7th Guards Tank Division 7th Guards Tank Division The 7th Guards Tank Division was a tank division of the Soviet Army during the Cold War. The division traced its heritage back to the 7th Guards Tank Corps, formed during World War II in July 1943 from the 15th Tank Corps for its performance in Operation Kutuzov, the Soviet counteroffensive after the Battle of Kursk. It was part of the 3rd Guards Tank Army during the war, and was converted into a tank division like the rest of the tank corps in 1945. Stationed in Czechoslovakia postwar, it was briefly downsized into a regiment in
German tanks in World War II — High Command. In actual tank-on-tank encounters the German armor performed poorly, but as a coherent unit, the combined arms tactic of the Blitzkrieg shocked the Allies. The German Panzer forces at the start of World War II were not especially impressive. Only 4% of the defense budget was spent on armored fighting vehicle (AFV) production. Guderian had planned for two main tanks: the Panzer III, which was in production; and the Panzer IV with a 75 mm gun, which did not have one. The design work for the Panzer IV had begun in 1935 and trials of prototypes were