21st Army (Red Army)

The 21st Army ( Russian 21-я армия ) was a major military unit of the Red Army , the first formation of which was deployed in 1942 on the central and southern section of the Eastern Front (on the Don Front ). The second formation, set up in July 1943, was deployed in 1944 on the Karelian Isthmus and at the end of the war in Silesia and in the Bohemia and Moravia region.

history

1941

The 21st Army was formed in the Volga Military District in the spring of 1941 according to the directive of the Defense Commissioner of the USSR and was activated to strengthen the western border district. Lieutenant General WF Gerasimenko was appointed Commander in Chief of the Army, Division Commissioner SJ Kolonin was appointed a member of the Military Council and Major General W. N. Gordov was appointed Chief of Staff . On June 21, on the eve of Operation Barbarossa , the army headquarters left Kuibyshev and was moved to the Belorussia military district . After arriving in Gomel , the army was reinforced with the cavalry group of Major General MD Borisov and the independent 117th Rifle Division. The Stawka transferred the Army on June 25 in the reserve of the High Command (19th, 20th, 21st and 22nd Army) of the Western Front (66th, 63rd, 45th, 30th and 33rd Rifle Corps with a total of 14 infantry divisions ). In view of the difficult situation at the front, the troops of the 21st Army were instructed to launch a counterattack in the direction of Bobruisk in order to drive the enemy out of the city and to restore the situation in this section of the front along the Berezina . The German Air Force continuously bombed railways and highways as well as train stations, making it impossible for the army columns to operate in daylight. In this regard, the troops had to be unloaded at night and outside the front to reach the threatened Dnieper line. On a more than 250 km long front along the Dnieper between Mogilew and Gomel the army troops entered the defensive battle against the German troops without sufficient connection. At the beginning of the Battle of Smolensk , the 21st Army consisted of 6 rifle, 2 tank and 1 motorized divisions:

117th Rifle Division (Colonel Matvej Fedorowitsch Starostin)

63rd Rifle Corps (Major General Leonidas Grigoryevich Petrowski )

53rd Rifle Division (Colonel Iwan Jakowljewitsch Bartenjew)
148th Rifle Division (Colonel Filipp Michailowitsch Tscherokmanow )
167th Rifle Division (Major General Vasili Stepanowitsch Rakowski)

66th Rifle Corps (Major General Fyodor Pawlowitsch Sudakow , then General FD Rubtzow )

61st Rifle Division (Colonel Alexander Jemiljanowitsch Hofman)
154th Rifle Division (Major General Jakow Stepanowitsch Fokanow)

25th Mechanized Corps (Major General SM Kriwoschein )

50th Panzer Division (Colonel BS Bacharow )
55th Panzer Division (Colonel WN Badanow)
219th Motorized Rifle Division (Major General Ivan M. Skugarew)

After Lieutenant General WF Gerasimenko was appointed commander of the neighboring 13th Army , Colonel General F. I. Kuznetsov took over the leadership of the 21st Army on July 10th. Units of the 63rd Rifle Corps under Major General Petrovsky crossed the Dnieper that day and advanced 16 km, regaining the cities of Shlobin and Rogachev . Subsequently, the 21st Army continued the offensive in the direction of Bobruisk , was able to extend the advance to 35 km depth and then led defensive battles on the line between Bobruisk and Mosyr . During this time, all other armies withdrew from the German forces to the east, leaving the flanks of the 21st Army defenseless. On the orders of the high command, the retreat had to take place south, the enemy succeeded in cutting off the escape routes, which meant that the armed forces of the 21st Army had to fight heavy wing battles in order to keep the retreat in the direction of Priluki - Pirjatin and later Akhtyrka open. At the end of July 1941, the 21st Army, part of the newly formed Central Front , took command of Colonel General FI Kuznetsov , whereupon Lieutenant General MG Yefremov was given the command of the 21st Army.

