62nd Army (Red Army)

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62nd Army (62nd A)
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RR5011-0005R PL 50-летие Победы на Волге.gif

Commemorative coin «50. Anniversary victory on the Volga »
active July 10, 1942 to April 16, 1943
Country Flag of the Soviet Union.svg USSR
Armed forces RA 1942-1943
Land Forces army
Type Large association
structure See outline
Subordinate troops

6 divisions

Strength 81,000 men
Area around Stalingrad HQ
Former locations Stalingrad Fron; Don Front; South-east front
motto «Don't step back!
Steadfast to death »
Tradition 7. Reserve Army (predecessor)
8. Guard Army (successor)
Second World War Battle of Stalingrad
commander
Important
commanders

see list

The 62nd Army ( Russian 62-я армия / 62-ja armija) was a major unit of the Red Army during the Second World War . She was instrumental in the defense of Stalingrad against the German 6th Army . The major association changed its names several times in its history:

  • 7th Reserve Army before July 10, 1942
  • 62nd Army 1942 to 1943 (July 10, 1942, renamed)
  • 8th Guard Army 1943 to 1991 (April 16, 1943, renamed)
  • 8th Guard Army Corps 1992 (reorganization and reorganization)
  • 8th Guard Army 2017 (Renaissance using the traditional name)

history

The first formation of the 62nd Army took place in accordance with the directive of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander's Command № 170465 of July 9, 1942, on the basis of the 7th Reserve Army .

  • The 62nd Army initially had six rifle divisions: 33rd Guards Division, 147th, 181st, 184th, 192nd, 196th Rifle Divisions, as well as the 121st tank brigade, several artillery and other troops and units.

The 62nd Army was concentrated together with the 64th Army between Tschir and Don in July 1942 and placed under the Stalingrad Front . As part of the company Blau , the German 6th Army approached the apex of the Donschleife near Kalatsch am Don at the end of July 1942 . From July 23, enemy attacks between Kletskaya and Surovikino were fought, with the retreat to the left bank of the Don . The Stawka decided to defend the Don crossings in this area and concentrated the newly established 1st Panzer Army (under General Moskalenko) and the 62nd Army (under General Kolpaktschi ) in the hilly terrain west of Kalach. The encirclement set up by the XIV Panzer Corps during the Kesselschlacht near Kalatsch was successful. According to German sources, 57,000 Red Army soldiers had surrendered by August 11th . The German 6th Army formed a bridgehead over the Don, the last obstacle before Stalingrad was overcome with two weeks delay. As a result of this resistance, the Wehrmacht could not reach Stalingrad until August 22nd.

On September 10, 1942, Vasily became. I. Chuikov commander of the 62nd Army, as chief of staff acted NI Krylov and member of the Military Council was KA Gurov . The 62nd Army held on to the western bank of the Volga and bore the brunt of repelling the attacks of the German LI in the Battle of Stalingrad . Army Corps on downtown Stalingrad.

Army organization on September 12, 1942

  • 33rd and 35th Guards Rifle Divisions
  • 87th, 95th, 98th, 112th, 131st, 196th, 229th, 244th, 315th and 399th rifle divisions

On September 14th, the 13th Guards Rifle Division under Major General Rodimzew arrived as reinforcements in order to stop the further German advance. On September 21, the 284th Rifle Division (Colonel Batjuk) reached the western Volga and secured between the “Red October” steelworks and the Mamayev Hill. The 13th GSD. had to repel twelve enemy attacks on September 22nd. A Soviet counterattack with the 284th and 95th Rifle Divisions was also repulsed the next day. On September 27, the hard-fought Mamayev Hill on the northwest side remained in German possession, only the eastern slope was held by the 284th Rifle Division. On September 29, the Orlovka front was cut off, and the enclosed Soviet units fought until they were destroyed. At the end of September 1942, the 6th Army High Command shifted the attack focus to the industrial complexes in the north of the city. The 284th Rifle Division replaced the 13th Guards Rifle Division on Mamayev Hill . To the north of it, the 39th Guards Rifle Division, the 194th and 308th Rifle Division set up trenches to defend the western access to the factories "Red October" and "Barrikady". The fighting in Stalingrad on October 6th and 7th, 1942, was concentrated on the workers' settlements upstream of the tractor works. The factory halls of the tractor works and the brickworks were expanded into fortresses. The Soviet troops in the north (124th, 143rd and 115th Special Brigade) were able to hold their lines in Rynok, Spartanowka and along the workers' settlement "Tractor Works" on the Mechetka River. The 62nd Army regrouped its forces, the 37th Guards Division received the order to hold the southern part of the tractor factory and the 95th Rifle Division occupied the space between the tractor factory and the “Barrikady” gun factory. The overall situation of the 62nd Army was particularly critical on October 14th, as all telephone lines to the individual combat units had completely collapsed due to artillery fire and heavy air strikes. The 62nd Army had lost a total of 13,000 men in the battle for the tractor works from October 13 to 17 (25% of the 53,000 soldiers deployed west of the Volga).

Operation Uranus , which began on the morning of November 19, 1942, encircled the German 6th Army within five days. The troops General Chuikov held the following month in urban warfare on a narrow strip on the western Volga -Ufer stood. On January 1, 1943, the 62nd Army was subordinated to the Don Front . After the completion of Operation Uranus, the Red Army began Operation Kolzo on January 10 , the last major offensive against the remnants of the German 6th Army. On January 31, Soviet troops broke into the “Univermag” department store, in the basement of which the German headquarters were located.

Army formation on February 1, 1943

  • 39th Guards Rifle Division
  • 13th, 45th, 95th, 138th, 284th Rifle Division
  • 92nd Rifle Brigade
  • 156. Fortified area

After the end of the Battle of Stalingrad, from February 6, 1943, the 62nd Army belonged to the group of Lieutenant General KP Trubnikov , which was in the reserve of the Supreme Command. From March to April the 62nd Army was deployed as part of the Southwest Front and participated in the expansion of the positions there on the left bank of the Oskol . Due to the proven steadfastness, the large association received the title of Guard and from April 16, 1943 it was renamed the 8th Guard Army .

Please refer

guide

Commander

Chiefs of Staff

  • Major General Nikolai Afanasyevich Moskvin (July - August 1942)
  • Major General Ivan Andreevich Laskin (August - September 1942)
  • Colonel Sergei Mikhailovich Kamynin (September 3, 1942 - September 10, 1942)
  • Major General Nikolai Ivanovich Krylov (September 1942 - March 1943)

literature

Web links