6th Guard Army (Red Army)

The 6th Army of the Guard ( Russian 6-я гвардейская армия ) was a major unit of the Red Army in World War II , which was deployed in the Battle of Kursk in 1943, in Operation Bagration in the central section ( Belarus ) of the Eastern Front in 1944 and in the Baltic States at the end of the war .

history

1943

As a result of the Red Army's offensive in the winter of 1942/43, the lines of the Soviet front were widened considerably to the west in the central section. At the end of April 1943, the troops on the Voronezh Front were ready to continue the offensive. The 6th Guard Army arose from the renaming of the formations of the 21st Army into newly numbered Guard Divisions and was activated on April 22, 1943 according to the Stawka directive of April 16 at the Voronezh Front. Lieutenant General Ivan Chistyakov remained at the head of the army command .

The new Guards Army comprised the 22nd and 23rd Guards Rifle Corps, which were assigned to the 51st, 52nd, 67th, 71st, 89th and 90th Guards Rifle Divisions.

The line of defense of the 6th Guard Army in the area north of Belgorod was 64 km wide and 35–40 km deep. The main line of defense was created in anticipation of the German counterattack, three heavily fortified defensive positions. The German General Staff developed for Operation Citadel a plan of attack, in which the German 9th Army Kursk from the north and the 4th Panzer Army (opposite the 6th Guards Army) from the south to Oboyan the salient of Kursk should split.

On the orders of the Commander of the Voronezh Front, Army General Nikolai F. Watutin , the 6th Guard Army was reinforced by two tank brigades, three separate tank regiments, ten anti-tank artillery regiments, and mortar units. Particular attention was paid to the organization of anti-tank defense, which was organized into battalion units, including artillery, tank and self-propelled guns. At the same time as the defense was set up, intensive combat training was carried out for the troops, which was carried out on specially equipped training fields that were only six to seven kilometers behind the front line.

Kursker, Belgoroder and Neweler operations

At the beginning of July, the commanders of the Central and Voronezh Fronts were informed by the Stawka secret service that the German offensive against the Kursk Arch would be expected between July 3rd and 6th. The 22nd and 23rd Guards Rifle Corps were put on alert, the 89th Guards Rifle Division remained directly under the command of the army as a reserve.

Army organization on July 1, 1943

22nd Guards Rifle Corps under Major General NB Ibjanski with 61st, 71st and 90th Guards Rifle Divisions
23rd Guards Rifle Corps under Major General PP Wachramejew with 51st and 52nd Guards and 375th Rifle Divisions, reserve: 89th Guards Rifle Division
27th Cannon Artillery Brigade
96th Armored Brigade
230th and 245th separate tank regiments

By July 3, the 6th Guards Army reliably determined that in the area northwest of Belgorod the German XXXXVIII. Panzer Corps with the 3rd and 11th Panzer Divisions and the 167th Infantry Division were used opposite the Soviet positions. In addition, the II. SS Panzer Corps with the divisions - Das Reich , Adolf Hitler and Totenkopf had been identified behind it . On July 4th at 4:00 p.m., 75 bombers accompanied by 27 fighters bombed the front of the 22nd Guards Rifle Corps in the Tomarowka area with heavy bombs. Within 10 minutes, approximately 2,500 bombs were dropped on a 1 km front occupied by the 67th Guards Division. The German offensive began on July 5, 1943, after fierce fighting it was possible to penetrate about 6-7 km deep into the Soviet positions to the north. On July 9th, the 6th Guards Army was able to hold the line of villages from Shepelevka, Berezovka, Kalinovka to Ilyinsky with the help of the formations of the 1st Panzer Army ( Katukow ) that had been pulled forward . On the morning of July 10th, the Germans repeated their attacks, after heavy fighting against the 90th Guards Rifle Division and parts of the 6th Panzer Corps (Lieutenant General AL Getman ) the German troops managed to advance another 1.5 km. The attempt to break through towards Kruglik, but failed. The 52nd Guards Rifle Division and General Katukov's armored units repelled all attacks attempting to cross the Psel River . The continuation of the German offensive on Obojan began to falter. On July 12, the German troops moved the main strike further east to Prokhorovka , where the Soviet 5th Guards Panzer Army was used as reinforcement and suffered heavy losses. On this day the troops of the 5th Guards Army started an effective flank attack southwest of Prokhorovka against the right flank of the German shock wedge. The following attempts to break into various sections of the front of the 6th Guard Army on July 13, 14 and 15 were unsuccessful. On the evening of July 15, the German troops had to go into defense because of the effects of the Soviet Oryol operation . On the morning of July 19, the troops of the 6th Guard Army launched a counterattack on the enemy, who was already retreating. Fierce fighting raged for two days; on July 23, the Soviet troops reached the line they had occupied before the German offensive.