Army organization on August 1, 1941

67th Rifle Corps, Major General Filipp Feodosjewitsch Schmachenko (102nd, 151st and 155th Rifle Divisions)
63rd Rifle Corps, Major General LG Petrowski (61st, 154th and 167th Rifle Divisions)
21st Rifle Corps, Major General WB Borisov (42nd, 117th and 187th Rifle Divisions)
25th Mechanized Corps, Major General Semyon Moisseyevich Krivoschein (50th and 55th Armored Divisions, 219th Motorized Division)

Already on the defensive at the end of July, the 21st Army was held in the Gomel area by 5 German infantry divisions, while three other divisions began to cross the Dnieper south of Shlobin . In view of the threatening situation, the army commander gave permission to withdraw the troops to the east bank of the Dnieper. The 63rd Rifle Corps was surrounded twice in the pursuit, many units managed to break out and inflict considerable losses on the enemy. On August 7th, Major General WN Gordow was appointed deputy commander of the 21st Army.

On August 12, the battle for Gomel began , the 63rd Corps was surrounded between Rogachev and Shlobin. Lieutenant General G. Petrowski was killed on August 17th in the breakout battle. On August 25, 1941, the 21st Army was subordinated to the Brjansk Front , it had to go back further to the southeast and suffered heavy losses in personnel and heavy material. On August 31, the Desna river was crossed; it was not possible to keep the occupied line of defense on the left bank of the river, as five German divisions had already overtaken the columns. The distance to the neighboring 40th Army also increased to 60 kilometers. On September 5, the German Panzer Group 2 threw itself into the breach with the aim of getting into the rear of the south-western front. The 21st Army, which was bypassed on the right flank and also on the left wing from the west by the German 2nd Army advancing towards Chernigov , threatened to be encircled and tried to withdraw over the Desna . The general retreat pushed the 21st and 40th Armies back into the Neschin area and on September 6th the troops were subordinated to the Southwest Front . Neschin and Bachmatsch fell on September 13, and the defensive front of the 21st Army , which had been thrown back on Priluki , was converted to mobile defense. General Kuznetsov could not re-establish the lost connection with the 40th Army . In the Kessel Battle of Kiev nine rifle divisions (24th, 42nd, 55th, 75th, 117th, 187th, 219th, 232nd and 277th SD) of the 21st Army were included and were taken prisoner by Germany. Until September 22, the remnants of the 21st Army fought to break out and then concentrated on reorganization in the Akhtyrka region .

The 21st Army was reorganized, in Akhtyrka the 295th Rifle Division was re-formed from the personnel who had escaped from the encirclement. In addition there were the 1st Guards Rifle Division (Major General IN Russyanow), the 81st Rifle Division, the 1st Tank Brigade (Colonel AM Nasina), the 129th Tank Brigade and the 2nd Cavalry Corps (Major General PA Below ) with the 5th and 9th. Cavalry Division. General command was taken over by Colonel General JT Tscherewitschenko , who set up a new 80 km wide front on the east bank of the Psel between Lebedyn and Senkow. In the south of this line the 5th Cavalry Corps of General FW Kamkow and on the right the 40th Army secured . The German offensive south and north of Kharkov involved the unfinished formations of the 21st Army in violent fighting on September 27 on the Psel and Shtepovka . On October 6, the troops of the 40th and 21st Armies began to withdraw to the right wing of the southwest front on the line Sudscha , Sumy , Kotelw via Belgorod to the northern apron of Kharkov. The headquarters of the 21st Army was established in Graiworon . On October 10 the German 75th and 168th Infantry Divisions occupied Sumy, parts of the 79th and 44th Infantry Divisions occupied Akhtyrka. The troops of the 21st Army fought for Bogoduchow , which was evacuated on October 12th. In view of the critical situation, the Stavka decided on October 15 to return the armies of the Southwest Front to the Kastornoje , Stary Oskol , Nowy Oskol , Waluiki , and Kupyansk lines from October 17 . The withdrawal also meant the abandonment of Belgorod (October 24) and Kharkov. Chasing in the direction of Belgorod, the German troops captured Graivoron and Borissowka on October 19 and Krasnaya Yaruga and Rakitnoye on October 20 .

