8th Guards Combined Arms Army (Russia)

The 8th Guards Combined Arms Army (abbreviated 8th GCAA) is an army of the Russian Ground Forces, headquartered in Novocherkassk, Rostov Oblast, within Russia′s Southern Military District, that was formed in 2017. Military Unit в/ч 61877.

8th Guards Combined Arms Army
emblem
Great emblem
Active2017–present
Country Russia (2017–present)
Branch Russian Ground Forces
TypeCombined arms
SizeArmy
Part ofSouthern Military District
Battle honoursGuards unit Guards
Commanders
Current
commander
Colonel General Gennady V. Anashkin

Since 2017

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The formation of the new 8th Combined Arms Army began in 2017; the first stage was intended to be completed in June 2017.[1] The 8th Combined Arms Army as of 2021 includes:

  • 150th Motor Rifle Division (re-established in 2016), also based at Novocherkassk (в/ч 22179).[2][3]
    • 102nd Motor Rifle Regiment (в/ч 91706)
    • 103rd Motor Rifle Regiment (в/ч 91708)
    • 68th Tank Regiment (в/ч 91714)
    • 163rd Tank Regiment (в/ч 84839)
    • 174th Reconnaissance Battalion (в/ч 22265)
    • 381st Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment (в/ч 24390)
    • 224th Separate Anti-Tank Artillery Battalion
    • 933rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (в/ч 15269)
  • 20th Guards Motor Rifle Division in the Volgograd region 9 (в/ч 58550) [3]
    • 255th Motor Rifle Regiment (Volgograd) (в/ч 34605)
    • 33rd Motor Rifle Regiment (Kamyshin)
    • 944th Guards Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment (в/ч 21511)
    • 487th Separate Anti-Tank Battalion
    • 358th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (в/ч 26006)
  • 464th Rocket Brigade [4] with the former 20th Guards Brigade reportedly having expanded into a division-strength formation.[5]
  • 242nd Mechanized Regiment (Kamyshin, Volgograd Oblast);
  • 428th Separate Tank Battalion (Volgograd proximity) [6][7]
  • 47th Missile Brigade (в/ч 33166) (equipped with the Iskander surface-to-surface missile system) [8][9]
  • 238th Artillery Brigade (equipped with 2A65 Msta-B guns and 9K57 Uragan multiple launch rocket systems)[9]
  • 77th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade was deployed at Korenovsk and equipped with S-300V4 anti-aircraft missile system.[4]

Support to the army is to be provided by fighter aircraft, bombers and ground attack aircraft (primarily drawn from the 4th Air and Air Defence Forces Army) and, in certain areas, by ships and submarines of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Navy).[1]

Russian invasion of Ukraine

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Units from the 8th Guards Army participated in the Russian invasion of Ukraine under the command of Lieutenant General Andrei Sychevoi.[10][11]

According to experts, the 8th Combined Arms Army was intended to be a centrepiece of the Southern Military District in the southern European part of the Russian Federation, protecting from threats in that region.

Ukraine, the United States, and some analysts describe the 1st (Donetsk) and 2nd (Luhansk) Army Corps of the Russian separatist forces in Donbas, Ukraine, as under the command of the 8th CAA HQ.[12][13][14][15] As of 2021, subordinate units within these corps are said to include: 4 Motorized Rifle Brigades, 2 Motorized Rifle Regiments, 2 special forces battalions, 1 tank battalion, 1 reconnaissance battalion and 1 artillery brigade (1st Corps) and 3 Motorized Rifle Brigades, 1 Motorized Rifle Regiment, 1 tank battalion, 1 reconnaissance battalion and 1 artillery brigade (2nd Corps).[4]

Ukrainian officials reported that the commander of the army's 150th Motor Rifle Division, Major General Oleg Mityaev, was killed on 15 March in the Siege of Mariupol.[16] Army commander Lieutenant General Andrey Mordvichev[17] was claimed by Ukrainian intelligence to have been killed in action near Kherson airport in Chornobaivka on March 18, 2022 during the 2022 Chornobaivka attacks.[18][19] This was proven wrong when a video showing Mordvichev and Ramzan Kadyrov was released ten days later.[20] On 16 April, Russian officials admitted the death of army deputy commander Major General Vladimir Petrovich Frolov in combat in Ukraine.[21]

