The 12th Army was a field army of the

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

Russian Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Russian Civil War , partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I , image = , caption = Clockwise from top left: {{flatlist, *Soldiers ...

, 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), 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 or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and

3rd Ukrainian Soviet Army The 3rd Ukrainian Soviet was a field army of the Red Army during the Russian Civil War, which existed between April 15, 1919 and June 13, 1919 as part of the Ukrainian Front. Then the troops became part of the newly formed 12th Army of the Wester ...

. It fought in Ukraine against

Anton Denikin Anton Ivanovich Denikin (russian: Анто́н Ива́нович Дени́кин, link= ; 16 December O.S. 4 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. 4 December1872 – 7 August 19 ...

's Volunteer Army, and then against the troops of

Symon Petliura Symon Vasylyovych Petliura ( uk, Си́мон Васи́льович Петлю́ра; – May 25, 1926) was a Ukrainian politician and journalist. He became the Supreme Commander of the Ukrainian Army and the President of the Ukrainian People ...

, 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 ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian. The majority of Ukrainians are Eastern Or ...

and of The Volunteer Army forced the 12th Army Northward. On August 31st, The 12th army was forced to retreat from Kiev without much combat occurring. On December 10th, it fought in the 6-day long 4th Battle of Kiev to retake the city from the

White Army The White Army (russian: Белая армия, Belaya armiya) or White Guard (russian: Бѣлая гвардія/Белая гвардия, Belaya gvardiya, label=none), also referred to as the Whites or White Guardsmen (russian: Бѣлогв� ...

. 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 uk, Західний Буг be, Захо́дні Буг , name_etymology = , image = Wyszkow_Bug.jpg , image_size = 250 , image_caption = Bug River in the vicinity of Wyszków, Poland , map = Vi ...

. At the end of the 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 Alexei Ivanovich Avtonomov (russian: Алексе́й Ива́нович Автоно́мов) (1890–1919) was a Russian Red Army military commander during the Russian Civil War. Avtonomov was a Kuban Cossack. He fought in World War I with th ...

(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 Sergei A Mezheninov (January 19, 1890 – September 28, 1937) was a Soviet komkor (corps commander). He fought for the Imperial Russian Army during World War I before going over to the Bolsheviks during the subsequent civil war. During this wa ...

(10 September 1919 — 10 June 1920), *

Gaspar Voskanyan Gaspar Voskanyan (January 22, 1887 – September 20, 1937) was an ethnic Armenian Soviet komkor (corps commander). He was born in what is now Grigoriopol District in Transnistria, Moldova. He fought in the Imperial Russian Army in World War I be ...

(10 June — 20 August 1920), *

Nikolai Kuzmin Nikolai Nikolayevich Kuzmin (russian: Николай Николаевич Кузьмин) (3 April 1883 – 8 February 1938) was a Soviet political and military leader. He was the political commissar of the Baltic Fleet during the time of the Ru ...

(20 August — 26 October 1920), * Nikolai Lisovsky (26 October — 25 December 1920).

References

{{Soviet Armies of the Russian Civil War Soviet field armies in the Russian Civil War Military units and formations established in 1919 Military units and formations disestablished in 1920