8th Army (Red Army)

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The Soviet 8th Army ( Russian 8-я армия ) was a major military unit of the Red Army during World War II , which was used exclusively on the northern section of the Eastern Front.

history

First formation

The 8th Army was formed on September 14, 1939 from the command command of the Novgorod Army Group in the Leningrad Military District to ensure the security of the north-western border of the USSR. By September 23, the army moved from Novgorod to Pskov . In order to prepare for the Soviet-Finnish war , the army command was transferred to Petrozavodsk without subordinate formations until October 29 . At the beginning of the war with Finland, the 8th Army was deployed in the north of Lake Ladoga . A total of around 71,000 soldiers were deployed under General Khabarov, subordinate to the 18th, 75th, 56th, 128th, 139th, 164th and 168th Rifle Divisions. The rear units gathered at the Petrozavodsk and Lodeinoye Pole train stations . According to the Stawka's plans , the 8th Army was to bypass Lake Ladoga within ten to fifteen days in order to stab the Finnish defense on the Karelian Isthmus ( Mannerheim Line ) in the rear. After heavy fighting at Kollaa with the Finnish IV Corps, large parts of the 8th Army were surrounded, the rest had to withdraw. After the end of the hostilities, the 8th Army was transferred to Ostrow in April 1940 and was part of the Baltic Military District. In June 1940 the army took part in the occupation of the Baltic States, the army headquarters was moved from Pskov to Tartu and finally to Tallinn , subordinated to the 1st and 56th rifle corps with the 18th, 56th, 75th, 139th, 155th and 168th Rifle Divisions and the 34th Light Brigade.

1941

After the general war situation had worsened, the Military Council of the Baltic Front approved the plan on June 14 to bring the formations of the 8th Army closer to the border. The 48th Rifle Division was concentrated in the Radviliškis area under the guise of exercises . The section from Palanga to Sartininkaya occupied the 10th Rifle Corps (Major General IF Nikolayev ) with the 10th and 90th Rifle Divisions. The 90th and 125th Rifle Divisions had to protect the Tauroggen border on both sides and to cover the Schaulen area, where the main enemy attack was expected. The 11th Rifle Corps (Major General MS Schumilow) held a 40 km wide section on the left flank of the army, the headquarters were in the forest northwest of Skaudvilė . The first squadron of the corps was the 125th Rifle Division (Major General PP Bogajtschuk), covering the highway from Tilsit to Schaulen. The 11th Rifle Division (Major General NA Sokolow), which came by rail from Narva, began to concentrate on the morning of June 21 in the Scheduwa area and was integrated into the 11th Rifle Corps. The 202nd Motorized Division (Lieutenant Colonel VK Gorbachev) advanced as the vanguard of the 12th Mechanized Corps at Kelme . The 16th Rifle Division (Colonel WI Kikvidze) and the headquarters of the 65th Rifle Corps were moved south from Tallinn. In the second season of the army was the 12th mechanized corps of Major General NM Shestopalov . The corps headquarters was in a forest 12 km northeast of Schaulen. The 23rd Panzer Division (Colonel TS Orlenko) occupied the Trishkiai district, while the 28th Panzer Division (Lieutenant Colonel ID Tschernjachowski) was located north of Schaulen near Meschkujchai. The important road to Schaulen was protected by the 9th Artillery Brigade, while the 12th Mechanized Corps was stationed north of Schaulen as a reserve. After the start of the German invasion ( Operation Barbarossa ) on June 22, 1941, the 8th Army covered the right wing of the Northwest Front with the following structure:

10th Rifle Corps, Major General IF Nikolayev

  • 10th and 90th Rifle Divisions

11th Rifle Corps, Colonel MS Schumilow

  • 11th, 48th and 125th Rifle Divisions

12th Mechanized Corps, Major General NM Shestopalov

  • 23rd and 28th Panzer Divisions and 202nd Motorized Rifle Division

Reserve: 22nd and 42nd Rifle Divisions

  • 44. Fortified Room (Kovno)
  • 48. Fortified Room (Alytus)

The 42nd and 90th Rifle Divisions (Colonel MI Golubjew) were wiped out in the first days of the war. From June 24th, the German 291st Infantry Division blocked the city ​​of Libau from land and sea, where parts of the 10th Rifle Division and the 67th Rifle Division (General NA Dedajew ), still belonging to the 27th Army, were defending. In the tank battle near Schaulen the armored forces of the 8th Army were in heavy fighting with German forces. Between June 23 and 25, the 12th Mechanized Corps and the 3rd Mechanized Corps (General Kurkin) of the 11th Army conducted unsuccessful counterattacks in the Raseiniai area , but were able to delay the advance of German Panzer Group 4 for several days. The 48th Rifle Division on the left wing was now in contact with the neighboring 11th Army . On June 25, General Sobennikov ordered the general retreat to a new line of defense in a relatively well-organized manner: the 10th Rifle Corps moved to the Mazeikiai- Kurtuvenai line and the 11th to the Kanalas- Radviliškis line .

