| 5th Guards Combined Arms Red Banner Order of Zhukov Army | |
|---|---|
| 5-я гвардейская общевойсковая Краснознамённая, ордена Жукова армия | |
 Great emblem of the 5th Combined Arms Army | |
| Active | 1939–Present |
| Country |  Soviet Union (until 1991) Russia (since 1991) |
| Branch | Soviet Army (until 1991) Russian Ground Forces |
| Type | Combined Arms |
| Size | World War II: usually several corps (~10 divisions) Postwar: 5–7 divisions |
| Part of | Eastern Military District |
| Garrison/HQ | Ussuriysk |
| Engagements | |
| Decorations | |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Major General Ivan Yeruslanov |
The 5th Guards Combined Arms Red Banner Order of Zhukov Army (5-я гвардейская общевойсковая Краснознамённая, ордена Жукова армия) is a Russian Ground Forces formation in the Eastern Military District.
It was formed in 1939, served during the Soviet invasion of Poland that year, and was deployed in the southern sector of the Soviet defences when Adolf Hitler's Operation Barbarossa began in June 1941 during World War II. In the disastrous first months of Barbarossa, the 5th Army was encircled and destroyed around Kiev.
Reformed under Lelyushenko and Govorov, it played a part in the last-ditch defence of Moscow, and then in the string of offensive and defensive campaigns that eventually saw the Soviet armies retake all of Soviet territory and push west into Poland and beyond into Germany itself. The 5th Army itself only advanced as far as East Prussia before it was moved east to take part in the Soviet attack on Japan.
Since 1945, under the Soviet and now Russian flag it has formed part of the Far East Military District keeping watch on the border with the People's Republic of China. As the Russian armed force shrunk, it found itself part of the larger Eastern Military District in the twenty-first century.
On December 2, 2021, the 5th Army was awarded the Order of Zhukov.[3]
On February 19, 2024, the 5th Army was awarded the honorary designation "Guards".[4]
- ^ "Rondeli Russian Military Digest: Issue 118, 24 January - 30 January 2022". Retrieved 17 July 2023.
- ^ Mappes, Grace; Wolkov, Nicole; Stepanenko, Kateryna; Barros, George; Clark, Mason. "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, June 11, 2023". Institute for the Study of War. Archived from the original on 12 June 2023. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
- ^ "Министр обороны России Сергей Шойгу вручил государственные награды лучшим воинским коллективам Вооружённых сил РФ" [Russian Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu presented state awards to the best military teams of the Russian Armed Forces]. mil.ru (in Russian). 2 December 2021. Archived from the original on 2 December 2021.
- ^ "Указ Президента Российской Федерации от 19.02.2024 № 131". Официальное опубликование правовых актов. 19 February 2024. Archived from the original on 19 February 2024. Retrieved 19 February 2024.