| Unit Name: | 4th Guards Army |
| Dates: | 1943–1947 |
| Country: | Soviet Union |
| Branch: | Red Army / Soviet Army |
| Type: | Field army |
| Battles: | |
| Notable Commanders: | Grigory Kulik Georgiy Zakharov |
The 4th Guards Army was an elite Guards field army of the Soviet Union during World War II and the early postwar era.
On April 16, 1943, the Supreme Command ordered the army to be established. On May 5, 1943, the army was formed on the basis of the 24th Army in the Steppe Military District. It included the 20th and 21st Guards Rifle and 3rd Guards Tank Corps. On July 3 the Army was placed in Stavka reserve, on July 18 included in the Steppe Front, and on July 23 once again put in Stavka reserve.[1]
The Army fought in decisive actions such as the Battle of Kursk, the Second Jassy–Kishinev Offensive, the struggle for central Hungary, and the Vienna Offensive. At the end of the war, the Fourth Guards Army was part of the 3rd Ukrainian Front.
It was disbanded in March 1947.[2]
This Political commissar position was intended to maintain control by the Communist Party.
The order of battle for the Fourth Guards Army on May 1, 1945, was:
Fourth Guards Army
20th Guards Rifle Corps
5th Guards Airborne Division
7th Guards Airborne Division
80th Guards Rifle Division
21st Guards Rifle Corps
66th Guards Rifle Division
31st Guards Rifle Corps
123rd Gun-Artillery Brigade
438th Antitank Regiment
466th Mortar Regiment
257th Anti-aircraft Regiment
56th Engineer-Sapper Brigade
After the war for a period the 4th Guards Army joined the Central Group of Forces in Austria until its withdrawal.