Soviet Guards Heavy Tanks

Bagration: Soviet

Soviet Guards Heavy Tank Regiments

Not all Guards Heavy Tank Regiments were equipped with the IS-2 heavy tank during 1944. Many regiments were still armed with KV-1e, KV-1s, KV-85 and Churchill heavy tanks.

These older equipped units were still engaged in action and fought well, their thick armour still giving them ample protection from most German guns. 

However, as the year went on more and more Guards Heavy Tank Regiments were re-equipped with the IS-2 heavy tank, with only a few regiments left with older equipment by the end of 1944.

Fortress Europe

Sample Guards Heavy Tank Regiments with KV-1s tanks

26th Guards Heavy Tank Regiment
The 26th Guards Heavy Tank Regiment was formed in January 1943 with KV-1 tanks, but did not enter action until July 1943 with the 61st Army. The regiment spent spring and most of 1944 in reserve before it was re-equipped with IS-2 tanks in December 1944. In 1945 the regiment served with the 21st Army.

KV-1s column
KV-1s tanks ready to go to the front

33rd Guards Heavy Tank Regiment
The 33rd Guards Heavy Tank Regiment was formed in February 1943 with KV tanks. It supported infantry formations for the rest of war serving on the Volkhov front during 1943 and 1944. It didn’t have its KV-1s tanks replaced with IS-2 tanks until November 1944 at the earliest, after which it supported the 69th Army in 1945.

49th Guards Heavy Tank Regiment
The 49th Guards Heavy Tank Regiment was formed in November 1943 with KV tanks. From March 1943 to February 1944 it served on the Leningrad Front, before returning to the Moscow Military District to refit with IS-2 tanks in April 1944.

58th Guards Heavy Tank Regiment
The 58th Guards Heavy Tank Regiment was formed in August 1943 with KV tanks.
It was immediately sent to the front as a support unit, before going into reserve at the end of 1943.

In early 1944 it was assigned to the 1st Ukrainian Front to support infantry. In April 1944 it return to the Moscow Military District where it was disbanded to form a new Heavy Assault Gun Regiment.

70th Guards Heavy Tank Regiment
Formed in January 1944, the 70th Guards Heavy Tank Regiment was equipped with KV tanks. It went into battle for first time during the assault on Finland in June 1944. It supported the 7th Army on the Svir River.

KV-1s
KV-1e with PT mine roller

It was re-equipped with IS-2 tanks in August-October 1944 and went into the 3rd Byelorussian Front reserve. In October 1944 it was assigned to the 47th Army who it supported for the remainder of the war.

73rd Guards Heavy Tank Regiment
This regiment was formed in June 1944 and equipped with KV tanks. It served on the Finnish front and in the Arctic Circle. It seemed to have served until the end of the war with its KV tanks.

Sample Guards Heavy Tank Regiments with KV-85 tanks

15th Guards Heavy Tank Regiment
The 15th Guards Heavy Tank Regiment was formed between October and November 1942 and was initially equipped with British Churchill tanks. It first saw combat during the fighting for Stalingrad in February 1943 where it was part of the 21st Army. 
KV-85
KV-85 In late 1943 it was re-equipped with KV-85 tanks and attached to the 2nd Tank Corps. From March to June 1944 it was re-equipped with IS-2 tanks and then assigned to the Baltic Fronts for the rest of the war. They ended the war in Lithuania with the 1st Shock Army.

29th Guards Heavy Tank Regiment
The 29th Guards Heavy Tank Regiment was formed on the Volga in December 1942 initially as a Separate Tank Battalion armed with T-34 and T-70 tanks.

However, by August 1943 it had been re-equipped as a Guards Heavy Tank Regiment with KV-1s tanks. In November 1943 it was re-equipped again with KV-85 tanks. In October 1944 it was once more re-equipped, this time with IS-2 tanks. During this time it was part of the 1st Ukrainian Front Reserves. It was finally assigned to the 4th Guards Tank Corps in October 1944, which it served with until the end of the war.

31st Guards Heavy Tank Regiment
This regiment was formed in November 1942 on the Leningrad from as Separate Tank Battalion armed with T-34 and T-70 tanks.

KV-1s tank that took many shots before it was knocked out

It was converted into a Heavy Tank Regiment between April and May 1944 and equipped with KV-85 tanks. The regiment fought in the Baltic States until it was re-equipped again with IS-2 tanks in April 1945. It ended the war in Lithuania in May 1945 with the 1st Shock Army.

Churchill III Sample Guards Heavy Tank Regiments with Churchill tanks

36th Guards Heavy Tank Regiment
The 36th Guards Heavy Tank Regiment was formed in March 1943 with Lend-lease Churchill IV tanks. It was assigned to the 18th Tank Corps in June 1943. During the Kursk operations it was part of the 5th Guards Tank Army at the Battle of Prokhorovka, though it was in the second echelon. It was assigned to infantry support duties in late 1943. In June 1944 it was re-equipped with IS-2 tanks. It spent the rest of the war with the 9th Tank Corps.
59th Guards Heavy Tank Regiment
The 59th Guards Heavy Tank Regiment was formed in July 1943 and assigned to the 9th Mechanised Corps in August, it remained with this corps until the end of the war. The 9th Mechanised Corps was armed with Lend-lease vehicles and it seems likely that the 59th Guards Heavy Tank Regiment was armed with Churchill IV tanks. It was re-equipped with IS-2 tanks by July 1944. By January 1945 it had reformed as the 383rd Guards Heavy Assault Gun Regiment armed with ISU-122s.
Knocked out Churchill IV

KV-1s

You can field most these tanks in Flames Of War in Fortress Europe.


Last Updated On Friday, March 5, 2021 by Wayne at Battlefront