Separate Coastal Army
Encyclopedia
The Separate Coastal Army was an army-level unit in the Red Army
that fought in the World War II
. It was ordered to be established on July 18, 1941 by the order of the Southern Front
from the forces of 9th Army’s Coastal Group
and was stood up on July 20, 1941.
. On August 5, 1941 STAVKA
ordered the Coastal Army to defend the City of Odessa as long as possible. The army established a defense on the approaches to the city and engaged the Fourth Romanian Army
, who was advancing towards the city, beginning August 10, 1941.
On August 20, 1941 STAVKA reassigned the Army from the Southern Front to STAVKA’s direct subordination with the following forces assigned to the defense of Odessa.
Order of Battle as of Late August 1941
The Axis forces assigned 17 infantry divisions and 7 brigades to assault the city. By September 21, 1941, Russian forces had stopped the German offensive 8–15 km from the city. For the next two months the Coastal Army, reinforced by the 157th Rifle Division and other forces, pinned down 20 Axis divisions. Finally, because of the threat of the German Army Group South
breaking though into the Donbass and Crimea
, it was decided to evacuate the Odessa Defense Region, including the Coastal Army into the Crimea. The Black Sea Fleet
accomplished this task on the night of October 14–15, 1941.
On November 4, the Crimean defense forces formed the Sevastopol Defense District. On November 19, the Coastal Army joined the Sevastopol defenses. When the army joined the Defense District the army was composed of the following units.
Order of Battle as of 19 November 1941
On October 20, the Army and the Sevastopol Defense District are reassigned to the Transcaucasus Front, on December 30, to the Caucasian Front
, on January 28, 1942 to the Crimean Front
, on April 26, under the direct supervision of the Commander in Chief of the Southwest Direction. On May 20, the Coastal Army is listed as being under the command of the North Caucasian Front
.
For eight months the Coastal Army along with the other forces of the Sevastopol Defense District held off numerous attacks by German and Romanian forces, causing large casualties and contributing to the difficulty in the Axis attempt to capture the Caucasus. On June 30, Axis forces succeeded in breaking through the Sevastopol defenses, which resulted in a crisis for the Soviet forces. On July 1, 1942 the STAVKA ordered the evacuation of the Crimea to the Caucasus. On July 7, after elements of the army evacuate to the Caucasus, the Coastal Army disbands, and its formations and units transferred to other armies.
Order of Battle as of 1 May 1942
Order of Battle as of 1 July 1942
Command
Commanders:
Members of the Military Council:
Chief of Staff:
, assigned troops from the 56th Army, and to be the assault army in Kerch–Eltigen Operation to establish a bridgehead on the Crimean peninsula. By November 20, the 11th Guards Rifle Corps and 16th Rifle Corps were located in the Kerch bridgehead with the remaining troops of the army were located on the Taman Peninsula. Even before the army was able to expand the Kerch springboard it received orders to prepare an offensive to liberate Crimea.
From late November 1943 until January 1944 the army conducted three separate operations (including the landing at Cape Tarkhan), resulting in the expansion of their bridgehead and improving its operational positions. From February to early April 1944, they held on to their occupied position, improved the engineering of them and conducted training for offensive operations.
Order of Battle January 1, 1944
(April 15) with the assistance of forces of the 4th Ukrainian Front, and with the assistance of partisans – Alushta
and Yalta
(April 16). By the end of April 16, the army had reached the fortified positions of the Germans at Sevastopol.
Reassigned on April 18, to the 4th Ukrainian Front the army spent from then until May 7, preparing its troops to storm the enemy fortifications at Sevastopol. On May 7, the Coastal Army in conjunction with the 2nd Guards and 51st Armies, and supported by the Black Sea Fleet began the assault on the defenses of Sevastopol. The main forces of the coastal army assaulted in the direction of Cape Chersonese, where the enemy had concentrated the remnant of the German division and all available artillery. By noon on May 12, the army in conjunction with the 19th Tank Corps cleared Chersonese of enemy forces.
Order of Battle January 1, 1944
On May 20, 1944 the Coastal Army transferred from the 4th Ukrainian Front and to the direct subordination of STAVKA. The army remained in the Crimea for the remainder of the war with the mission of defending the coast of Crimea.
