Guards armies were the largest Guards formations. They were command units, controlling the operations of smaller units, which often, but not always, were Guards units. The Guards armies often were used as elite assault forces in offensives and would be heavily reinforced at these times with tank and artillery formations, Armies aren't represented directly in SE, except as markers for stacking.

GUARDS COMBINED ARMS ARMIES

A combined arms army was an all-purpose army, composed of arms from all branches of the service. Guards combined arms armies mostly arose from regular armies that distinguished themselves in the Stalingrad campaign. The core of a combined arms arnry was its rifle formations, which would be supported by tank, artillery, engineer, and other arms as needed. For example, in the attack on Army Group Center in 1944, the reinforced 6th Guards Army consisted of the units shown on the 6th Guards Army Table.

6th Guards Army Chart

6 Gds XXXX
2 Gds Rifle XXX
22 Gds Rifle XXX
23 Gds Rifle XXX
103 Rifle XXX
8 Gun Art XX
21 Breakthrough Art XX
2 Gds Mortar XX
39 Antiaircraft Art XX
46 Antiaircraft Art XX
34 Gds Tank X
143 Tank X
4 Gun Art X
45 Tank Destroyer X
10 Assault Eng Sapper X
29 Engineer Sapper X
2 Gds Tank III
47 Tank III
333 Gds SP Arty III
335 Gds SP Arty III
64 Howitzer Art III
283 Howitzer Art III
38 Gds Corps Art III
496 Tank Destroyer III
295 Mortar III
408 Mortar III
22 Gds Mortar III
99 Gds Mortar III
1487 Antiaircraft Art III

Additional information on the eleven Guards combined arms armies appears in the Guards Combined Arms Army Chart.

XXXX	Date	Notes
1	8.42	ex 2 Reserve XXXX and 5 Gds Rifle XXX 1 fought in the Stalingrad area
	10.42	became 24 XXXX 2
	11.42	reformed, ex 63 XXXX; fought in Stalingrad area
	5.12.42	redesignated 3 Gds XXXX
	12.42	reformed, ex 4 Reserve XXXX and Gds in SW Front
	42-45	fought in southern Russia, Ukraine, Czechoslovakia
	Cmdrs	F.I. Golikov, K.S. Moskalenko, I.M. Chistyakov, D.D. Lelyushenko, V. 1. Kuznetsov, A.A. Grechko
2	10.42	ex 1 Reserve XXXX and three Gds corps
	42-45	fought in southern Russia, Ukraine, Crimea, Baltic, & East Prussia
	Cmdrs	Ya.G. Kreyzer, R.Ya. Malinovskiy, G.F. Zakharov, P.G. Chanchibadze
3	5.12.42	formed from 1 Gds XXXX
	42-45	fought in southern Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, & Czechoslovakia
	Cmdrs	D.D. Lelyushenko, G.I. Khetagurov, D.I. Ryabyshev, V.N. Gordov
4	16.04.43	formed from 24 XXXX
	43-45	fought at Kursk, Ukraine, Rum., Hungary, & Aust.
	Cmdrs	G.I. Kulik, A.I. Zygin, LV. Galanin, A.I. Ryzhov, I.K. Smirov, G.F. Zakharov, N.D. Zakhvataev
5	16.04.43	formed from 66 XXXX
	43-45	fought at Kursk, Ukarine, Poland, Germ., & Czech.
	Cmdrs	A.S. Zhadov
6	16.04.43	formed from 21 XXXX
	43-45	fought at Kursk, Baltic region, Belorussia & Baltic.
	Cmdrs	I.M. Chistyakov
7	16.04.43	formed from 64 XXXX
	43-45	fought at Kursk, Ukraijne, Rum., Hun., & Czech.
	Cmdrs	M.S. Shumilov
8	16.04.43	formed from 62 XXXX
	43-45	fought in Ukraine, Belorussia, Poland, & Germany
	Cmdrs	V.I. Chuykov
9	1.45	formed from 7 XXXX and various Gds Abn XX 3
	45	fought in Hungary and Czechoslovakia
	Cmdrs	V.V. Glagolev
10	16.04.43	formed from 30 XXXX
	43-45	fought in Smolensk and Baltic regions
	Cmdrs	V.Ya. Kolpakchi, K.P. Trubinkov, A.V. Sukhomlin M.I. Kazakov
11	16.04.43	formed from 16 XXX
	43-45	fought at Kursk, in Belorrussia and East Prussia
	Cmdrs	I.Kh. Bagramyan, A.S. Ksenofontov, K.N. Galitakiy
Notes: 1 2 Reserve XXXX had no prior combat experience but received 5 Gds Rifle XXX and became 1 Gds XXXX to spearhead a summer counterattack to take the pressure off Stalingrad. 2 1 Gds XXXX had a somewhat rocky start. After heavy combat in the Stalingrad area, it was no longer an assualt formation and was downgraded to non-Guards status. 3 9 Gds XXXX was formed out of sequence, after 10 and 11 Gds XXXXs. The Soviets, needing more and good troops at the front, decided to use their reserve Guards airborne troops, and selected 7 XXXX HQ, on the non-inactive Finnish theater, to control them. Since its troops were Guards, the army HQ became Guards.



