| 20th Army | |
|---|---|
 20th Army soldiers fighting south of Dorogobuzh, 1 September 1941 | |
| Active | 1941–1944 |
| Country |  Soviet Union |
| Branch | Red Army |
| Type | Combined arms |
| Size | Field army |
| Engagements | World War II |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Pavel Kurochkin Andrei Vlasov Nikolai Berzarin Mikhail Khozin Max Reyter Anton Lopatin Nikolai Gusev |
The 20th Army was a field army of the Red Army that fought on the Eastern Front during World War II.
The Army was first formed in the Orel Military District in June 1941. On 22 June 1941 the Army was part of the Reserve of the Supreme High Command and was located west of Moscow.
On 27 June 1941 it was proposed to Joseph Stalin that the Soviet armies (13th Army, 19th Army, 20th, 21st Army, and 22nd Army) would defend the line going through the Daugava-Polotsk-Vitebsk-Orsha-Mogilev-Mazyr [1] as part of the Reserve Front. [2]
Committed as part of Western Front in defensive battles in Belarus, Smolensk, and Vyazma. By 5 August 1941 the army, in David Glantz's words, had been 'reduced to a skeleton.' The strength of the 289th Rifle Division had fallen to 285 men, 17 machine guns, and one anti-tank gun, the 73rd Rifle Division to 100 men and 4 to 5 machine guns, 144th Rifle Division to 440 men, and 153rd Rifle Division to 750 men. [3] The Army HQ was disbanded having been encircled and destroyed in the Vyazma Pocket.
Source: Combat composition of the Soviet Army (BSSA) via tashv.nm.ru and Leo Niehorster
Reestablished in November 1941 from Operational Group Liziukov. Reformed November 1941 for the Battle of Moscow, including 331st and 350th Rifle Divisions, and the 28th, 35th, and 64th separate rifle brigades. Fought as part of the Western Front. In 1942-43 it operated on the Rzhev-Sychevka bridgehead (including 42nd Guards Rifle Division from November 1942), and took part in the Rzhev-Vyazma offensive operation. In 1944 it became part of the Stavka Reserve and was then reassigned to Kalinin Front and Leningrad Front. It was disbanded in April 1944 by being dispersed within the formations of 3rd Baltic Front.
The army was in strategic reserve from July 1943 to April 1944. In April 1944 the headquarters was disbanded and used to form the 3rd Baltic Front.
The Southwestern Front was a front of the Red Army during the Second World War, formed thrice.
The German 206th Infantry Division, was a military unit that served during World War II. Like most German infantry units it had no motorization, and relied on leg and horse mobility.
The Battle of Velikiye Luki, also named Velikiye Luki offensive operation, started with the attack by the forces of the Red Army's Kalinin Front against the Wehrmacht's 3rd Panzer Army during the Winter Campaign of 1942–1943 with the objective of liberating the Russian city of Velikiye Luki as a previous part of the northern pincer of the Rzhev-Sychevka Strategic Offensive Operation.
The Reserve Front was a major formation of the Red Army during the Second World War.
The 110th Rifle Division was a formation of the Soviet Union's Red Army during the course of World War II, which was formed, dissolved, and re-formed three times throughout the war.
The 22nd Army was a field army of the Red Army during World War II.
The 30th Army was a Soviet field army of the Red Army active between 1941 and 1943. It was re-organised to the 10th Guards Army on 16 April 1943.
The 27th Army was a field army of the Soviet Union's Red Army, which fought in World War II.
The 39th Army was a Field Army of the Soviet Union's Red Army during World War II and of the Soviet Army during the Cold War.
The 18th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Soviet Union's Red Army during the Russian Civil War, Polish–Soviet War, Winter War and World War II. The division was formed a total of five times during this period.
The 31st Army was a field army of the Red Army during the Second World War.
The 43rd Army was a Red Army field army of World War II that served on the Eastern Front. Formed in late July 1941, the army fought in the Battle of Smolensk (1941). It was forced to retreat after German troops broke through in October 1941 and subsequently fought in the Battle of Moscow. The army then fought in the Rzhev-Vyazma Offensive. After the end of the offensive, the army held its positions and transferred to the Demidov area in late 1942. It fought in the Battle of Smolensk (1943). During the summer of 1944 the army fought in Operation Bagration. In the fall the army advanced into the Baltic region and fought in the Riga Offensive (1944) and the Battle of Memel. In 1945 the army fought in the East Prussian Offensive before being placed in reserve near the end of April. The 43rd Army was disbanded postwar in July 1946.
The 11th Guards Rifle Division was a rifle division of the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War. It was disbanded in 1946.
The 48th Army was a field army of the Soviet Red Army, active from 1941 to 1945. The army was first formed in August 1941 and fought in the Leningrad Strategic Defensive Operation. The army suffered heavy losses and was disbanded in early September. Its remnants were moved to the 54th Army. Reformed in April 1942 on the Bryansk Front, the army fought in the Maloarkhangelsk Offensive in the winter of 1943. It was sent to the Central Front in March and defended the northern face of the Kursk Bulge. During the summer, it fought in Operation Kutuzov and the Chernigov-Pripyat Offensive. From November, the army fought in the Gomel-Rechitsa Offensive. The army fought in Operation Bagration from June 1944. During the offensive, the army captured Zhlobin and Bobruisk and was on the Narew by early September. During early 1945, the army fought in the East Prussian Offensive and ended the war in East Prussia during May. The army was transferred to Poland in July 1945 and its headquarters was used to form the Kazan Military District in September.
