The 16th Guards Tank Division was a tank division of the Soviet Army and later the Russian Ground Forces. The division traced its lineage back to the World War II 3rd Tank Corps, formed in the spring of 1942. The corps received its baptism of fire in the Zhizdra-Bolkhov Offensive during the summer and spent the fall in reserve. In early 1943, the corps fought in Operation Gallop and was destroyed in the Third Battle of Kharkov in late February. The corps was rebuilt in the following months and joined the 2nd Tank Army in June. The corps fought in the Battle of Kursk in July and in the in August and September. In early 1944, it fought in the Korsun-Shevchenkovsky Offensive and the Uman–Botoșani Offensive. For its actions in the latter, the corps received the honorific "Uman" and the Order