Until October 22, the units of the 21st Army concentrated on the first central line of defense between Belgorod and Volchansk , then on the morning of October 25 the retreat to the Oskol River continued. The German 6th Army advanced on all roads in the direction of the Oskol and Seversky Donets . Units of the 168th and 79th Infantry Divisions of the German LI were occupied by the 21st Army . Army Corps , after conquering Belgorod, bridgeheads on the east bank of the Donets. According to the operational instructions of October 28, the 21st Army with the 81st, 297th and 226th Rifle Divisions and the 10th Tank Brigade had to organize the line from Teleschowka, Klinowez, Bolscheroroitskoje and hold it between Novy Oskol-Volchansk and Wolokonovka . The 21st Army attacked the advance guard of the German 79th Infantry Division on the Seversky Don on November 9th with the 226th Rifle Division and to the left of it the 76th Mountain Division of the 38th Army . Then the 226th and 81st Rifle Divisions advanced in the area west of Schebekino and Koroch. Until December 1941, the divisions of the 21st Army, with the exception of Saschnoye, Dalnaya Igumenka, Belovskoye and Razumnoye, secured along the eastern bank of the Seversky Donets as far as Volchansk. The 297th Rifle Division was on the line of villages Radkowka, Podjarugi and Kosak; the 81st Rifle Division secured along the Razumnaya River from Zajachiy to Scheino and the 226th Rifle Division stood on the line Mjasoedovo, Krutoy Log, Toplinka, Shebeko. The headquarters of the 21st Army was in Novy Oskol .

1942

From mid-December 1941 to January 1942, the 21st Army took part in the offensive to Kursk and Obojan . In the winter and spring of 1942, the troops fought defensive battles on the newly occupied line, the 21st Army at this time consisted of the 1st Guard, 76th, 124th, 163rd, 226th and 297th Rifle Divisions, the 1st Army Division motorized brigade and 10th tank brigade and the 8th motorized NKVD division.

On May 1, 1942, the 21st Army was assigned the 76th, 227th, 293rd, 297th and 301st Rifle Divisions, the 1st and 10th tank brigades as well as the 8th separate tank battalion and 4 heavy artillery regiments.

Major General Alexei Ilijtsch Danilow was appointed commander of the 21st Army on June 5, which included the 76th, 81st, 124th, 226th, 227th, 297th Rifle Divisions and 10th Armored Brigade. On 30 June 1942, the German started 6th Army , the company Blue and broke through at Volchansk defending the 21st Army, Korocha was occupied on July 1, 1942nd By the end of July 2, 1942, German troops surrounded part of the formations of the 40th and 21st Armies west of Stary Oskol in the strip of the Bryansk Front to a depth of 60 to 80 km and in the strip of the Southwest Front up to 80 km. The 60th , 6th and 63rd Armies were sent to Voronezh from the Stavka reserve. The remnants of the defeated 28th Army were transferred to the 21st Army. At the same time, the newly formed 5th Panzer Army was concentrated in the Jelez area , reinforced by the 7th Panzer Corps to counterattack in the area north of Voronezh . After heavy fighting in the Akhtyrka area , the 21st Army withdrew to Belgorod. In connection with the German Don Offensive , the 21st Army was reinforced with two rifle divisions and the 13th Panzer Corps. On the morning of June 28, the German troops attacked the Brjansk Front and advanced 60-80 kilometers in two days, tearing the seam between the 21st and 28th Army . Parts of the 8th, 124th, 227th and 297th Rifle Divisions, which were temporarily cut off, broke through to the east to the Oskol River. On the orders of the Supreme Command, the 21st Army, consisting of the 63rd, 76th and 124th Rifle Divisions, concentrated in the Frolowo area and became part of the Stalingrad Front .

