned tasks, the 18th Panzer Corps, bypassing Orlovka from the west, by 5 pm on August 5, with the forces of the 110th Tank and 32nd Motorized Rifle Brigades, reached the Gomzino line and launched an offensive against Shchetinovka. Parts of the 29th Panzer Corps, having captured Orlovka, developed their success to the southwest. The 5th Guards Zimovnikovsky Mechanized Corps in the Greznoye area came into contact with units of the 1st Mechanized Corps. On the same day, the troops of the Steppe Front liberated Belgorod.

General Rotmistrov, in order to increase the pace of the offensive, ordered the formations of the first echelon to conduct hostilities at night. At the same time, tank brigades advancing in the second echelon of corps and, therefore, having a lower daily consumption of ammunition and fuel, moved to the first echelon by nightfall. At this time, the rear was pulled up, ammunition, fuel, tanks restored by repairmen were brought in for the withdrawn units of the first echelon. This refreshing of forces made it possible to maintain a high pace of the offensive. On the night of August 8, the 181st tank brigade of Lieutenant Colonel V.A. Puzyreva, acting as the vanguard of the 18th Panzer Corps, went through an overgrown country road to the rear of the enemy and suddenly burst into the town of Zolochev. The main forces of the corps, knocking the enemy out of Shchetinovka and Uda, came to the aid of the 181st Tank Brigade. By evening, the enemy was finally defeated and driven back from Zolochev to the southwest.

The 6th Panzer Corps of the 1st Tank Army on August 7 with a sudden blow freed Bohodukhiv, and the 5th Guards Tank Corps liberated Grayvoron, cutting off the enemy's escape routes to the west and south.

As a result of the successful actions of the troops of the Voronezh and Steppe fronts, the enemy's defense was broken through in a strip 120 km wide. The formations of the 1st Tank and 5th Guards Tank Armies advanced up to 100 km, and the combined arms armies - 60–65 km. This forced the enemy to begin advancing on the Belgorod-Kharkov axis of the Reich, Dead's Head, Viking divisions, the 3rd Panzer Division from Donbass and the Great Germany motorized division from the Oryol region.

On August 6, the representative of the Supreme Command Headquarters, Marshal G.K. Zhukov and the commander of the Steppe Front, General I.S. Konev was introduced by I.V. Stalin had a plan to defeat the enemy in the Belgorod-Kharkov direction in two stages.

At the first stage, the troops of the 53rd Army with the 1st Mechanized Corps were to advance along the Belgorod-Kharkov highway, delivering the main blow in the direction of Dergachi, reaching the Olshany-Dergachi line, where they would replace units of the 5th Guards Army. The 69th Army was entrusted with the task of advancing in the direction of Cheremoshny, mastering this locality and then go to the reserve of the Steppe Front. The formations of the 7th Guards Army were ordered to advance from the Pushkarnoye area to Brodok and Bochkovka, to seize the Cherkasskoye, Lozovoye, Tsirkuny, Klyuchkin line. Part of the forces the army was supposed to attack on Murom, Ternovaya, to help the 57th Army of the Southwestern Front cross the river. Seversky Donets near Rubizhne, Old Saltov. This army was ordered to strike in the direction of the Uncovered, state farm named after. Frunze. At the same time, it was proposed to transfer the army to the Steppe Front.

For the second stage (Kharkov operation), it was planned to transfer the 5th Guards Tank Army to the Steppe Front, which was supposed to go to the area of ​​Olshany, Staryi Merchik, Ogultsy. The operation was planned as follows. The troops of the 53rd Army, in cooperation with the 5th Guards Tank Army, were to cover Kharkov from the west and southwest. From north to south from the line of Tsirkuny, Dergachi, the 7th Guards Army was to attack, from the east from the line of the state farm im. Frunze, Rogan, covering Kharkov from the south, - the 57th Army. It was planned to deploy the troops of the 69th Army at the junction between the 5th Guards and 53rd armies in the Olshany area with the task of advancing south to support the Kharkov operation from the south. The left flank of the Voronezh Front was to be brought to the Otrada, Kolomak, Snezhkov Kut line. This task was to be carried out by the 5th Guards Army and the left flank of the 27th Army. The 1st Panzer Army was planned to be concentrated in the area of ​​Kovyagi, Alekseevka, Merefa.

At the same time, it was proposed that the forces of the Southwestern Front strike from the Zamoć region on both banks of the river. Mzha to Merefa. Part of the forces, the front was supposed to advance through Chuguev to Osnova, and also to clear the forest from the enemy south of Zamosty and reach the line Novoselovka, Okhochaya, Verkhniy Bishkin, Geevka.

For the second stage of the operation, Marshal Zhukov and General Konev asked for 35 thousand reinforcements, 200 T-34 tanks, 100 T-70 tanks and 35 KB tanks, four self-propelled artillery regiments, two engineering brigades and 190 aircraft to reinforce the troops.

