2nd Guards Tank Corps
Encyclopedia
The 2nd Tatsinskaya Guards Tank Corps was a Red Army
armoured
formation that saw service during World War II
on the Eastern Front
. After the war it continued to serve with Soviet
occupation forces in Central Europe
. It was originally the 24th Tank Corps. The unit had approximately the same size and combat power as a Wehrmacht
Panzer Division
, and less than a British
Armoured Division had during World War II.
medium, T-60
light, KV-1 heavy, and U.S. Lend Lease M3 Stuart light tanks. It was assigned to 6th Army
, and participated in the Stalingrad Defensive Operation
on the Don River
during July 1942, where it lost almost two-thirds of the tanks.http://rkkaww2.armchairgeneral.com/battles/don/tankdatadon42.htm#24TK Its 24th Motorized Brigade conducted offensive operations along the Don together with 25th Guards Rifle Division. http://rkkaww2.armchairgeneral.com/battles/don/Don_VIZh08_82.htm
Following re-building, it was assigned to 3rd Guards Army which was under the command of General Dmitri Danilovich Lelyushenko
to participate in the encirclement of German Army Group A
in Operation Saturn
, which was undertaken during the Battle of Stalingrad
.
The 24th Tank Corps consisted of the following units:
Combat Units
Support Units
The Corps undertook the famous raid on Tatsinskaya
during Operation Little Saturn. In honour of the achievement during this raid, it was renamed 2nd Guards Tank Corps, and given the honorific 'Tatsinskaya'.
could be added to help it achieve its mission.
At the Battle of Kursk
, the following OOB applied:
Main Combat Units (totalling 187 tanks at Prokohorovka):
Support Units (unconfirmed)
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
armoured
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
formation that saw service during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
on the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
. After the war it continued to serve with Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
occupation forces in Central Europe
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
. It was originally the 24th Tank Corps. The unit had approximately the same size and combat power as a Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
Panzer Division
Panzer Division
A panzer division was an armored division in the army and air force branches of the Wehrmacht as well as the Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany during World War II....
, and less than a British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
Armoured Division had during World War II.
Formation
The first of the Guards Tank Corps were formed when 26th Tank Corps was renamed 1st Guards Tank Corps in December 1942. (http://stalingrad.ic.ru/s26tcorp.html)24th Tank Corps
24th Tank Corps was formed in 1942 during the re-establishment of the tank corps as a formation in the Red Army. It was equipped with a mix of T-34T-34
The T-34 was a Soviet medium tank produced from 1940 to 1958. Although its armour and armament were surpassed by later tanks of the era, it has been often credited as the most effective, efficient and influential design of World War II...
medium, T-60
T-60
The T-60 scout tank was a light tank produced by the Soviet Union from 1941 to 1942. In this time over 6,292 were built. The tank was designed to replace the obsolete T-38 amphibious scout tank.-Design:...
light, KV-1 heavy, and U.S. Lend Lease M3 Stuart light tanks. It was assigned to 6th Army
6th Army (Soviet Union)
The 6th Army was a field army of the Soviet Red Army formed four times during World War II and active with the Russian Ground Forces up until 1998...
, and participated in the Stalingrad Defensive Operation
Operation Blue
Case Blue , later renamed Operation Braunschweig, was the German Armed Forces name for its plan for a 1942 strategic summer offensive in southern Russia between 28 June and November 1942....
on the Don River
Don River (Russia)
The Don River is one of the major rivers of Russia. It rises in the town of Novomoskovsk 60 kilometres southeast from Tula, southeast of Moscow, and flows for a distance of about 1,950 kilometres to the Sea of Azov....
during July 1942, where it lost almost two-thirds of the tanks.http://rkkaww2.armchairgeneral.com/battles/don/tankdatadon42.htm#24TK Its 24th Motorized Brigade conducted offensive operations along the Don together with 25th Guards Rifle Division. http://rkkaww2.armchairgeneral.com/battles/don/Don_VIZh08_82.htm
Following re-building, it was assigned to 3rd Guards Army which was under the command of General Dmitri Danilovich Lelyushenko
Dmitri Danilovich Lelyushenko
Dmitry Danilovich Lelyushenko |Army General]] , twice the Hero of the Soviet Union , Hero of Czechoslovakia . Member of the CPSU from 1924. Born in Rostov Oblast, ethnically Ukrainian....
to participate in the encirclement of German Army Group A
Army Group A
Army Group A was the name of a number of German Army Groups during World War II.-Western Front, 1940:During the German invasion of the Low Countries and France Army Group A was under the command of General Gerd von Rundstedt, and was responsible for the break-out through the Ardennes...
in Operation Saturn
Operation Saturn
Operation Saturn, revised as Operation Little Saturn, was a Red Army operation on the Eastern Front of World War II that led to battles in the northern Caucasus and Donets Basin regions of the Soviet Union from December 1942 to February 1943....
, which was undertaken during the Battle of Stalingrad
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was a major battle of World War II in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in southwestern Russia. The battle took place between 23 August 1942 and 2 February 1943...
.
The 24th Tank Corps consisted of the following units:
Combat Units
- 4th Guards Tank Brigade (Colonel G.I. Kolypov)
- 54th Tank Brigade (Colonel V.M. Polyakov)
- 130th Tank Brigade (Colonel S.K. Nesterov)
- 24th Motorized Rifle Brigade (Colonel V.S. Savchenko)
Support Units
- 13th Mining Engineer Company
- 158th Mobile Repair Base
- Corps Train
The Corps undertook the famous raid on Tatsinskaya
Tatsinskaya Raid
The Tatsinskaya Raid was a Soviet armoured raid deep into the German rear conducted by 24th Tank Corps under the command of Major General Vasily Mikhaylovich Badanov in late December 1942, during the last phases of the Battle of Stalingrad . It was designed to force the Germans to divert forces...
during Operation Little Saturn. In honour of the achievement during this raid, it was renamed 2nd Guards Tank Corps, and given the honorific 'Tatsinskaya'.
