41st Guards Combined Arms Army explained

Unit Name:41st Guards Combined Arms Army
Native Name:41-я гвардейская общевойсковая армия
Dates:May 16, 1942 – April 9, 1943 / 1998–present
Country: (until 1991)
Branch: (until 1991)
Type:Combined Arms
Size:Army
Command Structure:Central Military District
Garrison:Novosibirsk
Battles:Operation Mars
Russo-Ukrainian War
Current Commander:Lieutenant General Sergey Ryzhkov
Notable Commanders:German Tarasov
Ivan Managarov
Iosif Popov

The 41st Guards Combined Arms Army (Russian: 41-я гвардейская общевойсковая армия) is a field army of the Russian Ground Forces, currently part of the Central Military District. Originally, it was formed in 1942 as part of the Soviet Red Army, during World War II. It was reformed in 1998, when the Transbaikal Military District and Siberian Military District were amalgamated.

Soviet Union

The 41st army was created in May 1942, on the base of Alexander Dmitrijewitsch Beresin and German Tarasov's operational groups. Its structure also included the 134th, 135th, 179th and 234th Rifle Divisions, the 17th Guards Rifle Division, the 21st Tank Brigade, two separate Guards mortar battalions, and several other separate elements.[2]

From May to November 1942, the army was focused on defending the South-Western approach to the city of Bely. In late November, the army joined the Rzhev offensive operation (also known as "Operation Mars"). During that time, the army was engaged with the Wehrmacht XLI Panzer Corps. The army's offensive failed, and they were surrounded by the German XXX Army Corps (Germany). By December 8, the surrounded forces were destroyed.

In March 1943, the newly reinforced 41st Army joined the Rzhev-Vyazma operation. The offensive was a success and German forces in the Rzhev-Vyazma area were annihilated. Following the operation, the forces of the army were transferred to the 39th Army and the 43rd Army, while the 41st Army itself was sent to the STAVKA reserves. On April 9, 1943, the army was disbanded and its remaining forces would form the Reserve Front.

Russian Federation

The 41st Army was reformed on 1 December 1998 from the former headquarters of the Siberian Military District at Novosibirsk, part of the Siberian Military District. In 2002, the 122nd Guards Motor Rifle Division was relocated to Aleysk and became part of the army. During the Russian military reform in 2009, the division was converted into the 35th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade.[3] [4] On 1 September 2010, the army was transferred to the Central Military District after the Siberian Military District was disbanded.[5]

A dedicated electronic warfare battalion is scheduled to be formed within the 41st Combined Arms Army by the end of 2019.[6]

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

In the context of the 2021 lead-up to the invasion of Ukraine, major elements of the 41st Army were reported to have deployed west to reinforce units in the Western and Southern Military Districts assembled to threaten Ukraine. These units were said to include elements of the 35th, 55th Mountain and 74th Guards Motorised Rifle Brigades, as well as elements of the 120th Artillery Brigade, and 119th Missile Brigade, and the 6th Tank Regiment of the 90th Guards Tank Division. All told, some 700 MBTs, IFVs, and SPHs, as well as Iskander ballistic missile launchers were reported to have been repositioned to the west.[7]

Starting during the early hours of February 24, 2022, elements of the 41st Army invaded Ukraine, crossing the border in the area of the tripartite border (Russia, Ukraine, Belarus) and going on the offensive towards Kyiv. Units of the 41st Army, including the 35th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade,[8] [9] the 74th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade,[10] [11] and the 55th Mountain Motor Rifle Brigade[12] were reportedly operating near the city of Chernihiv throughout February and March 2022.

Major-General Andrei Sukhovetsky, the deputy chief of the 41st army, was killed during the invasion on February 28.[13] [14] In May 2022, parts of the 41st Combined Arms Army were part of the forces fighting in the battle of the Siverskyi Donets.

By February 2023, the army continued fighting in Luhansk along the Svatove–Kreminna line where the army's 35th Motor Rifle Brigade was seen fighting Ukrainian forces at Chervonopopivka.[15]

During the 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive, the army was observed to be in the process of a slow redeployment from Luhansk to southern Ukraine in August as fighting intensified there.[15]

Structure

June 1, 1942:[16]

September 1, 1942:[17]

December 1, 1942:[18]

March 1, 1943:[19]

2009 composition

2016 composition

Later (at least by 2020) the 24th (Kyzyl) and the 40th Engineer-Sapper Regiments (Ishim, Tyumen Oblast) were subordinated to the army.