Stalin approved the presented plan. By his decision, the 57th Army from 24 hours on August 8 was transferred to the Steppe Front from the South-Western Front with the task of attacking bypassing Kharkov from the south to assist the main grouping of the Steppe Front in capturing the city. The main task of the Southwestern Front is to deliver the main blow to the south in the general direction of Golaya Dolina, Krasnoarmeyskoye, defeat, in cooperation with the Southern Front, the enemy's Donbass grouping and capture the Gorlovka, Stalino (Donetsk) area. The southern front was to deliver the main blow in the general direction of Kuibyshevo, Stalino in order to connect with the shock group of the Southwestern Front. Readiness for the offensive of the Southwestern and Southern Fronts - August 13-14. Marshal Zhukov was responsible for coordinating the actions of the Voronezh and Steppe fronts, Marshal Vasilevsky for the Southwestern and Southern fronts.

The troops of the 5th Guards Tank Army, transferred to the command of the Steppe Front on August 9, began to regroup the next day in the Bogodukhov area. The main forces of the 1st Panzer Army by this time reached the r. Merchik. The troops of the 6th Guards Army entered the Krasnokutsk area, and the formations of the 5th Guards Army captured Kharkov from the west. The troops of the Steppe Front approached the outer defensive line of the city and loomed over it from the north. The formations of the 57th Army, transferred on August 8 to the Steppe Front, approached Kharkov from the southeast.

On August 10, Stalin sent Directive No. 30163 to the representative of the Supreme Command Headquarters, Marshal Zhukov, on the use of tank armies to isolate the enemy's Kharkov grouping:

“The headquarters of the Supreme High Command considers it necessary to isolate Kharkov by the earliest possible interception of the main railway and highways of communication in the directions to Poltava, Krasnograd, Lozovaya and thereby accelerate the liberation of Kharkov.

For this purpose, the 1st Tank Army of Katukov cut the main routes in the area of ​​Kovyaga, Valka, and the 5th Guards. tank army Rotmistrov, bypassing Kharkov from the south-west, cut the path in the area of ​​Merefa. "

Field Marshal E. von Manstein, seeking to eliminate the breakthrough of the Soviet troops, pulled up the 3rd Panzer Corps (about 360 tanks) to Kharkov, which he intended to use together with the Kempf task force to strike on the eastern flank of the wedged Soviet troops. “Simultaneously,” writes Manstein, “the 4th Panzer Army was to strike on the western flank with the forces of two tank divisions returned by the Center Group and one motorized division. But it was clear that these forces, and the forces of the group in general, could no longer hold the front line. "

On August 11, a counter battle took place between the 1st Tank Army and the 3rd Tank Corps of the enemy, during which he managed to stop the army's troops. On the same day, the Supreme Command Headquarters, by its directive No. 30164, ordered the commander of the Steppe Front to take all measures to ensure that the 5th Guards Tank Army, without expecting full concentration, set out along the route of Kovyagi, Valki, Novaya Vodolaga and closed the enemy's escape routes from the area Merephs. Part of the forces required to occupy the crossings on the river. Mzha on the site Sokolovo, Merefa.

On the morning of August 12, an oncoming battle broke out between the 1st Panzer Army (134 tanks) and the 3rd Panzer Corps (about 400 tanks), during which the enemy forced the army to go over to the defensive, and then pushed it 3-4 km. Units of the 5th Guards Tank Army and the 32nd Guards Rifle Corps came to the aid of the 1st Panzer Army in the middle of the day. Together they stopped the enemy. The next day, the formations of the 6th and 5th Guards armies entered the battle. With the support of front-line aviation, ground forces inflicted on the enemy big losses, and then threw it back to its original position.

After that, the troops of the 1st and 5th Guards Tank Armies went on the defensive. It was carried out in those battle formations in which they conducted offensive operations, trying to concentrate their main efforts on securing the occupied line. Therefore, the second echelons and corps reserves were located at a distance of 2-3 km from the forward edge, and then the depth of defense gradually increased. The defense was of a focal nature with the creation of a system of tank ambushes, anti-tank areas and mine-explosive obstacles. The ambushes were located in checkerboard to a depth of 2-3 km, together with subunits of machine gunners and anti-tank artillery. Anti-tank areas (an anti-tank artillery battalion or regiment in each) were created in the corps and army units in the most important sectors.

Tank armies had a one-echelon formation and rather low densities of forces and equipment. They carried out defensive operations in conjunction with the approaching rifle formations of the combined-arms armies: the 1st Tank Army with the 23rd Guards Rifle Corps of the 6th Guards Army; 5th Guards Tank Army with the 32nd Guards Rifle Corps of the 5th Guards Army.

A quick transition to the defense and its skillful conduct allowed the 5th Guards Tank Army to repel enemy counterstrikes. At the same time, she suffered small losses within three days - only 38 tanks and self-propelled guns.

