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51st Army (Soviet Union)
Encyclopedia
The 51st Army was a field army
of the Red Army
that saw action against the Germans
in World War II
on both the southern and northern sectors of the front. In particular, it was involved in the Crimean debacle
of May 1942, and the final cutting-off of German forces in the Courland area
next to the Baltic. Inactivated in the 1950s, the army was activated again in the 1960s to secure the Soviet Union's
border with China. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union
, the army continued in existence as a component of the Russian Ground Forces
. The army was active during two periods from 1941 until 1993.
, with the task of guarding the Crimea
. Professor John Erickson
in The Road to Stalingrad describes Stalin's rationale for the formation of the Army during a 12 August session with in the Stavka war room: Stalin and the Stavka had concluded from the German moves underway at the time that a strike on the Crimea (along with an attack on Bryansk
) was likely, and thus the formation of an Independent Army in the Crimea had been decided upon. Thus Kuznetsov was summoned, and after a discussion, he was sent south to take up his new command.
The army's initial forces included the 9th Rifle Corps, the 271st and 276th Rifle Divisions, the 40th, 42nd and 48th Cavalry Divisions, and the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th irregularly formed Crimean divisions and a number of smaller units. However, due to Kuznetsov's 'sticking blindly to the prewar plan', which anticipated a seaborne assault, and leaving the Perekop and Sivash approaches too thinly held, Von Manstein, leading the German assault, was able to push past the defences. Therefore the Stavka ordered that the army command be handed over to General Pavel Batov
.
In November the army was evacuated from the Taman peninsula and it joined the Transcaucasian Front
(briefly known as the Caucasian Front after 30 December 1941). The army participated in the Kerch
-Feodosiya landing operation in December 1941 – January 1942 alongside the 44th Army. 51st Army was originally planned to be the Kerch arm of the assault, but delays caused by bad weather and a schedule change prompted by renewed German attacks on Sevastopol resulted in 51st Army troops being landed at Capes Sjuk and Chroni during the night of December 26–27, 1941. 44th and 51st Armies then formed the Crimean Front
under General Dmitri T. Kozlov
, formally established on 28 January 1942, which hammered repeatedly at Von Manstein's Eleventh Army. On 1 February 1942, 51st Army comprised the 138th and 302nd Mountain Rifle Divisions, the 224th, 390th, and 396th Rifle Divisions, the 12th Rifle Brigade, 83rd Naval Infantry Brigade, 105th Separate Mountain Rifle Regiment, 55th Tank Brigade, 229th Separate Tank Battalion, artillery units, and other support units. A German offensive was launched against the Front on 8 May 1942, and due to bickering between Kozlov and the Front commissar, Lev Mekhlis
, and a trail of incompetent actions, it concluded
around 18 May 1942 with the near complete destruction of Soviet defending forces. Three armies (44th, 47th, and 51st), 21 divisions, 176,000 men, 347 tanks, and nearly 3,500 guns were lost. The remains of the force were evacuated.
at Kuban. In July, Marshal Budenny received orders to combine the Southern Front
and North Caucasian Front
into a single formation retaining the title of North Caucasian Front, and 51st Army joined the 'Don group' of that front under General Lieutenant Rodion Malinovsky, along with the 12th Army
and the 37th Army. As part of the Stalingrad Front
(from August 1–5), then briefly with the Southeast Front (from 6 August until 27 September), and then back with the Stalingrad Front it took part in the Battle of Stalingrad
. On 31 July when it came under Stalingrad Front control it was so worn down by its previous rough handling that it was only 3,000 men strong. During Operation Uranus
, the counterattack from Stalingrad, the 4th Mechanized Corps began its attack from the 51st Army's sector. On December 24–25, 1942, the commander of 51st Army, Major-General N.I. Trufanov, organized a local offensive operation on the right flank with the forces of three rifle divisions, and moved to the north bank of the Aksav River, on the eve of the Koitelnikovo offensive operation, which eventually defeated the German efforts made as part of Operation Winter Storm to relieve the Sixth Army in Stalingrad. On 30 January 1943, the Luftwaffe's Kampfgeschwader 51
destroyed the 51st Army's Headquarters, near Salsk
. Dropping 100 – 250 kg bombs, a wave of Junkers Ju 88
s and Heinkel He 111
s destroyed the communications centre, working offices of the chief-of-staff, the operational headquarters and the offices of the operational duty officer. Up to 20 buildings and personnel billets were also destroyed. Casualties among personnel were also very high.
