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Russian-Guards vs. Russian Units
04-13-2011, 11:49 AM, (This post was last modified: 04-13-2011, 11:51 AM by Strela.)
#6
RE: Russian-Guards vs. Russian Units
All,

I have done a fair bit of work in this area and actually working on a project that includes the first upgrading of units to Guards status. Most of the above statements are correct.

Guards is a 'honorific' handed out for continual exemplary performance. The 100th Rifle Division was the first division renamed, becoming 1st Guards Rifle Division. Units were normally brigade up to Army level who might earn this title. One exception is the Katuysha units that were formed in late 1941 - these were called Guards Mortar Battalions but this was purely an organisational name - not earned on merit.

There was an emphasis to give Guards units better equipment, but in the first year of the war in the east, Soviet units were lucky to get ANY equipment. Some of the first person accounts I am reading emphasize the lack of basic weapons and supplies as well as the complete breakdown in communications and command - something that is hard to model in Panzer Campaigns.

Soviet units did tend to be run right down to a minimum level and then either be disbanded or reconstituted in the rear. Many Rifle divisions were recreated two or even three times, being disbanded after heavy losses and then recreated 6 to 12 months later with the original designation. In the above example of the 100th Rifle Division it was renamed as a Guards Division in September 1941 and a replacement 100th Rifle Division was then reformed in July 1942.

With so many Soviet Divisions lost in various encirclements in 1941 there were plenty of numbers available for reformation!


So in summary, Guards were viewed as elite units that had 'earned' the name. They did receive better grade equipment (if you can call lend lease that!) and tended to get more replacements earlier.

David
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Messages In This Thread
RE: Russian-Guards vs. Russian Units - by Tide1 - 04-13-2011, 11:46 AM
RE: Russian-Guards vs. Russian Units - by Strela - 04-13-2011, 11:49 AM
RE: Russian-Guards vs. Russian Units - by Arkan - 04-13-2011, 08:21 PM
RE: Russian-Guards vs. Russian Units - by Al - 04-14-2011, 04:40 AM

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