4th Guards Kantemirovskaya Tank Division

The 4th Guards
Russian Guards
Guards or Guards units were and are elite military units in Imperial Russia, Soviet Union and the Russian Federation. The tradition goes back to the retinue of a knyaz of medieval Kievan Rus' and the streltsy, the Muscovite harquebusiers formed by Ivan the Terrible by 1550...

"Kantemirovskaya" Tank Division (Cyrillic: гвардейская танковая Кантемировская дивизия, Guards Tank Kantemirovskaya Division), more usually known as the Kantemirovskaya Division or Kantemir Division, is an elite armoured division of the Russian Ground Forces

Russian Ground Forces

The Russian Ground Forces are the land forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, formed from parts of the collapsing Soviet Army in 1992. The formation of these forces posed economic challenges after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and required reforms to professionalize the force...

. It is one of the key formations of the Moscow Military District

Moscow Military District

The Moscow Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In 2010 it was merged with the Leningrad Military District, the Northern Fleet and the Baltic Fleet to form the new Western Military District.-History:In the beginning of...

, constituting part of the 20th Army under Lt. General Andrey Tretyak. It is one of the Russian Army's 'constant readiness' divisions, with at least 80% manpower and 100% equipment holdings at all times. Currently, it is headquartered, and all of its units are based, in the town of Naro-Fominsk

Naro-Fominsk

Naro-Fominsk is a town and the administrative center of Naro-Fominsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia, situated southwest from Moscow, on the Nara River. The Moscow – Kiev railway passes through the town. Population: -History:...

, 70 km south-west of Moscow. The Division was named after Dimitrie Cantemir

Dimitrie Cantemir

Dimitrie Cantemir was twice Prince of Moldavia . He was also a prolific man of letters – philosopher, historian, composer, musicologist, linguist, ethnographer, and geographer....

History

4th Guards Kantemirovskaya Tank Division was initially formed as part of the Red Army

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...

in 1942 near Voronezh

Voronezh

Voronezh is a city in southwestern Russia, the administrative center of Voronezh Oblast. It is located on both sides of the Voronezh River, away from where it flows into the Don. It is an operating center of the Southeastern Railway , as well as the center of the Don Highway...

as the 4th Tank Division, and was retained in the Russian Army

Russian Ground Forces

after 1993 reforms. It is billeted in Naro-Fominsk

Naro-Fominsk

situated near Moscow.

The first baptism of fire has received by the tank subunits during the liberation of the village of Kantemirovka in which honour the Kantemirovskaya division had received the name in 1946 by order of Stalin.

The tank division is the successor to the 17th Tank Corps which commenced its combat history on 26 June 1942 on the west bank of the Don

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....

, to the west of Voronezh

Voronezh

.

For distinction in combat against fascist aggressors around the Middle Don, the Corps was reformed as the 4th Guards Tank Corps in January 1943 receiving the honourific name - Kantemirovsky.

On 31 July 1943, on the eve of August approaching continuous combat on the Belgorodsko-Kharkov direction of the The Kursk Bulge, at the delivery to the Guards Banner, the staffs of the formation and subunits had accepted the first Guards oath.

For the courage and heroism shown during the liberation of cities on the right-bank Ukraine

Right-bank Ukraine

Right-bank Ukraine , a historical name of a part of Ukraine on the right bank of the Dnieper River, corresponding with modern-day oblasts of Volyn, Rivne, Vinnitsa, Zhytomyr, Kirovohrad and Kiev, as well as part of Cherkasy and Ternopil...

: Zbarazh

Zbarazh

Zbarazh is a city in the Ternopil Oblast of western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Zbarazh Raion , and is located in the historic region of Galicia....

, Ternopil

Ternopil

Ternopil , is a city in western Ukraine, located on the banks of the Seret River. Ternopil is one of the major cities of Western Ukraine and the historical region of Galicia...

, and Shepetovka in April, 1944 the Corps was awarded the Order of the Red Banner

Order of the Red Banner

The Soviet government of Russia established the Order of the Red Banner , a military decoration, on September 16, 1918 during the Russian Civil War...