After January 1943 as part of the Southern Front
, which became the 4th Ukrainian Front
on 20 October 1943, the 51st Army took part in the Rostov, Donbass (August–September 1943), Melitopol
(September–November 1943) and the 1944 Crimean offensive operation
. On 1 April 1944, 51st Army included the 1st Guards Rifle Corps (33rd Guards, 91st and 346th Rifle Divisions) 10th Rifle Corps (216th
, 257th, and 279th Rifle Divisions) 63rd Rifle Corps (263rd, 267th, and 417th Rifle Divisions), the 77th Rifle Division, the 78th Fortified Region, artillery, armour, and other support units. During these operations, the 51st Army's attacks trapped the German XXIX. Armeekorps against the Sea of Azov
.
In May – June, 1944 51st Army was moved to the western direction. As part of the 1st Baltic Front
it participated in operations clearing Latvia
and Lithuania
– the Baltic Offensive. Leading the penetration of 1st Baltic Front into German lines, 51st Army reached the Bay of Riga on 31 July 1944, cutting off German Army Group North
to the northeast of Riga
. Under tremendous pressure, the Germans organized an armored counter-attack (Doppelkopf) from 16 to 27 August 1944 that succeeded in re-opening a 40-kilometer wide corridor through which Army Group North retreated westward into the Courland
region of Latvia.
After regrouping in September 1944, the 51st Army attacked westward in October, reaching the Baltic coast
north of Memel
, and with other 1st Baltic Front armies, definitively cut off Army Group North in Courland, where the German force would remain for the rest of the war. Thereafter, 51st Army took up position on the far western flank of the Soviet forces arrayed against Army Group North (later renamed Army Group Courland
). Of the six major battles for Courland, 51st Army's only real progress was during the first Courland battle, from 15–22 October 1944, in which the army pushed some ten kilometers north against bitter resistance of the German III. SS-Panzerkorps
. Thereafter, the front lines in this area of the Courland front changed little.
After 9 May 1945 it accepted the capitulation of the German Army Group Courland.
In 1969, the 51st Combined Arms Army was re-formed on the basis of the staff of the 2nd Army Corps in the Far East Military District. On 11 October 1993 the 51st (Combined Arms) Army became the 68th Army Corps.
Other Army-level troops reported by Feskov et al. 2004, as of 1988, included the 280 отдельный Уссурийский Engineer-Sapper Bаttalion of the 25th Army Corps (Анадырь), the Staff of the 25th Army Corps, 8th Separate Communications Battalion; 921st Artillery Regiment at Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
, the 75th Rocket Brigade, 166th Separate Communications Regiment, a Separate Engineer-Sapper Regiment; and the 553rd Separate Communications Battalion at Yuzho-Sakhalinsk (Южно-Сахалинск).
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 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...
that saw action against the Germans
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
on both the southern and northern sectors of the front. In particular, it was involved in the Crimean debacle
Battle of the Kerch Peninsula
Battle of the Kerch Peninsula was a World War II offensive by German and Romanian armies against the Soviet Crimean Front forces defending the Kerch Peninsula, in the eastern part of the Crimea. It was launched on 8 May 1942 and concluded around 18 May 1942 with the near complete destruction of...
of May 1942, and the final cutting-off of German forces in the Courland area
Courland Pocket
The Courland Pocket referred to the Red Army's blockade or encirclement of Axis forces on the Courland peninsula during the closing months of World War II...
next to the Baltic. Inactivated in the 1950s, the army was activated again in the 1960s to secure the Soviet Union's
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....
border with China. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union
Dissolution of the Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union was the disintegration of the federal political structures and central government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , resulting in the independence of all fifteen republics of the Soviet Union between March 11, 1990 and December 25, 1991...