In the following battle for the Baltic States , General Sobennikow managed to delay the advance of the German 18th Army somewhat. The front of the 8th Army was stretched over 100 kilometers, both flanks were also open. On the right, the distance to the 67th Rifle Division, which Libau was defending, was 85 kilometers. There was a crisis on the left wing of the 8th Army due to the growing gap between the neighboring 11th Army. There led the rapid attack of the German LVI. Corps on June 26 for the loss of Daugavpils. On June 27th, the units of the 8th Army withdrew because of the danger of encirclement beyond the Daugava . Libau fell on June 28th and Windau was lost on July 1st . The 11th Rifle Corps had orders to hold the line between Auce - Vashkai - Krūminš and then to return to the northern bank of the Daugava. For three days, the 8th Army defended the Latvian capital: units from the 10th Rifle Division, the Riga Infantry School and the 22nd Motorized Rifle Division of the NKVD. On the evening of June 29th, the 8th Army went over to the right bank of the river, where they met the German XXVI. Army Corps fought to keep Riga . On the afternoon of June 29th, a group of enemy tanks advanced into Riga on the Bauska road and tried to capture the bridges over the Daugava . The German troops advanced over the still intact railway bridge to the right bank of the river, where they were stopped by parts of the 10th Rifle Division. The railway bridge was also blown up. On June 30th, the Soviet troops were still on the right bank of the city, while the Germans had occupied the left bank (Zadvinie) and the city. On June 30, the commander of the 8th Army ordered the withdrawal of troops on the Cēsis and Madona line to begin on the night of July 1 .

The 8th Army fell back on the Gulbene and Lake Lubāna line by the evening of July 2 , but a counter-order from the Stawka immediately ordered counter-attacks: the 10th Rifle Corps was to attempt to recapture Riga; the 11th Rifle Corps was to attack between Ogre and Koknese . The 12th Mechanized Corps attacked the German Krustpils group with units of the 27th Army and reached the Daugava. To do the job better, the 181st and 183rd Rifle Divisions of the 27th Army were used as reinforcements. On July 8, German troops tried to break through the defense of the 8th Army at the seam of the Emajõgi River to the 11th Rifle Corps, the attack was initially repulsed. On the same day, German troops launched their offensive against Fellin , broke through the Soviet defenses and occupied the city, but were unable to advance immediately. The breakthrough was stopped 17 kilometers north of the city by the armed forces of the 22nd motorized rifle division of the NKVD and parts of the 11th rifle division. A more difficult situation for the 8th Army arose in the area north of Pernau . The advancing units of the German 217th Infantry Division broke through the fragile defense and began the attack on Audru and Türi on the evening of July 9th , after having traveled halfway from Pernau to Tallinn. From July 9th to 15th, the 8th Army attacked with the 10th and 16th Rifle Divisions in the Marjamaa area. On July 15, the German 61st Infantry Division tried in vain to infiltrate the seam between the 10th and 11th Rifle Corps in the direction of Põltsamaa.

On July 14th, the 8th Army was subordinated to the Northern Front . In order to completely occupy Estonia, three new German divisions ( 291st , 93rd and 207th ) were brought up against the 8th Army, the XXXXII. Army corps took the lead. The German troops attacked again on July 22nd, the thrust was on Põltsamaa and Türi and was set in two directions: via Türi to the Gulf of Finland and towards Mustwoje. By July 25, the German troops pushed the 11th Rifle Corps back to the banks of Lake Peipus . The 8th Army deployed parts of the 16th Rifle Division to counter-attack Mustwoje, cutting off around 3,000 men. The remnants of the 8th Army were followed to Tamsalu until July 31st . On August 4th, German troops captured Thapa, cut off the Tallinn - Leningrad runway and reached Rakvere on August 6th . The following day they reached the coast of the Gulf of Finland near Kunda , which finally cut off the parts of the 8th Army in Estonia. The German XXVI. Army Corps turned to Narva, while the XXXXII. Army Corps was aiming for Tallinn. On the morning of August 8, the German 291st and 93rd Infantry Divisions repelled Soviet counterattacks east of Kunda. The Soviet troops had to evacuate Johvi and retreat to Narva by rail. The XXVI. Army Corps attacked Narva and tried to open up the operating room for the further offensive on Leningrad. The 11th Rifle Corps fought during the Battle of Luga with the 118th and 268th Rifle Divisions for the Narva - Kingisepp line . On August 17th Narva was taken by German troops, the units of the 8th Army withdrew along the coast of the Gulf of Finland to the east. In August, the 8th Army simultaneously fought stubborn defensive battles in Estonia and defended Tallinn . Beginning of September 1941 revealed the newly organized 8th Army, the western approaches to Leningrad and held under the protection of the Baltic Fleet the Oranienbaum Bridgehead that an important role in to 1944 Defense of Leningrad played. At the beginning of November, some of the formations of the 8th Army were also deployed in the eastern sector of the defense of the Leningrad Front , defending the bridgehead on the Neva near Dubrovka.