, and seventeen regiments and separate battalions were awarded honoific names: Shepetovsky, Zhitomir, Yampolsky, and Tarnopolsky.

For clearing Krakow

Kraków

Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...

the Corps was awarded the Order of Lenin

Order of Lenin

The Order of Lenin , named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was the highest decoration bestowed by the Soviet Union...

.

The 4th Guards Tank Corps was among the first to reach the river Elbe

Elbe

The Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...

, and participated in the capture of Dresden

Dresden

Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....

; having made a sudden redeployment to Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...

, the Corps finished the fighting during the Second World War in the suburbs of Prague

Prague Offensive

The Prague Offensive was the last major Soviet operation of World War II in Europe. The offensive, and the battle for Prague, was fought on the Eastern Front from 6 May to 11 May 1945. This battle for the city is particularly noteworthy in that it ended after the Third Reich capitulated on 8 May...

For the courage shown by soldiers and officers of the Corps, during wartime military units were awarded 23 awards, the staff of the Corps was thanked officially by the Supreme commander in chief 18 times , 32 of its members were awarded the Hero of Soviet Union (5 of which are forever enlisted in the unit rolls), more than 20 thousand received awards and medals, five becoming full chevalier

Knight

A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....

s of the Order of Glory

Order of Glory

Established on 8 November 1943, the Order of Glory was an Order of the Soviet Union. It was awarded to non-commissioned officers and rank-and-file of the armed forces, as well as junior lieutenants of the air force, for bravery in the face of the enemy.The Order of Glory, which was modelled...

.

On 14 June 1945 the 4th Guards Tank Corps became the 4 Guards Kantemirovskaya Tank Division and on 13 September 1945 it was assigned to the armies of Moscow Military District

Moscow Military District

with a re-deployment to Naro-Fominsk

Naro-Fominsk

Moscow Region. In the autumn of 1946 guardsmen-kantemirovtsy participated in the first march of combat materiel on the Red Square

Red Square

Red Square is a city square in Moscow, Russia. The square separates the Kremlin, the former royal citadel and currently the official residence of the President of Russia, from a historic merchant quarter known as Kitai-gorod...

in Moscow to commemorate the holiday of Day of the Tankmen. On 23 February 1984 the division received the honorific name "Yuri Andropov

Yuri Andropov

Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov was a Soviet politician and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 12 November 1982 until his death fifteen months later.-Early life:...

".

The division was one of the two major Ground Forces

Russian Ground Forces

divisions deployed in Moscow in August 1991 as part of the attempted hardline coup

Soviet coup attempt of 1991

The 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt , also known as the August Putsch or August Coup , was an attempt by a group of members of the Soviet Union's government to take control of the country from Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev...

against Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev

Mikhail Gorbachev

Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...

. The coup's failure strengthened Boris Yeltsin

Boris Yeltsin

Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin was the first President of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999.Originally a supporter of Mikhail Gorbachev, Yeltsin emerged under the perestroika reforms as one of Gorbachev's most powerful political opponents. On 29 May 1990 he was elected the chairman of...

's position in the Russian SFSR, and soon afterwards in the Russian Federation, of which he became President

President of the Russian Federation

The President of the Russian Federation is the head of state, supreme commander-in-chief and holder of the highest office within the Russian Federation...

. The Kantemirovskaya Division, together with the Tamanskaya Division

2nd Guards Tamanskaya Motor Rifle Division

The 2nd Guards Motor Rifle 'Tamanskaya' Order of October Revolution, Red Banner,, Order of Suvorov Division named after M.I. Kalinin, also known as the Tamanskaya Division, Taman Division and Taman Guards The 2nd Guards Motor Rifle 'Tamanskaya' Order of October Revolution, Red Banner,, Order of...

which had also taken part in the coup, but ended up supporting Yeltsin, was to form the basis of a de facto
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...

