The 8th Guards Order of Lenin Combined Arms Army (abbreviated 8th GCAA) was an army of the Soviet Army, as a successor to the 62nd Army of the Soviet Union's Red Army, which was formed during World War II and was disbanded in 1998 after being downsized into a corps.

The Soviet 8th Guards Army was formed from the 62nd Army in May 1943 and received Guards status in recognition of its actions in the Battle of Stalingrad. It went on to defend the right bank of the Donets and fight in the Donbass Strategic Offensive in August and September. It then fought in the Lower Dnepr Offensive, where it captured Zaporizhia. During winter and spring 1944 the army fought in the Dnieper–Carpathian Offensive. After the capture of Odessa, the army was transferred to the Kovel area and fought in the Lublin–Brest Offensive during the summer, capturing Lublin, crossing the Vistula and seizing the Magnuszew bridgehead. The army defended the bridgehead until January 1945, when it helped launch the Vistula–Oder Offensive. The army helped capture Łódź, Poznań and Küstrin (modern Kostrzyn nad Odrą). The army then fought in the Battle of Berlin. During the war it was led by its commander during the Battle of Stalingrad, Vasily Chuikov. After the war the army was stationed at Nohra, covering the strategic Fulda Gap during the Cold War. In 1993 the army was withdrawn from Germany to Volgograd (the former Stalingrad) and there downsized to a corps, before being disbanded in 1998.

World War II

Activated in October 1941 as the 7th Reserve Army, the Army was re-designated the 62nd Army at Stalingrad in July 1942. It was among the victors of Stalingrad and thus re-designated the 8th Guards Army on 5 May 1943, in accordance with a Stavka directive dated 16 April 1943.

In July 1943, it took part in the Izyum-Barvenkovo Offensive (July 17–27), and in August–September - in the Donbass strategic offensive operation (August 13 - September 22) . Developing the offensive in the direction of the Dnieper, the Army with other troops of the Southwestern Front liberated Zaporozhye (October 14), crossed the Dnieper south of Dnipropetrovsk south and captured a bridgehead on its right bank. By this time 28th, 29th and 4th Guards Rifle Corps were part of the army.

The army was part of the 3rd Ukrainian Front during the Dnieper-Carpathian Offensive. By March 25, 1944, the Prut River had fallen and the 3rd Ukrainian Front was dispatched to secure Odessa. On April 2, Vasili Chuikov's Eighth Guards Army and Forty-Sixth Army attacked through a blizzard and, by April 6, had driven the defenders past the Dniester River and isolated Odessa.

During the Cold War, 8th Guards Army stood opposed to NATO forces (specifically the US V Corps) along the strategically vital Fulda Gap in West Germany. In June 1964, the 21st Guards Motor Rifle Division transferred to the 1st Guards Tank Army and was replaced by the 20th Guards Motor Rifle Division. On 22 February 1968, it was awarded the Order of Lenin for success in combat training. In May 1983, the 20th Guards Motor Rifle Division transferred to the 1st Guards Tank Army and was replaced by the 27th Guards Motor Rifle Division.

  • Headquarters at Weimar-Nohra
  • 227th Separate Protection and Enforcement Battalion - Weimar-Nohra
  • 794th Separate Spetsnaz Company - Weimar-Nohra
  • 747th Communications Center - Weimar-Nohra
  • 11th Missile Brigade - Jena-Forst
  • 449th Missile Brigade - Arnstadt
  • 79th Guards Tank Division - Jena, GDR: - disbanded, 1992
  • 17th Guards Tank Regiment (Saalfeld)
  • 45th Guards Tank Regiment (Weimar)
  • 211th Guards Tank Regiment (Jena)
  • 247th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment (Weimar)
  • 172nd Guards Artillery Regiment (Rudolstadt)
  • 1075th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Weimar)

thumb|Memorial cemetery to Soviet soldiers in the [[Battle of Küstrin in 1945]]

  • 27th Guards Motor Rifle Division - General-Maerker-Kaserne, Halle, GDR: - to Totskoye, Volga Military District
  • 68th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment (Halle)
  • 243rd Guards Motor Rifle Regiment (Halle)
  • 244th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment (Schlotheim)
  • 28th Tank Regiment (Halle)
  • 54th Guards Artillery Regiment (Halle)
  • 286th Guards Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Halle)
  • 39th Guards Motor Rifle Division - Ohrdruf, GDR: - disbanded, 1992
  • 117th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment (Meiningen)
  • 120th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment (Ohrdruf)
  • 172nd Guards Motor Rifle Regiment (Gotha)
  • 15th Guards Tank Regiment (Ohrdruf)
  • 87th Guards Artillery Regiment (Gotha)
  • 915th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Ohrdruf)
  • 57th Guards Motor Rifle Division - Naumburg, GDR – disbanded, 1993
  • 170th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment (Naumburg)
  • 174th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment (Weißenfels)
  • 241st Guards Motor Rifle Regiment (Leipzig)
  • 57th Guards Tank Regiment (Zeitz)
  • 128th Guards Artillery Regiment (Zeitz)
  • 901st Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Naumburg)
  • 119th Separate Tank Regiment - Bad Langensalza
  • 227th Separate Protection and Enforcement Battalion - Nohra
  • 336th Separate Helicopter Regiment - Nohra
  • 65th Pontoon-Bridge Regiment - Merseburg

In February 1989, the 486th Separate Helicopter Regiment was activated at Jüterbog from the 241st, 311th, 327th and 345th Separate Helicopter Squadrons.

After the Soviet withdrawal from Germany the army was reduced in size to become 8th Guards Army Corps on 1 June 1993, and withdrawn to Volgograd, the former Stalingrad. There it appears to have taken the place of the 34th Army Corps. From June 1993 to February 1995, it was commanded by Lev Rokhlin. 8th Guards Army Corps was disbanded in May 1998.