Home Creators Posts Import Register Favorites Logout
haven't archived this post yet. have a subscription? use the importer!

Content


Files

Previews only

Elite or Not? Soviet Guards

Were Soviet Guards elite or not? Where they particularly combat effective or not? these Guards units were elite or not? One question that comes up sometimes is, if Soviet Guards units were elite or not? Or in other words if were they considerable more combat effective and/or better equipped than regular units? Cover: RIA Novosti archive, image #93172 / Vsevolod Tarasevich / CC-BY-SA 3.0 Defenders of Leningrad : Great Patriotic War soldiers in attack. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:RIA_Novosti/WWII#/media/File:RIAN_archive_93172_Defenders_of_Leningrad.jpg Cover colorization and adaption by vonKickass. »» GET OUR BOOK «« » Army Regulation Medium Panzer Company 1941 - http://www.hdv470-7.com »» SUPPORT MHV «« » patreon, see videos early (adfree) - https://www.patreon.com/join/mhv » subscribe star - https://www.subscribestar.com/mhv » paypal donation - https://paypal.me/mhvis »» MERCHANDISE «« » teespring - https://teespring.com/stores/military-history-visualized » SOURCES « Hill, Alexander: The Red Army and the Second World War. Armies of the Second World War. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK, 2017. Rottman, Gordon L.: Soviet Rifleman 1941-45. Osprey Publishing: Oxford, UK, 2011 (2007). Glantz, David M.: Colossus Reborn. The Red Army at War, 1941-1943. University Kansas Press: Kansas, US, 2005. Armstrong, Richard N.: Red Army Legacies. Essays on Forces, Capabilities, & Personalities. Schiffer Military History: Atglen, PA, USA, 1995. Nebolsin, Igor: Tank Battles in East Prussia and Poland 1944-1945.Helion & Company: Warwick, UK, 2019. Prenatt, Jamie: Katyusha. Russian Multiple Rocket Launchers 1941-Present. Osprey Publishing Ltd.: Oxford, UK, 2016. Sharp, Charles C.: The Soviet Order of Battle. World War II. An Organizational History of the Major Combat Units of the Soviet Army. Volume III: “Red Storm”. The Mechanized Corps and Guards Armored Units 1942 to 1945. George F. Nafziger: no location, 1995. Sharp, Charles C.: The Soviet Order of Battle. World War II. An Organizational History of the Major Combat Units of the Soviet Army. Volume IV: “Red Guards”. The Guards Rifle and Airborne Units 1941 to 1945. George F. Nafziger: no location, 1995. Zaloga, Steven J.; Ness, Leland S.: Companion to the Red Army 1939-1945. The History Press: Gloucesterhire, UK, 1998 (2009). Zamulin, Valeriy: The Battle of Kursk. Controversial and neglected Aspects. Helion & Company: England, 2017. Dick, C. J.: From Defeat to Victory. The Eastern Front, Summer 1944. University of Kansas Press: Kansas, US, 2016. Wikipedia Articles for mass and cross-referencing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/67th_Guards_Rifle_Division#Formation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/22nd_Guards_Rifle_Division#1st_Formation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_infantry_divisions_of_the_Soviet_Union_1917%E2%80%9357 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3rd_Guards_Motor_Rifle_Division https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Soviet_divisions_1917%E2%80%9345 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Front_(military_formation)#Soviet_fronts_in_World_War_II https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10th_Guards_Motor_Rifle_Division#Order_of_battle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3rd_Guards_Motor_Rifle_Division #SovietGuards,#EliteOrNot,#SovietGuardsEliteOrNot

Comments

Uncle Joe (Brian)

Yes, being 'Elite' could easily be a path to being regularly gutted. In any case, the Red Army improved so much in 1942-43 at every level that the Wehrmacht were now fighting a cohesive front & the pincer moves were no longer netting 100,000s of prisoners. In fact the Red Army became the 'pincer meisters'. Plus, generals [almost] the quality of Chuikov were popping up everywhere. Can they be "Somewhat Elite"?

Petar Petrovski

IMO, whenever we hear the term "Elite" applied in military terms we all think of Special Forces units. But when it comes to the Russian/Soviet military tradition, we need to take into consideration, that the first forces that can really be considered elite are the Spetnaz units that can be termed elite. Before the Red Army, the Russian Imperial Army considered the "Strelci" regiment or their Riflemen regiment their elite troops.