The 13th Army (, ) was a name given to several

field armies A field army (also known as numbered army or simply army) is a military formation in many armed forces, composed of two or more corps. It may be subordinate to an army group. Air armies are the equivalent formations in air forces, and fleets ...

of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

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 ...

. Later armies existed until the 1990s, and the army survived as part of the

Ukrainian Ground Forces The Ukrainian Ground Forces (SVZSU, ), also referred to as the Ukrainian army, is a land force, and one of the eight Military branch, branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It was formed from Ukrainian units of the Soviet Army after Declaratio ...

for some years.

Russo-Finnish War

The 13th Army was created again at the end of December 1939 as a ''separate 13th Army'' in the course of the Soviet advance into the Karelian Isthmus when the 7th Army was split into two, and also renamed separate, after being substantially reinforced. As part of the 1940 February Vyborg offensive they were coordinated by the North Western Front in Leningrad, both armies were able to breach either first or second defensive positions in the Mannerheim Line, but were unable to breach the main position. The separate 13th Army was allocated three of the eight rifle corps assigned to the operation.

Commanders

Vladimir Grendal Vladimir Davydovich Grendal (; 1884 – 16 November 1940) was a Red Army colonel general and artillery theorist who held army command during the Winter War. Early life, World War I, and Russian Civil War Vladimir Davydovich Gröndal (later ''G ...

(25 December 1939 – March 1940) * Filipp Parusinov (March 1940 – April 1940).

World War II

The 13th Army (1st formation)

headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...

was formed in May 1941 in the

Western Special Military District Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia * Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that ...

, starting on 5 May in

Mogilev Mogilev (; , ), also transliterated as Mahilyow (, ), is a city in eastern Belarus. It is located on the Dnieper, Dnieper River, about from the Belarus–Russia border, border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and from Bryansk Oblast. As of 2024, ...

in accordance with the decision of Central Committee of the Communist Party and

Sovnarkom The Council of People's Commissars (CPC) (), commonly known as the ''Sovnarkom'' (), were the highest executive authorities of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR), the Soviet Union (USSR), and the Soviet republics from 1917 ...

of the USSR No.1113-460cc. dated 23 April 1941. It was intended to comprised 21st,

2nd A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds, The Second, or (The) 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Minute and second of arc, ...

, and 44th Rifle Corps. In the beginning of June

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

Pyotr Filatov Pyotr Mikhailovich Filatov (; 18 August 1893 – 14 July 1941) was a Red Army lieutenant general. A veteran of World War I, Filatov rose to brigade command during the Russian Civil War and was decorated for his actions. He held division command in ...

arrived to take command. From the beginning of

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...

the Army included the

21st Rifle Corps The 21st Rifle Corps was a corps of the Soviet Red Army. It was part of the Western Front. It took part in the Great Patriotic War. The headquarters formed in the Moscow Military District in September 1939. Assigned to the WSMD with the 17th, ...

50th Rifle Division The 50th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army from 1936 to 1946. The division took part in the Soviet invasion of Poland and the Winter War. After Germany launched Operation Barbarossa, the 50th fought in the Battle of Moscow, ...

, the 8th Anti-Tank Artillery Brigade and a number of other separate units. From the end of June 1941 the Army conducted defensive operations in the Minsk Fortified Region, on the Borisov direction and on the

Dnieper river The Dnieper or Dnepr ( ), also called Dnipro ( ), is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. Approximately long, with ...

. The formation conducted operations as part of the

Soviet Western Front The Western Front was a front of the Red Army, one of the Red Army Fronts during World War II. The Western Front was created on 22 June 1941 from the Western Special Military District (which before July 1940 was known as Belorussian Special ...

and the

Soviet Central Front The Central Front was a major formation of the Red Army during the Second World War formed on July 24, 1941. The Central Front describes either of two distinct organizations during the war. The first entity existed for just a month during the ...

. Parts of the Army held up the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

advance for almost three weeks near Mogilyev. The

172nd Rifle Division The 172nd Rifle Division () was an infantry division of the Red Army during World War II, formed thrice. First formation On 22 June 1941 it was part of the 61st Rifle Corps of the 20th Army in the Reserve of the Supreme High Command. By ...

under Major General

Mikhail Romanov Michael I (; ) was Tsar of all Russia from 1613 after being elected by the Zemsky Sobor of 1613 until his death in 1645. He was elected by the Zemsky Sobor and was the first tsar of the House of Romanov, which succeeded the House of Rurik. ...

especially distinguished itself in the combat. Parts of the Army participated in the Battle of Smolensk from 10 July to 10 September 1941. During September and October 1941 the Army was operating as part of the

Bryansk Front The Bryansk Front () was a Front (military formation), major formation of the Red Army during the World War II, Second World War. First Formation (August - November 1941) General Andrei Yeremenko was designated commander of the Front when it fi ...

and included the 6th Rifle Division. The Army fought as part of the

Central Front The Central Front was a major formation of the Red Army during the Second World War formed on July 24, 1941. The Central Front describes either of two distinct organizations during the war. The first entity existed for just a month during the ...

in the

Battle of Kursk The Battle of Kursk, also called the Battle of the Kursk Salient, was a major World War II Eastern Front battle between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in southwestern Russia during the summer of 1943, resulting in ...

in July 1943 under General N.P. Pukhov, numbering four corps with twelve rifle divisions (including the

75th Guards Rifle Division The 75th Guards Rifle Division () was a Red Army Division (military), infantry division during World War II and afterwards, which later became the 75th Guards Tank Division and was finally disbanded in the 1990s. The 75th Guards Rifle Division wa ...

