View source for 8th Guards Combined Arms Army

{{Short description|Russian Ground Forces formation}}
{{More citations needed|date=February 2013}}
{{Not to be confused with|8th Guards Combined Arms Army (Russia)}}
{{Infobox military unit
| unit_name                     = 8th Guards Combined Arms Army
| image                         = 
| image_size                    = 200
| alt                           = 
| caption                       =  
| dates                         = October 1941 – July 1942 (7th Reserve Army)<br />July 1942 – May 1943 (62nd Army)<br />May 1943 – 1992 (8th Guards Army)
| country                       = {{flag|Soviet Union}}<br />{{flag|Russia}} (1991–1992)
| branch                        = {{Army|USSR}}<br />{{Army|Russia}}
| type                          = [[Combined arms]]
| size                          = [[Field army|Army]]
| command_structure             = [[Southern Military District]]
| garrison                      = 
| nickname                      = 
| motto                         = 
| colors                        = 
| march                         = 
| battles                       = [[Battle of Stalingrad]]<br />[[Operation Bagration]]<br />[[Battle of Poznań (1945)]]<br />[[Battle of Berlin]]<br />others
| decorations                   = {{Order of Lenin (medallion)}} [[Order of Lenin]]
| current_commander             = 
| notable_commanders            = [[Vasily Chuikov]]
| identification_symbol         = 
| identification_symbol_label   = 
}}
The '''8th Guards Order of Lenin Combined Arms Army''' (abbreviated '''8th GCAA''') was an [[Field army|army]] of the [[Soviet Army]], as a successor to the 62nd Army of the [[Soviet Union]]'s [[Red Army]], which was formed during [[World War II]] and was disbanded in 1998 after being downsized into a corps.

The Soviet 8th Guards Army was formed from the [[62nd Army (Soviet Union)|62nd Army]] in May 1943 and received [[Soviet Guards|Guards]] status in recognition of its actions in the [[Battle of Stalingrad]]. It went on to defend the right bank of the [[Donets]] and fight in the [[Donbass Strategic Offensive (August 1943)|Donbass Strategic Offensive]] in August and September. It then fought in the [[Lower Dnepr strategic offensive operation|Lower Dnepr Offensive]], where it captured [[Zaporizhia]]. During winter and spring 1944 the army fought in the [[Dnieper–Carpathian Offensive]]. After the capture of [[Odessa]], the army was transferred to the  [[Kovel]] area and fought in the [[Lublin–Brest Offensive]] during the summer, capturing [[Lublin]], crossing the [[Vistula]] and seizing the [[Magnuszew]] bridgehead. The army defended the bridgehead until January 1945, when it helped launch the [[Vistula–Oder Offensive]]. The army helped capture [[Łódź]], [[Poznań]] and Küstrin (modern [[Kostrzyn nad Odrą]]). The army then fought in the [[Battle of Berlin]]. During the war it was led by its commander during the Battle of Stalingrad, [[Vasily Chuikov]]. After the war the army was stationed at [[Nohra]], covering the strategic [[Fulda Gap]] during the [[Cold War]]. In 1993 the army was withdrawn from Germany to [[Volgograd]] (the former Stalingrad) and there downsized to a corps, before being disbanded in 1998.

== World War II ==
Activated in October 1941 as the 7th Reserve Army, the Army was re-designated the [[62nd Army (Soviet Union)|62nd Army]] at [[Stalingrad]] in July 1942. It was among the victors of [[Battle of Stalingrad|Stalingrad]] and thus re-designated the 8th Guards Army on 5 May 1943, in accordance with a Stavka directive dated 16 April 1943.

