1st Guards Tank Army, military unit 73621
(Moscow Region, Odintsovo District, Bakovka settlement)

The 1st Guards Tank Army (in 1942-1944 - the 1st Tank Army) is one of the most illustrious units of the ground forces of the USSR that participated in the Great Patriotic War. The first guards tank army traces its history to the first tank army - participants in the Battle of Kursk, Zhytomyr-Berdychiv, Proskurov-Chernivtsi and Lviv-Sandomir offensive operations. For outstanding military services in April 1944, the army was transformed into the 1st Guards Tank Army. Commander of the 1st GVTA - M.E. Katukov, member of the Military Council - N.K. Popel, chief of staff - M.A. Shalin.

The 1st Guards Tank Army was transformed by Order No. 0016 of April 25, 1944 from the 1st Tank Army (II form.) As part of the 1st Ukrainian Font . As of May 1, 1944, the 8th Guards Army was part of the army. mechanized, 11th Panzer Corps, 45th Guards Tank Brigade. July 13 - August 29, 1944 - participation of the 1st Guards., 3rd Guards. and 4th Panzer Army in the Lviv-Sandomierz offensive operation. In the Lviv-Sandomierz strategic operation (July 13 - August 29, 1944), its troops traveled about 400 km during 35-day continuous battles, in collaboration with the formations of the 3rd Guards Tank Army , the 13th Army and the 1st Guards the cavalry corps captured the cities of Przemysl and Yaroslav (July 27). In August, fights were held to maintain and expand the Sandomierz bridgehead.

August 20, 1944 - 1st Guards. tank army withdrawn to the second echelon of the 1st Ukrainian Front. On August 29, 1944, the Directive of the General Staff of the KA No. 29580 on sending to the reserve of the Headquarters of the Supreme Aviation Command a campaign of the 1st Guards. tank army in the 11th Guards. tank, 8th guards. mechanized corps and 64th det. a tank brigade with all army reinforcement units and rear units by September 10 in the Nemirov area. Since September 7, 1944, the army was withdrawn to the reserve of the Supreme High Command and concentrated in the Nemyrów region. November 22, temporarily included in the 1st Belorussian Front , March 8, 1945 - reassigned to the 2nd Belorussian Front , March 28 - re-entered the 1st Belorussian Front.

November 21, 1944 Directive of the General Staff of the KA No. 297876 on the dispatch of the 1st Guards from November 25 to 29 a tank army in its entirety by campaign, with the exception of tanks and self-propelled guns, to the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front in the Lublin area. January 14 - February 3, 1945 - participation of the 1st Guards. and 2nd guards. tank armies in the Warsaw-Poznan offensive operation. The army was especially successful in the Warsaw-Poznan operation (January 14 - February 3, 1945). During the operation, its troops marched up to 500 km in battle for 18 days, broke through 7 defensive lines, crossed the rivers Pilitsa, Warta, Oder on the move, liberated hundreds of Polish cities and villages.

February 10 - April 4, 1945 - participation of the 1st Guards. and 2nd guards. tank armies in the East Pomeranian strategic offensive operation. The army was especially successful in the Warsaw-Poznan operation (January 14 - February 3, 1945). During the operation, its troops marched up to 500 km in battle for 18 days, broke through 7 defensive lines, crossed the rivers Pilitsa, Warta, Oder on the move, liberated hundreds of Polish cities and villages.

May 29, 1945 VGK Headquarters Directive No. 11095 to the commander of the 1st Belorussian Front on renaming the front into the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (the group included, along with combined arms armies, the 1st and 2nd Guards Tank Armies) ; Directive No. 11096 of the High Command Headquarters on renaming the 1st Ukrainian Front as the Central Group of Forces (the 3rd and 4th Guards Tank Armies, along with the combined-arms armies, were included in the group).

After the end of the Great Patriotic War, the 1st Guards tank army, which was now called mechanized, remained on German territory, joining the Group of Soviet occupation forces in Germany. All formations and units of the 1st Guards Tank Army were awarded orders, most of them were awarded honorary titles. Over 80 thousand soldiers of the army were awarded orders and medals, 117 of them became Heroes of the Soviet Union. M.E. Katukov, I.N. Boyko and I.I. Gusakovsky was awarded this title twice.

Until 1947, it was commanded by the general (since 1959, Marshal of the armored forces) Mikhail Katukov. From 1945 to 1993, the army was in East Germany, the headquarters was deployed in Dresden. In 1968, it, along with the 11th Guards Tank and 20th Guards Motor Rifle Divisions, took part in the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, but then immediately returned to their respective garrisons. In the late 1980s the Army included the 20th Guards Motor Rifle Division, 9th Tank Division, and 11th Guards Tank Division. The headquarters was withdrawn to Smolensk, in the Moscow Military District in the early 1990s, and lost the ‘Tank’ from its title in 1995. In its last period within the Russian Army it comprised the 4th Guards ‘Kantemir’ Tank Division and the 144th Motor Rifle Division (which had been withdrawn from Tallinn in Estonia). The army was phased out in Smolensk and disbanded by 1999.