8th Combined Arms Army ( Rostowski Region, Novocherkassk)

The 8th Guards Order of Lenin Army - the guards formation of the Red Army, which participated in the Great Patriotic War, in the post-war period - the Soviet Army (until 1991) and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (1991-1992) as part of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany and the Western Group of Forces (GSOVG , GSVG, ZGV).

The 8th Guards Army was formed as part of the South-Western Front on May 5, 1943 on the basis of the directive of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command of April 16, 1943, by converting from the 62nd Army in connection with the assignment of an honorary title - “Guards” for valor and mass heroism in the Battle of Stalingrad and the new military number "8". During the reorganization and understaffing, the army was deployed in the area of ??the cities of Kupyansk, Kharkov region and Svatovo, Luhansk region of the Ukrainian SSR.

After the formation, the army troops defended along the right bank of the Seversky Donets river, north of Slavyansk, participated in the Izyum-Barvenkovsky offensive operation (July 17-27, 1943), and in the Donbass strategic offensive operation (August 13 - September 22, 1943). Developing the offensive in the direction of the Dnieper, army units in cooperation with other troops of the Southwestern Front liberated the city of Zaporozhye (October 14, 1943), crossed the Dnieper south of Dnepropetrovsk and took possession of the bridgehead on its right bank. By this time, the army was in command, 28, 29 and 4 guards rifle corps.

On October 20, 1943, the army was included in the 3rd Ukrainian Front. In November, her troops launched an offensive in the Kryvyi Rih direction, then they defended north of the city of Nikopol. In the winter and spring of 1943, the army participated in the defeat of Nazi troops on Right-Bank Ukraine, advancing in the direction of the main front attack in Nikopol-Krivorozhskaya (January 30 - February 29), Bereznegovato-Snigirevskaya (March 6 - 18) and Odessa operations (March 26) - 14th of April).

On April 10, the 8th Guards Army, in cooperation with formations of the 5th shock, 6 armies liberated Odessa and went to the Dniester estuary. On June 8, 1944, the army was withdrawn to the reserve of the Supreme Command. On June 15, she was included in the combat structure of the 1st Belorussian Front and advanced to the Kovel direction. In July - August 1944, army formations crossed the Western Bug during the Lublin-Brest operation (July 18 – August 2) and participated in the liberation of Lublin (July 24). Then her troops crossed the Vistula (south of Warsaw) and took possession of the Magnushevsky bridgehead. The defense of the bridgehead lasted until mid-January 1945. In the winter of 1945, army troops took part in the Wislo-Oder strategic operation (January 12 – February 3) and liberated ?ód ?????? (January 19).

Army formations crossed the Oder on the move, developing the offensive, on February 23, 1945, in collaboration with the 69th and 1st Guards Tank armies, they stormed the blocked fortress city of Poznan, on March 12, in collaboration with the troops of the 5th shock army and the forces of the Dnieper military flotilla, captured the city, and on March 30 - Kustrin fortress.

The 8th Guards Army completed the battle route by participating in the Berlin strategic operation (April 16 - May 8, 1945). For the valor shown in the battles during the liberation of Poland and Germany, all the rifle and artillery regiments of the rifle divisions of the army were given the honorary names: "Berlin"; Gnieznensky; "Pomeranian"; "Poznan", "Lublin", "Demblinsky". All directorates of the army rifle corps received honorary names - the 4th Guards Rifle Corps became the "Brandenburg", the 28th Guards Rifle Corps became the "Lublin", and the 29th Guards Rifle Corps became the "Lodz".

At the end of the Great Patriotic War, according to the Directive of the Supreme Command of the Supreme High Command of May 29, 1945, the 8th Guards Army is part of the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (since 1954 - the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany). The army headquarters was initially located in Jena, from July 1945 until the end of 1945 in Weimar, and from January 1946 until the moment of withdrawal from Germany in the 1990s in the city of Nora.

The consolidated company of the 8th Guards Army took part in the Victory Parade in Moscow on June 24, 1945. The acquisition of the combined company of the army and its preparation for the parade began on May 16, 1945. The consolidated company was prepared by the deputy commander of the 101st Guards Rifle Regiment of the 35th Guards Rifle Division of the Guard, Captain V.I. Varennikov. 6 ranks were preparing for the parade, 10 people each. On the 20th of May, the consolidated company as part of the consolidated regiment 1 of the Belarusian Front arrived in Moscow. On June 20, 1945, the Victory Banner was delivered to Moscow from Berlin by plane Li-2. The guard of honor at the meeting of the Banner was appointed from the consolidated company of the 8th Guards Army, which was led by the captain V.I. Varennikov.