In July 1943, it took part in the [[Izyum-Barvenkovo Offensive]] (July 17–27), and in August–September - in the [[Donbass Strategic Offensive (August 1943)|Donbass strategic offensive operation]] (August 13 - September 22) . Developing the offensive in the direction of the Dnieper, the Army with other troops of the [[Southwestern Front (Soviet Union)|Southwestern Front]] liberated [[Zaporozhye]] (October 14), crossed the [[Dnieper]] south of [[Dnipropetrovsk]] south and captured a bridgehead on its right bank. By this time 28th, 29th and 4th Guards Rifle Corps were part of the army.

The army was part of the [[3rd Ukrainian Front]] during the [[Dnieper-Carpathian Offensive]]. By March 25, 1944, the [[Prut River]] had fallen and the [[3rd Ukrainian Front]] was dispatched to secure [[Odessa]].<ref name="Willmott373">Willmott, p. 373</ref> On April 2, [[Vasili Chuikov]]'s Eighth Guards Army and Forty-Sixth Army attacked through a blizzard<ref name="Pimlott333">Pimlott, p. 333</ref> and, by April 6, had driven the defenders past the [[Dniester|Dniester River]] and isolated Odessa.<ref name="Pimlott333"/> Odessa capitulated on April 10, and Soviet troops began entering [[Romania]] proper.<ref name="Pimlott333"/>

In June 1944 the army was transferred to the [[1st Belorussian Front]] and took part in the [[Lublin–Brest Offensive]], seizing and defending a bridgehead over the [[Vistula]] river at [[Magnuszew]]. Soldiers who perished during battles over [[Warsaw]] are buried at the [[Soviet Military Cemetery, Warsaw|Soviet Military Cemetery]] in Warsaw.

In 1945 the army was commanded by [[Lieutenant General]] [[Vasily Chuikov]]. It was part of [[Marshal of the Soviet Union|Marshal]] [[Zhukov]]'s [[1st Belorussian Front]]. One of the cities which the army took in its westward drive was [[Poznań]], which the Army [[Battle of Poznań (1945)|seized]] in January–February 1945.

In a deliberate symbolic move the 8th Guards Army was then sent northwards to the center of the front, coming under command of [[1st Belorussian Front]]; Stalin was determined that the army that had defended Stalingrad would take part in the capture of Berlin ([[Battle of Berlin]]). On 2 May 1945, Chuikov took the surrender of the German General [[Helmut Weidling|Weidling]], the commander of the Berlin Defensive Area, and the rest of the Berlin garrison. Later the Eighth Guards Army became part of the [[Group of Soviet Forces in Germany]]. On the creation of the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany in 1945, the Army consisted of:

*Headquarters at [[Weimar]]
*[[4th Guards Rifle Corps]] ([[35th Guards Rifle Division|35th]], [[47th Guards Rifle Division|47th Guards]], and [[57th Guards Rifle Division]]s)
*[[28th Guards Rifle Corps]] ([[39th Guards Rifle Division]], [[79th Guards Rifle Division]], [[88th Guards Rifle Division]])
*[[29th Guards Rifle Corps]] ([[27th Guards Rifle Division|27th]], [[74th Guards Rifle Division|74th]], [[82nd Guards Rifle Division]]s)
*[[11th Tank Corps]]

=== Commanders ===
* Guard Lieutenant-General [[Vasily Chuikov]] (April 17, 1943 - October 18, 1943),
* Guard Colonel-General [[Ivan Maslennikov]] (October 21, 1943 - November 15, 1943),
* Guard Colonel-General [[Vasily Chuikov]] (November 15, 1943 - May 9, 1945).