The 220th Rifle Division was briefly a Red Army motorized infantry division that was re-organised shortly after the German invasion as a standard rifle division. It managed to avoid destruction during Operation Typhoon, but only its 653rd Rifle Regiment remained battleworthy through the winter. Once rebuilt it took part in the fighting around Rzhev in 1942 and then in the follow-up to the German evacuation of the salient in the spring of 1943. When the summer offensive toward Smolensk began in August it was part of Western Front's 31st Army and it remained in this Army almost continuously for the duration of the war. During the following autumn and winter it took part in the front's increasingly futile offensives on Orsha, but in the first stages of the Destruction of Army Group Center it assisted in the liberation of that town and was awarded its name as an honorific; its rifle regiments soon also gained honors for the liberation of Minsk. Less than two weeks later it also shared credit for the liberation of the city of Grodno and was awarded the Order of the Red Banner while several of its subunits were recognized for successfully crossing the Neman River nearby. After the abortive offensive into East Prussia in October it contributed to the capture of that province in early 1945 before being moved to 1st Ukrainian Front in April, and it ended the war in Czechoslovakia. Despite its solid combat record it was disbanded during the summer.
The 251st Rifle Division was the seventh of a group of 10 regular rifle divisions formed from cadres of NKVD border and internal troops as standard Red Army rifle divisions, very shortly after the German invasion, in the Moscow Military District. It was largely based on what would become the shtat of July 29, 1941, with several variations. It served under command of 30th Army in an effort to recover Smolensk in late July and in the Dukhovshchina offensives in August and September, and was quickly reduced to a much-weakened state. It was largely encircled in the initial stages of Operation Typhoon but sufficient men and equipment escaped that it was spared being disbanded. In the following two and a half years the division slogged through the difficult and costly battles around Rzhev and Smolensk as part of 20th Army, and later 31st Army, of Western Front, including several abortive offensives toward Orsha and Vitebsk in late 1943 and early 1944. At the start of Operation Bagration in June the 251st was serving in the 39th Army of 1st Baltic Front and it won a battle honor for its part in the liberation of Vitebsk. Following this victory it advanced into the "Baltic Gap" that had formed between Army Groups North and Center, entering Lithuania and winning the Order of the Red Banner for its part in the fighting for Kaunas. The division was transferred to 43rd Army and then 4th Shock Army as the Front advanced on Riga, and two of its rifle regiments received decorations for the battles for the Latvian capital. In the first days of 1945 the 251st was reassigned yet again, to the 2nd Guards Army of 3rd Belorussian Front, and served under this Army for the duration of the war. It, and several of its subunits, received awards during the East Prussian campaign, and ended the war in East Prussia. After the war the 251st was moved into the Caucasus region, and was finally disbanded in early 1947.
The 252nd Rifle Division was the eighth of a group of 10 regular rifle divisions formed from cadres of NKVD border and internal troops as standard Red Army rifle divisions, very shortly after the German invasion, in the Moscow Military District.
The 348th Rifle Division was first formed in August 1941, as a standard Red Army rifle division, at Kuibyshev. It was assigned to 60th Reserve Army shortly after forming and took part in the winter counteroffensive in front of Moscow. Until the end of 1942 it was involved in the dismal and costly battles around the Rzhev Salient, until it was shifted to take part in the equally difficult fighting around the Demyansk Salient. Both of these German positions were evacuated in March 1943, and, after rebuilding, the division returned to the front to take part in the summer offensive along the Smolensk axis. During Operation Bagration the 348th distinguished itself in the liberation of Bobruisk, and received the name of that city as an honorific. Not long after it was also decorated for its role in the liberation of Bialystok. In 1945 it helped to liberate northern Poland during the Vistula-Oder Offensive, before being reassigned to 3rd Belorussian Front in East Prussia. In the last weeks of the war it formed part of the reserves of 1st Belorussian Front during the Berlin Operation.
The 362nd Rifle Division began forming on 10 August 1941, as a standard Red Army rifle division, at Omsk. It didn't reach the front until March 1942, assigned to the 22nd Army in Kalinin Front. It served under these commands for the next year, then was pulled out of the line for rebuilding before being moved south to 3rd Army of Bryansk Front, and later Belorussian Front, for the 1943 summer offensive, during which it was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. It served in 50th Army during Operation Bagration, and earned a battle honor during the crossings of the upper Dniepr River near Shklov, but was soon reassigned to 33rd Army, where it remained for the duration of the war. The 362nd ended the war deep into Germany with 1st Belorussian Front, but in spite of an exemplary record of service, including three unit decorations, it was disbanded shortly thereafter.
The 379th Rifle Division was raised in 1941 as an infantry division of the Red Army, and served for the duration of the Great Patriotic War in that role. It began forming in August 1941 in the Urals Military District. It first served in the winter counteroffensive west of Moscow, and later in the bitter fighting around the Rzhev salient, but was moved north late in 1942. It took up positions along the Volkhov River, mostly under command of the 8th Army, and continued to serve in this Army's battles near Leningrad until September 1943, when it was transferred to the 2nd Baltic Front, where it would stay for the remainder of its service. During this period the division served under many army and corps commands but mostly in the 3rd Shock Army. The division ended the war in Lithuania, helping to contain and reduce the German forces trapped in the Courland Pocket. By this time it was judged as being surplus to the Red Army's needs and in December 1944 its personnel were merged with the 245th Rifle Division to bring that division closer to establishment strength; the latter division also inherited its battle honor. The 379th was officially disbanded on the first day of 1945.
| Armies |
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| Guards | |
| Tank/Mechanized | |
| Guards Tank/Mechanized | |
| Shock | |
| Cavalry | |
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| Reserve Army |
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