5th Shock Army
| 5th Shock Army (1942–46) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active | 9 December 1942 – December 1946 |
| Country | Soviet Union |
| Branch | Red Army |
| Size | Army |
| Part of |
Stalingrad Front Southwestern Front Front 4th Ukrainian Front 3rd Ukrainian Front 1st Belorussian Front 3rd Belorussian Front Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany |
| Engagements |
Battle of Stalingrad Rostov operations Liberation of Left Bank and Right Bank Ukraine, Jassy–Kishinev Offensive Vistula–Oder Offensive Battle of Berlin |
| Disbanded | December 1946 |
The 5th Shock Army was a Red Army field army of World War II. The army was formed on 9 December 1942 by redesignating the 10th Reserve Army. The army was formed two times prior to this with neither formation lasting more than a month before being redesignated.
Formation
The 5th Shock Army was formed on 9 December 1942, based upon the 10th Reserve Army, which was assigned to the Stavka reserves at the time. The composition of the army on formation was:
- 87th Rifle Division
- 300th Rifle Division
- 315th Rifle Division
- 4th Mechanized Corps
- 7th Tank Corps
- Additional artillery and support units
Operational history
1942–43
Assigned to the Stalingrad Front, on 26 December 1942 the unit participated in Operation Saturn. Its composition on 1 January 1943 was as follows:[1]
- 4th Guards Rifle Division
- 258th Rifle Division
- 315th Rifle Division
- 5th Destroyer Brigade
- 3rd Guards Cavalry Corps
- 5th Guards Cavalry Division
- 6th Guards Cavalry Division
- 32nd Cavalry Division
- 152nd Mortar Regiment
- 8th Cavalry Artillery Battalion
- 3rd Guards Tank Destroyer Battalion
- 274th Howitzer Artillery Regiment
- 331st Howitzer Artillery Regiment
- 1162nd Gun Artillery Regiment
- 507th Tank Destroyer Regiment
- 764th Tank Destroyer Regiment
- 21st Guards Mortar Regiment
- 1068th Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment (2nd Anti-aircraft Artillery Division)
- 258th Engineer Battalion
- 827th Engineer Battalion
Transferred to the new Southern Front (the former Stalingrad Front), the army took part in the Salsk-Rostov Offensive as part of the 4th Ukrainian Front. In August 1943, it finally succeeded in breaking through the German Mius-Front defensive line on the river Mius, after which it participated in the Melitopol Offensive during the Battle of the Dnieper.
On 1 August 1943, the army was composed of the following formations:[2]
- 31st Guards Rifle Corps
- 4th Guards Rifle Division
- 34th Guards Rifle Division
- 40th Guards Rifle Division
- 96th Guards Rifle Division
- 126th Rifle Division
- 127th Rifle Division
- 221st Rifle Division
- 315th Rifle Division
- 1st Guards Destroyer Brigade
- 506th Gun Artillery Regiment
- 1162nd Gun Artillery Regiment
- 331st Howitzer Artillery Regiment
- 8th Anti-tank Artillery Brigade
- 15th Anti-tank Artillery Brigade
- 491st Tank Destroyer Regiment
- 507th Tank Destroyer Regiment
- 489th Mortar Regiment
- 15th Anti-aircraft Artillery Division
- 342nd Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment
- 723rd Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment
- 1264th Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment
- 1617th Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment
- 32nd Guards Tank Brigade
- 22nd Separate Guards Tank Regiment
- 28th Armored Train Battalion
- 43rd Special-Designation Engineer Brigade
- 258th Engineer Battalion
- 827th Engineer Battalion
1944
In 1944, as part of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, the army took part in the liberation of the Right-Bank Ukraine and in the Jassy–Kishinev Offensive. On 1 August 1944, the unit consisted of the following formations:[3]
- 10th Guards Rifle Corps
- 49th Guards Rifle Division
- 86th Guards Rifle Division
- 109th Guards Rifle Division
- 32nd Rifle Corps
- 60th Guards Rifle Division
- 295th Rifle Division
- 416th Rifle Division
- 248th Rifle Division
- 266th Rifle Division
- 44th Guards Gun Artillery Brigade
- 92nd Corps Artillery Regiment
- 507th Tank Destroyer Regiment
- 521st Tank Destroyer Regiment
- 489th Mortar Regiment
- 1617th Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment
- 61st Engineer-Sapper Brigade
In early September the army was transferred to the Stavka reserves, relocated to the area of Kovel, in Ukraine, and on 30 October 1944 it was transferred to the 1st Belorussian Front.
1945
In 1945, the army took part in the Warsaw-Poznan Offensive and Berlin Strategic Offensive operations. During the final assault on Berlin the army was heavily reinforced and composed of:[4]
|
Rifle
|
Artillery
|
Armor and Engineers
|
Post war occupation
The army took part in the Berlin Victory Parade of 1945. The 5th Shock Army was then assigned occupation duties in eastern Germany and was responsible for securing the Berlin area. When the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany was formed the army was composed of:
- 9th Rifle Corps
- 248th Rifle Division
- 301st Rifle Division
- 26th Guard Rifle Corps
- 89th Guard Rifle Division
- 94th Guards Rifle Division
- 266th Rifle Division
- 32nd Rifle Corps
- 60th Guards Rifle Division
- 295th Rifle Division
- 416th Rifle Division
- 230th Rifle Division
- three independent tank brigades
The army was disbanded in December 1946.
Commanders
- Lieutenant General Markian Popov: (December 1942)
- Lieutenant General V.D. Tsvetayev (Colonel General, Sept 1943): (December 1942 – May 1944)
- Lieutenant General Nikolai Berzarin (Colonel General, April 1945): (May 1944 – 16 June 1945) (died while Berlin Commandant)
- Colonel General Alexander Gorbatov: (June 1945 – 1946)
References
- Military Encyclopedic Dictionary. M .: Military Publishing, 1984. 863 pp.
- The Great Patriotic War 1941–1945: Reference Dictionary. M .: Politizdat, 1988.
- Marchand, Jean-Luc. Order of Battle Soviet Army World War 2. The Nafziger Collection, 24 Volumes
External links
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