2nd Guards Tank Corps
2nd Guards Tank Corps was initially based on the same units as 24th Tank Corps. The individual combat units were also renamed and renumbered as Guards units. With changing TO&E during the war, additional units were added. Depending on the specific tasks allotted to the Corps, units from the STAVKA ReserveStavka
Stavka was the term used to refer to a command element of the armed forces from the time of the Kievan Rus′, more formally during the history of Imperial Russia as administrative staff and General Headquarters during late 19th Century Imperial Russian armed forces and those of the Soviet Union...
could be added to help it achieve its mission.
At the Battle of Kursk
Battle of Kursk
The Battle of Kursk took place when German and Soviet forces confronted each other on the Eastern Front during World War II in the vicinity of the city of Kursk, in the Soviet Union in July and August 1943. It remains both the largest series of armored clashes, including the Battle of Prokhorovka,...
, the following OOB applied:
Main Combat Units (totalling 187 tanks at Prokohorovka):
- 25th Guards Tank Brigade
- 26th Guards Tank Brigade
- 4th Guards Tank Brigade
- 4th Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade
- 47th Guards Breakthrough Tank Regiment
- 1500th SU-regiment (Self-propelled Artillery)
- 1695th AA-regiment
- 273rd Mortar regiment
- 755th Antitank battalion
Support Units (unconfirmed)
- Aviation Liaison Section (F.A.C.)
- 51st Sapper Battalion
- Corps Train
1943
- Battle of Kharkov (1943)Third Battle of KharkovThe Third Battle of Kharkov was a series of offensive operations on the Eastern Front of World War II, undertaken by the German Army Group South against the Red Army, around the city of Kharkov , between 19 February and 15 March 1943...
- Battle of KurskBattle of KurskThe Battle of Kursk took place when German and Soviet forces confronted each other on the Eastern Front during World War II in the vicinity of the city of Kursk, in the Soviet Union in July and August 1943. It remains both the largest series of armored clashes, including the Battle of Prokhorovka,...
- Battle of ProkhorovkaBattle of ProkhorovkaThe Battle of Prokhorovka was fought on the Eastern Front during the Second World War as part of the Battle of Kursk in the Soviet Union . Principally, the German Wehrmachts Fourth Panzer Army clashed with the Soviet Red Army's 5th Guards Tank Army...
(heavily damaged)
- Battle of Prokhorovka
- Operation Polkovodets RumyantsevOperation Polkovodets RumyantsevOperation Polkovodets Rumyantsev was a code name for the Belgorod-Kharkov Strategic Offensive Operation conducted by the Red Army between 3 August 1943 and 23 August 1943 against the Wehrmacht's 4th Panzer Army and Army Group Kempf during World War II. The operation was conducted by the Voronezh...
- Battle of SmolenskBattle of Smolensk (1943)The second Battle of Smolensk was a Soviet strategic offensive operation conducted by the Red Army as part of the Summer-Autumn Campaign of 1943...
1944
- Operation Bagration
- Minsk Offensive(1944) - the 4th Guards Tank Brigade was the first Soviet unit to enter Minsk during this battle.
- Baltic OperationBattle of the Baltic (1944)The Baltic Offensive, also known as the Baltic Strategic Offensive, denotes the campaign between the German Army Group North and the northern Fronts of the Red Army in the Baltic States during the autumn of 1944. Commander - General Hovhannes Bagramyan...
1945
- Vistula-Oder OffensiveVistula-Oder OffensiveThe Vistula–Oder Offensive was a successful Red Army operation on the Eastern Front in the European Theatre of World War II; it took place between 12 January and 2 February 1945...
- East Prussian OffensiveEast Prussian OffensiveThe East Prussian Offensive was a strategic offensive by the Red Army against the German Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front . It lasted from 13 January to 25 April 1945, though some German units did not surrender until 9 May...
- Gumbinnen OperationGumbinnen OperationThe Gumbinnen Operation, also known as the Goldap Operation , was a Soviet offensive on the Eastern Front late in 1944, in which forces of the 3rd Belorussian Front attempted to penetrate the borders of East Prussia.The offensive failed, due to strong resistance by the Wehrmacht...
- Insterburg-Königsberg OffensiveBattle of KönigsbergThe Battle of Königsberg , was one of the last operations of the East Prussian Offensive during World War II. In four days of violent urban warfare, Soviet forces of the 1st Baltic Front and the 3rd Belorussian Front captured the city of Königsberg...
- Gumbinnen Operation
- Berlin OperationBattle of BerlinThe Battle of Berlin, designated the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, was the final major offensive of the European Theatre of World War II....
Postwar
- It was later converted into the 2nd Guards Tank Division and postwar it was stationed in the Leningrad Military District, before being transferred to the Transbaikal Military District in the 1960s and finally being disbanded circa 2001-3.
Commanders
- Major GeneralMajor GeneralMajor general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
V.M.Badanov - Major GeneralMajor GeneralMajor general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
Alexei BurdeineiAlexei BurdeineiOleksi Semenovich Burdeinei was a Soviet general....
Books
- Bonn, K.E. 'Slaughterhouse - The Handbook of the Eastern Front', Aberjona Press
- Erickson, J.John Erickson (historian)John Erickson was a British historian who wrote extensively on the Second World War...
'The Road to Stalingrad' - Glantz, D.David GlantzDavid M. Glantz is an American military historian and the editor of the Journal of Slavic Military Studies....
'From the Don to the Dnepr' - Porfiryev, ‘Raid to Tatsinskaya’, VIZH 11/1987