, the army continued in existence as a component of the Russian Ground Forces
Russian Ground Forces
The Russian Ground Forces are the land forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, formed from parts of the collapsing Soviet Army in 1992. The formation of these forces posed economic challenges after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and required reforms to professionalize the force...
. The army was active during two periods from 1941 until 1993.
The Crimea
The Army was formed in August 1941 in the Crimea as the 51st Independent Army under Colonel General F.I. KuznetsovFyodor Isodorovich Kuznetsov
Fyodor Isidorovich Kuznetsov , Colonel General, was a military commander of the Soviet Union.-Biography:Born to a peasant family in present-day Mogilev Oblast of Belarus, Kuznetsov served in the Imperial Russian Army during World War I and continued his service in the Bolsheviks' Red Army...
, with the task of guarding the Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
. Professor John Erickson
John Erickson (historian)
John Erickson was a British historian who wrote extensively on the Second World War...
in The Road to Stalingrad describes Stalin's rationale for the formation of the Army during a 12 August session with in the Stavka war room: Stalin and the Stavka had concluded from the German moves underway at the time that a strike on the Crimea (along with an attack on 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...
) was likely, and thus the formation of an Independent Army in the Crimea had been decided upon. Thus Kuznetsov was summoned, and after a discussion, he was sent south to take up his new command.
The army's initial forces included the 9th Rifle Corps, the 271st and 276th Rifle Divisions, the 40th, 42nd and 48th Cavalry Divisions, and the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th irregularly formed Crimean divisions and a number of smaller units. However, due to Kuznetsov's 'sticking blindly to the prewar plan', which anticipated a seaborne assault, and leaving the Perekop and Sivash approaches too thinly held, Von Manstein, leading the German assault, was able to push past the defences. Therefore the Stavka ordered that the army command be handed over to General Pavel Batov
Pavel Batov
Pavel Ivanovich Batov was a senior Red Army general during the Second World War and afterwards....
.
In November the army was evacuated from the Taman peninsula and it joined the Transcaucasian Front
Transcaucasian Front
Transcaucasian Front or Transcaucasus Front was a Front of the Soviet Army during the Second World War. This sense of the term is not identical with the more general usage of military front which indicates a geographic area in wartime, although a Soviet Front may operate within designated...
(briefly known as the Caucasian Front after 30 December 1941). The army participated in the Kerch
Kerch
Kerch is a city on the Kerch Peninsula of eastern Crimea, an important industrial, transport and tourist centre of Ukraine. Kerch, founded 2600 years ago, is considered as one of the most ancient cities in Ukraine.-Ancient times:...
-Feodosiya landing operation in December 1941 – January 1942 alongside the 44th Army. 51st Army was originally planned to be the Kerch arm of the assault, but delays caused by bad weather and a schedule change prompted by renewed German attacks on Sevastopol resulted in 51st Army troops being landed at Capes Sjuk and Chroni during the night of December 26–27, 1941. 44th and 51st Armies then formed the Crimean Front
Crimean Front
The Crimean Front was one of the Soviet Army fronts of World War II. It was commanded throughout its existence by Dmitr Timofeyevich Kozlov and was made up of the Soviet 44th, 47th and 51st Armies...
under General Dmitri T. Kozlov
Dmitry Timofeyevich Kozlov
Dmitry Timofeyevich Kozlov was a Soviet military commander.-1914-1941:...