). The Army finished its war service in Germany within the

1st Ukrainian Front The 1st Ukrainian Front (), previously the Voronezh Front (), was a major formation of the Red Army during World War II, being equivalent to a Western army group. They took part in the capture of Berlin, the capital of Nazi Germany. Wartime ...

in 1945, consisting of the

24th Rifle Corps The 24th Rifle Corps was a corps of the Red Army. It was part of the 27th Army and took part in the Great Patriotic War. It appears to have been initially formed in the Kalinin Military District, around what is today Tver, in 1939. In 1940 it wa ...

( 117th Guards Rifle Division, 280th Rifle Division, 395th Rifle Division), 27th Rifle Corps ( 6th Guards Rifle Division and 121st Guards Rifle Division), 102nd Rifle Corps ( 147th Rifle Division and 172nd Rifle Divisions, which took part in the

Battle of Halbe The Battle of Halbe (, Battle of the Halbe Pocket; , Halbe pocket) was a battle lasting from April 24 – May 1, 1945 in which the German Ninth Army—under the command of General Theodor Busse—was destroyed as a fighting force by the Red A ...

), 17th Artillery Division, and many other smaller artillery and other formations.

Commanders

* Lieutenant General Pyotr Filatov (25.05 - 8.07.1941) * Lieutenant General Fyodor Remezov (9-13.07.1941) * Lieutenant General

Vasyl Herasymenko Vasily Filippovich Gerasimenko () was a Soviet Army lieutenant general who held field army command during World War II. A Ukrainian, he was nominally and temporarily appointed the People's Commissar of Defense of the Ukrainian SSR in 1944-45. B ...

(14-26.07.1941) * Major General

Konstantin Golubev Konstantin Dmitryevich Golubev (; 27 March 1896 – 9 June 1956) was a Soviet general and army commander. He was born in Petrovsk, Saratov Governorate (in present-day Saratov Oblast). He fought in World War I in the Imperial Russian Army before g ...

(26.07 - 30.08.1941) * Major General Avksenty Gorodnyansky (31.08.1941 - 2.01.1942) * Major General Nikolai Pukhov (3.01.1942 - 3.06.1946), from 14 February 1943 Lieutenant General, from 26 August 1944 Colonel-General * Colonel General Mikhail Shumilov (4.06.1946 – 18.02.1947) * Colonel General

Issa Pliyev Issa Alexandrovich Pliyev (also spelled as ''Pliev''; ; ; — 6 February 1979) was a Soviet Union, Soviet military commander. Pliyev rose to become the premier cavalry general of the Soviet Army. He became Army General (1962), twice Hero of the ...

(19.02.1947 – 19.04.1948) * Colonel General

Ivan Lyudnikov Ivan Ilyich Lyudnikov, (; Krivaya Kosa (Don Host Oblast, Russian Empire), – Moscow 22 April 1976) was a Soviet Army Colonel General and Hero of the Soviet Union. Early life Ivan Lyudnikov was born on 8 October 1902, in Krivaya Kosa in th ...

(20.04.1948 – 2.12.1949) * Lieutenant General Alexander Nechaev (3.12.1949 – 8.01.1953) * Lieutenant General Nikolay Oleshev (9.01.1953 – 5.04.1954) * Lieutenant General Gleb Baklanov (6.04.1954 – 23.02.1959)

Soviet Army

The Army was located for the entire postwar period in the

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

and

Carpathian Military District The Red Banner Carpathian Military District (, ) was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces during the Cold War and subsequently of the Armed Forces of Ukraine during the early Post-Soviet period. It was established on 3 May 1946 on the ...

s, initially comprising three

Rifle Corps A rifle corps () was a Soviet corps-level military formation during the mid-twentieth century. Rifle corps were made up of a varying number of rifle divisions, although the allocation of three rifle divisions to a rifle corps was common during th ...

with a total of nine rifle divisions. From 1947 to 1949 it was commanded by General

who was a renowned commander of several Cavalry mechanized groups during the war. It was for much of this period headquartered at

Rovno Rivne ( ; , ) is a city in western Ukraine. The city is the administrative center of Rivne Oblast (province), as well as the Rivne Raion (district) within the oblast.

