10th Army (Soviet Union)
Encyclopedia
The 10th Army of the Soviet Union
's Red Army
was a field army
active from 1939 to 1944.
The Army was formed in September 1939 in the Moscow Military District
, and then deployed to the Western Special Military District. During the Soviet invasion of Poland
it consisted, according to Steven Zagola, of the 11th Rifle Corps (6th
, 33rd, and 121st RD), the 16th Rifle Corps (8th
, 52nd, and 55th RDs) and the 3rd Rifle Corps (in reserve) (33 and 113 RDs), under General I.G. Zakharin.
On 22 June 1941, at the onset of Operation Barbarossa
the Army was part of the Soviet Western Front
. It consisted of the 1st Rifle Corps (2nd and 8th Rifle Division
s), 5th Rifle Corps (including 13th
, 86th, and 113th Rifle Divisions), 6th Cavalry Corps (6th and 36th Cavalry Divisions), and 6th
and 13th Mechanised Corps
, under General K.D. Golubev. It was encircled by German forces during the Battle of Białystok-Minsk in June 1941 and largely destroyed. The headquarters was officially disbanded on 5 July 1941. It was formed three times in 1941, next in October in the Southern Front, but its formation 'was halted due to severe battle conditions'.
It was then reformed in November 1941 in the Volga region, with nine divisions, seven of which were new formations. Soviet official websites give the nine divisions as the 322nd, 323rd, 324th, 325th, 326th, 328th and 330th Rifle, and 57th & 75th Cavalry
, thus including two cavalry divisions. Nine of these divisions had been formed in the space of three weeks from the reserve of the Moscow Military District
and been trained for 12 hours a day. General Lieutenant Filipp Golikov
took command. Golikov's 1967 book describes how the army finished its concentration in the Penza
area on 8 November 1941, after which 15 days were devoted to combat training and 5 days to construction of living quarters and other facilities. There were shortages of everything including warm winter clothing. The majority of the troops were between 30 and 40 years of age, and in some cases up to 65% of the men had no military training. Initially part of the Stavka
reserve, it was reassigned to the Western Front for the Battle of Moscow
, after moving up to Ryazan attacking on the morning of 6 December 1941. In 1942 it continued its defensive operations on the central axis, and in 1943 took part in the Battle of Smolensk
.
The 10th Army headquarters with associated units was withdrawn from the Western Front to the Stavka Reserve in early April (General Staff's directive of 7.04.44). From 10 April it was moved to Roslavl, where it was to take control of the 81st and 103rd Rifle Corps (total 5 divisions). That same month the army was disbanded, and its headquarters formed the basis of Headquarters 2nd Belorussian Front
while its formations were reassigned to the 49th Army.
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....
's 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 a 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....
active from 1939 to 1944.
The Army was formed in September 1939 in the Moscow Military District
Moscow Military District
The Moscow Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In 2010 it was merged with the Leningrad Military District, the Northern Fleet and the Baltic Fleet to form the new Western Military District.-History:In the beginning of...
, and then deployed to the Western Special Military District. During the Soviet invasion of Poland
Soviet 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...
it consisted, according to Steven Zagola, of the 11th Rifle Corps (6th
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...
, 33rd, and 121st RD), the 16th Rifle Corps (8th
8th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)
The 8th Rifle Division was a military formation of the Soviet Union's Red Army in the Winter War, the Soviet invasion of Poland, and World War II...
, 52nd, and 55th RDs) and the 3rd Rifle Corps (in reserve) (33 and 113 RDs), under General I.G. Zakharin.
On 22 June 1941, at the onset 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...
the Army was part of the Soviet Western Front
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...
. It consisted of the 1st Rifle Corps (2nd and 8th Rifle Division
8th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)
The 8th Rifle Division was a military formation of the Soviet Union's Red Army in the Winter War, the Soviet invasion of Poland, and World War II...
s), 5th Rifle Corps (including 13th
13th Rifle Division
The 13th Rifle Division was a military formation of the Red Army from 1922 to 1945. serving in World War II. It was disbanded after being defeated in 1941 and reformed from a Leningrad people's militia division later that year....
