The 2nd Guards Army was formed according to the order of the Staff of the Supreme High Command (
Stavka) from October 23, 1942, on the basis of the 1st Reserve Army. Formation and training took place in
Tambov,
Michurinsk and
Morshansk areas. On 1 November 1942 the
Combat composition of the Soviet Army lists 1st Reserve Army with the
1st Guards Rifle Corps –
24th Guards,
33rd Guards and
98th rifle divisions [under Guards General-Major I. I. Missan], and the
13th Guards Rifle Corps with the
49th Guards,
3rd Guards and
387th divisions. By the time of the
Battle of Stalingrad, the 2nd Guards Army had become one of the most powerful units in the Red Army. The 2nd Guards Army appeared on the scene after the
Soviet Operation Uranus had successfully encircled the
German Sixth Army at
Stalingrad in November 1942. In December 1942, as preparations started for
Operation Saturn, the 2nd Guards Army was ordered by
Joseph Stalin to prepare for an attack on
Rostov. The assault and capture of Rostov was the ultimate goal of the Red Army for Operation Saturn. In December 1942, plans for Operation Saturn had to be altered. The
German Operation Wintergewitter, led by
Field Marshal Erich von Manstein's
Army Group Don, made an attack on the
Stalingrad Front in an effort to relieve the
Sixth Army in Stalingrad. Thus, Operation Saturn was changed to
Operation Little Saturn, which was to be a counter-attack that would be launched as soon as Operation Wintergewitter ended. The German forces, spearheaded by
Army Group Hoth, made rapid initial advances but was stalled at the
Myshkova River.
Colonel-General Hermann Hoth's
panzer divisions were at a standstill and were suffering heavy casualties, even before the bulk of the 2nd Guards Army had arrived. By this time, Manstein realized that the operation was a failure. The 2nd Guards Army, under
General Rodion Malinovsky, had been transferred to the Stalingrad Front to halt the offensive. Stalin had agreed to this decision. After Operation Wintergewitter had ended, Soviet forces in the
South-West Front led by the
First Guards Army successfully launched Operation Little Saturn against the
Italian Eighth Army. Following this, the 2nd Guards Army and the
51st Army launched another counter-offensive, this time against Army Group Hoth, in the days before
Christmas 1942. Not only had Operation Wintergewitter been halted, the Red Army had made substantial gains against Army Group Hoth, Army Group Don, and also
Army Group A in the
Caucasus region that month. Until late 1943, the
2nd Guards Mechanised Corps was operating as part of the army. The 2nd Guards Army made a very significant contribution to the Soviet halt of Operation Wintergewitter and the successful counter-attacks that followed. In February 1944, the Army relocated to the area of the
Perekop Isthmus. The
Crimean Offensive was launched across the Perekop Isthmus on 8 April 1944 by elements of the 2nd Guards Army and
51st Army, under the
4th Ukrainian Front. On 1 May 1944 the army comprised the
13th Guards Rifle Corps (3rd, 24th and
87th Guards Rifle Divisions);
54th Rifle Corps (
126th, 315th, and
387th Rifle Divisions);
55th Rifle Corps (
33rd Guards, 87th, and
347th Rifle Divisions); and the 78th and 116th Fortified Regions. In cooperation with other troops of the 4th Ukrainian Front and the Black Sea Fleet, Sevastopol was liberated on May 9, 1944. In May and June the 2nd Guards Army was relocated to the area of the cities
Dorogobuzh Elnya. On May 20, was moved to the
Reserve of the Supreme High Command and on July 8 the unit was a part of the 1st Baltic Front. By that time, it consisted of the 11th and the 13th and 54th Guards Rifle Corps. In this structure, on 5–20 July 1944 took part in the
Vilnius Offensive/operation at the end of July, and in the Siauliai offensive reflect enemy counterattacks west and north-west of Siauliai. In October, the 2nd Guards Army participated in the Memel offensive. On December 20 it was reassigned to the 3rd Belorussian Front. On 1 December 1944 the 2nd Guards Army, part of the
1st Baltic Front, consisted of the
11th Guards Rifle Corps (
2nd,
32nd and
33rd Guards Rifle Divisions),
13th Guards Rifle Corps (
3rd,
24th,
87th Guards Rifle Divisions and
16th Rifle Division),
1st Rifle Corps (145th,
306th, and
357th Rifle Divisions), artillery (including 21st Artillery Breakthrough Division and
2nd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division), tank forces, and other formations and units. During the
East Prussian Offensive in January–April 1945, the army broke through long-term German strategic defenses, eliminated in conjunction with other troops surrounded the front of its group (south-west of Königsberg and Samland group). == Post War ==