Soviet Third Army
Encyclopedia
The 3rd Army was a Soviet
Red Army
field army
during World War II.
The 3rd Army was formed in 1939 in the Belorussian Special Military District from the Vitebsk Army Group. The Third Army saw its first action in September 1939, taking part in the operation in Belarus
and Poland
. In the operation, the Red Army seized eastern Poland as part of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
. After the start of Operation Barbarossa
, it included three corps, including the 4th Rifle Corps, with the 27th
, 56th, and 85th Rifle Division
s, as well as the 21st Rifle Corps (including the 24th Rifle Division
) and 11th Mechanised Corps (21st and 33rd Tank Division and 204th Mechanised Division).
The 3rd Army saw lots of action in important sectors. The Third Army took part in the operations of the Western
, Central
, Bryansk
, as well as the First
, Second
, and Third Belorussian Fronts
during the defenses of Grodno, Lida
, and Novogrudok.
The 3rd Army also took part in very important battles such as the Battle of Smolensk
, where German
troops captured the city in a difficult two-month campaign, and the Battle of Moscow
, in which the Red Army's winter counter-attack led by Marshal
Georgy Zhukov
drove back Army Group Center over 70 miles (112.7 km) away from Moscow. During the second half of the Eastern Front
, the 3rd Army took part in the Battle of Kursk
, where numerically superior Soviet forces, using good anti-tank defenses, defeated the German forces, thus stopping Operation Zitadelle and robbing the German Army
of all hopes of victory on the Eastern Front. The 3rd Army took part in the operations in Bryansk
, Gomel-Rechitsa, and Rogachev-Zhlobin
. During the final phases of the war, the 3rd Army took part in the attacks on Belarus
, East Prussia
, and eastern Germany, where it participated in the Battle of Berlin
.
On 1 May 1945 the 3rd Army consisted of the 35th Rifle Corps (250th, 290th, and 348th Rifle Divisions), 40th Rifle Corps (5th
, 129th, and 169th Rifle Divisions), 41st Rifle Corps (120th Guards Rifle Division
, 269th, and 283rd Rifle Divisions), 4th Corps Artillery Brigade, 44th Gun Artillery Brigade, 584 иптап, and other formations and units.
After the war ended, the Army headquarters was withdrawn to the Belarussian SSR, where it was reorganised in August 1945 as the short-lived Headquarters Belorussian-Lithuanian Military District. The Belorussian-Lithuanian Military District, according to a Czech internet source (valka), existed 31 Dec 44 - 9 JUly 1945, whereupon it was succeeded by the Minsk Military District. By this time the army consisted of three Rifle Corps
with nine rifle divisions. Later, all of them except the 120th Guards 'Rogachev' Rifle Division were disbanded.
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....
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...
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....
during World War II.
The 3rd Army was formed in 1939 in the Belorussian Special Military District from the Vitebsk Army Group. The Third Army saw its first action in September 1939, taking part in the operation in Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
and Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. In the operation, the Red Army seized eastern Poland as part of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, named after the Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov and the German foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, was an agreement officially titled the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Soviet Union and signed in Moscow in the late hours of 23 August 1939...
. After the start of Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
, it included three corps, including the 4th Rifle Corps, with the 27th
27th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)
The 27th Rifle Division was a tactical unit of the Bolshevist Russia and then the USSR, active between 1918 and 1941. First formed during the Russian Civil War on November 3, 1918 as part of 5th Red Army. Commanded by Vitovt Putna, it was transferred to the 16th Red Army in May 1920, and took part...
, 56th, and 85th Rifle Division
85th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)
The 85th Leningrad-Pavlovsk Red Banner Motor Rifle Division was a infantry division of the Soviet Red Army active from 1931 and converted to a motorised formation in 1957. It is now part of the Russian Ground Forces....
s, as well as the 21st Rifle Corps (including the 24th Rifle Division
24th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)
style="float: right; clear: right; background-color: transparent"| The 24th Samaro-Ulyanovsk Division was a rifle, then a motor-rifle division of the Red Army of the USSR...
) and 11th Mechanised Corps (21st and 33rd Tank Division and 204th Mechanised Division).
The 3rd Army saw lots of action in important sectors. The Third Army took part in the operations of the Western
Soviet Western Front
The Western Front was a Front of the Red Army, one of the Red Army Fronts during the Second World War. This sense of the term is different from the more general usage of military front which indicates a geographic area in wartime, although a Soviet Front usually operates within designated...
, Central
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...
, Bryansk
Bryansk Front
The Bryansk Front was a Front of the Soviet Army during the Second World War.General Andrei Yeremenko was designated commander of the Front when it first formed in mid-late August 1941, comprising, in Erickson's words, 'on paper two armies, 50th and 13th, with eight rifle divisions each, three...
, as well as the First
1st Belorussian Front
The 1st Belorussian Front was a Front of the Soviet Army during World War II...
, Second
2nd Belorussian Front
The 2nd Belorussian Front was a military formation of Army group size of the Soviet Army during the Second World War...
, and Third Belorussian Fronts
3rd Belorussian Front
The 3rd Belorussian Front was a Front of the Soviet Army during the Second World War...
during the defenses of Grodno, Lida
Lida
Lida is a city in western Belarus in Hrodna Voblast, situated 160 km west of Minsk. It is the fourteenth largest city in Belarus.- Etymology :...