In the main direction of attack of the following Belgorod-Kharkov operation , the 6th Guard Army concentrated up to 220 artillery pieces and 70 tanks per kilometer of the front. The armed forces operating in the south of the Kursk promontory stood in the area west of Butowo to Tririchnoye and were supposed to force the breakthrough to Akhtyrka via Tomarowka and Borisowka . On August 3 at 8:00 a.m., after three hours of artillery preparation and air strikes, Soviet troops attacked the enemy. In the first meeting of the 6th Guards Army, the 67th and 71st Guards Rifle Divisions (22nd Guards Rifle Corps) and the 51st and 52nd Guards Divisions (23rd Guards Corps) followed in the second meeting followed by the 90th Guards and Guards the 309th Rifle Division. Almost three hours after the attack began, the strike groups of the 5th and 6th Guard Army broke through the enemy defenses and large tank formations streamed into the 15-kilometer-wide gap in the front. On the evening of August 3, parts of the first season were replaced by the second meeting. On August 4th and 5th, persistent fighting ensued over the fortified town of Tomarowka, which was completely liberated together with units of the 5th Guard Army on the morning of August 6th. Units of the 51st Guards Rifle Division conquered the village of Moschcheni in cooperation with units of the 1st Panzer Army. On August 6, the superior strength of the Soviet 6th and 5th Guards Army, the 27th Field Army and 1st Panzer Army overwhelmed the German defense in the Borisovka sector. On August 18th, a German counterattack started which on August 20th temporarily cut off two Soviet tank corps and large parts of the 6th Guard and 27th Army . The inadequate infantry forces of the Germans did not manage to completely seal off this cauldron, which is why large parts of the Soviet units were able to break out and withdraw. Until August 28, the 6th Guards, together with units of the 1st Panzer Army, concentrated up to 400 tanks west and south of Bogoduchow for a counter-attack. In pursuit, the Soviet troops advanced about 80 km deep by the end of August and retook Bogoduchow . The army occupied Parchomowka, Lyubimowka and Kachalowka, three rifle divisions that led a counterattack from the Akhtyrka region, surrounded German troops in the area Bogoduchow, Kotelwa , Kolontajew and Akhtyrka and pushed on towards Poltava .

At the end of September, the 6th Guards Army was transferred to the reserves of the headquarters of the High Command and then moved northwest to the area of the Toropez region . After marching into the Newel region , army troops occupied a line of defense northwest of the city. On the right were the troops of the 22nd Army , the left neighbor was the 3rd Shock Army . An offensive in the area north of Newel was prepared for the troops of the 6th Guards Army. To the northwest of Newel was a 15 to 20 km wide corridor controlled by Soviet artillery and mortar fire. On October 15, 1943, the 6th Guard Army became part of the Baltic Front and consisted of the following formations:

23rd Guards Rifle Corps under Major General BV Kolchigin
97th Rifle Corps under Lieutenant General JD Chanyzhev
96th Rifle Corps under Major General MM Busarov
98th Rifle Corps under Lieutenant General GI Anisimow
Rifle divisions: 281st, 207th, 32nd, 81st, 56th, 122nd and 218th

On December 24, 1943, the troops of the 1st Baltic Front , which led the offensive south of Newel, advanced 80 kilometers. Gorodok was reached from the east and the Vitebsk - Polotsk railway was interrupted. The 6th Guards Army tried to break through the enemy defense northwest of Newel and expand the offensive via Novosokolniki in a northwestern direction.