, formally established on 28 January 1942, which hammered repeatedly at Von Manstein's Eleventh Army. On 1 February 1942, 51st Army comprised the 138th and 302nd Mountain Rifle Divisions, the 224th, 390th, and 396th Rifle Divisions, the 12th Rifle Brigade, 83rd Naval Infantry Brigade, 105th Separate Mountain Rifle Regiment, 55th Tank Brigade, 229th Separate Tank Battalion, artillery units, and other support units. A German offensive was launched against the Front on 8 May 1942, and due to bickering between Kozlov and the Front commissar, Lev Mekhlis
Lev Mekhlis
Lev Zakharovich Mekhlis was a Jewish-Soviet statesman and party figure.-Career:He however served incompetently as a party commissar at the front during World War II, among his mistakes being failures, in conjunction with General Dmitri Kozlov, which meant the Crimean Front was defeated and had to...
, and a trail of incompetent actions, it concluded
Battle of the Kerch Peninsula
Battle of the Kerch Peninsula was a World War II offensive by German and Romanian armies against the Soviet Crimean Front forces defending the Kerch Peninsula, in the eastern part of the Crimea. It was launched on 8 May 1942 and concluded around 18 May 1942 with the near complete destruction of...
around 18 May 1942 with the near complete destruction of Soviet defending forces. Three armies (44th, 47th, and 51st), 21 divisions, 176,000 men, 347 tanks, and nearly 3,500 guns were lost. The remains of the force were evacuated.
Stalingrad and after
After the evacuation 51st Army joined the North Caucasian FrontNorth Caucasian Front
The North Caucasian Front or North Caucasus Front was a Front of the Soviet Army during the Second World War. This sense of the term is not identical with the more general usage of military front which indicates a geographic area in wartime, although a Soviet Front may operate within designated...
at Kuban. In July, Marshal Budenny received orders to combine the Southern Front
Southern Front
The Southern Front is a geographical area where armies are engaged in conflict* The Soviet Southern Front was one of the Soviet Fronts in WWII*Southern Front...
and North Caucasian Front
North Caucasian Front
The North Caucasian Front or North Caucasus Front was a Front of the Soviet Army during the Second World War. This sense of the term is not identical with the more general usage of military front which indicates a geographic area in wartime, although a Soviet Front may operate within designated...
into a single formation retaining the title of North Caucasian Front, and 51st Army joined the 'Don group' of that front under General Lieutenant Rodion Malinovsky, along with the 12th Army
12th Army (Soviet Union)
The Soviet Union's 12th Army was a field army formed multiple times during the Russian Civil War and World War II.-Civil War & Polish-Soviet War:...
and the 37th Army. As part of the Stalingrad Front
Stalingrad Front
The Stalingrad Front was a front of the Soviet Union's Red Army during the Second World War. The name indicated the primary geographical region in which the Front first fought, based on the city of Stalingrad on the Volga River....
(from August 1–5), then briefly with the Southeast Front (from 6 August until 27 September), and then back with the Stalingrad Front it took part in the Battle 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...
. On 31 July when it came under Stalingrad Front control it was so worn down by its previous rough handling that it was only 3,000 men strong. During Operation Uranus
Operation Uranus
Operation Uranus was the codename of the Soviet strategic operation in World War II which led to the encirclement of the German Sixth Army, the Third and Fourth Romanian armies, and portions of the German Fourth Panzer Army. The operation formed part of the ongoing Battle of Stalingrad, and was...
