The 20th Guards Army, (originally designated as the 4th Tank Army, 4th Guards Tank Army in 1945, 4th Guards Mechanised Army in 1946, and the 20th Guards Army in 1960 within the Soviet Red Army), is a field army, since 1991, part of the Russian Ground Forces.
It was first formed within the Stalingrad Front from July 1942 and incorporated the 22nd and 23rd Tank Corps, one rifle division, one tank brigade, and the 8th Separate Fighter Air Brigade, under the command of General Major Kruchenkin. In August 1942 it fought on the southern approaches to Stalingrad, having conducted some successful counterattacks against units of the German 48th Panzer Corps. The much diminished army was redesigned the 65th Army in October 1942. From 1946 to 1957 the Army was named 4th Guards Mechanised Army. It was renamed 20th Guards Army in 1960, and served for many years as part of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. It took part in the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968. In the 1980s it controlled the 25th Tank Division (HQ Vogelsang, disbanded 1989), 32nd Guards Tank Division (HQ Juterbog, disbanded 1989), 90th Guards Tank Division (HQ Bernau, withdrawn to Chernorech'e in the Volga Military District, early 1990s), the 35th Guards Motor Rifle Division (HQ Krampnitz, disbanded in 1992 in Germany), the 6th Guards Separate Motor Rifle Brigade at Berlin-Karlhorst (withdrawn to Kursk) and many combat support and service support units, including two surface-to-surface missile brigades, a SAM brigade, an engineer-sapper brigade, and two helicopter regiments. After the fall of the Soviet Union 20th Guards Army was withdrawn to Voronezh in the Moscow Military District.