The 8th Combined Arms Army has been involved in the 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive around the city of Marinka.[22]

On August 5, 2024, by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation, the army was awarded the honorary title of "Guards" for mass heroism and bravery, fortitude and courage shown by the army personnel in combat operations to protect the Fatherland and state interests in armed conflicts.[23]

References

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  1. ^ a b Алексей Рамм; Евгений Андреев (March 17, 2017). В Южном военном округе появится новая армия. Известия.
  2. ^ "The 8th Combined Arms Army". Russian Defense Policy. 17 March 2017. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  3. ^ a b "RUSSIAN REGULAR GROUND FORCES ORDER OF BATTLE" (PDF). October 2023.
  4. ^ a b c "Russian Military Forces: Interactive Map".
  5. ^ "Rondeli Russian Military Digest: Issue 81, 29 March - 9 May 2021".
  6. ^ "Rondeli Russian Military Digest: Issue 99, 13 September - 19 September 2021".
  7. ^ "Rondeli Russian Military Digest: Issue 119, 31 January – 6 February 2022".
  8. ^ Batashvili, David (2022-01-17). "Rearmament and Modernization". Rondeli Russian Military Digest. No. 117.
  9. ^ a b "Rondeli Russian Military Digest: Issue 95, 16 August - 22 August 2021".
  10. ^ "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, March 24". Institute for the Study of War. 24 March 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-03-25. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  11. ^ "#Russian forces face mounting difficulties replacing combat losses in #Ukraine, including the possible death of the commander of the 150th Motor Rifle Division near #Mariupol. (info and footage from twitter (some info may be inaccurate and/or unconfirmed) Twitter references will be replaced with better sources when possible)". Twitter. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  12. ^ Holopatiuk, Leonid (2020-07-01). Security Dialogue on the Vienna Document 2011 (PDF). 950th Meeting of the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation.
  13. ^ "Muzhenko: There are more than 30,000 Russian soldiers in the Donbas". UAWire. 2018-08-17. Archived from the original on 2018-08-17. Retrieved 2021-11-25.
  14. ^ Bielieskov, Mykola (2021-09-21). "The Russian and Ukrainian Spring 2021 War Scare". Center for Strategic & International Studies. Archived from the original on 2021-09-23. Retrieved 2021-11-25.
  15. ^ Bowen, Andrew S. (2021-11-19). "Russian Troop Movements and Tensions along the Ukrainian Border". Insight. Congressional Research Service.
  16. ^ "War in Ukraine: Fourth Russian general killed - Zelensky". BBC News. 16 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  17. ^ "Грандиозный парад Победы прошел в Волгограде". Волгоградская Правда (in Russian). 2020-06-24. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  18. ^ "Советник Зеленского: «По предварительным данным, в результате удара ВСУ убит генерал-лейтенант РФ Андрей Мордвичев»". The Insider (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  19. ^ "According to preliminary data, Lieutenant-General Andrey Mordvichev was killed when Ukrainian defenders destroyed a command post at Kherson airport. (info and footage from twitter (some info may be inaccurate and/or unconfirmed) Twitter references will be replaced with better sources when possible)". Twitter. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  20. ^ "Chechen Leader Travels to Mariupol: Reports". The Moscow Times. 28 March 2022.
  21. ^ "Russia Loses Another Major General in Ukraine Fighting". WSJ.
  22. ^ "Discussions in Russia about who is responsible for successes in vicinity of Marinka – ISW".
  23. ^ "Указ Президента Российской Федерации от 05.08.2024 № 663". Официальное опубликование правовых актов. 2024-08-05. Archived from the original on 2024-08-05. Retrieved 2024-08-05.

Further reading

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