, the counterattack from Stalingrad, the 4th Mechanized Corps began its attack from the 51st Army's sector. On December 24–25, 1942, the commander of 51st Army, Major-General N.I. Trufanov, organized a local offensive operation on the right flank with the forces of three rifle divisions, and moved to the north bank of the Aksav River, on the eve of the Koitelnikovo offensive operation, which eventually defeated the German efforts made as part of Operation Winter Storm to relieve the Sixth Army in Stalingrad. On 30 January 1943, the Luftwaffe's Kampfgeschwader 51
Kampfgeschwader 51
Kampfgeschwader 51 "Edelweiss" was a Luftwaffe bomber unit during World War II. The unit began forming in December 1939. The unit operated the Dornier Do 17, Heinkel He 111 and Junkers Ju 88 light and medium bombers...
destroyed the 51st Army's Headquarters, near Salsk
Salsk
Salsk is a town and the administrative center of Salsky District of Rostov Oblast, Russia, located on the Sredny Yegorlyk River , southeast of Rostov-on-Don. Population:...
. Dropping 100 – 250 kg bombs, a wave of Junkers Ju 88
Junkers Ju 88
The Junkers Ju 88 was a World War II German Luftwaffe twin-engine, multi-role aircraft. Designed by Hugo Junkers' company through the services of two American aviation engineers in the mid-1930s, it suffered from a number of technical problems during the later stages of its development and early...
s and Heinkel He 111
Heinkel He 111
The Heinkel He 111 was a German aircraft designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter in the early 1930s in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Often described as a "Wolf in sheep's clothing", it masqueraded as a transport aircraft, but its purpose was to provide the Luftwaffe with a fast medium...
s destroyed the communications centre, working offices of the chief-of-staff, the operational headquarters and the offices of the operational duty officer. Up to 20 buildings and personnel billets were also destroyed. Casualties among personnel were also very high.
After January 1943 as part of the Southern Front
Southern Front
The Southern Front is a geographical area where armies are engaged in conflict* The Soviet Southern Front was one of the Soviet Fronts in WWII*Southern Front...
, which became the 4th Ukrainian Front
4th Ukrainian Front
The 4th Ukrainian Front was a front of the Red Army during World War II...
on 20 October 1943, the 51st Army took part in the Rostov, Donbass (August–September 1943), Melitopol
Melitopol
Melitopol is a city in the Zaporizhia Oblast of the southeastern Ukraine. It is situated on the Molochna River that flows through the eastern edge of the city and into the Molochnyi Liman, which eventually joins the Sea of Azov....
(September–November 1943) and the 1944 Crimean offensive operation
Battle of the Crimea (1944)
The Crimean Offensive — known in German sources as the Battle of the Crimea — was a series of offensives by the Red Army in the effort to liberate Crimea from the German Wehrmacht occupation...
. On 1 April 1944, 51st Army included the 1st Guards Rifle Corps (33rd Guards, 91st and 346th Rifle Divisions) 10th Rifle Corps (216th
216th Rifle Division
The 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...
, 257th, and 279th Rifle Divisions) 63rd Rifle Corps (263rd, 267th, and 417th Rifle Divisions), the 77th Rifle Division, the 78th Fortified Region, artillery, armour, and other support units. During these operations, the 51st Army's attacks trapped the German XXIX. Armeekorps against the Sea of Azov
Sea of Azov
The Sea of Azov , known in Classical Antiquity as Lake Maeotis, is a sea on the south of Eastern Europe. It is linked by the narrow Strait of Kerch to the Black Sea to the south and is bounded on the north by Ukraine mainland, on the east by Russia, and on the west by the Ukraine's Crimean...
.
In May – June, 1944 51st Army was moved to the western direction. As part of the 1st Baltic Front
1st Baltic Front
The First Baltic Front was a Front of the Soviet Army during the Second World War. The commanders of it were Army General Andrey Yeryomenko and succeeded by Army General Bagramyan. It was formed by re-naming the Kalinin Front in October 12, 1943 and took part in several important military...
it participated in operations clearing Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
and Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
– the Baltic Offensive. Leading the penetration of 1st Baltic Front into German lines, 51st Army reached the Bay of Riga on 31 July 1944, cutting off German Army Group North
Army Group North
Army Group North was a German strategic echelon formation commanding a grouping of Field Armies subordinated to the OKH during World War II. The army group coordinated the operations of attached separate army corps, reserve formations, rear services and logistics.- Formation :The Army Group North...
to the northeast of Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
. Under tremendous pressure, the Germans organized an armored counter-attack (Doppelkopf) from 16 to 27 August 1944 that succeeded in re-opening a 40-kilometer wide corridor through which Army Group North retreated westward into the Courland
Courland
Courland is one of the historical and cultural regions of Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland.- Geography and climate :...
region of Latvia.