In late July 1945 the headquarters of the Coastal and the 22nd Armies
were used to form the Tauric Military District.
Command
Commanders:
Members of the Military Council:
Chief of Staff:
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 fought in the 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...
. It was ordered to be established on July 18, 1941 by the order 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...
from the forces of 9th Army’s Coastal Group
9th Army (Soviet Union)
The 9th Army of the Soviet Union's Red Army was a Soviet field army, active from 1939 – 43, and then after the war from 1966 to 1989.It was active during the Winter War against Finland as part of the Leningrad Military District, beginning operations at the end of November 1939 under ComKor M.P....
and was stood up on July 20, 1941.
Odessa
At the beginning of the war the Soviet 9th army was engaged in heavy fighting along the southern front of the Axis invasion of Southern Russia, retreating towards OdessaOdessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
. On August 5, 1941 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...
ordered the Coastal Army to defend the City of Odessa as long as possible. The army established a defense on the approaches to the city and engaged the Fourth Romanian Army
Fourth Army (Romania)
The Fourth Army was a field army of the Romanian Land Forces active from the 19th century to the 1990s.-History:The Fourth Army fought in the Romanian Campaign of World War I, under the command of General Prezan...
, who was advancing towards the city, beginning August 10, 1941.
On August 20, 1941 STAVKA reassigned the Army from the Southern Front to STAVKA’s direct subordination with the following forces assigned to the defense of Odessa.
Order of Battle as of Late August 1941
- 25th Rifle Division25th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)The 25th Rifle Division 'Chapayevskaya was a Russian, and later Soviet, Red Army formation formed during the Russian Civil War. It was named after its civil war commander, Vasily Chapayev...
- 95th Rifle Division
- 421st Rifle Division
- 2nd Cavalry Division
- 54th Rifle Regiment
- NKVDNKVDThe People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
Regiment
The Axis forces assigned 17 infantry divisions and 7 brigades to assault the city. By September 21, 1941, Russian forces had stopped the German offensive 8–15 km from the city. For the next two months the Coastal Army, reinforced by the 157th Rifle Division and other forces, pinned down 20 Axis divisions. Finally, because of the threat of the German Army Group South
Army Group South
Army Group South was the name of a number of German Army Groups during World War II.- Poland campaign :Germany used two army groups to invade Poland in 1939: Army Group North and Army Group South...
breaking though into the Donbass and 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...
, it was decided to evacuate the Odessa Defense Region, including the Coastal Army into the Crimea. The Black Sea Fleet
Black Sea Fleet
The Black Sea Fleet is a large operational-strategic sub-unit of the Russian Navy, operating in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea since the late 18th century. It is based in various harbors of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov....
accomplished this task on the night of October 14–15, 1941.
Sevastopol
After evacuating Odessa in October 1941 the Army is assigned to defend the Crimea. In the second half of October the Germany 11th Army and Romanian Army broke through into the steppe plains of Crimea. The Separate Coastal Army retreated towards Sevastopol ahead of the Axis forces.On November 4, the Crimean defense forces formed the Sevastopol Defense District. On November 19, the Coastal Army joined the Sevastopol defenses. When the army joined the Defense District the army was composed of the following units.
Order of Battle as of 19 November 1941
- 25th Rifle Division25th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)The 25th Rifle Division 'Chapayevskaya was a Russian, and later Soviet, Red Army formation formed during the Russian Civil War. It was named after its civil war commander, Vasily Chapayev...
- 95th Rifle Division
- 172nd Rifle Division
- 421st Rifle Division
- 2nd Cavalry Division
- 40th Cavalry Division
- 42nd Cavalry Division
- 7th Naval Rifle Brigade
- 8th Naval Rifle Brigade
- 81st Separate Tank Battalion
- Several other miscellaneous units
On October 20, the Army and the Sevastopol Defense District are reassigned to the Transcaucasus Front, on December 30, to the Caucasian Front
Caucasian Front
Caucaus Front may have one of the following meanings*Caucasus Front , the designation for the main Imperial Russian Army in the Caucaus in World War I from April 1917 until its dissolution...
