In the Soviet-German War, both sides of the war refined their own elite combat strength, the Soviet army gave the battle-hardened troops the title of Guards, and the ace combat strength of the German army was destined from the beginning of the French campaign, and it was the ace armored division of the German army.
The concept of the Guards originated in the time of Tsarist Russia, when under the Emperor's command, there was a subordinate unit called the Guards, which was similar to what we called the Imperial Forest Army in ancient times, the elite of the soldiers in the army, except the Emperor, this unit did not obey the orders of anyone, except the Emperor. The first Russian Guards, established during the time of Peter the Great, were the most tenacious units in World War II, and the Soviets promoted them to the Guards as a sign of recognition.
Every Soviet Guard army is a huge force, with 11 special army groups, 6 tank army groups, 40 infantry corps, 217 infantry divisions, and the air force has been awarded the title of Guards. In contrast, The German Panzer Division has long been famous. The Germans initially used only 10 armored divisions to wipe out the whole of France, and the German armored division represented indestructible strength, enough to fight everything.
In the Soviet-German War, the German panzer division was still invincible at first, but from the beginning of the Battle of Moscow, the situation changed subtly, and more and more German panzer divisions were scattered, returned to be reorganized, and then scattered again. The glory of the German panzer division was already lost at the Battle of Kursk. On the Soviet side, however, there were more and more Guards.
For example, the 316th Infantry Division emerged in the Battle of Moscow, the Soviet 62nd Army, which contributed greatly to the neutrality of the Moscow Campaign, later became the Eighth Guards Army of the Soviet Army, and as for the Soviet Fifth Guards Tank Army, it was the Soviet 40th Tank Army that suffered heavy casualties in the early stages of the war, that is, the 4th Tank Army that made great achievements in Stalingrad, because of its outstanding performance in Stalingrad, this unit became the Fifth Tank Army of the Soviet Guards.
The Guards were the sharp knife units of the Soviet Army, and every Guard soldier was trying to maintain the glory of the Guards, even at the cost of their lives. This will to fight, honed in battle, is the most invincible. What do you think?