== Cold War ==
In the summer of 1946, the 4th Guards Rifle Corps was disbanded along with the 35th, 74th, 82nd and 88th Guards Rifle Divisions. In July 1956, the 28th and 29th Guards Rifle Corps were disbanded.<ref>Feskov et al 2013, p. 401</ref>

During the [[Cold War]], 8th Guards Army stood opposed to [[NATO]] forces (specifically the [[V Corps (United States)|US V Corps]]) along the strategically vital [[Fulda Gap]] in [[West Germany]].<ref>Powell</ref> In June 1964, the [[21st Guards Motor Rifle Division]] transferred to the [[1st Guards Tank Army (Soviet Union)|1st Guards Tank Army]] and was replaced by the [[20th Guards Motor Rifle Division]]. On 22 February 1968, it was awarded the  [[Order of Lenin]]<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title = 8th Guards Combined Arms Army|url = http://www.ww2.dk/new/army/armies/8gvoa.htm|website = www.ww2.dk|access-date = 2016-02-16|last = Holm|first = Michael}}</ref> for success in combat training.<ref>Feskov et al 2013, p. 400</ref> In May 1983, the 20th Guards Motor Rifle Division transferred to the 1st Guards Tank Army and was replaced by the 27th Guards Motor Rifle Division.<ref name=":0" />
[[File:Nohra - GSSD-Kaserne Leninstatue.JPG|thumb|Nohra]]
In 1988, 8th Guards Army consisted of:<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.genstab.ru/gsvg_8.htm|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120801094357/http://www.genstab.ru/gsvg_8.htm|url-status=usurped|archive-date=August 1, 2012|title=Andy Johnson, Warsaw Pact Order of Battle June 1989, last updated 27 May 2000. More recent Russian sites give different Army-level units|website=www.genstab.ru}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title = Состав соединений и частей 8 я Гвардейская Общевойсковая армия|url = http://www.gsvg.ru/struktura/132-sostav-soedineniy-i-chastey-8-ya-obschevoyskovaya-armiya.html|website = www.gsvg.ru|access-date = 2016-02-16|language = ru|trans-title = 8th Guards Army Structure}}</ref><ref>Feskov et al 2013, pp. 402-403</ref>
*Headquarters at Weimar-Nohra
*227th Separate Protection and Enforcement Battalion - Weimar-Nohra
*794th Separate Spetsnaz Company - Weimar-Nohra
*747th Communications Center - Weimar-Nohra
*[[11th Missile Brigade]] - [[Jena|Jena-Forst]]<ref>{{Cite web|title = 11th Missile Brigade|url = http://www.ww2.dk/new/army/rbr/11rbr.htm|website = www.ww2.dk|access-date = 2016-02-15|last = Holm|first = Michael}}</ref>
*[[449th Missile Brigade]] - [[Arnstadt]]<ref>{{Cite web|title = 449th Missile Brigade|url = http://www.ww2.dk/new/army/rbr/449rbr.htm|website = www.ww2.dk|access-date = 2016-02-15|last = Holm|first = Michael}}</ref>
*[[79th Guards Tank Division]] - [[Jena]], GDR: - disbanded, 1992<ref>{{Cite web|title = 79th Guards Tank Division|url = http://www.ww2.dk/new/army/td/79gvtd.htm|website = www.ww2.dk|access-date = 2016-02-16|last = Holm|first = Michael}}</ref>
**17th Guards Tank Regiment (Saalfeld)
**45th Guards Tank Regiment (Weimar)
**211th Guards Tank Regiment (Jena)
**247th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment (Weimar)
**172nd Guards Artillery Regiment (Rudolstadt)
**1075th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Weimar)
[[Image:Kostrzyn nad Odrą 6.jpg|thumb|Memorial cemetery to Soviet soldiers in the [[Battle of Küstrin]] in 1945]]
*[[27th Guards Motor Rifle Division]] - General-Maerker-Kaserne, [[Halle, Saxony-Anhalt|Halle]], GDR: - to [[Totskoye]], [[Volga-Ural Military District|Volga Military District]]<ref>{{Cite web|title = 27th Guards Motorised Rifle Division|url = http://www.ww2.dk/new/army/msd/27gvmsd.htm|website = www.ww2.dk|access-date = 2016-02-16|last = Holm|first = Michael}}</ref>