, on January 28, 1942 to 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...
, on April 26, under the direct supervision of the Commander in Chief of the Southwest Direction. On May 20, the Coastal Army is listed as being under the command of the 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...
.
For eight months the Coastal Army along with the other forces of the Sevastopol Defense District held off numerous attacks by German and Romanian forces, causing large casualties and contributing to the difficulty in the Axis attempt to capture the Caucasus. On June 30, Axis forces succeeded in breaking through the Sevastopol defenses, which resulted in a crisis for the Soviet forces. On July 1, 1942 the STAVKA ordered the evacuation of the Crimea to the Caucasus. On July 7, after elements of the army evacuate to the Caucasus, the Coastal Army disbands, and its formations and units transferred to other armies.
Order of Battle as of 1 May 1942
- 2nd Rifle Division
- 25th Rifle Division25th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)The 25th Rifle Division 'Chapayevskaya was a Russian, and later Soviet, Red Army formation formed during the Russian Civil War. It was named after its civil war commander, Vasily Chapayev...
- 95th Rifle Division
- 172nd Rifle Division
- 345th Rifle Division
- 388th Rifle Division
- 40th Cavalry Division
- 7th Naval Rifle Brigade
- 8th Naval Rifle Brigade
- 79th Naval Rifle Brigade
Order of Battle as of 1 July 1942
- 25th Rifle Division
- 51st Rifle Division
- 150th Rifle Division150th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)The 150th Rifle 'Idritskaya' Division was a formation in the Red Army fighting on the Eastern Front of World War II from 1941 to 1945. It gained most fame as the formation whose soldiers famously raised the Soviet flag over the Reichstag near the end of the war.The nickname ‘Idritskaya’ was given...
- 388th Rifle Division
- 256th Corps Artillery Regiment
- 69th Fighter Regiment (VVS)
- Other miscellaneous units
Command
Commanders:
- Major-General Nikandr Evlampievich ChibisovNikandr ChibisovColonel General Nikandr Evlampievich Chibisov was a Soviet military commander and Hero of the Soviet Union .-See also:*...
(July 1941) - Lieutenant General GP Safronov (July - October 1941)
- Major-General Ivan Yefimovich Petrov (October 1941 - July 1942)
Members of the Military Council:
- Divisional Commissioner Fedor Nedor Voronin (July-August 1941)
- Brigadier Commissioner M. Kuznetsov (August 1941 - July 1942)
Chief of Staff:
- Major-General Gaberial Danilovich Shishenin (July-August 1941)
- Colonel Nikolai Ivanovich Krylov (August 1941-July 1942)
Assault on Kerch and Consolidation of Forces
On November 15, 1943 the STAVKA orders the Coastal army reformed, from command elements of 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...
, assigned troops from the 56th Army, and to be the assault army in Kerch–Eltigen Operation to establish a bridgehead on the Crimean peninsula. By November 20, the 11th Guards Rifle Corps and 16th Rifle Corps were located in the Kerch bridgehead with the remaining troops of the army were located on the Taman Peninsula. Even before the army was able to expand the Kerch springboard it received orders to prepare an offensive to liberate Crimea.
From late November 1943 until January 1944 the army conducted three separate operations (including the landing at Cape Tarkhan), resulting in the expansion of their bridgehead and improving its operational positions. From February to early April 1944, they held on to their occupied position, improved the engineering of them and conducted training for offensive operations.
Order of Battle January 1, 1944
- 11th Guards Rifle Corps
- 2nd Guards Rifle Division
- 32nd Guards Rifle Division
- 55th Guards Rifle Division
- 16th Rifle Corps
- 227th Rifle Division
- 339th Rifle Division
- 383rd Rifle Division383rd Rifle Division (Soviet Union)The 383rd 'Miners' Rifle Division was a formation of the Red Army, created during the Second World War. The division was officially created on 18 August 1941. It was given the name Shakhterskaya , as it was originally comprised completely of miners from the Donets Basin, Ukrainian SSR...
