Soviet Fourth Army
Encyclopedia
The 4th Army was a Soviet
field army
of World War II that served on the Eastern front of World War II and in the Caucasus during the Cold War
.
It was disbanded after the fall of the Soviet Union, with its divisions being withdrawn to Russia and disbanded.
commanded by the future Marshal of Soviet Union V.I. Chuykov
, the defender of Stalingrad
. Its order of battle in that operation is listed here
.
Elements of the army, apparently 4th Battalion, 29th Light Tank Brigade, took part in the German–Soviet military parade in Brest-Litovsk
on September 22, 1939.
When the German invasion of the Soviet Union commenced on 22 June 1941, the Army was part of the Western Front and had the 28th Rifle Corps (6th Rifle Division
and 42nd Rifle Division), 14th Mechanised Corps, and 49th and 75th Rifle Divisions, as well as the 62nd Fortified Region. General Colonel Pavlov, Commander of the Western Front, had decided to redeploy some of 4th Army’s troops early in 1941, and 12th Rifle Division was accordingly moved into Brest
, and HQ 14th Mechanised Corps to Kobrin, which in Erickson’s words, ‘deprived 4th Army simultaneously of its reserve and its second echelon.’ Facing the 4th Army across the Bug River
was deployed the German Fourth Army, with twelve infantry divisions and a cavalry division, as well as Panzer Group 2. Some units faced several difficulties; when General Major A.A. Khorobkov, the army commander, saw his officers on 10 June, General Major S.I. Oborin, 14th Mechanised Corps commander, emphasized that more than half his soldiers were untrained recruits, that his artillery had received guns for which there was no ammunition, and that he only had enough lorries to make a quarter of the corps mobile – the rest would have to march.
On the eve of the attack, 4th Army suffered, as did many Soviet formations, from German communication sabotage. Units lost telephone connections, electrical power, and the Brest Fortress
lost its water supply. From about 5 am on 22 June fierce fighting began around the Brest fortress, but the seven battalions around the fortress, from 28th Rifle Corps, were undermanned, disorganized, and slow off the mark to man the defences. Despite these deficiencies the final German reduction of the fortress took some time in the face of determined Soviet resistance. By 1600 hours on 22 June, 4th Army HQ was back at Zapruda, whereupon Front HQ ordered that 14th Mechanised Corps be launched in an attack to clear Brest and reach the frontier line. However the Army staff felt the plan had no chance of success, and so it proved; when the attack was launched the next day, only insignificant progress was made. Three days later Western Front ordered a general withdrawal to try to keep the frontier armies out of threatened German encirclement; 4th Army was directed to fall back on a line from Bytin to Pinsk
. Further instructions came through from Pavlov after a chance meeting later the same day; to cover the concentration of reserve armies on the Dnieper, 4th Army was to hold the Shchara, the Slutsk
‘fortified district,’ and the Sluch river line. However the Slutsk fortified district, as the district commander reminded Khorobkov, had long ago been instructed to dispatch all its weapons to the Brest fortress
(which was continuing to hold). The planned defence was thus practically non-existent, and Slutsk
fell on 27 June. The Army took part in the defenses of the area around Babruysk
.
At the end of July 1941, the Fourth Army began to dissolve. The Fourth Army's staff members were absorbed into the general staff of the Central Front
, and the troops were absorbed into other armies.
At the end of September 1941, the Fourth Army was formed for the second time, retaining its Independent status until December while remaining in the Stavka Reserve. The field staffs of the 52nd and 54th Armies were used to fill the command contingent of the Army. The new formation was made up of the 285th, 292nd, and 311th Rifle Divisions along with the 27th Cavalry Division, a Tank brigade, the 2nd Reserve aviation group, and other artillery and support units.
The Fourth Army participated in the defense and attack of Tikhvin
from October to December 1941. On December 17, 1941, the Fourth Army was allocated to the Volkhov Front
. From January 1942 to November 1943, the Fourth Army fought on the front in Volkhov
and Leningrad
while also doing many rear-area duties. Unlike in other parts of the Eastern Front, the Red Army
was not making significant gains in the north by 1943.
The 4th Army was disbanded in November 1943 and set up again in January 1944 as part of the Transcaucasus Front. The staff of the Fourth Army was composed of the staff of the 34th Army. The Fourth Army was stationed in Iran
until August 1945 in accordance with the Soviet-Iranian treaty of 1921.
