The 14th Army was a

field army 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 army, Air armies are the equivalent formations in air forces, and ...

of the

Soviet Army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...

, formed twice. The army was first formed during the

Winter War The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peac ...

, in which two of its divisions fought in the Battle of Petsamo. After

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 fought against German and Finnish attacks in

Operation Silver Fox Operation Silver Fox (; ) or Murmansk operation () from 29 June to 17 November 1941, was a joint Nazi Germany, German–Finland, Finnish military operation during the Continuation War on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front of World Wa ...

. In the middle of July 1941 the army was able to hold its positions. In October 1944 it fought in the

Petsamo–Kirkenes Offensive The Petsamo–Kirkenes offensive was a major military offensive during World War II, mounted by the Red Army against the ''Wehrmacht'' in 1944 in the Petsamo region, ceded to the Soviet Union by Finland in accordance with the Moscow Armist ...

and seized Pechenga. The army defended and guarded the newly captured territory until the end of the war. Its headquarters became the

Belomorsky Military District The Belomorsky Military District () was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces, active from in the immediate aftermath of the Russian Civil War and just after the Second World War. The District was formed by the decree of the Council of ...

at the end of July 1945. The army reformed in June 1948 from the 126th Light Mountain Rifle Corps as the 14th Army (Assault). Stationed on the

Chukchi Peninsula The Chukchi Peninsula (also Chukotka Peninsula or Chukotski Peninsula; , ''Chukotskiy poluostrov'', short form , ''Chukotka''), at about 66° N 172° W, is the easternmost peninsula of Asia. Its eastern end is at Cape Dezhnev near the village ...

, the army's mission was to invade Alaska in event of a war. It was disbanded in May 1953 after Stalin's death.

History

The first 14th Army was formed in October 1939 in the

Leningrad Military District The Order of Lenin Leningrad Military District () is a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The district was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1968. In 2010, it was merged with the Moscow Military District, the Northern ...

. It participated in the

Soviet-Finnish war The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peac ...

, during which its

52nd 52 may refer to: * 52 (number) * one of the years 52 BC, AD 52, 1952, 2052 * 52-hertz whale an individual male whale, also known as the loneliest whale, calling at the unusual 52 hertz range * ''52'' (comics), a 2006–07 American weekly comic boo ...

and 104th Rifle Divisions fought in the Battle of Petsamo. From 24 June 1941 the army included the following units. :

42nd Rifle Corps The 42nd Rifle Corps was a corps of the Soviet Red Army. It was part of the 14th Army. It took part in the Great Patriotic War. Its initial commander was Major General Roman Ivanovich Panin. The corps was disbanded on 14 October 1941. The Cor ...

(Ist Formation 22 June 1941, disbanded 14 October 1941; was used to reinforce the Kandalksha operational group) ::293rd Separate signals battalion ::279th separate sapper battalion ::

104th Rifle Division 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

:: 122nd Rifle Division : 14th Rifle Division :

52nd Rifle Division The 52nd Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army during the Russian Civil War, the interwar period, World War II, and the Cold War, formed once during the Russian Civil War and three times during the existence of the Soviet Union. ...

: 1st Tank Division :

23rd Murmansk Fortified Region Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (dis ...

1st Mixed Air Division 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 ...

(HQ Murmansk, Colonel M.M. Golovnya, disbanded February 1942) ::137th Fighter Aviation Regiment ( Afrikanda) (SB) :: 145th Fighter Aviation Regiment (Shangui) (38 I-153) :: 147th Fighter Aviation Regiment (Murmashi) (36 I-153) Leonid Ivanov won the

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union () was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society. The title was awarded both ...

posthumously while flying with this regiment up to his death on 27 June 1941. : 258th Fighter Aviation Division was formed from the Air Forces of the 14th Army in 1942 :a number of artillery and other units The army was initially subordinated to the Northern Front and conducted defensive operations on the

Murmansk Murmansk () is a port city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast in the far Far North (Russia), northwest part of Russia. It is the world's largest city north of the Arctic Circle and sits on both slopes and banks of a modest fjord, Ko ...

Kandalaksha Kandalaksha () is a town in Kandalakshsky District of Murmansk Oblast, Russia, located at the head of Kandalaksha Gulf on the White Sea, north of the Arctic Circle. Population: 40,564 ( 2002 Census); Etymology According to the most common ...

and

Ukhta Ukhta (; , ''Ukva'') is an important industrial town in the Komi Republic of Russia. Population: It was previously known as ''Chibyu'' (until 1939). History Oil springs along the Ukhta River were already known in the 17th century. In the mid- ...

directions against the German-Finnish

(29 June 1941 – 19 September 1941) and in coordination with the 7th Separate Army, in the

Defensive Operations on the Petrozavodsk, Ukhtinsk, Rugozersk, and Olonetsk directions The Finnish invasion of East Karelia was a military campaign in 1941. It was part of the Continuation War. Finnish troops occupied East Karelia and held it until 1944. For over a month after the outbreak of the Continuation War, the Karelian A ...

(1 July 1941 – 10 October 1941). In November 1941 three deer transportation units were formed in the 14th Army, each of them included 1,000 deer and 140–150 herdsmen and soldiers. From the middle of Army was able to stop Finnish enemy forces advance, and subsequently until October 1944 (from 23 August 1941 as part of the

Karelian Front The Karelian Front ) was a front (a formation of Army Group size) of the Soviet Union's Red Army during World War II, and operated in Karelia. Wartime The Karelian Front was created in August 1941 when Northern Front was split into Karelian ...