- 89th Rifle Division
- 128th Guards Mountain Rifle Division
- 414th Rifle Division
Recapture of Crimea
In April and May 1944 the Coastal Army participated in Crimean Offensive (1944). In the beginning of the offensive the army defeated the rearguard of the enemy north of Kerch. On April 11, together with the ships and aircraft of the Black Sea Fleet and with the support of the 4th Air Army, liberated Kerch. The next day the army captured the AK-Monayskimi position – the last fortified line of defense of the German army on the Kerch Peninsula. On April 13, the army liberated the city of Theodosia and with the assistance of Crimean partisan – Old Crimea/Stary Krym and Karasubazar (Bilogirsk). Continuing to pursue the enemy, they liberated SudakSudak
Sudak or Sudaq is a small historic town located in Crimea, Ukraine situated to the west of Feodosiya and to the east of Simferopol, the capital of Crimea...
(April 15) with the assistance of forces of the 4th Ukrainian Front, and with the assistance of partisans – Alushta
Alushta
Alushta is a resort town in Crimea, Ukraine, founded in the 6th century by Emperor Justinian. It is situated on the Black Sea on the road from Gurzuf to Sudak, as well as on the Crimean Trolleybus line....
and Yalta
Yalta
Yalta is a city in Crimea, southern Ukraine, on the north coast of the Black Sea.The city is located on the site of an ancient Greek colony, said to have been founded by Greek sailors who were looking for a safe shore on which to land. It is situated on a deep bay facing south towards the Black...
(April 16). By the end of April 16, the army had reached the fortified positions of the Germans at Sevastopol.
Reassigned on April 18, to the 4th Ukrainian Front the army spent from then until May 7, preparing its troops to storm the enemy fortifications at Sevastopol. On May 7, the Coastal Army in conjunction with the 2nd Guards and 51st Armies, and supported by the Black Sea Fleet began the assault on the defenses of Sevastopol. The main forces of the coastal army assaulted in the direction of Cape Chersonese, where the enemy had concentrated the remnant of the German division and all available artillery. By noon on May 12, the army in conjunction with the 19th Tank Corps cleared Chersonese of enemy forces.
Order of Battle January 1, 1944
- 11th Guards Rifle Corps
- 2nd Guards Rifle Division
- 32nd Guards Rifle Division
- 414th Rifle Division
- 16th Rifle Corps
- 339th Rifle Division
- 383rd Rifle Division383rd Rifle Division (Soviet Union)The 383rd 'Miners' Rifle Division was a formation of the Red Army, created during the Second World War. The division was officially created on 18 August 1941. It was given the name Shakhterskaya , as it was originally comprised completely of miners from the Donets Basin, Ukrainian SSR...
- 20th Rifle Corps
- 55th Guards Rifle Division
- 89th Rifle Division
- 227th Rifle Division
On May 20, 1944 the Coastal Army transferred from the 4th Ukrainian Front and to the direct subordination of STAVKA. The army remained in the Crimea for the remainder of the war with the mission of defending the coast of Crimea.
In late July 1945 the headquarters of the Coastal and the 22nd Armies
22nd Army (Soviet Union)
The 22nd Army was a field army of the Russian Ground Forces, part of the Moscow Military District. It was active from 1941 to 2010. The order for the formation's dissolution was signed by the Minister of Defence on 1 July 2009....
were used to form the Tauric Military District.
Command
Commanders:
- Army General Ivan Yefimovich Petrov(November 1943 - February 1944)
- Army General Andrei Ivanovich Eremenko (February - April 1944)
- Lieutenant General Kondrat Semenovich Melnik (April 1944 - until the end of the war)
Members of the Military Council:
- Colonel Evdokim Ye Maltsev (November-December 1943)
- Major General Peter M. Solomko (December 1943 - until the end of the war)
Chief of Staff:
- Lieutenant-General Ivan Andrevich Laskin (November - December 1943)
- Major General Serafim Evgenievich Christmas (December 1943 - January 1944)
- Major General Pavel Mikhailovich Kotov-Lightly (January - May 1944)
- Lt. Gen. Stephan Ivanovich Lubarsky (May - November 1944)
- Maj. Gen. Semen Semenovich Epanechnikov (November 1944 - until the end of the war)