31st Army (Soviet Union)

31st Army (1941–1945)
Active15 July 1941 – September 1945
DisbandedSeptember 1945
CountrySoviet Union
BranchRed Army
SizeArmy
Part ofMoscow Military District
Reserve Front
Western Front
Kalinin Front
3rd Belorussian Front
1st Ukrainian Front
EngagementsBattle of Moscow
Rzhev-Vyazma Strategic Offensive
Rzhev-Sychevka Strategic Offensive
Smolensk Strategic Offensive
Vitebsk Offensive
Operation Bagration
Gumbinnen Operation
East Prussian Offensive
Prague Operation
Commanders
Notable
commanders		See List

The 31st Army was a field army of the Red Army during the Second World War.

Formation

The army was formed on 15 July 1941 in the Moscow Military District. It was ordered to create a defensive line along Ostashkov - Selizharovo - Rzhev. The army was stationed between the 27th Army to the north and the 49th Army to the south.

The 31st Army initially included:

On 1 August 1941, it was assigned to the Reserve Front, and added the following units:[1]

119th Rifle Division
110th Tank Division
43rd Corps Artillery Regiment
766th Antitank Artillery Regiment
537th Miner-Sapper Battalion

The army was transferred to the Reserve Front on 30 July 1941 and the defensive line was shifted along Ostashkov - Yeltsy - Tishina River. It entered combat on 2 October 1941. At that time, the army was composed of:[2]

5th Rifle Division
110th Rifle Division
119th Rifle Division
247th Rifle Division
249th Rifle Division
296th Machine-Gun Artillery Battalion
297th Machine-Gun Artillery Battalion
43rd Corps Artillery Regiment
336th Corps Artillery Regiment
766th Antitank Artillery Regiment
873rd Antitank Artillery Regiment
199th Naval Artillery Battalion
282nd Naval Gun Battery
537th Miner-Sapper Battalion

History

1941

The 31st Army first engaged the Germans on 2 October 1941 during Operation Typhoon. On 6 October, units of the army were formed a task force under the command of Major General Vitaly Polenov, and along with a task force from 19th Army under the command of Lieutenant General Ivan Boldin, were ordered to break the German advance on Volokolamsk and Rzhev. On 7 October, the first snow fell, turning the roads into mud and forcing the 3rd Panzer Group's advance to a halt. The snowy conditions allowed the army to set up defensive positions along the Zhuravlyovo − Bolshoye Yakovtsevo − Ivashkovo line and form a corridor for retreating Soviet units. This began the Kalinin Defensive Operation phase of the Moscow Strategic Defensive operations.

On 10 October, the 110th Tank Division was detached and ordered to Rzhev.

On 19 October, the army was reduced to:

119th Rifle Division
183rd Rifle Division
46th Cavalry Division
54th Cavalry Division
8th Tank Brigade and
Motorized Rifle Brigade of the Kalinin Front

From 19 to 22 October, the army fought against a German group that had broken through into the Mednoye region. The army received the 113th and 252nd Rifle Divisions as reinforcements. On 22 October, the army was ordered to go on the offensive with the 29th and 30th Armies to liberate the city of Kalinin. While unable to retake the city, the offensive drew off a number of German forces from Moscow.

On 5 December, as part of the Moscow Strategic Offensive, the Kalinin Front began the Kalinin offensive. Overcoming stubborn resistance and repeated counterattacks, the 29th and 31st Armies had encircled the German forces occupying Kalinin by 15 December, and on 16 December, the 31st Army liberated the city.

1942

On 7 January 1942, troops of the 39th, 29th, 31st and 30th Armies reached the prepared defensive lines north of Rzhev near Lotoshino.

From 8 January 8 to 20 April, the army participated in the Rzhev-Vyazma Strategic Offensive. On 20 April, the army moved into defensive positions east of Zubtsov.

On 23 July, the army was assigned to the Western Front and took part in the Battle of Rzhev from 30 July to 23 August, liberating Zubstov on 23 August.

From 25 November to 20 December, the army participated in Operation Mars.

1943

On 20 March 1943, the army crossed the Dnieper River, despite the complications of the spring thaw breaking up the river's ice. On 22 March, the army attempted to go on the offensive in the direction of Safonovo and Yartsevo, but was unable to break through the German defenses, and by the end of March, the commander decided to stop the offensive and go on the defensive.

The composition of the army as of 1 August 1943 was:[3]

On 7 August, the army went on the offensive during Operation Suvorov, part of the Smolensk Strategic Offensive. The army achieved only a limited advance on the German lines. After repelling multiple German counterattacks, the offensive was suspended on 11 August. After regrouping its forces, the army resumed the offensive on 16 August. However, the forces were unable to advance even a mile and the offensive was again suspended on 20 August.