GUARDS TANK ARMIES

Guards tank armies were command headquarters that controlled two or three tank or mechanized corps, plus other forces as needed. Formed from regular tank armies, the units weren't renumbered when they became Guards, unlike other formations. Instead, they retained their original numbers and simply added Guards to their designations. Because of this, the Guards tank armies weren't formed in numerical sequence. The Soviets formed six regular tank armies during the war, and all became Guards before the final defeat of Germany.

A tank army usually controlled two or three tank or mechanized corps, plus other assets as needed. For example, in the attack on Army Group Center in 1944, the 5th Guards Tank Army was made up of the units listed on the 5th Guards Tank Army Table.

5th Guards Tank Army Chart

5 Gds XXXX
3 Gds Tank XXX
29 Tank XXX
6 Antiaircraft Art XX
1 4 Gds Tank III
678 Howitzer Art III
689 Tank Destroyer III
76 Gds Mortar III
1 Gds Motocycle 11
37 Separate Engineer 11

For more data on the six tank armies, consult the Guards Tank Army Chart at the top of the next two columns.

GUARDS GROUPS

In Soviet practice, a group usually was a command headquarters controlling forces intermediate in size between those of a corps and an army. A group was usually only a temporary unit, formed for the needs of the moment, rather than a permanent unit. In the crisis of 1941, several groups were formed, controlling various rifle divisions and other forces. These were quickly disbanded or absorbed by armies when the crisis passed.

In 1943 and 1944, the Soviets occasionally formed cavalry and mechanized corps into groups, usually for specific operations. In theory, the group would benefit from the strengths of both arms (cavalry and mechanized). In practice, they had mixed success, albeit much better than any other nation that tried mixing tanks and horses. (As always, the cavalry would lose the tanks in swampy terrain and would be left far behind the tanks in areas with adequate roads.) All cavalry- mechanized groups were temporary HQs, except the 1st Guards, which achieved permanent status.

A cavalry-mechanized group consisted of one or two cavalry corps and one tank or mech corps. For example, the cavalry-mechanized group of the 1st Belorussian Front in Operation Bagration (1944) consisted of the forces shown in the Cavalry-Mechanized Group Table.

Cavalry-Mechanized Group

4 Gds Cav XXX
1 Mech XXX

Guards Cavalry-Mechanized Group

1: 1944 or 1945: ex Pliev Cav-Mech Group; fought in Rernania and Hungary

Groups aren't represented directly in Scorched Earth.

XXXX	Date	Notes
1	25.04.44	formed from 1 Tank XXXX
	10-42	became 24 XXXX 2
	44-45	fought in Ukraine, Poland, and Germany
Cmdr	M.E. Katukov
2	20.11.44	formed from 2 Tank XXXX
	44-45	fought in Poland and Germany
	Cmdrs	S.I. Bogdanov, A.I. Radzievskiy
3	5.43	officially a new formation; in practical effect formed from 3 Tank XXXX 1
	43-45	fought at Kursk, Ukraine, Poland, Germany & Czech
	Cmdr	P.B. Rybalko
4	17.03.45	formed from 4 Tank XXXX
	45	fought in Germany and Czechoslovakia
	Cmdr	D.D. Lelyushenko
5	2-3.43	officially a new formation; in practical effect formed from 5 Tank XXXX 2
	43-45	fought at Kursk, Ukraine, Belorussia, Baltic region and East Prussia
	Cmdrs	P.A. Rotmistrov, M.D. Solomatin, V.T. Volskiy, M.D. Sinenko
6	12.09.44	formed from 6 Tank XXXX
	44-45	fought in Hungary and Czechoslovakia
	Cmdr	A.G. Kravchenko
Notes: 1 3 Tank XXXX detached its tank forces and became 57 XXXX in the spring of 1943 following heavy fighting in the Kharkov region, while a 3 Gds Tank XXXX was formed in reserve and received tank forces. The commander of 3 Tank XXXX, P.S. Rybalko, became commander of the new 3 Gds Tank XXXX and not 57 XXXX. 2 5 Tank XXXX detached its tank forces and disbanded 4.43 following heavy fighting in southern Russia and the Ukraine, while a 5 Gds Tank XXXX was formed in reserve and received tank forces.

More WWII Soviet Guard Units: Part I

Introduction and History
Guards Armies and Groups
Guards Corps

More Soviet Guards: Part II

Introduction and Errata
Guards Divisions
Guards Brigades
Other Guards