Army organization on January 1, 1944

20th and 27th Artillery Breakthrough Divisions
2nd Guards Rifle Corps (9th and 90th Guards and 166th Rifle Divisions)
23rd Guards Rifle Corps (51st, 67th and 71st Guards Rifle Divisions)
96th Rifle Corps (185th and 200th Rifle Divisions)
97th Rifle Corps (165th, 282nd and 379th Rifle Divisions)
98th Rifle Corps (52nd Guards and 150th Rifle Divisions)
38th Guards Tank Brigade
3rd, 27th and 30th Guards Panzer Regiment
32nd, 38th, and 65th separate tank regiments

On the morning of January 1, 1944, the troops of the 96th Rifle Corps went on the offensive after the artillery preparation; attacks by the 97th and 98th Rifle Corps began simultaneously on the right wing. The army's strike group consisted of 1,014 artillery pieces and mortars, on the 5.5 km wide main attack section the density of artillery was 184 artillery pieces per kilometer of front. The main role in the breakthrough was assigned to the artillery division under Lieutenant General GA Makarov. The 282nd and 379th Rifle Divisions reached the Grishino - Koschemjakino - Zarechje line. The attack by the 23rd Guards Rifle Corps, planned for the morning of January 2, was canceled because it was feared that the attacking units would immediately suffer heavy losses in daylight. The next attack was due to begin on the night of January 3rd. The command of the 23rd Guards Rifle Corps led the main forces of the 52nd Guards Division (Colonel NK Smirnow) into battle, which was supposed to bypass the German positions on the north bank in a night attack over the ice of Lake Karatai. At 5 p.m. after 30 minutes of artillery preparation, the 51st Guards Rifle Division (Major General SW Chernikov) reached Lake Maly Ivan, until 11 p.m. the regiments were entrenched on the north bank of the Maly Ivan and on the northeast bank of the Bolshoi Ivan. The advance that went directly over the ice of Lake Karatai captured the village of Lobachevo. After four days of fighting, the 6th Guards Army advanced about 10 and 30 km deep in the north and northwest, as a result the railway junction Newel was liberated and the railway line to Velikiye Luki was reached.

At the end of January 1944, the 6th Guards Army took part in the Leningrad-Novgorod operation and contributed to the removal of the German blockade of the city on the Neva . Army troops covered the offensive south of the 22nd Army by slowly advancing west towards Novosokolniki . After intense fighting, the army units moved from the area northwest of Newel in March. On the orders of Army General Baghramjan , the 6th Guards Army surrendered its positions to the 22nd Army and marched 40 kilometers to the forest area northeast of Vitebsk , where the troops were to prepare for offensive operations in Belarus . On February 7, 1944, the 6th Guard Army was subordinated to the 2nd Baltic Front .

Vitebsk and Polotsker operation

On May 27, 1944, the 6th Guard Army was transferred to the 1st Baltic Front . For the summer offensive in Belarus , the western Daugava should be reached and a bridgehead should be formed on the left bank, from which the further offensive should then follow. In front of the front, units of the German IX. the 3rd Panzer Army found. The 6th Guard Army took part in Operation Bagration from June 22nd with over 2485 artillery pieces and mortars, 120 tanks, 50 self-propelled guns and 160 anti-aircraft guns :

22nd Guards Rifle Corps, Major General AI Rutschkin with 47th, 51st Rifle Divisions and 90th Guards Divisions
23rd Guards Rifle Corps, Lieutenant General AI Yermakov with 71st and 67th Guards Rifle Divisions
103rd Rifle Corps, Major General Ivan Fyodorowitsch Fedjunkin with 29th and 270th Rifle Divisions
2nd Guards Rifle Corps, Lieutenant General AS Ksenofontow with 9th Guards Rifle Division and 166th Rifle Division
34th Guards and 143rd Panzer Brigades
2nd Guards, 47th and 119th separate tank regiments
Reserve: 179th, 200th and 306th Rifle Divisions