) it solidly retained its sector positions, and conducted active offensive combat for the purpose of improvement in the position it occupied. On 18 October 1944, the 14th Army after rearrangement was involved in the second stage of the Petsamo-Kirkenes Operation. From south to north in the battle were introduced 127th Light Rifle Corps, the reserve of the 31st Rifle Corps, 99th Rifle Corps, 126th Light Rifle Corps, 131st Rifle Corps. At that time, battles were mainly in the pursuit of the retreating enemy. 127th Light Rifle Corps and 31st Rifle Corps advanced on the Nickel, the 99th Rifle Corps and the 126th Light Rifle Corps on Ahmalahti, 131st Rifle Corps on Tarnet. By 20 October 1944 127th Light Rifle Corps and 31st Rifle Corps semicircle covered Nickel from the north, south and south-west, 21 October 1944 126th Light Rifle Corps reached the lake Klistervati, 99th Rifle Corps 22 October 1944 released the road Ahmalahti – Kirkenes. 131st Rifle Corps has released 10/17/1944 to the state border and entered 18 October 1944 on Norwegian soil. Nickel was taken 22 October 1944. Forcing Yar Fjord on 24–25 October 1944 Army troops fanned out in Norway. 31st Rifle Corps, without forcing the bay, and ran down the deep south, and reached

Nausta Nausta is a river in Sunnfjord Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It runs through the Naustdal valley to the southwest before emptying into Førde Fjord at the village of Naustdal below Kletten Hill. The long river drains a watershed area ...

27 October 1944, coming on the Norwegian-Finnish border. The 127th Light Rifle Corps carried out an offensive attack in the same direction, but on the western shore of the Fjord. The 126th Light Rifle Corps undertook deep inroads in the west and reached the city 27 October 1944 Neiden 99th Rifle Corps and the 131st Rifle Corps rushed to

Kirkenes (Norwegian language, Norwegian; ), (Northern Sami language, Northern Sami; , or is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Sør-Varanger Municipality in Finnmark county, in the far northeastern part of Norway. The town lies on a peninsu ...

, which was released on 25 October 1944, the then 99th Rifle Corps also sent the city Neiden. By 29 October 1944, the Petsamo-Kirkenes operation was over, and with it the 14th Army's combat role. While the German forces evacuated and burned the far north of Norway, using

scorched earth A scorched-earth policy is a military strategy of destroying everything that allows an enemy military force to be able to fight a war, including the deprivation and destruction of water, food, humans, animals, plants and any kind of tools and i ...

tactics, the Soviet advance was halted at the Tana River. Norwegian forces arrived to occupy the area between Soviet and German forces and support those civilians who had refused to evacuate. The 14th Army had taken the city of

Petsamo Petsamo may refer to: * Petsamo Province, a province of Finland from 1921 to 1922 * Petsamo, Tampere, a district in Tampere, Finland * Pechengsky District Pechengsky District (; ; ; ; ) is an administrative district (raion), one of the six in Mur ...

(today Pechenga). Subsequently, until the end of the war the army defended the newly occupied territory and the state borders of the USSR with Finland and Norway.

Commanding officers

* Lieutenant General V. A. Frolov (October 1939 – August 1941) * Major General

Roman Ivanovich Panin Roman Ivanovich Panin (; 28 September 1897 – 1 June 1949) was a Soviet major general during World War II. An Imperial Russian Army junior officer in World War I, he joined the Red Army in 1919. Panin fought in the Russian Civil War and continued ...

(August 1941 – March 1942) * Major General Vladimir I. Shcherbakov (March 1942 – May 1945), from the end of April 1943 lieutenant general. On 31 July 1945 the army headquarters was disbanded and the personnel were used to fill out Headquarters

14th Assault Army (1948–1953)

The army was reformed in June 1948 from the 126th Light Mountain Rifle Corps as the 14th Army (Assault). According to some data, there were plans for its use in

and, in the case of war, landing in

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

. The army included the 116th, 117th and 121st Rifle Divisions, all former mountain rifle brigades. These divisions were not equipped like standard rifle divisions and lacked tank and antitank artillery battalions. The army included the 1221st and 1222nd Separate Cannon Artillery Regiments, the 280th Separate Engineer-Sapper Battalion and the 187th and 493rd Separate Communications Battalions as well as the 687th and 1252nd Separate Communications Companies.
It was commanded by Lieutenant General Nikolay Oleshev.
In 1949, the 95th Mixed Aviation Division (converted to fighters in 1952) at

Anadyr Anadyr may refer to: *Anadyr (town), a town and the administrative center of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia * Anadyr District * Anadyr Estuary * Anadyr (river), a river in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia * Anadyr Highlands * Anadyr Lowlands * A ...

became part of the army.
On 4 May 1951, Major General Georgy Latyshev took command of the army. Lieutenant General

Ivan Rubanyuk Ivan Andreyevich Rubanyuk (; 29 August 1896 – 3 October 1959) was a Soviet colonel general who rose to field army command during the Cold War. World War I and Russian Civil War Ivan Andreyevich Rubanyuk was born on 29 August 1896 in the villag ...

became the army commander on 14 April 1952.
The army was disbanded in May 1953 after Stalin's death.Feskov et al 2013, pp. 581–582

References

Sources

* *Lenskii, Ground forces of RKKA in the pre-war years: a reference (Сухопутные силы РККА в предвоенные годы. Справочник.) — St Petersburg, B & K, 2000 {{Armies of the Soviet Army

014 014 may refer to: * Argus As 014 The Argus As 014 (designated 109-014 by the Ministry of Aviation (Germany), RLM) was a pulsejet engine used on the German V-1 flying bomb of World War II, and the first model of pulsejet engine placed in mass pr ...

Military units and formations established in 1939 Military units and formations disestablished in 1953 1939 establishments in the Soviet Union Military units and formations of the Soviet Union in the Winter War