In February 1944, the 4th Army consisted of:
within the Transcaucasus Military District until the fall of the Soviet Union. It was headquartered at Baku
, and after it arrived from Iran in 1946 the Baku Military District was abolished. Most of the divisions listed below joined the Army's forces in the Baku region toward the end of the 1940s. From its wartime divisions, toward the end of the 1980s only the 60th Motor Rifle Division 'named for Marshal of the Soviet Union F.I. Tolbukhin' (the former 296th, then 6th Rifle Division
) remained.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
field army
Field army
A Field Army, or Area Army, usually referred to simply as an Army, is a term used by many national military forces for a military formation superior to a corps and beneath an army group....
of World War II that served on the Eastern front of World War II and in the Caucasus during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
.
It was disbanded after the fall of the Soviet Union, with its divisions being withdrawn to Russia and disbanded.
World War II
The Fourth Army was created in August 1939 in the Belorussian Special Military District from the Bobruisk Army Group as an independent army. In September 1939, the Fourth Army took part in the Soviet invasion of PolandSoviet invasion of Poland (1939)
The 1939 Soviet invasion of Poland was a Soviet military operation that started without a formal declaration of war on 17 September 1939, during the early stages of World War II. Sixteen days after Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the west, the Soviet Union did so from the east...
commanded by the future Marshal of Soviet Union V.I. Chuykov
Vasily Chuikov
Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov was a Russian lieutenant general in the Red Army during World War II, twice Hero of the Soviet Union , who after the war became a Marshal of the Soviet Union.-Early life and career:Born into a peasant family in the village of Serebryanye Prudy, he joined the Red Army during...
, the defender of Stalingrad
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was a major battle of World War II in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in southwestern Russia. The battle took place between 23 August 1942 and 2 February 1943...
. Its order of battle in that operation is listed here
Soviet order of battle for invasion of Poland in 1939
The Soviet order of battle for the invasion of Poland in 1939 details the major combat units arrayed for Soviet invasion of Poland on 17 September, 1939. The Invasion of Poland is best remembered for the German-Polish fighting, but the Soviets contributed a large force to occupation of Belarusian...
.
Elements of the army, apparently 4th Battalion, 29th Light Tank Brigade, took part in the German–Soviet military parade in Brest-Litovsk
German–Soviet military parade in Brest-Litovsk
German–Soviet military parade in Brest-Litovsk refers to an official ceremony held by the troops of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union on September 22, 1939 during the invasion of Poland in the city of Brest-Litovsk , which marked the withdrawal of German troops to the previously agreed demarcation...
on September 22, 1939.
When the German invasion of the Soviet Union commenced on 22 June 1941, the Army was part of the Western Front and had the 28th Rifle Corps (6th Rifle Division
6th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)
The 6th Rifle Division was a Soviet military unit. They participated in several battles, most notably the Soviet westward offensive of 1918–1919 and Estonian War of Independence. From their inception the unit saw combat and had three periods of active service...
and 42nd Rifle Division), 14th Mechanised Corps, and 49th and 75th Rifle Divisions, as well as the 62nd Fortified Region. General Colonel Pavlov, Commander of the Western Front, had decided to redeploy some of 4th Army’s troops early in 1941, and 12th Rifle Division was accordingly moved into Brest
Brest, Belarus
Brest , formerly also Brest-on-the-Bug and Brest-Litovsk , is a city in Belarus at the border with Poland opposite the city of Terespol, where the Bug River and Mukhavets rivers meet...
, and HQ 14th Mechanised Corps to Kobrin, which in Erickson’s words, ‘deprived 4th Army simultaneously of its reserve and its second echelon.’ Facing the 4th Army across the Bug River
Bug River
The Bug River is a left tributary of the Narew river flows from central Ukraine to the west, passing along the Ukraine-Polish and Polish-Belarusian border and into Poland, where it empties into the Narew river near Serock. The part between the lake and the Vistula River is sometimes referred to as...
was deployed the German Fourth Army, with twelve infantry divisions and a cavalry division, as well as Panzer Group 2. Some units faced several difficulties; when General Major A.A. Khorobkov, the army commander, saw his officers on 10 June, General Major S.I. Oborin, 14th Mechanised Corps commander, emphasized that more than half his soldiers were untrained recruits, that his artillery had received guns for which there was no ammunition, and that he only had enough lorries to make a quarter of the corps mobile – the rest would have to march.
On the eve of the attack, 4th Army suffered, as did many Soviet formations, from German communication sabotage. Units lost telephone connections, electrical power, and the Brest Fortress
Brest Fortress
Brest Fortress , formerly known as Brest-Litovsk Fortress , is a 19th century Russian fortress in Brest, Belarus. It is one of the most important Soviet World War II war monuments commemorating the Soviet resistance against the German invasion on June 22, 1941...