, 86th, and 113th Rifle Divisions), 6th Cavalry Corps (6th and 36th Cavalry Divisions), and 6th
5th Guards Motor Rifle Division
The 5th Guards Zimovnikovskaya order Kutuzov II degree Motor Rifle Division , named on the 60th anniversary of the USSR, was a military formation of the Soviet Ground Forces. It traces back to the 6th Mechanised Corps created in 1940, and destroyed in 1941 in the beginning of Operation Barbarossa...
and 13th Mechanised Corps
Mechanized Corps (Soviet)
A mechanised corps was a Soviet armoured formation used prior to the beginning of World War II.- Pre-war development of Soviet mechanised forces :...
, under General K.D. Golubev. It was encircled by German forces during the Battle of Białystok-Minsk in June 1941 and largely destroyed. The headquarters was officially disbanded on 5 July 1941. It was formed three times in 1941, next in October in the Southern Front, but its formation 'was halted due to severe battle conditions'.
It was then reformed in November 1941 in the Volga region, with nine divisions, seven of which were new formations. Soviet official websites give the nine divisions as the 322nd, 323rd, 324th, 325th, 326th, 328th and 330th Rifle, and 57th & 75th Cavalry
75th Cavalry Division
The 75th Cavalry Division was a cavalry formation of the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War.It was formed in September and October 1941 in Novosibirsk, Siberian Military District. The compound was formed as part of the ruling SCG USSR № 459ss on 11/08/1941 [1]. The redeployment of the division...
, thus including two cavalry divisions. Nine of these divisions had been formed in the space of three weeks from the reserve of the Moscow Military District
Moscow Military District
The Moscow Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In 2010 it was merged with the Leningrad Military District, the Northern Fleet and the Baltic Fleet to form the new Western Military District.-History:In the beginning of...
and been trained for 12 hours a day. General Lieutenant Filipp Golikov
Filipp Golikov
Filipp Ivanovich Golikov, was a Soviet military commander, promoted Marshal of the Soviet Union in 1961.Golikov saw service during the Russian Civil War...
took command. Golikov's 1967 book describes how the army finished its concentration in the Penza
Penza
-Honors:A minor planet, 3189 Penza, discovered by Soviet astronomer Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh in 1978, is named after the city.-Notable residents:...
area on 8 November 1941, after which 15 days were devoted to combat training and 5 days to construction of living quarters and other facilities. There were shortages of everything including warm winter clothing. The majority of the troops were between 30 and 40 years of age, and in some cases up to 65% of the men had no military training. Initially part of the Stavka
Stavka
Stavka was the term used to refer to a command element of the armed forces from the time of the Kievan Rus′, more formally during the history of Imperial Russia as administrative staff and General Headquarters during late 19th Century Imperial Russian armed forces and those of the Soviet Union...
reserve, it was reassigned to the Western Front for 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...
, after moving up to Ryazan attacking on the morning of 6 December 1941. In 1942 it continued its defensive operations on the central axis, and in 1943 took part in the Battle of Smolensk
Battle of Smolensk (1943)
The second Battle of Smolensk was a Soviet strategic offensive operation conducted by the Red Army as part of the Summer-Autumn Campaign of 1943...
.
The 10th Army headquarters with associated units was withdrawn from the Western Front to the Stavka Reserve in early April (General Staff's directive of 7.04.44). From 10 April it was moved to Roslavl, where it was to take control of the 81st and 103rd Rifle Corps (total 5 divisions). That same month the army was disbanded, and its headquarters formed the basis of Headquarters 2nd Belorussian Front
2nd Belorussian Front
The 2nd Belorussian Front was a military formation of Army group size of the Soviet Army during the Second World War...
while its formations were reassigned to the 49th Army.