Soon the troops of the 38th Army on the Don took up the defense with the 9th Guards, 278th, 300th, 304th and 333rd Rifle Divisions. During the same period the 23rd Rifle Division was transferred from the Kalinin Front as reinforcement to the Don sector. At the end of August the 21st Army at Serafimowitsch had 6 rifle divisions, one armored division and other units. The southern Don bridgehead at Kletskaya gradually expanded from 2 to 16 km deep and 12 km wide. At the end of July 1942 the fighting for Stalingrad began, the German troops managed to cross the Don at Kalatsch and to reach the Volga. On October 14, 1942, Major General IM Tschistjakow took command of the 21st Army, which still held the bridgehead on the right bank of the Don, which created favorable conditions for the concentration of Soviet troops for a later counterattack. On November 19, at 8:50 a.m., the troops of the south-western front went on the offensive in Operation Uranus after an hour and a half of artillery preparation from the Kletskaya bridgehead. The 21st Army advanced on the left wing with the 76th Rifle Division as a shock group. At that time, the 21st Army consisted of 6 divisions (63rd, 76th, 96th, 277th, 293rd and 333rd SD), the 4th Panzer and 3rd Cavalry Corps. Opposite, the Romanian 4th and 5th Army Corps defended, which did not have sufficient anti-tank defense. According to the dispositions established at the end of October 1942, the commander of the 21st Army, Major General Tschistjakow, launched the main blow on his left flank (15 km long) with 3 rifle divisions (63rd, 293rd and 76th) in the first squadron and 2 rifle divisions ( 333rd and 277th) in the second season. The task of developing the breakthrough in the main direction. On the right side of the army, two reinforced regiments of the 96th Rifle Division launched a distracting attack in the direction of Golovsky. At 10 a.m. the Army's 76th SD broke through the enemy defenses and at the end of the day took control of the border to a depth of 5 to 6 km. The 293rd and 76th Rifle Divisions were able to break through the enemy lines to a width of 9 km and a depth of 5 to 7 km. After this success, the army commander introduced the reserve mobile group of the 4th Panzer Corps (General Kravchenko) and 3rd Guards Cavalry Corps ( Pliyev ) to build on the success of the first squadron.

The 293rd and 76th Rifle Divisions surrounded the Romanian 5th Army Corps in the Baschowski, Belonemuhin and Raspopinskaya area. The introduction of the units of the 96th and 333rd Rifle Divisions cut off the enemy's retreat to the south and split the Romanian troops. The city of Kalatsch was reached on the morning of November 23rd and on the same day the ring around the German 6th Army was closed by parts of the 4th Mechanized Corps. On November 23, the 76th Rifle Division (Colonel NT Tawartkeladze) was renamed the 51st Guards and four days later the 63rd Rifle Division (Colonel ND Kosin) was renamed the 52nd Guards Division.

1943

From December 30, 1942, the 21st Army became part of the Don Front and held the so-called Marinowka- with the 51st, 52nd, 96th, 120th, 173rd, 252nd, 277th, 293rd and 298th Rifle Divisions. Sims against the encircled German 6th Army. Almost 2,000 cannons and mortars and 71 tanks were concentrated in the 21st Army sector, 222 cannons and 8 tanks per kilometer of the front. On January 10, 1943, the main attack was led by the right wing of the neighboring 65th Army with the 23rd and 304th Rifle Divisions, with only a modest portion allocated to the 21st Army. On January 10, the 21st Army succeeded in removing the Marinowka Sims after heavy fighting. On January 26th, soldiers from the 13th Guards Division of the 62nd Army were encountered south of the village of Krasny Oktyabr . On January 30, the commander of the 21st Army ordered the cessation of heavy fire, only the regimental artillery up to 45 mm were excluded. The combat area in the south of the city, where German troops were still holding, was already so limited that it was no longer possible to use the heavy artillery. On the same day the troops of the 21st and 64th Armies met, on January 31st the southern and central parts of the pocket surrendered. The use in the Battle of Stalingrad brought the 21st Army to the rank of Guard Army. On January 21, 1943, the 293rd Rifle Division was renamed 66th Guards on February 7th, the 96th Rifle Division was renamed the 68th Guards and the 120th Rifle Division was renamed the 69th Guards Rifle Division. On March 1, the renaming of the 173rd and 298th Rifle Divisions in the 77th and 80th Guards Rifle Divisions followed. On February 7, 1943, the 4th Panzer Corps was renamed the 5th Guards Panzer Corps. The 23rd Rifle Division, which became part of the 21st Army after the Battle of Stalingrad, was renamed the 71st Guards Rifle Division.