, and Novogrudok.
The 3rd Army also took part in very important battles such as the Battle of Smolensk
Battle of Smolensk (1941)
The Battle of Smolensk was a largely successful encirclement operation by the German Army Group Centre's 2nd Panzer Group led by Heinz Guderian and the 3rd Panzer Group led by Hermann Hoth against parts of four Soviet Fronts during World War II...
, where German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
troops captured the city in a difficult two-month campaign, and the Battle of Moscow
Battle of Moscow
The Battle of Moscow is the name given by Soviet historians to two periods of strategically significant fighting on a sector of the Eastern Front during World War II. It took place between October 1941 and January 1942. The Soviet defensive effort frustrated Hitler's attack on Moscow, capital of...
, in which the Red Army's winter counter-attack led by Marshal
Marshal of the Soviet Union
Marshal of the Soviet Union was the de facto highest military rank of the Soviet Union. ....
Georgy Zhukov
Georgy Zhukov
Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov , was a Russian career officer in the Red Army who, in the course of World War II, played a pivotal role in leading the Red Army through much of Eastern Europe to liberate the Soviet Union and other nations from the Axis Powers' occupation...
drove back Army Group Center over 70 miles (112.7 km) away from Moscow. During the second half of the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
, the 3rd Army took part in the Battle of Kursk
Battle of Kursk
The Battle of Kursk took place when German and Soviet forces confronted each other on the Eastern Front during World War II in the vicinity of the city of Kursk, in the Soviet Union in July and August 1943. It remains both the largest series of armored clashes, including the Battle of Prokhorovka,...
, where numerically superior Soviet forces, using good anti-tank defenses, defeated the German forces, thus stopping Operation Zitadelle and robbing the German Army
German Army
The German Army is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. Following the disbanding of the Wehrmacht after World War II, it was re-established in 1955 as the Bundesheer, part of the newly formed West German Bundeswehr along with the Navy and the Air Force...
of all hopes of victory on the Eastern Front. The 3rd Army took part in the operations in Bryansk
Bryansk
Bryansk is a city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, located southwest of Moscow. Population: -History:The first written mention of Bryansk was in 1146, in the Hypatian Codex, as Debryansk...
, Gomel-Rechitsa, and Rogachev-Zhlobin
Zhlobin
Zhlobin is a city in the Homiel Voblast of Belarus, on the Dnieper river. As of 2005, the population is 75.866. The town was first mentioned in writing in 1492....
. During the final phases of the war, the 3rd Army took part in the attacks on Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, East Prussia
East Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
, and eastern Germany, where it participated in the Battle of Berlin
Battle of Berlin
The Battle of Berlin, designated the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, was the final major offensive of the European Theatre of World War II....
.
On 1 May 1945 the 3rd Army consisted of the 35th Rifle Corps (250th, 290th, and 348th Rifle Divisions), 40th Rifle Corps (5th
5th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)
The 5th Rifle Division of the Soviet Red Army was initially formed in September 1918 as the 2nd Penza Infantry Division. It was later renamed as the 5th Rifle Division , Saratov , Vitebsk , and 'in the name of the Czechoslovak Proletariat'...
, 129th, and 169th Rifle Divisions), 41st Rifle Corps (120th Guards Rifle Division
120th Guards Mechanised Brigade
The 120th Guards Mechanised Brigade is a mechanised infantry brigade of the Belarusian Ground Forces. It is the heir to the traditions of the Red Army 120th Guards Rifle Division which became the 120th Guards Motor Rifle Division around 1957....
, 269th, and 283rd Rifle Divisions), 4th Corps Artillery Brigade, 44th Gun Artillery Brigade, 584 иптап, and other formations and units.
After the war ended, the Army headquarters was withdrawn to the Belarussian SSR, where it was reorganised in August 1945 as the short-lived Headquarters Belorussian-Lithuanian Military District. The Belorussian-Lithuanian Military District, according to a Czech internet source (valka), existed 31 Dec 44 - 9 JUly 1945, whereupon it was succeeded by the Minsk Military District. By this time the army consisted of three Rifle Corps
Rifle corps (Soviet)
A rifle corps was a Soviet military organization of the mid-twentieth century. Rifle corps were made up of a varying number of rifle divisions, although the allocation of three rifle divisions to a rifle corps was common during the latter part of World War II.Unlike army corps formed by Germany...
with nine rifle divisions. Later, all of them except the 120th Guards 'Rogachev' Rifle Division were disbanded.
Commanders
- V.I. KusnetsovVasily Kuznetsov (general)Vasily Ivanovich Kuznetsov was a Soviet General and a Hero of the Soviet Union.-Early life:...
- Yakov KreizerYakov Kreizer-Before the war:Kreizer's Jewish parents were granted permission to live outside the Jewish pale of settlement because his grandfather was a cantonist soldier in the Russian imperial army. Kreizer enlisted in the Red Army in 1921, volunteered to the school for infantry officers in Voronezh and...
- P.S. Pshennikov
- P.I. Batov
- F.F. Shmatchenko
- P.P. Korsun
- A.V. Gorbatov