The 1st Guards Tank Brigade, of the 8th Guards Mechanized Corps, traced its history to the 15th Tank Division that was formed in July of 1940, in the Kiev Special Military District. Shortly after the war started the brigade was attached to the newly-formed 18th Army, watching the Romanian frontier. After being almost totally destroyed by the invading Germans, the survivors were withdrawn to Stalingrad and were used to form the 4th Tank Brigade. With panzers knocking at the gates of Moscow, the 4th was called upon to stop the Germans. In battles around Mtsensk and along the Volokolamsk Highway, the 4th Tank Brigade was the first Soviet armored brigade to be awarded the "Guards" title. As part of the 8th Guards Mechanized Corps, the newly-named 1st Guards Tank Brigade went on to fight in the battles of Kursk and Berlin.