The 21st Army transferred to the Stawka Reserve, left Stalingrad and from March 5, the 51, 52, 67, 71 Guards, as well as the 160 and 376 rifle divisions of the new rifle divisions in the area south of Oryol formed central front available. In connection with the poor situation in the Kharkov area , the 21st Army was ordered to march south immediately after converting to the Voronezh Front . On the morning of March 18, when the army was marching south of Obojan, it became known that German troops had captured Belgorod and were advancing north into the gap between the 40th and 69th armies . After the 21st Army had developed, it stopped the German advance northwest of Belgorod between March 18 and 21 and went into defense on the line from Dmitryevka - Trirechnoye - Berezov - Shopino. On April 22, 1943, the 21st Army was for their achievements in the Stalingrad and Belgorod by decree of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet in the 6th Guards Army renamed.

Reorganization

A third new formation of the 21st Army was formed on July 12, 1943 on the basis of the 3rd Reserve Army on the Western Front ; General Nikolai Ivanovich Krylov became the army commander, and Major General Pavel G. Tichomirov acted as chief of staff. As part of the Western Front , she took part in the Smolensk Operation (August 7 to October 2, 1943) and the Battle of Orsha in the summer of 1943 .

61st Rifle Corps, Major General AM Ilyin (51st, 62nd and 119th Rifle Divisions)
63rd Rifle Corps, Major General PK Koschewoi (63rd, 70th and 76th Rifle Divisions)
95th and 174th Rifle Divisions

At the end of October 1943 the troops of the 33rd Army were surrendered and the army command withdrew the Stawka reserve, where other troops were soon subordinated.

As part of the Leningrad Front , the 21st Army took part in the Vyborg-Petrozavodsk operation with new units in June 1944 . The 21st Army attacked Valkeasaari on June 10 and achieved a breakthrough on the first line of defense with the Finnish 4th Corps (General Laatikainen ). On June 19, the third line of defense was reached and the important port city of Vyborg was taken on June 20 with the help of landing troops (parts of the 59th Army ) . On June 21st, the Stawka ordered the further advance of the 21st Army on the newly drawn Soviet-Finnish border after the winter war and on Lake Saimaa in the Finnish heartland. The troops could only advance a few kilometers at the beginning and had to retreat to their previous defense positions from July 15.

Army organization in July 1944

30th Guards Rifle Corps (45th, 63rd and 64th Guards Rifle Divisions)
97th Rifle Corps, Major General MM Busarov (178th, 358th, 372nd Rifle Divisions)
108th Rifle Corps, Major General MF Tikhonov (46th, 90th, 314th Rifle Divisions)
109th Rifle Corps, Major General IP Alferow (72nd, 109th, 286th Rifle Divisions)
110th Rifle Corps, Major General AS Grjasnow (168th, 265th, 268th Rifle Divisions)

From October 1, 1944, the army was back in the reserve of the High Command, and on November 17, it was transferred to the 3rd Belarusian Front . In January 1945, the 21st Army was part of the 1st Ukrainian Front and took part in the Sandomier-Silesian Operation .