. Almost all its divisions were Guards formations: the 17th, 51st, 97th (the former 40th, 15th, and 97th Rifle Divisions). Only the 24th (subsequently resubordinated to Military District control) and the

161st Rifle Division The 161st Mechanised Brigade formally 161st Stanislav Red Banner Order of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi Mechanised Brigade is a brigade of the Ukrainian Ground Forces. 1st Formation The division first formed from July 1 to Aug. 28, 1940, at Mogilev in the ...

were not Guards, but both were renowned combat formations. In 1960 the following divisions were assigned: * 15th Guards Motor Rifle Division (Vladimir-Volynskiy, Volynskaya Oblast) (former 51 Guards Rifle Division * 24th Motor Rifle Division (Yavorov, Lvov Oblast) * 97th Guards Motor Rifle Division (Slavuta, Khmelnitskiy Oblast)(former 97 Guards Rifle Division) * 99th Motor Rifle Division (Izyaslav, Khmelnitskiy Oblast) In 1960 the 24th Motor Rifle Division was transferred to district control. In January 1965 the 99th Motor Rifle Division was redesignated the 161st Motor Rifle Division. On 22 February 1968 the army was awarded the

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner () was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. It was the highest award of S ...

. In 1970 the following divisions were assigned: *51st Guards Motor Rifle Division (Vladimir-Volynskiy, Volynskaya Oblast) *97th Guards Motor Rifle Division (Slavuta, Khmelnitskiy Oblast) *161st Motor Rifle Division (Izyaslav, Khmelnitskiy Oblast) In 1970 the 275th Motor Rifle Division (mobilisation) was activated, and the 62nd Anti-Aircraft Rocket Brigade was transferred from the 8th Tank Army. In 1980 the following divisions were assigned: *51st Guards Motor Rifle Division (Vladimir-Volynskiy, Volynskaya Oblast) *97th Guards Motor Rifle Division (Slavuta, Khmelnitskiy Oblast) * 161st Motor Rifle Division (Izyaslav, Khmelnitskiy Oblast) *275th Motor Rifle Division (mobilisation) (Izyaslav, Khmelnitskiy Oblast) In 1987 the 275th Motor Rifle Division (mobilisation) was disbanded. Divisions in 1988: * 51st Guards Motor Rifle Division (Vladimir-Volynskiy, Volynskaya Oblast) * 97th Guards Motor Rifle Division (Slavuta, Khmelnitskiy Oblast) * 161st Motor Rifle Division (Izyaslav, Khmelnitskiy Oblast) Also part of the army in the late 1980s were the 119th Independent Helicopter Regiment at

Brody Brody (, ; ; ; ) is a city in Zolochiv Raion, Lviv Oblast, Zolochiv Raion, Lviv Oblast, western Ukraine. It is located in the valley of the upper Styr, Styr River, approximately northeast of the oblast capital, Lviv. Brody hosts the administrati ...

(Mi-8, Mi-24), the 442nd Independent Helicopter Regiment at Zhovtnevoye (

Mi-24 The Mil Mi-24 (; NATO reporting name: Hind) is a large helicopter gunship, attack helicopter and low-capacity transport helicopter, troop transport with room for eight passengers. It is produced by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant and was introduced ...

s), 62nd Anti-Aircraft Rocket Brigade ( Lyuboml), 49th Independent Engineer Regiment, and 38th Rocket Brigade (

Kremenets Kremenets (, ; ; ) is a city in Ternopil Oblast, western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Kremenets Raion, and lies north-east of the Pochaiv Lavra. The city is situated in the historic region of Volhynia and features the 12th-c ...

). In January 1992, the army, its facilities and most of the equipment was transferred to the newly-sovereign

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

Ukrainian Army

On 18 March 1992, in accordance with Decree No. 161 of the President of Ukraine, Major General

Petro Shulyak Petro Ivanovych Shulyak (; born 29 March 1945 in Korshiv, Zdolbuniv Raion, Soviet Union) is a member of the Ukrainian military, Colonel General who served as the Chief of General Staff and Commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces. Career N ...

was assigned as the army commander. Oleksandr Zatynaiko later became commander. On 27 December 1993, the 13th Army was redesignated as the 13th Army Corps.

Notes

References

* *V.I. Feskov et al. 2004 *A. M. Vasilevsky, Marshal of the Soviet Union: A Lifelong Cause,

Progress Publishers Progress Publishers was a Moscow-based Soviet Union, Soviet publisher founded in 1931. Publishing program Progress Publishers published books in a variety of languages: Russian, English, and many other European and Asian languages. They issued ma ...

, 1981

{{Armies of the Soviet Army Field armies of the Soviet Union, 013 Military units and formations established in 1919 Military units and formations disestablished in the 1990s Armies of Ukraine

Russo-Finnish War

Commanders

World War II

Commanders

Soviet Army

Ukrainian Army

See also

Notes

References