27th Army (Red Army)

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The Soviet 27th Army ( Russian 27-я армия ) was a major military unit of the Red Army during World War II . From June 22, 1941, the day of the German attack on the Soviet Union , the army defended the coastal section of the Baltic Sea and the Moonsund archipelago as part of the Northwest Front . In July 1941, the troops fought defensive battles on the western Daugava in the Daugavpils area , then on the Velikaya river , in the Opochka area and on the Lowat river . In 1942, the 27th Army was deployed in the Cholm area on the northern section and in 1943 as a front reserve on the central section ( Liwny area ) of the eastern front. At the end of 1943 it advanced in the Kiev area across the Dnieper , in autumn 1944 through Romania and Hungary , and at the end of the war in April and May 1945 was in eastern Styria .

history

First formation (1941)

The 27th Army was set up in the Baltic Special Military District on May 25, 1941 , the following units were subordinate to the army in June / July 1941:

Reserve:

  • 5th Airborne Corps, Major General IS Besugly (9th, 10th, and 201st Airborne Brigade)
  • 29th Rifle Corps, Major General Alexander Georgjewitsch Samochin (185th and 188th Rifle Division)
  • 65th Rifle Corps (only staff), Major General Konstantin Wassiljewitsch Kommissarow
  • 126th and 128th rifle divisions
  • 5th, 23rd, 33rd, 241st and 256th Rifle Divisions

On June 22, 1941, Army Command 27 was stationed in Riga , and when hostilities broke out, the tasks of the army changed as a result of the Battle of the Baltic States . The 22nd Rifle Corps in front withdrew from Estonia while the 24th Rifle Corps had to be brought in from the Riga area. The 67th Rifle Division was isolated with the 16th Rifle Division in Libau , they were the only major formations that defended in this area. The 3rd Rifle Brigade was away on the Baltic Islands . On June 25, the army troops were supposed to prevent the enemy units from crossing along the western Daugava and organize the Gulbene - Livani section for defense and support the retreating units of the 8th Army there . However, the 27th Army was no longer able to build up a stable defense front in time, as units of the German LVI were already on June 26th . motorized corps crossed the river and occupied Dünaburg . On July 2, the German troops went on the offensive again, severing ties between the 27th Army and the 8th Army and forcing the Soviets to retreat to Opotschka and Ostrow .

On July 10th, units of the 27th Army defended in the Opochka area, Novorschew and along the Velikaya. On the left wing the 22nd Army of the Western Front in the area as far as Newel joined, on the right wing of the 27th Army the German troops broke through in pursuit towards Porchow . The Battle of Solzy began on July 14th, when three rifle divisions of the 11th Army deployed on the right successfully attacked the German 8th Panzer Division from the north. From the south, units of the 183rd Rifle Division of the 27th Army were also providing support at Sitnja. In the second half of July 1941, the 27th Army had to withdraw gradually across the Lowat between Staraya Russa and Kholm .

At the beginning of August 1941, the 27th Army took part in the counterattack in the Staraya Russa area as a result of the Battle of Luga . The main attack led the 34th Army , which was supported by the left wing of the 48th Army (Lieutenant General Akimow) in the direction of Utorgosch. On August 9, the Soviet troops evacuated Staraya Russa and retreated behind the Lowat. From August 12th, the 27th Army attempted new counter-attacks from the area east of Staraya Russa and Cholm. After initial successes, the army units were stopped by German troops on the outskirts and thrown back. On August 30, the German troops launched a new offensive on the entire north-western front. In addition, the armed forces of the LVII. motorized corps of Army Group Center exerted strong pressure at the Valdai Heights in the direction of Demyansk and in the area south of it. The defense of the 27th Army was broken, troops pushed into the area between the Lowat and Moloskowitzy - Ostashkow - Demjansk. On September 9 and 10, 1941, the 27th Army, which had withdrawn from Demyansk the day before and escaped encirclement, made unsuccessful attempts to take Demyansk back, but the army formations had to withdraw even further. It was not until the beginning of October that the offensive of the German 16th Army could be contained. The 5th, 23rd, 33rd, 188th Rifle Division and the 84th Motorized Rifle Division were assigned to the 65th Rifle Corps under the army. The 27th Army defended itself on the east bank of Lake Welje, then across the northern tip to the east bank of Lake Seliger . Until December 1941, the numerically understaffed 27th Army (23rd, 33rd, 241st Rifle Divisions) was on the defensive; on December 25th, the command command was part of the Northwest Front and converted into the 4th Shock Army .

2nd formation (1942/43)

The second formation of the 27th Army was re-established on June 1, 1942 on the basis of the Stawka of May 22, from formations of the 11th Army as part of the Northwest Front . The new 27th Army was on the Staraya Russa - Pola River line, fighting in the Ramushevo corridor.

  • On June 1, 1942, the 27th Army consisted of the 84th, 182nd, 188th, 254th and 384th Rifle Divisions, plus the 46th Rifle Brigade and 84th Marine Brigade.
  • At the beginning of December, the 27th Army was subordinate to the 55th, 182nd, 188th, 200th and 254th Rifle Divisions, plus the 15th, 20th, 87th, 127th and 147th Rifle Brigades.

From February 8, 1943, the army took part in the Demjansker Offensive and was then withdrawn to the headquarters of the High Command.