After regrouping in September 1944, the 51st Army attacked westward in October, reaching the Baltic coast
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
north of Memel
Klaipeda
Klaipėda is a city in Lithuania situated at the mouth of the Nemunas River where it flows into the Baltic Sea. It is the third largest city in Lithuania and the capital of Klaipėda County....
, and with other 1st Baltic Front armies, definitively cut off Army Group North in Courland, where the German force would remain for the rest of the war. Thereafter, 51st Army took up position on the far western flank of the Soviet forces arrayed against Army Group North (later renamed Army Group Courland
Army Group Courland
Army Group Courland was a German Army Group on the Eastern Front which was created from remnants of the Army Group North, isolated in the Courland peninsula by the advancing Soviet Army forces during the 1944 Baltic Offensive of the Second World War. The army group remained isolated until the end...
). Of the six major battles for Courland, 51st Army's only real progress was during the first Courland battle, from 15–22 October 1944, in which the army pushed some ten kilometers north against bitter resistance of the German III. SS-Panzerkorps
III (Germanic) SS Panzer Corps
The III SS Panzer Corps was a German Waffen-SS armoured corps which saw action on the Eastern Front during World War II. The The III (Germanic) SS Panzer Corps (III. (germanische) SS-Panzerkorps) was a German Waffen-SS armoured corps which saw action on the Eastern Front during World War II. The...
. Thereafter, the front lines in this area of the Courland front changed little.
After 9 May 1945 it accepted the capitulation of the German Army Group Courland.
World War II Commanders
| Commander | Assumption of Command | Handed over Command |
|---|---|---|
| Colonel-General F. I. Kuznetsov Fyodor Kuznetsov Fyodor Isidorovich Kuznetsov , Colonel General, was a military commander of the Soviet Union.-Biography:Born to a peasant family in present-day Mogilev Oblast of Belarus, Kuznetsov served in the Imperial Russian Army during World War I and continued his service in the Bolsheviks' Red Army... |
Aug 1941 | Nov 1941 |
| Lieutenant-General P. I. Batov Pavel Batov Pavel Ivanovich Batov was a senior Red Army general during the Second World War and afterwards.... |
Nov 1941 | Dec 1941 |
| Lieutenant-General V. N. L'vov | Dec 1941 | May 1942 |
| Major-General N. Ia. Kirpichenko | May 1942 | June 1942 |
| Colonel A. M. Kuznetsov | Jun 1942 | July 1942 |
| Major-General T. K. Kolomiets | July 1942 | Sept 1942 |
| Major-General N. I. Trufanov | Oct 1942 | Feb 1943 |
| Lieutenant-General G. F. Zakharov Georgiy Zakharov Not to be confused with the Red Air Force general Georgi Zakharov.Georgiy Fedotovich Zakharov was a Soviet general officer, mainly notable for his service in World War II.-Early life:... |
Feb 1943 | Jul 1943 |
| Lieutenant-General Ia. G. Kreizer Yakov 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... |
Aug 1943 | May 1945 |
Postwar
The army moved during June 1945 from the Baltic States to the Urals with almost all its forces. Feskov et al. list 10th Rifle Corps (91st, 279th, and 347th Rifle Divisions) and 63rd Rifle Corps (77th, 87th, and 417th Rifle Divisions) in the District at the time, and probably under 51st Army headquarters. The army's headquarters moved without its troops to Sakhalin in the Far East Military District in 1953, but it was later disbanded.In 1969, the 51st Combined Arms Army was re-formed on the basis of the staff of the 2nd Army Corps in the Far East Military District. On 11 October 1993 the 51st (Combined Arms) Army became the 68th Army Corps.