On the night of June 22, 1944, 16 attack battalions moved into the starting position on the orders of the Army Commander. 131 cannons were concentrated on one kilometer of the front for the 20-minute fire. On the right side of the army, units of the 22nd Guards Rifle Corps broke through several enemy positions, after this success six attack battalions were brought into battle near Sirotino, which were able to penetrate 4 to 6 km deep into the hinterland of the enemy defense by the evening of the day. On June 23, the army continued the offensive. In front of the zone of the neighboring 43rd Army and among the left-wing units of the 6th Guard Army, violent fighting took place in front of the fortified town of Schumilino. Major General IP Sivakov, on the orders of the army commander, circumvented the point from the north and west with his 71st Guard Division, which enabled the 43rd Army to take Shumilino. Meanwhile parts of the 67th Guards Division (Major General AI Baksow) have broken the German resistance and cut the railway line between Vitebsk and Polotsk. On the morning of June 24th, units of the 6th Guards Army approached after heavy fighting near Ulla of the western Daugava. At 7 p.m., the 51st Guards Rifle Division (Major General SW Chernikov) crossed the river first. On the same day, other units of the 22nd Guards Rifle Corps reached the western Daugava and began the river crossing with improvised means. During June 25th the other wing of the army advanced towards the town of Besenkovichi , where together with the 43rd Army the complete encirclement of the German LIII. Army Corps in Vitebsk was reached. In order to protect the left flank from possible counter-attacks and to accelerate the liberation of Beschenkowitschi, the 46th Guards Division (Colonel KA Wasiljew) from the second season was introduced into the battle. Together with the 71st Guards Rifle Division, these units reached the eastern outskirts of the Beschenkowitschi and liberated the city. In the following days the right wing (22nd Guards Rifle Corps) advanced along the railroad to Polotsk. On June 26, the 47th Rifle Division took control of the Obol train station, the 90th Guards Division (Major General WB Vlasow) occupied Obol and the 51st Guards Rifle Division protected the army's right flank from possible threats Flank attacks. In six days of fighting, the troops of the 6th Guard Army broke through the enemy positions, crossed the western Daugava and advanced to a depth of 110 km. On the orders of the Commander-in-Chief, the 51st, 67th, 71st, 90th Guards and 51st Rifle Divisions were given the addition of "Vitebsk" Division for their success.

Polotsk was of the utmost importance as a junction for the railway and as a road. With access to the left bank of the western Dvina and as a result of the rapid Soviet advance in west and north-west direction, the supply routes were extended to 120 to 150 km, which worsened the supply of ammunition and food. In addition to the 4th shock army , the liberation of Polotsk was also assigned to the 23rd Guards Rifle Corps advancing on the southern bank of the Daugava, which was reinforced by additional artillery, mortar and tank units. On the evening of July 2, the 6th Guards Army approached the city of Polotsk, the 51st Guards Division came from the south and southeast, the 71st Guards Division and the 67th Guards Division along the western Daugava from the north-west City approach. On the night of July 3, regiments of the 51st Guards Division captured the southern outskirts of the city and broke into the city's western Daugava at dawn. By this time the 71st Guards Division had taken possession of the western outskirts of Polotsk, and the other formations of the 22nd Guards Rifle Corps, advancing along the right bank of the western Daugava, reached the eastern outskirts. Fierce fighting broke out in the streets of the city. The 47th Guards Rifle Division broke into the city from the east, followed by the remaining formations of the 22nd Guards Rifle Corps from the northeast. With the liberation of Polotsk, after using the railway to Newel, better possibilities for the supply opened up again. At the same time, the formations of the 4th Shock Army and the 103rd Rifle Corps of the 6th Guard Army conquered the city of Disna in cooperation with a tank brigade of the 1st Panzer Corps. Through the connection of the 22nd and 23rd Guards Rifle Corps on July 4th, complete control of Polotsk was achieved without any significant losses.

Schaulener and Memeler operation

In mid-July 1944, after having interrupted the Daugavpils- Rēzekne railway line, the troops of the 4th Shock Army advanced from the north-west towards Dünaburg . From July 23, the troops of the 6th Guard Army, which were advancing along the western Daugava, took part in the offensive and advanced another 45 km by the evening of July 26. The 6th Guards Army, reinforced with the 2nd Guards Rifle Corps, now consisted of four corps, a tank brigade, five artillery regiments, three mortar regiments and four separate mortar regiments. On August 1, the army surrendered its defensive strip in the area 65 km northwest of Dünaburg to the 4th Shock Army, began to advance again and was forced to go on the defensive in the next few days. At the end of August, the troops of the 6th Guards Army were relocated to the area southwest of Mitau , where German troops had triggered a counterattack during Operation Doppelkopf . Lieutenant General IM Tschistjakow himself had suggested to the front command that his army be transferred to the threatened area. After advancing 144 kilometers, the army reached the Mitau region and took positions at Dobele to prepare for defensive battles. In order to attack in the Dobele area, the Wehrmacht concentrated considerable forces: the 4th , 5th and 12th Panzer Divisions and the Panzergrenadierdivision Großdeutschland . After heavy fighting, the German offensive advanced towards Dobele, where Soviet counter-attacks by the 1st and 19th Panzer Corps in the Schagarren area put the enemy back on the defensive until September 22nd.