lost its water supply. From about 5 am on 22 June fierce fighting began around the Brest fortress, but the seven battalions around the fortress, from 28th Rifle Corps, were undermanned, disorganized, and slow off the mark to man the defences. Despite these deficiencies the final German reduction of the fortress took some time in the face of determined Soviet resistance. By 1600 hours on 22 June, 4th Army HQ was back at Zapruda, whereupon Front HQ ordered that 14th Mechanised Corps be launched in an attack to clear Brest and reach the frontier line. However the Army staff felt the plan had no chance of success, and so it proved; when the attack was launched the next day, only insignificant progress was made. Three days later Western Front ordered a general withdrawal to try to keep the frontier armies out of threatened German encirclement; 4th Army was directed to fall back on a line from Bytin to Pinsk
Pinsk
Pinsk , a town in Belarus, in the Polesia region, traversed by the river Pripyat, at the confluence of the Strumen and Pina rivers. The region was known as the Marsh of Pinsk. It is a fertile agricultural center. It lies south-west of Minsk. The population is about 130,000...
. Further instructions came through from Pavlov after a chance meeting later the same day; to cover the concentration of reserve armies on the Dnieper, 4th Army was to hold the Shchara, the Slutsk
Slutsk
Slutsk is a town in Belarus, located on the Sluch River south of Minsk. As of 2010 its population is of 61,400).-Geography:The town is situated in the south-west of its Voblast, not too far from from the city of Soligorsk.-History:...
‘fortified district,’ and the Sluch river line. However the Slutsk fortified district, as the district commander reminded Khorobkov, had long ago been instructed to dispatch all its weapons to the Brest fortress
Brest Fortress
Brest Fortress , formerly known as Brest-Litovsk Fortress , is a 19th century Russian fortress in Brest, Belarus. It is one of the most important Soviet World War II war monuments commemorating the Soviet resistance against the German invasion on June 22, 1941...
(which was continuing to hold). The planned defence was thus practically non-existent, and Slutsk
Slutsk
Slutsk is a town in Belarus, located on the Sluch River south of Minsk. As of 2010 its population is of 61,400).-Geography:The town is situated in the south-west of its Voblast, not too far from from the city of Soligorsk.-History:...
fell on 27 June. The Army took part in the defenses of the area around Babruysk
Babruysk
Babruysk or Bobruysk is a city in the Mahilyow Voblast of Belarus on the Berezina river. It is a large city in Belarus with a population of approximately 227,000 people . The name Babruysk probably originates from the Belarusian word babyor , many of which used to inhabit the Berezina...
.
At the end of July 1941, the Fourth Army began to dissolve. The Fourth Army's staff members were absorbed into the general staff of the Central Front
Soviet Central Front
The Central Front was a Front of the Soviet Army during the Second World War.The Central Front describes either of two distinct organizations during the war...
, and the troops were absorbed into other armies.
At the end of September 1941, the Fourth Army was formed for the second time, retaining its Independent status until December while remaining in the Stavka Reserve. The field staffs of the 52nd and 54th Armies were used to fill the command contingent of the Army. The new formation was made up of the 285th, 292nd, and 311th Rifle Divisions along with the 27th Cavalry Division, a Tank brigade, the 2nd Reserve aviation group, and other artillery and support units.
The Fourth Army participated in the defense and attack of Tikhvin
Tikhvin
Tikhvin is a town and the administrative center of Tikhvinsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on both banks of the Tikhvinka River in the east of the oblast, east of St. Petersburg. Tikhvin is also an industrial and cultural center of the district, as well as its transportation...
from October to December 1941. On December 17, 1941, the Fourth Army was allocated to the Volkhov Front
Volkhov Front
The Front was reformed on the 9 June 1942 from the Volkhov Operational Group of the Leningrad Front and served until 15 February 1944, participating in the relief of the Siege of Leningrad and taking part in other operations including:-Campaigns:...
. From January 1942 to November 1943, the Fourth Army fought on the front in Volkhov
Volkhov
Volkhov is an industrial town in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, situated east of St. Petersburg, on the Volkhov River. Population: -History:...
and Leningrad
Siege of Leningrad
The Siege of Leningrad, also known as the Leningrad Blockade was a prolonged military operation resulting from the failure of the German Army Group North to capture Leningrad, now known as Saint Petersburg, in the Eastern Front theatre of World War II. It started on 8 September 1941, when the last...
while also doing many rear-area duties. Unlike in other parts of the Eastern Front, the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
was not making significant gains in the north by 1943.
The 4th Army was disbanded in November 1943 and set up again in January 1944 as part of the Transcaucasus Front. The staff of the Fourth Army was composed of the staff of the 34th Army. The Fourth Army was stationed in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
until August 1945 in accordance with the Soviet-Iranian treaty of 1921.