**68th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment (Halle)
**243rd Guards Motor Rifle Regiment (Halle)
**244th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment (Schlotheim)
**28th Tank Regiment (Halle)
**54th Guards  Artillery Regiment (Halle)
**286th Guards Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Halle)
*[[39th Guards Rifle Division|39th Guards Motor Rifle Division]] - [[Ohrdruf, Thuringia|Ohrdruf]], GDR: - disbanded, 1992<ref>{{Cite web|title = 39th Guards Motorised Rifle Division|url = http://www.ww2.dk/new/army/msd/39gvmsd.htm|website = www.ww2.dk|access-date = 2016-02-16|last = Holm|first = Michael}}</ref>
**117th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment (Meiningen)
**120th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment (Ohrdruf)
**172nd Guards Motor Rifle Regiment (Gotha)
**15th Guards Tank Regiment (Ohrdruf)
**87th Guards Artillery Regiment (Gotha)
**915th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Ohrdruf)
*[[57th Guards Motor Rifle Division]] - [[Naumburg]], GDR – disbanded, 1993<ref>{{Cite web|title = 57th Guards Motorised Rifle Division|url = http://www.ww2.dk/new/army/msd/57gvmsd.htm|website = www.ww2.dk|access-date = 2016-02-16|last = Holm|first = Michael}}</ref>
**170th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment (Naumburg)
**174th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment (Weißenfels)
**241st Guards Motor Rifle Regiment (Leipzig)
**57th Guards Tank Regiment (Zeitz)
**128th Guards Artillery Regiment (Zeitz)
**901st Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Naumburg)
*119th Separate Tank Regiment - [[Bad Langensalza]]<ref name=":1" />
*390th Guards Artillery Brigade - Ohrdruf, disbanded, 1998<ref>{{Cite web|title = 390th Guards Artillery Brigade|url = http://www.ww2.dk/new/army/arty/390gvabr.htm|website = www.ww2.dk|access-date = 2016-02-16|last = Holm|first = Michael}}</ref>
*227th Separate Protection and Enforcement Battalion - Nohra<ref name=":1" />
*18th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade - Gotha<ref name=":1" />
*943rd Separate Anti-Tank Battalion - Altenburg<ref name=":1" />
*194th Separate Radio Engineering Regiment - Weimar<ref name=":1" />
*46th Separate Radio Engineering Battalion - Nohra
*678th Separate Electronic Warfare Battalion - Frankendorf
*91st Separate Communications Regiment - Weimar
*446th Separate Radio Relay Cable Battalion - Naumburg
*325th Separate Engineer Battalion - Gera
*722nd Separate Airborne Ferry Battalion - Halle
*134th Separate NBC Reconnaissance Battalion - Gera
*116th Material Support Brigade - Altenburg
*173rd Separate Equipment Maintenance and Recovery Battalion - Markensdorf
*202nd Separate Equipment Maintenance and Recovery Battalion - Oberlungwitz
*794th Separate Special Purpose Company - Nohra
*[[Air Assault Battalion (Soviet Union)|900th Separate Air Assault Battalion]] - Leipzig<ref>{{Cite web|title = 900th independent Landing-Assault Battalion|url = http://www.ww2.dk/new/vdv/900odshb.htm|website = www.ww2.dk|access-date = 2016-02-16|last = Holm|first = Michael}}</ref>
*336th Separate Helicopter Regiment - Nohra<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.ww2.dk/new/air%20force/regiment/ovp/336ovp.htm|title = 336th Independent Helicopter Regiment|access-date = 16 February 2016|website = ww2.dk|last = Holm|first = Michael}}</ref>
*65th Pontoon-Bridge Regiment - Merseburg<ref>{{Cite web|title = 65th Pontoon-Bridge Regiment|url = http://www.ww2.dk/new/army/engineer/65pomp.htm|website = www.ww2.dk|access-date = 2016-02-16|last = Holm|first = Michael}}</ref>