At the beginning of October 1944, the Soviet command decided to start the Memel operation to prevent the retreat of the German 16th and 18th arms to East Prussia . The troops of the 6th Guards Army marched 100 kilometers into the area northwest of Schaulen within two days and, after being regrouped, took up the defense on a 50 km long front. It was ordered to Telšiai attack to expand the offensive to the northwest, while the main forces of the 1st Baltic Front in the push to the Baltic Sea coast to support.

October 1, 1944

2nd Guards Rifle Corps (9th and 71st Guards and 166th Rifle Divisions)
22nd Guards Rifle Corps (46th and 90th Guards Rifle Divisions, 51st Mechanized Brigade)
23rd Guards Rifle Corps (51st and 67th Guard Divisions)
103rd Rifle Corps (29th, 154th and 270th Rifle Divisions)
20th Artillery Breakthrough Division
34th Guards Tank Brigade
143rd Tank Brigade
assigned to: 19th Panzer Corps (79th, 101st and 202nd Panzer Brigade, 26th Mechanized Brigade)

On October 5, units of the 6th Guard Army attacked the enemy defenses after a brief artillery preparation, crossed the Virvichai River the following day and penetrated about 15-17 km deep. The neighboring 4th Shock Army also went on the offensive and was only able to advance 11–13 km within two days. The 51st Army was then successfully introduced at the seam between the 6th Guard and 43rd Armies and reached the Baltic coast. At the same time, units of the 51st Guards Division bypassed Triskiai and occupied this small town. At the same time, units of the 22nd Guards Rifle Corps successfully developed the offensive and advanced 40 km east of Libau towards the evening of October 7th .

As a result of the successful implementation of the Memeler operation, the liberation of Riga was accelerated by the troops of the 2nd Baltic Front . The German 16th Army launched a strong counterattack in the second half of October in order to defeat the main forces of the Soviet troops in the Libau area and to break through to Memel on the Baltic coast and to restore communication with East Prussia. However, all of these attempts failed. In the next seven months until the end of the war, the formations of the 6th Guards Army cut off the German Army Group North in Courland together with other Soviet troops .

1945

The 6th Guard Army was part of the 1st Baltic Front during the blockade of the Kurlandkessel in January 1945, the 2nd Baltic Front from February 8, 1945 and the Leningrad Front from April 1 . The troops held a 60 km wide section of the front in the area east of Libau between the Venta and Prekuln rivers .

Army organization on January 1, 1945

2nd Guard Rifle Corps (71st Guard and 29th Rifle Division)
22nd Guard Rifle Corps (46th and 90th Guard Rifle Division)
23rd Guards Rifle Corps (51st and 67th Guards Rifle Divisions)
9th Guards Rifle Division
166th and 270th Rifle Divisions
20th breakthrough artillery division
27th Guards Artillery Brigade
143rd Tank Brigade
32nd Guards Panzer Regiment

From April 1945 the 6th Guards Army prepared intensively for a decisive offensive in order to smash Army Group Courland. The breakthrough to the Baltic coast at Pavilosta was intended to split the German 16th and 18th armies. On the morning of May 8th, the offensive was launched, supported by fighter planes. On the night of May 9, the German troops laid down their arms in accordance with the general surrender of the Wehrmacht. The handover of the prisoners and the securing of military equipment lasted from May 9th to 20th. The guard troops cleared and secured the coast of Courland until May 29, then the army headquarters was withdrawn to Schaulen. On June 24, 1945, the guards marched under their battle flags on the victory parade in Moscow . The 6th Guards Army was disbanded in March 1947 as part of the demobilization.

guide

commander

Lieutenant General Ivan M. Tschistjakow (April 1943 until the end of the war)

Members of the Military Council

Major General PI Krajnow (April to July 1943);
Colonel GN Kasyanenko
General KK Abramow (July 1943 until the end of the war)

Chief of Staff

General WA Penkowski (April 1943 until the end of the war)

literature

GN Kowtunow / FT Selivanow / RS Jarajew: ИСТОРИЧЕСКАЯ СПРАВКА О БОЕВОМ ПУТИ 6-й ГВАРДЕЙСКОЙ (БЫВШЕЙ 21-й) АРМИИ, Moscow 1985 Russian