The 69th Army (russian: 69-я армия) was a
field army
A field army (or numbered army or simply army) is a military formation in many armed forces, composed of two or more corps and may be subordinate to an army group. Likewise, Air army, air armies are equivalent formation within some air forces, ...
established by the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
's
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...
during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
.
History
Formation, Operation Star, and Third Battle of Kharkov
The army was formed in February 1943 with the
Voronezh Front
The 1st Ukrainian Front ( Russian: Пéрвый Украи́нский фронт), previously the Voronezh Front ( Russian: Воронежский Фронт) was a major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to ...
from the
18th Rifle Corps, under the command of Lieutenant General
Mikhail Kazakov
Mikhail Ilyich Kazakov (; – 25 December 1979) was an Army General (Soviet rank), army general of the Soviet Army and a Hero of the Soviet Union.
After serving as an ordinary soldier in the final stages of the Russian Civil War, Kazakov became ...
. It originally included the
161st,
180th and
270th Rifle Divisions, the
1st Destroyer Division (an anti-tank unit), the
37th Rifle and
173rd Tank Brigades, as well as artillery and other units. By the time it was sent into combat, the army had been reinforced with two more rifle divisions and a tank regiment, and had a strength of around 40,000 men and 50 tanks. Without finishing its formation, the army was sent into battle in
Operation Star
Operation Star or Operation Zvezda (russian: Звезда, lit=Star) was a Red Army offensive on the Eastern Front of World War II begun on 2 February 1943. The attack was the responsibility of the Voronezh Front under the command of Filipp Go ...
, an offensive which aimed to recapture
Kharkov
Kharkiv ( uk, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest city and municipality in Ukraine. . The offensive began on 4 February and the army experienced initial success, defeating opposing German units southwest of
Novy Oskol and recapturing
Volchansk
Volchansk (russian: Волча́нск) is a town under the administrative jurisdiction of the Town of Karpinsk in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Volchanka River (a right tributary of the Sosva in the Ob's basin), north of Y ...
alongside the
38th Army on 9 February. Developing the offensive, its troops crossed the
Donets
The Seversky Donets () or Siverskyi Donets (), usually simply called the Donets, is a river on the south of the East European Plain. It originates in the Central Russian Upland, north of Belgorod, flows south-east through Ukraine (Kharkiv, D ...
, and operating in conjunction with the
3rd Tank Army and the
40th Army
The 40th Army (, ''40-ya obshchevoyskovaya armiya'', "40th Combined Arms Army") of the Soviet Ground Forces was an army-level command that participated in World War II from 1941 to 1945 and was reformed specifically for the Soviet–Afghan War fr ...
, recaptured Kharkov on 16 February. When the offensive was stopped by the German counterattack that began the
Third Battle of Kharkov
The Third Battle of Kharkov was a series of battles on the Eastern Front of World War II, undertaken by Army Group South of Nazi Germany against the Soviet Red Army, around the city of Kharkov between 19 February and 15 March 1943. Known ...
in early March, the 69th had reached the area southeast of
Oposhnya and southwest of
Valka
Valka (; german: Walk) is a town and municipality in northern Latvia, on the border with Estonia along both banks of the river Pedele.
Valka and the Estonian town Valga are twins, separated by the Estonian/Latvian border but using the slogan "O ...
and
Sharovka.
During the Third Battle of Kharkov, the army was able to hold the German attacks for three days but was forced to withdraw back to the left bank of the Donets on the line between
Shishino and
Bezlyudovka, where the German advance was finally halted. As a result of heavy losses, the 69th was withdrawn to the front reserve on 20 March.
Postwar
After the end of the war, the army became part of the
Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany. Its headquarters was relocated to
Baku
Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world an ...
, where it was used to form the headquarters of the
Baku Military District in August.
Commanders
*Lieutenant General
Mikhail Kazakov
Mikhail Ilyich Kazakov (; – 25 December 1979) was an Army General (Soviet rank), army general of the Soviet Army and a Hero of the Soviet Union.
After serving as an ordinary soldier in the final stages of the Russian Civil War, Kazakov became ...
(02.02.1943 - 22.03.1943)
*Major General
Vasily Kryuchenkin
Vasily Dmitrievich Kryuchenkin (, ; January 13, 1894 – June 10, 1976, Kyiv) was a Soviet Lieutenant general during World War II who commanded several armies.
Before World War II
He was born in the village of Karpovka in the Orenburg Ob ...
(22.03.1943 - 03.04.1944), Lieutenant General since 28.06.1943
*Lieutenant General
Vladimir Kolpakchi (03.04.1944 - end of war)
References
Citations
Bibliography
*
{{Armies of the Soviet Army
Field armies of the Soviet Union
Military units and formations established in 1943
Military units and formations disestablished in 1945