Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
during the
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...
, which was formed twice.
First formation
The 12th Army was formed on October 3, 1918, in the region of Astrakhan and the Eastern part of the Northern Caucasus. It was part of the Southern Front since November 3, 1918, and then of the
Caspian-Caucasian Front
The Caspian-Caucasian Front () was a front of the Red Army during the Russian Civil War, formed on 8 December 1918 as a branch of the Southern Front. The Front was disbanded on 13 March 1919 and the troops transferred to form a separate 11th Army ...
, with which it fought the
Northern Caucasus Operation (1918–1919)
The Northern Caucasus Operation was fought between the White and Red Armies during the Russian Civil War between December 1918 and March 1919. The White Army captured the entire Northern Caucasus. The Red Army withdrew to Astrahan and the Volga ...
, between December 8, 1918, and March 13, 1919, when it was disbanded.
It was composed of the 45th and 58th divisions.
Second formation
On June 16, 1919, a new 12th Army was formed from the troops of the
1st
First most commonly refers to:
* First, the ordinal form of the number 1
First or 1st may also refer to:
Acronyms
* Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array
* Far Infrared a ...
Anton Denikin
Anton Ivanovich Denikin (, ; – 7 August 1947) was a Russian military leader who served as the Supreme Ruler of Russia, acting supreme ruler of the Russian State and the commander-in-chief of the White movement–aligned armed forces of Sout ...
's Volunteer Army, and then against the troops of
Symon Petliura
Symon Vasyliovych Petliura (; – 25 May 1926) was a Ukrainian politician and journalist. He was the Supreme Commander of the Ukrainian People's Army (UNA) and led the Ukrainian People's Republic during the Ukrainian War of Independence, a pa ...
, which it pushed back behind the Zbrucz River. Here it first encountered troops of the Polish Army.
It 1919, it was composed of the 44th, 47th, 58th and 60th divisions, as well as of the 9th Cavalry division. The advances of the
Ukrainians
Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...
and of The Volunteer Army forced the 12th Army Northward. On August 31, The 12th army was forced to retreat from Kiev without much combat occurring. On December 10, it fought in the 6-day long 4th Battle of Kiev to retake the city from the
White Army
The White Army, also known as the White Guard, the White Guardsmen, or simply the Whites, was a common collective name for the armed formations of the White movement and Anti-Sovietism, anti-Bolshevik governments during the Russian Civil War. T ...
.
In the spring of 1920, as part of the Southwestern Front, the 12th Army was deployed against the Polish offensive in Ukraine and was pushed back over the Dnieper. In the counteroffensive of the Red Army in summer 1920, it reached the
Bug River
The Bug or Western Bug is a major river in Central Europe that flows through Belarus (border), Poland, and Ukraine, with a total length of .Polish-Soviet War, the 12th Army had suffered heavy losses and was disbanded on December 25, 1920.
It 1920, it was composed of the 7th, 44th, 47th, 58th divisions and 17th Cavalry division.
Commanders
First formation
* Alexei Ivanovich Avtonomov (3 October - 15 November 1918), appointed but never took command,
* V.L. Stepanov (3 October 1918 - 14 February 1919),
* Nikolai Zhdanov (14 February - 13 March 1919).
Second formation
* Nikolai Semyonov (16 June — 8 September 1919),
* Sergei Mezheninov (10 September 1919 — 10 June 1920),
* Gaspar Voskanyan (10 June — 20 August 1920),
* Nikolai Kuzmin (20 August — 26 October 1920),
* Nikolai Lisovsky (26 October — 25 December 1920).