Praetorian Guard

Praetorian Guard

The Praetorian Guard was a force of bodyguards used by Roman Emperors. The title was already used during the Roman Republic for the guards of Roman generals, at least since the rise to prominence of the Scipio family around 275 BC...

for Yeltsin throughout the 1990s, securing his political power throughout the time he was President. During the most serious crisis of Yeltsin's premiership, the 1993 constitutional crisis

Russian constitutional crisis of 1993

The constitutional crisis of 1993 was a political stand-off between the Russian president and the Russian parliament that was resolved by using military force. The relations between the president and the parliament had been deteriorating for a while...

, the Kantemir Division was one of several key divisions that had given their reluctant support to Yeltsin by October 4, the decisive point in the crisis.

The 1st GTA had relocated from the former East Germany to Smolensk

Smolensk

Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River. Situated west-southwest of Moscow, this walled city was destroyed several times throughout its long history since it was on the invasion routes of both Napoleon and Hitler. Today, Smolensk...

when Soviet troops

Group of Soviet Forces in Germany

The Group of Soviet Forces in Germany , also known as the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany and the Western Group of Forces were the troops of the Soviet Army in East Germany....

left Germany at the beginning of the 90s; it was disbanded in 1998, as was the 144th MRD. Thereafter the Kantemirovskaya Division came under the command of the 20th Army.

Units of the division took part in the First Chechen War

First Chechen War

The First Chechen War, also known as the War in Chechnya, was a conflict between the Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, fought from December 1994 to August 1996...

. In the early 1990s, the division came under the command of the famous 1st Guards Tank Army, along with the 144th Motor Rifle Division.

Personnel of the subunits took part in peace-keeping operations in South Ossetia

South Ossetia

South Ossetia or Tskhinvali Region is a disputed region and partly recognized state in the South Caucasus, located in the territory of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within the former Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic....

during 1997, and in Kosovo

Kosovo

Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...

in 1998-2002, later participating in a counter-terrorism operation in the Chechen republic.

On 9 May 2005, eight T-80

T-80

The T-80 is a main battle tank designed and manufactured in the former Soviet Union. A development of the T-64, it entered service in 1976 and was the first production tank to be equipped with a gas turbine engine for main propulsion.the Swedish Stridsvagn 103 of 1971 used a gas turbine alongside...

BV tanks from the division took part in the parade in Moscow to mark the 60th anniversary of VE-day. On 27 December 2005, the division was visited by Sergei Ivanov

Sergei Ivanov

Sergei Borisovich Ivanov is a Russian senior official and statesman. He was Minister of Defence from March 2001 to February 2007, Deputy Prime Minister from November 2005 to February 2007, and the First Deputy Prime Minister from February 2007 to May 2008...

, the Russian Defence Minister. Most recently, in early 2006, the division's 13th Tank

Tank

A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...

Regiment

A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...

participated, along with other 20th Army units, in the joint Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n-Belorussian

Belarus

Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...

"Shield of Union" military exercises.

The Kantemirovsky street in Moscow is named in the honour of the division.

According to the NOVOSTI news agency the 4th Guards Kantemirovskaya is on the road of being disbanded by the Russian Defense Ministry, according to Russian government the division will be converted into two brigade

Brigade

A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...

s. The high command of the Russian armed forces has said the newly established brigades would retain their honorary names and banners.

Subordinated units and fighting strength

As of 2006, the Kantemirovskaya Division consisted of the following units:

12th Tank Regiment, Naro-Fominsk
13th Tank Regiment, Naro Fominsk
14th Tank Regiment, Naro-Fominsk
423rd Guards Yampolsky Motor Rifle Regiment, Naro-Fominsk
538th Air Defence Regiment, Naro-Fominsk
275th Artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...

Regiment, Naro-Fominsk
137th Independent Intelligence
Military intelligence
Military intelligence is a military discipline that exploits a number of information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to commanders in support of their decisions....

Battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...