On August 12, the Supreme Command Headquarters, by directive No. 10165, supplied the troops of Voronezh, Steppe and Southwestern Fronts new tasks. They are described in detail in the chapter "First Guards Tank Army". Let us only recall that the Voronezh Front was ordered to strike by the 1st Tank Army in the general direction of Valka, Novaya Vodolaga, together with the 5th Guards Tank Army, to cut off the withdrawal routes of the Kharkov grouping to the south and southwest. After its defeat and capture of the city of Kharkov, it was ordered to continue the offensive in the general direction of Poltava, Kremenchug and by August 23-24, with the main forces to reach the line of station Yareski, Poltava, (claim.) Karlovka. In the future, it was planned to go to the river. Dnieper on the Kremenchug, Orlik section, providing for the capture of river crossings by mobile units. To ensure the offensive of the strike grouping, the right wing of the front had to reach the river by 23-24 August. Psel, where to firmly gain a foothold.

Meanwhile, the enemy did not abandon his plan. After unsuccessful attempts to break through the defenses of the formations of the first echelon of the 5th Guards Tank Army, he decided to bypass it from the left flank. On August 15, units of the SS Panzer Division "Reich" broke through the defenses of the 13th Guards Rifle Division, which was defending on the left flank of the 5th Guards Tank Army, and rushed in the direction of Lozovaya, Bohodukhiv. General Rotmistrov at 10 o'clock on August 16 ordered the 53rd tank regiment (general reserve) and the artillery-anti-tank reserve of the army to move from Bogodukhov to the area south of Lozovaya. By three o'clock in the afternoon, they arrived at the designated area, took up defenses and, meeting the enemy with fire of all means, stopped his advance. The timely maneuver of reserves largely contributed to the enemy's refusal of further offensive actions in this direction.

The enemy struck a new blow on the morning of August 18 from the Akhtyrka area with the forces of two tank and two motorized divisions and a separate tank battalion equipped with Tiger and Panther tanks. They managed to break through the defenses of the 27th Army. At the same time, from the area south of Krasnokutsk, the Panzer Division "Death's Head" struck at Kaplunovka. The attempt of the commander of the Voronezh Front to defeat the enemy's Akhtyr grouping with a counterattack was unsuccessful. He managed to stop the offensive of the troops of the Voronezh Front and even in some places to press them out. After Stalin's intervention, the representative of the Supreme Command Headquarters, Marshal Zhukov, and the commander of the Voronezh Front took measures to localize the breakthrough of the enemy's Akhtyr grouping. The 4th Guards Army with the 3rd Guards Tank Corps and the 47th Army with the 3rd Guards Mechanized Corps were brought into the battle. They, in cooperation with the troops of the 27th and 6th Guards armies, the 2nd and 10th tank corps, by August 27, defeated the enemy's Akhtyr grouping and began to advance towards the Dnieper.

During these days, the 53rd Army of the Steppe Front continued to press the enemy in the Kharkov direction. The 1st Mechanized Corps started fighting for Peresechnaya, and rifle units cleared the forest north-west of Kharkov. Troops of the 69th Army began to flow around Kharkov from the north-west and west. To speed up the liberation of the city, the 5th Guards Tank Army (without the 29th Tank Corps) was transferred from Bogodukhov to the area northwest of Kharkov. Breaking down enemy resistance, units of the 18th tank and 5th guards Zimovnikovsky mechanized corps liberated Korotich by the end of the day on August 22, and tank brigades of the 57th army reached the Bezlyudovka line and further south, engulfing the enemy's Kharkov grouping from the southeast. On the night of 23 August, the storming of the city began. In the morning Kharkov was completely cleared of the enemy.

With the liberation of Kharkov, the Belgorod-Kharkov strategic offensive operation ended, and with it the entire Battle of Kursk. Their results are summarized in the chapter on the 1st Guards Tank Army.

After the completion of the Belgorod-Kharkov operation, the commander of the Steppe Front, General I.S. Konev, trying to prevent an organized withdrawal of the enemy to the Dnieper, on August 27, 1943, assigned the 5th Guards Tank Army, together with the 5th Guards Army, to push the enemy back from Kharkov to the southwest. By this time, in the formations of the 5th Guards Tank Army, there were only 66 serviceable tanks, which was 12% of their initial strength. Corps headquarters had a staffing of officers that did not exceed 30–35%, almost 85% of company and battalion commanders were out of action.

Under these conditions, General P.A. Rotmistrov decided to equip the remaining tanks and personnel with one brigade in each corps, reinforce them with artillery means and combine them into a consolidated army detachment under the command of General B.M. Skvortsov - Commander of the 5th Guards Zimovnikovsky Mechanized Corps. The rest of the composition was withdrawn to the concentration area to complete and restore the combat capability of the units.

From the book The Battle of Berlin. Collection of memories the author Rokossovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich

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