Order of Battle in the 1980s
At the end of the 1980s the composition of the 51st Combined Arms Army of the Far East Military District included:| Formation | Location | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| 2nd Army Corps | ||
| 33rd Motor-Rifle Red Banner Division 33rd Motor Rifle Division Originally formed as a fortified region, the 33rd Motor-Rifle Order of the Red Banner Division was a rifle division of the Soviet Union's Red Army... |
Khomutovo | 192 тп (Анива), 465 мсп (Леонидово), 377 мсп (Анива), мсп, ап, зенап |
| 79th Motor-Rifle Division | Poronaysk Poronaysk Poronaysk is a town in Sakhalin Oblast, Russia, located on the Poronay River some 288 km north of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. It is the administrative center of Poronaysky District. Population: 17,400 ; 17,954 ; 25,971 .... |
'Sakhalin Red Banner';214 тп, 157 мсп (Гастелло), 398 мсп (Победино), мсп, 284 ап, зенап (Победино) |
| 25th Army Corps | Formed around 1974 | |
| 22nd Motor-Rifle Division | Dolinsk Dolinsk Dolinsk is a town in Sakhalin Oblast, Russia, the administrative center of Dolinsky District. In Japanese, it is known as Ochiai . Population: 12,555 ; 15,653 .-Geography:... , Sakhalin |
'Krasnodar-Harbin Twice Red Banner';59 тп, 211 мсп, 246 мсп, 304 мсп, 157ап, 1006 зрп |
| 87th Motor-Rifle Division | Petropavlovsk Petropavlovsk Petropavlovsk may refer to:*Petropavlovsk plc, a mining company listed on the London Stock Exchange-Ships:*Battleship Petropavlovsk , Imperial Russia... |
Disbanded 1987 |
| 99th Motor-Rifle Division | Anadyr Anadyr (town) Anadyr is a port town and the administrative centre of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, the extreme north-eastern region of Russia. It is at the mouth of the Anadyr River, on the tip of the southern promontory that sticks out into Anadyrskiy Liman... , Chukotka |
Consisted of 1324th and 1327th MRRs. Division converted on 1 June 1999 to the 3840th Military Technology Storage Base until it was disbanded on 1 December 2002. |
| 18th Machine-gun Artillery Division | Settlement Gor’achiy Kluch (Iturup Iturup Iturup is the largest island of the South Kuril Islands. It is the northernmost island in the southern Kuril/Chishima islands, and though it is presently controlled by Russia, Japan also claims this island... ), Sakhalin |
Former 184th Rifle Division 184th Rifle Division The 184th Red Banner Rifle Division was a Soviet Red Army division during World War II . It was with 29th Rifle Corps of Eleventh Army on June 22, 1941, as part of the Baltic Military District. Most of the soldiers rebelled and joined the cause of the Lithuanian Activist Front... ;тп, 49 мсп (о. Кунашир), 484 мсп, мсп |
Other Army-level troops reported by Feskov et al. 2004, as of 1988, included the 280 отдельный Уссурийский Engineer-Sapper Bаttalion of the 25th Army Corps (Анадырь), the Staff of the 25th Army Corps, 8th Separate Communications Battalion; 921st Artillery Regiment at Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is the main city and the administrative, industrial, scientific, and cultural center of Kamchatka Krai, Russia. Population: .-History:It was founded by Danish navigator Vitus Bering, in the service of the Russian Navy...
, the 75th Rocket Brigade, 166th Separate Communications Regiment, a Separate Engineer-Sapper Regiment; and the 553rd Separate Communications Battalion at Yuzho-Sakhalinsk (Южно-Сахалинск).
Further reading
- Samsv.narod.ru, 51st Army (Russian)