In February 1989, the 486th Separate Helicopter Regiment was activated at [[Jüterbog]] from the 241st, 311th, 327th and 345th Separate Helicopter Squadrons.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.ww2.dk/new/air%20force/regiment/ovp/486ovp.htm|title = 486th Independent Helicopter Regiment|access-date = 16 February 2016|website = ww2.dk|last = Holm|first = Michael}}</ref>

After the Soviet withdrawal from Germany the army was reduced in size to become 8th Guards Army Corps on 1 June 1993, and withdrawn to [[Volgograd]], the former Stalingrad. There it appears to have taken the place of the 34th Army Corps. From June 1993 to February 1995, it was commanded by [[Lev Rokhlin]]. 8th Guards Army Corps was disbanded in May 1998.<ref name=":0" />

== References ==
<references />

== Bibliography ==
*[[Antony Beevor|Beevor, Antony]]; [[Artemis Cooper|Cooper, Artemis]] (2002).  ''The Fall of Berlin 1945'' (1st ed.).  New York: Viking.
*{{Cite book|title=Вооруженные силы СССР после Второй Мировой войны: от Красной Армии к Советской|last1=Feskov|first1=V.I.|last2=Golikov|first2=V.I.|last3=Kalashnikov|first3=K.A.|last4=Slugin|first4=S.A.|publisher=Scientific and Technical Literature Publishing|year=2013|isbn=978-5-89503-530-6|location=Tomsk|language=ru|trans-title=The Armed Forces of the USSR after World War II: From the Red Army to the Soviet: Part 1 Land Forces|ref={{sfnRef|Feskov et al|2013}}}}
*[[Colin L. Powell|Powell, Colin L.]]; Persico, Joseph (1996).  ''My American Journey'' (1st ed.).  New York: Ballantine Books.

==Further reading==
*{{Commonscatinline}}
*[[Vasily Chuikov]], The Fall of Berlin, transl/pub 1969
*{{Cite book|title=Начало пути|last=Chuikov|first=Vasily|publisher=Voenizdat|year=1959|location=Moscow|language=ru|trans-title=Beginning of the Path}}
*{{Cite book|title=Гвардейцы Сталинграда идут на Запад|last=Chuikov|first=Vasily|publisher=Sovetskaya Rossiya|year=1972|location=Moscow|language=ru|trans-title=Stalingrad Guardsmen go West}}
*{{Cite book|url=http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/chuykov2/index.html|title=Конец третьего рейха|last=Chuikov|first=Vasily|publisher=Sovetskaya Rossiya|year=1973|location=Moscow|language=ru|trans-title=The End of the Third Reich}}
*{{Cite book|url=http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/chuykov/index.html|title=Сражение века|last=Chuikov|first=Vasily|publisher=Sovetskaya Rossiya|year=1975|location=Moscow|language=ru|trans-title=Battle of the Century}}
*{{Cite book|url=http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/chuykov_vi4/index.html|title=От Сталинграда до Берлина|last=Chuikov|first=Vasily|publisher=Sovetskaya Rossiya|year=1985|location=Moscow|language=ru|trans-title=From Stalingrad to Berlin}}
*{{Cite book|title=Советские войска в Германии 1945—1994|last=Dmitriev|first=S.N.|publisher=Molodaya Gvardiya|year=1994|isbn=978-5-235-02221-8|location=Moscow|language=ru|trans-title=Soviet Troops in Germany 1945-1994}}
*{{Cite book|title=Советские сухопутные войска в последний год Союза ССР. Справочник|last1=Lenskii|first1=A.G.|last2=Tsybin|first2=M.M.|publisher=B&K|year=2001|location=St. Petersburg|language=ru|trans-title=The Soviet Army in the Last Year of the USSR: A Guide}}

{{Armies of the Soviet Army}}

[[Category:Field armies of the Soviet Union|G08]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1942]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 2017]]
[[Category:Armies of the Russian Federation]]
[[Category:Army units and formations of Russia]]
[[Category:Guards Armies]]