| Unit Name: | 41st Guards Combined Arms Army |
| Native Name: | 41-я гвардейская общевойсковая армия |
| Dates: | May 16, 1942 – April 9, 1943 / 1998–present |
| Country: | (until 1991) |
| Branch: | (until 1991) |
| Type: | Combined Arms |
| Size: | Army |
| Command Structure: | Central Military District |
| Garrison: | Novosibirsk |
| Battles: | Operation Mars Russo-Ukrainian War |
| Current Commander: | Lieutenant General Sergey Ryzhkov |
| Notable Commanders: | German Tarasov Ivan Managarov Iosif Popov |
The 41st Guards Combined Arms Army (Russian: 41-я гвардейская общевойсковая армия) is a field army of the Russian Ground Forces, currently part of the Central Military District. Originally, it was formed in 1942 as part of the Soviet Red Army, during World War II. It was reformed in 1998, when the Transbaikal Military District and Siberian Military District were amalgamated.
The 41st army was created in May 1942, on the base of Alexander Dmitrijewitsch Beresin and German Tarasov's operational groups. Its structure also included the 134th, 135th, 179th and 234th Rifle Divisions, the 17th Guards Rifle Division, the 21st Tank Brigade, two separate Guards mortar battalions, and several other separate elements.[2]
From May to November 1942, the army was focused on defending the South-Western approach to the city of Bely. In late November, the army joined the Rzhev offensive operation (also known as "Operation Mars"). During that time, the army was engaged with the Wehrmacht XLI Panzer Corps. The army's offensive failed, and they were surrounded by the German XXX Army Corps (Germany). By December 8, the surrounded forces were destroyed.
In March 1943, the newly reinforced 41st Army joined the Rzhev-Vyazma operation. The offensive was a success and German forces in the Rzhev-Vyazma area were annihilated. Following the operation, the forces of the army were transferred to the 39th Army and the 43rd Army, while the 41st Army itself was sent to the STAVKA reserves. On April 9, 1943, the army was disbanded and its remaining forces would form the Reserve Front.
The 41st Army was reformed on 1 December 1998 from the former headquarters of the Siberian Military District at Novosibirsk, part of the Siberian Military District. In 2002, the 122nd Guards Motor Rifle Division was relocated to Aleysk and became part of the army. During the Russian military reform in 2009, the division was converted into the 35th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade.[3] [4] On 1 September 2010, the army was transferred to the Central Military District after the Siberian Military District was disbanded.[5]
A dedicated electronic warfare battalion is scheduled to be formed within the 41st Combined Arms Army by the end of 2019.[6]
In the context of the 2021 lead-up to the invasion of Ukraine, major elements of the 41st Army were reported to have deployed west to reinforce units in the Western and Southern Military Districts assembled to threaten Ukraine. These units were said to include elements of the 35th, 55th Mountain and 74th Guards Motorised Rifle Brigades, as well as elements of the 120th Artillery Brigade, and 119th Missile Brigade, and the 6th Tank Regiment of the 90th Guards Tank Division. All told, some 700 MBTs, IFVs, and SPHs, as well as Iskander ballistic missile launchers were reported to have been repositioned to the west.[7]
Starting during the early hours of February 24, 2022, elements of the 41st Army invaded Ukraine, crossing the border in the area of the tripartite border (Russia, Ukraine, Belarus) and going on the offensive towards Kyiv. Units of the 41st Army, including the 35th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade,[8] [9] the 74th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade,[10] [11] and the 55th Mountain Motor Rifle Brigade[12] were reportedly operating near the city of Chernihiv throughout February and March 2022.
Major-General Andrei Sukhovetsky, the deputy chief of the 41st army, was killed during the invasion on February 28.[13] [14] In May 2022, parts of the 41st Combined Arms Army were part of the forces fighting in the battle of the Siverskyi Donets.
By February 2023, the army continued fighting in Luhansk along the Svatove–Kreminna line where the army's 35th Motor Rifle Brigade was seen fighting Ukrainian forces at Chervonopopivka.[15]
During the 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive, the army was observed to be in the process of a slow redeployment from Luhansk to southern Ukraine in August as fighting intensified there.[15]
June 1, 1942:[16]
September 1, 1942:[17]
December 1, 1942:[18]
March 1, 1943:[19]
Later (at least by 2020) the 24th (Kyzyl) and the 40th Engineer-Sapper Regiments (Ishim, Tyumen Oblast) were subordinated to the army.