5th Guards Mechanised Division
| 6th Mechanized Corps (1940–1941) (1942–1943) 5th Guards Mechanized Corps (1943–1945) 5th Guards Mechanized Division (1945–1957) 53rd Guards Motor Rifle Division (1957–1965) 5th Guards Motor Rifle Division (1965–1989) |
|
|---|---|
| Active | 1940 – early 1990s (including the early Mechanized Corps) |
| Country |
 Soviet Union
|
| Branch |
 Red Army
|
| Type | Mechanised Infantry |
| Size | Division |
| Part of | 40th Army (Soviet Union) (1979–1988) |
| Patron | 60th Anniversary of the USSR |
| Engagements |
World War II Soviet war in Afghanistan |
| Decorations | Order of Kutuzov II Degree |
The 5th Guards Zimovnikovskaya order Kutuzov II degree Motor Rifle Division, (Military Unit Number (V/Ch) 51852 from 1979) named on the 60th anniversary of the USSR, was a military formation of the Soviet Ground Forces. It was formed from the 6th Mechanized Corps created in 1940 and destroyed in 1941 in the beginning of Operation Barbarossa. The corps was reformed in November 1942 under the same name, but with a different organizational structure. In early 1943, the 6th Mechanized Corps was granted "Guards" status and became the 5th Guards Mechanized Corps.
It was renamed the 5th Guards Mechanized Division in 1945, and subsequently the 5th Guards Motor Rifle Division in 1965.
The 6th Mechanised Corps was formed on 15 July 1940 at Bialystok in the Western Special Military District. It was attached to the 10th Army in the Bialystok area and was under the command of Major General M.G. Khatskilevich when Operation Barbarossa began in June 1941.
The Corps initially comprised the 4th and 7th Tank Divisions and the 29th Mechanized Division, as well as several smaller units. On 22 June 1941, the 6th Mechanized Corps consisted of 32,382 men, 1,131 tanks, 242 armored cars, 162 artillery pieces, 187 mortars, 4,779 vehicles, 294 tractors and 1042 motorcycles. It included light tanks such as the T-26, Bt-7 and Bt-5 and T-28, as well as 201 of the newer T-34 and KV-1 models in the 7th Tank Division and a further 151 in the 4th Tank Division.
A report by Major General B.S. Vasil'evich, commander of 7th Tank Division, on 4 August 1941 said that the division had been at 98% enlisted strength and 60-80% officer strength. The division included 348 tanks, of which 51 were KVs and 150 T-34s. However, there was lack of supplies. It possessed only one to one and a half loads of 76mm ammunition when it entered battle, no armor-piercing ammunition for its tanks, three refills of gasoline, and a single fill of diesel fuel. The fuel ran out quickly, partially due to unclear orders. The division had to move to three new assembly areas within the first two days of the war. The division was soon immobilized south of Grodno in Belarus.
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Wikipedia