In February 1944, the 4th Army consisted of:
- HQ, 58th Rifle Corps (68th Mountain Rifle Division, 75th Rifle Division, 89th Rifle Brigade, 90th Rifle Brigade)
- HQ, 15th Cavalry Corps (1st, 23rd and 39th Cavalry Divisions, 1595th AT Regiment, 15th Independent AT Battalion, 17th Mortar Battalion)
- 28th Anti-Aircraft Battery
- 492nd Assault Aviation Regiment
- 167th Fighter Aviation Regiment
Commanders During World War II
- A.A. Korobkov 4th Army (1st formation)
- L.M. Sandalov 4th Army (2nd formation)
- V.F. Yakovlev 4th Army (2nd formation)
- Kirill MeretskovKirill MeretskovKirill Afanasievich Meretskov was a Soviet military commander. Having joined the Communist Party in 1917, he served in the Red Army from 1920. During the Winter War, he was responsible for penetrating the Mannerheim Line as commander of the 7th Army...
4th Army (2nd formation) - P.A. Ivanov 4th Army (2nd formation)
- P.I. Lyapin 4th Army (2nd formation)
- N.I. Gusev 4th Army (2nd formation)
- I.G. Sovietnikov
Postwar service
In the years after World War II the Fourth Army was stationed in the Azerbaijan SSRAzerbaijan SSR
The Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic , also known as the Azerbaijan SSR for short, was one of the republics that made up the former Soviet Union....
within the Transcaucasus Military District until the fall of the Soviet Union. It was headquartered at Baku
Baku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
, and after it arrived from Iran in 1946 the Baku Military District was abolished. Most of the divisions listed below joined the Army's forces in the Baku region toward the end of the 1940s. From its wartime divisions, toward the end of the 1980s only the 60th Motor Rifle Division 'named for Marshal of the Soviet Union F.I. Tolbukhin' (the former 296th, then 6th Rifle Division
6th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)
The 6th Rifle Division was a Soviet military unit. They participated in several battles, most notably the Soviet westward offensive of 1918–1919 and Estonian War of Independence. From their inception the unit saw combat and had three periods of active service...
) remained.
1988 Order of Battle
In the late 1980s the 4th Combined Arms Army was composed of:- 23rd Motor Rifle Division, Gyandzha(Ganja) (though Feskov et al. say Shamkhor, now ShamkirShamkirShamkir is a rayon in Azerbaijan. It is located in the northwestern part of the Azerbaijan Republic. The rayon was previously called "Shamkhor" during the Soviet rule and was renamed to Shamkir only in 1991 after restoration of independence of Azerbaijan. The district was established in 1930...
). (originally 14th and 16th Guards Cavalry Divisions, 7th Guards Cavalry Corps) - 60th Motor Rifle Division, Lenkoran
- 216th Motor Rifle Division216th Rifle DivisionThe 216th Motor Rifle Division was a division of the Soviet Ground Forces. It was descended from the 216th Rifle Division, a Soviet infantry division of the Red Army. It was established at Staro Konstantinov in May 1941...
, SaatlıSaatli (city)Saatlı is a city in and the capital of the Saatly Rayon of Azerbaijan.- References :* – World-Gazetteer.com...
(disbanded mid 1980s) - 295th Motor Rifle Division, Baku (former 295th, then 49th Rifle Division). Comprises 298th Tank Regiment (Gyuzhdek/Гюждек), 139th Motor Rifle Regiment (Kusar/Кусары), and 135th (with BTR) and 140th Motor Rifle Regiments (with BMP)
- Other smaller formations and units:
- 136th Rocket Brigade, Baku (ПУ 9К72);
- a number of artillery units at Кизил-Агадж:
- Коба отдельные artillery regiments - 215-й (45-я бригада) гвардейский пушечный Днепродзержинский краснознаменный, орденов Суворова, Кутузова (24 ед. 2А36 «Гиацинт-Б» 36 D-20152 mm towed gun-howitzer M1955 (D-20)The 152 mm gun-howitzer M1955, also known as the D-20, is a manually loaded, towed 152 mm artillery piece, manufactured in the Soviet Union during the 1950s. It was first observed by the west in 1955, where it was designated the M1955. Its GRAU index is 52-P-546...
) - 941-й реактивный (36 ед. BM-21BM-21The BM-21 launch vehicle , a Soviet truck-mounted 122 mm multiple rocket launcher, and a M-21OF rocket were developed in the early 1960s. BM stands for boyevaya mashina, ‘combat vehicle’, and the nickname means ‘hail’. The complete system with the BM-21 launch vehicle and the M-21OF rocket...
«Grad»); - 714-й отдельный разведывательный артдивизион,
- and two aviation units:
- the 121-я отдельная смешанная авиационная эскадрилья (5 Ми-8, 1 Ми-6) Кизил-Агадж
- and the 381-я отдельная вертолетная эскадрилья (13 Ми-24, 4 Ми-8) in Nakhichevan
Sources
- see also http://samsv.narod.ru/Arm/a04/arm.html