  • On March 1, 1943, the 27th Army consisted of the 12th Guards Rifle Corps with the 127th, 161st Rifle Division and the 3rd, 19th and 40th Ski Brigade, as well as the 28th, 43rd Guards , 55th, 170th, 171st, 182nd, 202nd, 253rd and the 370th Rifle Division.
  • At the beginning of July 1943, during the Kursk battle , it acted as the front reserve of the steppe front , with the 71st, 147th, 155th, 163rd, 166th, and 241 rifle divisions assigned to it.

The 27th Army re-entered the fighting in mid-July 1943 and participated in the Belgorod-Kharkov Operation . Their troops advanced from the south side of the Kursk arch via Proletarski to Graivoron , where they were stopped by counterattacks south of Akhtyrka . At the end of September 1943, the army became part of the 1st Ukrainian Front and relocated to the Bukrin bridgehead, where it fought to expand this position. After the liberation of Kiev on November 21, 1943, the 27th Army stood south of the city and leaned with its left wing against the Dnieper .

  • On December 1, 1943, the 27th Army was assigned the 47th Rifle Corps with the 38th, 136th and 337th Rifle Divisions, while the 206th and 309th Rifle Divisions served as reserves.

1944

At the end of January 1944, the 27th Army pressed the northern front of the German 8th Army during the Korsun-Shevchenkovsk Operation and participated with the 180th, 206th and 337th Rifle Divisions and the 298th Guards, 713th and 1892. Artillery regiment to contain the German forces. Together with units of the 40th Army , the 27th Army fought on the front line from Chervona via Winograd, Boyarka and Medwyn to Boguslav on January 28th . The cauldron was closed on the morning of January 28th. After the end of the Cherkassy Battle (mid-February), the 27th Army was moved to the area north of Uman on the 2nd Ukrainian Front , where it advanced into Romanian territory with mostly new units during the Uman-Botosan operation :

  • 35th Guards Rifle Corps (93rd Guards., 78th, 202nd Rifle Divisions)
  • 33rd Rifle Corps (180th, 206th and 337th Rifle Divisions)
  • 3rd Airborne Guard Division

The city of Mogilew-Podolski was liberated on March 19 by units of the 35th Guards Rifle Corps (Major General Viktor Scholudew) in cooperation with the 5th Panzer Corps (Lieutenant General Volkov) of the 6th Panzer Army . At the beginning of April 1944, the Greater Germany Division launched a successful counter-offensive in the area of Targu Frumos , where the 35th Guards Rifle Corps was repulsed. During Operation Jassy-Kishinev , the 27th Army stood in the area west of Jassy and began the attack on August 1, 1944 and advanced on Ploiesti , then on Pitesti , swung north and reached Cluj . Then the 27th Army fought its way towards Debrecen during the Debrecen operation . On October 16, the Soviet 33rd Rifle Corps was able to occupy Oradea (Großwardein), and the German 76th Infantry Division was severely decimated. The 27th Army reached the Miskolc area in the course of the Budapest operation .

1945

Until February 1945, the 27th Army was stationed south of Budapest as a front reserve and took part in the Lake Balaton offensive in the Stuhlweissenburg area . During the transfer to the south wing of the 3rd Ukrainian Font (under General Tolbuchin ), the following units were subordinate to the 27th Army:

33rd Rifle Corps Major General AI Semenov

37th Rifle Corps Major General Fyodor Samoilowitsch Kolchuk

  • 108th Rifle Division - Colonel Sergei Illarionovich Dunayev
  • 316th Rifle Division - Colonel Gregori S. Chebotarev
  • 320th Rifle Division - Colonel Joseph Z. Burik

35th Guards Rifle Corps - Lieutenant General Sergei G. Goryachev

V. Guards Cavalry Corps - Lieutenant General SI Gorschkow

  • 11th and 12th Guards Cavalry Divisions
  • 63rd Cavalry Division

During the Vienna Offensive been following the 27th Army the returning German 6th Army in the direction of Veszprém - Zalaegerszeg and then crossed to ground via Guessing the Burgenland . On the further advance via Fürstenfeld and Gleisdorf on Graz , the troops were accompanied on the left by the 57th Army and on the right by the 26th Army . The main thrust led the 27th Army to the Graz - Bruck an der Mur line until May 9, 1945 . After crossing the Mur there, the offensive continued in the direction of Amstetten , where the connection to the allied US troops was established. The 27th Army was disbanded in August 1946.

guide

Commander

Members of the Military Council

  • Division Commissioner Peter Kapitonowitsch Batrakow, June 13 to September 25, 1941
  • Brigadierkommissar Michail Wassiljewitsch Rudakow, 25 September to 25 December 1941
  • Major General Ivan Petrovich Shevchenko, May 25, 1942 to May 29, 1944
  • Major General Pyotr Vasilyevich Sevastyanov, May 30, 1944 to May 9, 1945

Chiefs of Staff

  • Colonel WW Boloznev, May 25, 1941 to July 19, 1941
  • Major-General Pawel Sergejewitsch Yarmoschkewitsch, July 19, 1941 to October 11, 1941
  • Major General FN Romanov , October 11, 1941 to December 25, 1941
  • Colonel Ivan Ivanovich Stepanov, May 22, 1942 to December 16, 1942
  • Colonel Grigory Sergejewitsch Lukjanchenko, December 16, 1942 to July 23, 1944
  • Major General Georgi Michailowitsch Bragin, July 23, 1944 to September 13, 1945

literature

Web links