Army organization in February 1945

55th Rifle Corps, Lieutenant General JW Nowoselski

225th Rifle Division, Colonel Pavel Muraschew
229th Rifle Division, Colonel Alexander Pypyrjew
285th Rifle Division, Colonel Nikolai Sukharev

118th Rifle Corps, Major General AF Naumow

128th Rifle Division, Colonel Ephraim Dolgow
282nd Rifle Division, Colonel Nikolai Lysenko
291st Rifle Division, Major General Vasily Sajotschkowski

117th Rifle Corps, Major General WA Trubachev

72nd Rifle Division, Major General Ilya Jastryebov
120th Rifle Division, Major General Ivan Govorov
125th Rifle Division, Colonel Vasily Zinoviev

During the Upper Silesian Operation , which began on March 15, 1945 , the army attacked Grottkau, the 117th Rifle Corps threw back the German VIII. Army Corps by March 24th and occupied the city of Neisse , which had been hard-fought since March 16th . At the end of the war, the army troops were still involved in the Prague operation at the beginning of May 1945 and advanced on the Giant Mountains from the Hirschberg area via Gablonz in the direction of Pardubitz .

guide

Commanders

Lieutenant General Vasily Filippowitsch Gerasimenko (June 6 - July 6, 1941)

Colonel-General Fyodor Issidorowitsch Kuznetsov (July 6-24 , 1941)

Lieutenant General Mikhail Grigoryevich Eefremov (July 24 - August 7, 1941)

Major General Vasily Nikolajewitsch Gordow ( 7-24 August 1941)

Lieutenant General Vasily Ivanovich Kuznetsov (August 25 - September 26, 1941)

Colonel-General Jakow Timofejewitsch Tscherewitschenko (October 5-15 , 1941)

Major General Vasily Nikolayevich Gordow (October 15, 1941 - June 5, 1942)

Major General Alexei Ilyich Danilov (June 5 - October 14, 1942)

Lieutenant General Ivan Michailowitsch Tschistjakow (October 14, 1942 - April 15, 1943)

Lieutenant General Nikolai Ivanovich Krylov (July 12, 1943 - October 24, 1943)

Lieutenant General Yevgeny Petrovich Churavlov (October 24, 1943 - February 25, 1944)

Lieutenant General Wassili Iwanowitsch Schwetzow (February - April 1944)

Colonel General Dmitri Nikolayevich Gusew (April 1944 - May 1945)

Chiefs of Staff

Major General WN Gordow (June - September 1941)
Major General Alexei I. Danilov (September 1941 - June 1942)
Colonel, Major General WA Penkowski (June 1942 - April 1943)
Major General Pavel G. Tikhomirov (July 1943 - January 1944)
Colonel Trofim A. Gladkow (January - February 1944)
Major General Viktor I. Petuchow (February - June 1944)
Lieutenant General Georgi K. Buchowetz (June 1944 until the end of the war)

Members of the Military Council

Division Commissioner SJ Kolonin (June - September 1941)
Brigadier Commissar Zinovy T. Serdyuk (September - December 1941)
Brigadierkommissar NK Popel (December 1941 - April 1942)
Brigadierkommissar II Michalschuk (April - July 1942)
Regimental Commissioner Michail M. Stachurski (July - September 1942)
Colonel / Major General Pavel I. Krainew (September 1942 - May 1943)
Colonel Grigori S. Pimenow (July - September 1943)
Colonel Ivan M. Ponomarew (September - November 1943)
Major General Sergei K. Koschewnikow (November 1943 - June 1944)
Lieutenant General Wassili P. Mschawanadze (June 1944 until the end of the war)

literature

GN Kowtunow / FT Selivanow / RS Jarajew: ИСТОРИЧЕСКАЯ СПРАВКА О БОЕВОМ ПУТИ 6-й ГВАРДЕЙСКОЙ (БЫВШЕЙ 21-й) АРМИИ, Moscow 1985