Commanders

Soviet formation

Russian formation

References

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Russians Are Rushing Reinforcements Into Their Ocheretyne Breakthrough. For The Ukrainians, The Situation Is Desperate.. David. Axe. Forbes.
  2. Web site: 41-я армия. samsv.narod.ru.
  3. Web site: 122nd Guards Motorised Rifle Division. Holm. Michael. www.ww2.dk. 26 May 2017.
  4. Web site: 23 февраля – праздник тех, за чьей спиной радостно детям, спокойно женам, надежно друзьям. https://web.archive.org/web/20220511103912/http://aleysk22.su/about/info/news/3857/. dead. May 11, 2022. aleysk22.su. ru. 2017-05-26.
  5. Web site: 41-я общевойсковая армия. structure.mil.ru. Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. ru. 41st Combined Arms Army. 26 May 2017.
  6. News: New Russian EW battalion to cover Siberian border region . Bruce . Jones . January 28, 2019 . . An electronic warfare (EW) battalion will be formed by the end of 2019 in Russia’s Central Military District (CMD) as part of the 41st Combined Arms Army, based in Novosibirsk, local media reports..
  7. Web site: Russia builds up forces on Ukrainian border . . December 2021.
  8. Web site: Illia Ponomarenko . Illia Ponomarenko . EXCLUSIVE: Voice message reveals Russian military unit's catastrophic losses in Ukraine . The Kyiv Independent . 2 March 2022 . 23 April 2022.
  9. Web site: Третій день збройного нападу. Чернігівщина. Suspilne. 26 February 2022. 16 June 2024. uk. Тетяна. Крижева.
  10. Web site: Courtney-Guy . Sam . 24 February 2022 . Russian platoon 'surrenders saying they didn't think they had been sent to kill' . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220225065833/https://metro.co.uk/2022/02/24/russian-platoon-surrenders-saying-they-didnt-think-they-had-been-sent-to-kill-16169716/ . 25 February 2022. . . en.
  11. Web site: 2022-02-24. 2024-04-11. Взвод російських розвідників здався в полон ЗСУ. uk. Gazeta.ua.
  12. Web site: Krutov . Mark . 18 June 2022 . Dungeon Of Death: Survivor Recounts Dire Conditions For Captives Of Russian Soldiers In Ukraine Basement . 2022-08-24 . RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty . en.
  13. Grozev . Christo . Christo Grozev . christogrozev . 1499320660476182529 . 3 March 2022 . ! Ukrainian armed forces announced that they have killed maj. gen. Andrey Sukhovetskiy, a Spetsnaz commander and deputy chief of the 41 Army in Novosibirsk. This appears confirmed by a spokesperson of the Russian Paratroopers Union. If confirmed, major demotivator for RU. . en . 9 March 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220306030919/https://twitter.com/christogrozev/status/1499320660476182529 . 6 March 2022 . live.
  14. News: Russian Major General Andrei Sukhovetsky killed by Ukrainians in blow to Putin. Independent.co.uk. 7 March 2022.
  15. Web site: Institute for the Study of War . 2023-09-04 . Institute for the Study of War . en.
  16. Web site: Боевой состав Советской Армии на 1 июня 1942 г. . 2008-05-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120208123101/http://www.tashv.nm.ru/BoevojSostavSA/1942/19420601.html . 2012-02-08 . dead .
  17. Web site: Боевой состав Советской Армии на 1 сентября 1942 г. . 2008-05-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070910183004/http://tashv.nm.ru/BoevojSostavSA/1942/19420901.html . 2007-09-10 . dead .
  18. Web site: Боевой состав Советской Армии на 1 декабря 1942 г. . 2008-05-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080514130359/http://tashv.nm.ru/BoevojSostavSA/1942/19421201.html . 2008-05-14 . dead .
  19. Web site: Боевой состав Советской Армии на 1 марта 1943 г. . 2008-05-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080514124339/http://tashv.nm.ru/BoevojSostavSA/1943/19430301.html . 2008-05-14 . dead .
  20. News: Приказ быстро построиться. Ivanov. Ivan. 9 February 2016. Rossiskaya Gazeta. ru. Order to quickly build. 13 October 2016.
  21. Web site: В Абакан перебрасывают бригаду ракетных войск России . НИА-Хакасия. 15 May 2020. 2021-10-10. 2021-10-10. https://web.archive.org/web/20211010075933/http://www.19rus.ru/more.php?UID=97994 . live.