The army resumed the offensive on 30 August. During the day, the army advanced approximately 400 meters; in the evening, the German troops began to withdraw. The Soviet pursuit of the German forces began at dawn of 31 August with the crossing of the river Vopets. By evening, the army liberated 90 settlements, including the village of Safonovo. After a week of retreating, the German forces managed to consolidate a defensive line near Yartsevo. On 7 September, the army went on the defensive.

The offensive was resumed on 15 September, crossing the Vop River. In conjunction with the 5th and 68th Armies, the army liberated Smolensk on 25 September.[4]

1944

From February to March, the army participated in the Brest Offensive.

By the start of Operation Bagration, the army consisted of:[5]

  • 36th Rifle Corps
  • 71st Rifle Corps
  • 113th Rifle Corps
  • 173rd Rifle Division
  • 140th Gun Artillery Brigade
  • 392nd Corps Gun Artillery Regiment
  • 570th Corps Gun Artillery Regiment
  • 83rd Guards Howitzer Artillery Regiment
  • 43rd Antitank Artillery Brigade
  • 529th Tank Destroyer Regiment
  • 549th Mortar Regiment
  • 74th Guards Mortar Regiment
  • 2nd Separate Artillery Observation Balloon Battalion
  • 66th Antiaircraft Artillery Division
    • 1981st Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment
    • 1985th Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment
    • 1989th Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment
    • 1993rd Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment
  • 1275th Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment
  • 1478th Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment
  • 1481st Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment
  • 525th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion
  • 213th Tank Brigade
  • 926th SU Regiment
  • 927th SU Regiment
  • 959th SU Regiment
  • 1445th SU Regiment
  • 52nd Armored Train Battalion
  • 90th Pontoon-Bridge Battalion (8th Pontoon-Bridge Brigade)
  • 14th Flamethrower Battalion
  • 15th Flamethrower Battalion

Assigned to the 3rd Belorussian Front, the army participated in the offensive against German forces in the Minsk Offensive, encircling a group of German forces. In addition to the 31st Army, the 2nd Belorussian Front's 33rd, 49th and 50th Armies were ordered to contain the German forces within the encirclement and defeat German groups in the surrounding area.

The elimination of the German forces escaping from the city occurred in three phases:

  • 5–7 July – The scattering of the German group and suppression of an organized breakout from the encirclement. Having suffered heavy losses by the surrender of the city, the German forces broke up into several disorganized groups and made a disorganized attempt to break out of the encirclement.
  • 8–9 July – The destruction of disparate groups that had taken refuge in the forests southeast of Minsk.
  • 10–13 July – Soviet troops combed the woods, capturing any remaining small groups.

By the end of the summer, the 3rd Belorussian Front and the 31st Army had reached the border of East Prussia.[6]

1945

The army took part in the East Prussian Offensive under the command of the 3rd Belorussian Front. In early April, army was transferred to the 1st Ukrainian Front to participate in the Prague Offensive.

By the end of the war, the army was composed of:[7]

The army was disbanded in early September 1945.

Commanders

  • Major General Vasily Dalmatov[8] – (15 July – 13 October 1941)
  • Major General Vasily Yushkevich – (17 October 1941 – 19 March 1942)
  • Major General Vladimir Vostrukhov[9] – (19 March – 14 April 1942)
  • Major General Vitaly Polenov[10] – (15 April 1942 – 27 February 1943)
  • Major General Vladimir Gluzdovsky – (27 February 1943 – 27 May 1944)
  • Lieutenant General Vasily Glagolev – (27 May – 15 December 1944)
  • Lieutenant General Pyotr Shafranov – (15 December 1944 – 11 May 1945)

See also

References

  1. ^ Marchand, Vol 1, pg. 56
  2. ^ Marchand, Vol 2, pg. 10
  3. ^ Marchand, Vol 12, pg 90
  4. ^ "Сафоновский район. Великая Отечественная". safonovoweb.ru. 2016-03-06. Archived from the original on 2009-08-15. Retrieved 2025-07-26.
  5. ^ Marchand Vol 18, pg. 17
  6. ^ К., Галицкий (2017-09-29). "Галицкий К. В боях за Восточную Пруссию: Записки командующего 11-й гвардейской армией". prussia.online. Archived from the original on 2015-11-22. Retrieved 2025-07-26.
  7. ^ Marchand, Vol 23 pg 31
  8. ^ "The Generals". Retrieved 4 July 2013.
  9. ^ "The Generals". Retrieved 4 July 2013.
  10. ^ "The Generals". Retrieved 4 July 2013.

Marchand, Jean-Luc. Order of Battle Soviet Army World War 2. The Nafziger Collection, 24 Volumes

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.