The 20th Guards Motorized Rifle Carpathian - Berlin Red Banner Order of the Suvorov Division (which was part of the army from 1964 to 1983), from May 15 to November 5, 1968 participated in the Danube operation in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. For this period, she was promptly subordinated to the 1st Guards Tank Army. On August 20, 1968, units of the division crossed the border of the German Democratic Republic and Czechoslovakia and, on August 21, took up their area of ??responsibility on the western border of Czechoslovakia near the town of Bor. By order of the Minister of Defense of the USSR of October 17, 1968, gratitude was expressed for the exemplary fulfillment of the command and international duty to assist the working people of Czechoslovakia in the fight against counter-revolutionary elements and the courage and courage shown to all members of the division — participants in the Danube operation.

The 8th Guards Army was one of the largest military associations of the USSR Armed Forces and performed the most complex tasks. The distance from the locations of the army divisions to the border with the FRG was about 5 kilometers. The army controlled the Fulda corridor - a site that was considered a likely adversary, one of the most important. From the FRG side, opposite the positions of the 8th Guards Army, there were 5th and 7th Corps of the US Army from the Central Army Group of NATO. The number of the 8th Guards Army was about 90 thousand people. Intense combat training of the troops was around the clock.

By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on February 22, 1968, for the great merits shown in the battles to defend the Soviet Motherland, successes in military and political training and in connection with the 50th anniversary of the Soviet Army and Navy, the 8th Guards Army was awarded the Order of Lenin.

After the reunification of Germany in 1990, with the signing on September 12, 1990 by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany, the German Democratic Republic, the USSR, the United States, France and Great Britain of the "Agreement on the final settlement of Germany", the stay of Soviet troops in the territory of a united Germany - the Federal Republic of Germany began to be defined as temporary , and their systematic conclusion was to be implemented by the end of 1994.

The withdrawal of military units that were part of the army began in 1991 and came at a difficult time in the history of the country - the period of the Emergency Committee and the collapse of the USSR. Most of the units that were part of the army were disbanded.

The 8th Guards Army was withdrawn to Volgograd in 1992, reorganized into the 8th Guards Army Corps, which was then disbanded. In 1994-1996, formations and military units of the corps participated in restoring the constitutional order in the Chechen Republic, and the personnel bravery, courage and heroism. The Guards Banner, the Diploma of the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces, the Order of Lenin and the Order Book of the Army are in the Central Museum of the Armed Forces in Moscow.

Of the servicemen who served in the 8th Guards Army, two people became twice Heroes of the Soviet Union (Chuikov Vasily Ivanovich and Glazunov Vasily Afanasevich), 183 soldiers of the 8th Guards Army during the Great Patriotic War were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, 25 people became holders of the Order of Glory 3 degrees, thousands were awarded military orders and medals, 6 Heroes of the Soviet Union were forever enlisted in the lists of personnel of army units. The heroes of the Russian Federation were two servicemen (Colonel General V.V. Bulgakov and R.A. Major Shadrin) of the 8th Army Corps for the courage and heroism shown in the hostilities in the North Caucasus.

On March 1, 2017, the 8th combined arms army of the Southern Military District was recreated. The 8 Army include the famous 150th motorized rifle Idritsko-Berlin Order of Kutuzov II degree division famous for arming A. Berest of the assault flag of 150 divisions on the Reichstag dome and 20 separate guards motorized rifle Prikarpatsky-Berlin Red Banner Orders of Suvorov II degree motorized infantry successfully.

The latest educational and material base, equipment and capabilities of the Kuzminsky and Kadamovsky training grounds in the Rostov Region allow military personnel to improve their level of combat training, as well as conduct exercises of various sizes. The army is armed with modern models of military equipment T-72B3, infantry fighting vehicles BMP-3, armored personnel carriers and other military equipment.

Since 2017, the association was commanded by Lieutenant General Sergey Kuzovlev. In December 2018, in order to implement the draft Decree of the President of the Russian Federation “On the Combat Banner of the military unit” of the 8th combined arms army, which distinguished itself in the performance of combat missions, a new standard Combat Banner was presented.

In December 2018, in order to implement the Decree, the President of the Russian Federation of the 8th Guards Combined Arms Army was awarded the Banner of a new sample.