, Naro-Fominsk
413th Independent Communication
Telecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information over significant distances to communicate. In earlier times, telecommunications involved the use of visual signals, such as beacons, smoke signals, semaphore telegraphs, signal flags, and optical heliographs, or audio messages via coded...

s Battalion, Naro-Fominsk
996th Independent Electronic Warfare
Electronic warfare
Electronic warfare refers to any action involving the use of the electromagnetic spectrum or directed energy to control the spectrum, attack an enemy, or impede enemy assaults via the spectrum. The purpose of electronic warfare is to deny the opponent the advantage of, and ensure friendly...

Battalion, Naro-Fominsk
616th Independent Chemical Battalion, Naro-Fominsk

The 4th Guards Tank Division currently has approximately 12,000 personnel in active service. The division's principal vehicles are the T-80

T-80

main battle tank

Main battle tank

A main battle tank , also known as a battle tank or universal tank, is a tank that fills the heavy direct fire role of many modern armies. They were originally conceived to replace the light, medium, heavy and super-heavy tanks. Development was spurred onwards in the Cold War with the development...

and the BMP-2

BMP-2

The BMP-2 is a second-generation, amphibious infantry fighting vehicle introduced in the 1980s in the Soviet Union, following the BMP-1 of the 1960s....

infantry fighting vehicle

Infantry fighting vehicle

An infantry fighting vehicle , also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle , is a type of armoured fighting vehicle used to carry infantry into battle and provide fire support for them...

; it also makes limited use of the BTR-80

BTR-80

BTR-80 is an 8x8 wheeled armoured personnel carrier designed in the Soviet Union. Production started in 1986 and replaced the previous versions, BTR-60 and BTR-70 in the Soviet army. -Description:The Soviets based the BTR-80 on the BTR-70 APC...

and MT-LB

MT-LB

The MT-LB is a Soviet multi-purpose fully amphibious auxiliary armoured vehicle which was first introduced in the late 1960s...

armoured personnel carrier

Armoured personnel carrier

An armoured personnel carrier is an armoured fighting vehicle designed to transport infantry to the battlefield.APCs are usually armed with only a machine gun although variants carry recoilless rifles, anti-tank guided missiles , or mortars...

s, as well as the 2S19 Msta-S self-propelled artillery

Self-propelled artillery

Self-propelled artillery vehicles are combat vehicles armed with artillery. Within the term are covered self-propelled guns and rocket artillery...

system and BM-21

BM-21

The BM-21 launch vehicle , a Soviet truck-mounted 122 mm multiple rocket launcher, and a M-21OF rocket were developed in the early 1960s. BM stands for boyevaya mashina, ‘combat vehicle’, and the nickname means ‘hail’. The complete system with the BM-21 launch vehicle and the M-21OF rocket...

Grad MLRS.

Equipment Summary

Equipment	Numbers
Main Battle Tanks	310 (T-80 T-80 The T-80 is a main battle tank designed and manufactured in the former Soviet Union. A development of the T-64, it entered service in 1976 and was the first production tank to be equipped with a gas turbine engine for main propulsion.the Swedish Stridsvagn 103 of 1971 used a gas turbine alongside... )
IFV	300 (BMP-2 BMP-2 The BMP-2 is a second-generation, amphibious infantry fighting vehicle introduced in the 1980s in the Soviet Union, following the BMP-1 of the 1960s.... )
Self Propelled Artillery	130 (2S3 Akatsiya 2S3 Akatsiya SO-152 is a Soviet 152.4 mm self-propelled artillery developed in 1968. It was a response to the American 155 mm M109. The development started in 1967 according to the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of USSR from July 4, 1967. In 1968 the SO-152 was completed and in 1971 entered... & 2S19 Msta)
Multiple Rocket Launchers	12 (BM-21 BM-21 The BM-21 launch vehicle , a Soviet truck-mounted 122 mm multiple rocket launcher, and a M-21OF rocket were developed in the early 1960s. BM stands for boyevaya mashina, ‘combat vehicle’, and the nickname means ‘hail’. The complete system with the BM-21 launch vehicle and the M-21OF rocket... )

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