Group of Soviet Forces in Germany
military unit
The Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSFG), known as the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (GSOFG) from 1945 to 1989 and the Western Group of Forces (WGF) from 1989 to 1994 were the troops of the Soviet Army in East Germany. The Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany was formed after the end of World War II in Europe from units of the 1st and 2nd Belorussian Fronts. The group helped suppress the East German uprising of 1953. After the end of occupation functions in 1954 the group was renamed the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. The group represented Soviet interests in East Germany during the Cold War. Before changes in Soviet foreign policy during the early 1990s, the group shifted to a more offensive role and in 1989 became the Western Group of Forces. They remained in the eastern part of Germany after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and German reunification until 1994.
History
The Group of Soviet Occupation Forces, Germany was formed after the end of World War II in Europe from formations of the 1st and 2nd Belorussian Fronts, commanded by Georgy Zhukov. On its creation on 9 June 1945 it included:
1st Guards Tank Army (HQ Radebeul)
8th Guards Mechanised Corps
11th Guards Tank Corps
2nd Guards Tank Army (HQ Fürstenberg)
Soviet 1st Mechanized Corps
9th Tank Corps
12th Guards Tank Corps
4th Guards Tank Army (HQ Eberswalde)
5th Guards Mechanised Corps
6th Guards Mechanised Corps
10th Guards Tank Corps
2nd Shock Army (HQ Goldberg, then Schwerin)
109th Rifle Corps (46th, 90th, 372nd Rifle Divisions)
116th Rifle Corps (86th, 321st, 326th Rifle Division)
40th Guards Rifle Corps (101st Guards, 102nd Guards, 272nd Rifle Division)
3rd Shock Army (HQ Stendal)
7th Rifle Corps (146th, 265th, 364th Rifle Divisions)
12th Guards Rifle Corps (23rd Guards, 52nd Guards, 33rd Rifle Divisions)
79th Rifle Corps (150th, 171st, 207th Rifle Divisions)
9th Tank Corps
5th Shock Army (HQ Nauen, then Potsdam)
9th Rifle Corps (248th, 301st Rifle Divisions)
26th Guards Rifle Corps (89th Guards, 94th Guards, 266th Rifle Divisions)
32nd Rifle Corps (60th Guards, 295th, 416th Rifle Divisions)
230th Rifle Division
three independent tank brigades
8th Guards Army (HQ Jena, then Nohra)
4th Guards Rifle Corps (35th, 47th, 57th Guard Rifle Divisions)
28th Guards Rifle Corps (39th, 79th, 88th Guards Rifle Divisions)
29th Guards Rifle Corps (27th, 74th, 82nd Guards Rifle Divisions)
11th Tank Corps
47th Army (HQ Eisleben, then Halle)
77th Rifle Corps (185th, 260th, 328th Rifle Division)
125th Rifle Corps (60th, 76th, 175th Rifle Divisions)
129th Rifle Corps (82nd, 132nd, 143rd Rifle Divisions)
1st Guards Tank Corps
25th Tank Corps
49th Army (HQ Wittenberg)
70th Army (HQ Rostock)
First Polish Army (two divisions)
Dnieper Flotilla
16th Air Army (HQ Woltersdorf)
The 4th Artillery Corps also became part of the GSFG in 1945.
An order of 29 May 1945 had ordered the disestablishment of the 16th, 25th, 47th, 38th, 61st, 62nd, 70th, 77th, 80th, 89th, 91st, 114th Rifle Corps, and 121st Rifle Corps, and of the 71st, 136th, 162nd, 76th, 82nd, 212th, 356th, 234th, 23rd, 397th, 311th, 415th, 328th, 274th, 370th, 41st, 134th, 312th, 4th, 117th, 247th, 89th, 95th, 64th, 323rd, 362nd, 222nd, 49th, 339th, 383rd, 191st, 380th, 42nd, 139th, 238th, 385th, 200th, 330th, 199th, 1st, 369th, 165th, 169th, 158th, and 346th Rifle Divisions.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q200598. VIAF identifies the subject as 235684761. The Library of Congress control number is n86060916. 2 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1945, 1989, 1994 and 1953.
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