1942/43

Second formation

At the end of January 1942, the high command of the 8th Army was transferred across the ice of Lake Ladoga to the Volkhov section in order to deal with new units and the 54th Army in the Sinyavino operation and the securing of the railway line on the south coast of Ladoga - Participate lakes. On June 9, 1942, the 8th Army was subordinated to the second formation of the Volkhov Front . In August and September, the army acted as a front line assault team in the Sinyavino operation . On August 27th, units of the 8th Army attacked: The main thrust in the direction of Sinyavino was led by the 6th Guards Rifle Corps (Major General ST Bijakow ) with the 128th Rifle Divisions and the 3rd, 19th and 24th Guards Divisions, four others Rifle divisions (11th, 128th, 265th, 286th, 327th) covered the flanks of the attack group. The German defense was breached, German counterstrikes were repulsed and Sinyavino was reached. As a second season, the 4th Guards Rifle Corps (Major General NA Gagen ) was deployed in the direction of Mga. The Dubrowka - Krasny Bor line, which was reached together with the 2nd Shock Army , was unable to establish the desired connection with the troops of the Leningrad Front.

In January 1943, the 8th Army took part in the Third Ladoga Battle and was deployed on the southern flank of the attack group. In addition to the 67th Army (Major General MP Duchanow ) of the Leningrad Front, the 8th Army led the main attack . The 67th Army was to attack between the Neva and the town of Sinyavino. In the east the 8th Army had the order to break through between the places Gaitolowo and Lodwa and then to advance on Mga . In July – August 1943 the 8th Army fought in the new offensive for Mga.

  • On October 1, 1943, the 8th Army was assigned the 18th, 265th, 286th, 364th, 372nd and 374th Rifle Divisions as well as the 1st, 22nd and 58th Rifle Brigades.

1944/45

In January 1944, the headquarters of the 8th Army moved from Novgorod to Lake Peipus . After adopting new formations, the army took part in the Leningrad-Novgorod operation . After regrouping to the Leningrad Front (from February 16), the 8th Army made several attempts to encircle the German Army Detachment Narva, fighting for the Narva bridgehead . After being unsuccessful, the 8th Army went into defense, but resumed its attacks from the end of March to July. The 8th Army took part in the breakthrough of the German Tannenberg position during the Narva offensive from July 25 to August 10, 1944. In September 1944, the 8th Army fought in cooperation with the 2nd Shock Army and the Baltic Fleet in Operation Aster , which took back the mainland of Estonia and the capital Tallinn.

Army organization on September 1, 1944

  • 108th Rifle Corps (46th, 90th, 372nd Rifle Division)
  • 109th Rifle Corps (72nd, 109th Rifle Division)
  • 79th Rifle Division

In October – November 1944, the 8th Army, together with the 2nd Shock Army and the Baltic Fleet, played a key role in the landing operation in the Moonsund Archipelago . From December 1944 until the end of the war, the army carried out coastal defense tasks in Estonia. In July 1945 the 8th Army was disbanded and two months later the command was renamed for the Siberian Military District ( Novosibirsk ).

guide

Commander

  • Major General Ivan Nikititsch Khabarov (September 13 to December 13, 1939)
  • General Grigori Michailowitsch Schtern (December 13, 1939 to July 1940)
  • Lieutenant General Alexander Alexejewitsch Tyurin (July 1940 to March 11, 1941)
  • Major General Pyotr Petrovich Sobennikov (March 11 to June 30, 1941)
  • Lieutenant General Fedor Sergejewitsch Ivanov (June 30 to July 24, 1941)
  • Major General Ilya Mikhailovich Lyubowtsev (July 24 to August 6, 1941)
  • Lieutenant General Pyotr Stepanowitsch Pschennikow (August 7 to September 1, 1941)
  • Major General Vladimir Ivanovich Shcherbakov (September 1-24, 1941)
  • Lieutenant General Trifon Ivanovich Schewaldin (September 24 to November 28, 1941)
  • Major General Andrei Leontjewitsch Bondarjew (November 28, 1941 to January 28, 1942)
  • Major General Alexander Vasilyevich Suchomlin (January 28 to April 22, 1942)
  • Lieutenant General Filip Nikanorowitsch Starikow (April 22, 1942 to July 9, 1945)

Chief of Staff

  • Major General Pyotr N. Rubtzow (December 1939 to June 1940)
  • Major General Georgi Andrejewitsch Larionow (1940 to August 1, 1941)
  • Colonel Vasily Ivanovich Smirnov (August 2 to September 25, 1941)
  • Major General Pyotr Ivanovich Kokorew (September 25, 1941 to December 14, 1942)
  • Major General Boris Michailowitsch Golowchin (December 15, 1942 to July 9, 1945).

Members of the Council of War

  • Division Commissioner Sergei Ivanovich Shabalov (June 22 to July 7, 1941)
  • Division Commissioner Ivan Filippowitsch Tschuchnow (July 7 to September 24, 1941)
  • Brigade Commissar Andrei Dmitryevich Okorokov (September 25, 1941 to April 30, 1942)
  • Division Commissioner Vladimir Vasilyevich Sosnovikov (May 2 to December 5, 1942)
  • Major General Vasili Alexejewitsch Zubow (December 6, 1942 to July 9, 1945)

literature

Web links