The 2nd Ukrainian Soviet 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

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 on April 15, 1919, from the units of the ''Group of Forces of the Kharkov Direction''. It was first part of the Ukrainian Front and from April 27 of the Southern Front. On June 4, 1919, the Army was disbanded and its formations became part of the 14th Army of the Southern Front. The Army headquarters were in

Yekaterinoslav Dnipro is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper River, Dnipro River, from which it takes its name. Dnipro is t ...

History

The Second Ukrainian Soviet Army fought against the French interventionists, capturing

Sevastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base th ...

and

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

from them, and against the White Volunteers in the Donbass. On April 5, the 1st Zadneprovskaya Ukrainian Soviet Division captured the

Perekop Isthmus The Isthmus of Perekop, literally Isthmus of the Trench (; transliteration: ''Perekops'kyi pereshyiok''; ; transliteration: ''Perekopskiy peresheek,'' , ; ; transliteration: ''Taphros''), is the narrow, wide strip of land that connects the Cr ...

, locking the Whites in the Crimea, but had to stop at advantageous positions, because the order of the higher command to advance did not follow. In April 1919, the 2nd Ukrainian Soviet Army broke through the fortifications of the Whites on Perekop and captured a significant part of Crimea, taking Sevastopol on April 29. Then, the Army occupied the coast of the Azov Sea from

Henichesk Henichesk (, ; , ) is a port city along the Sea of Azov in Kherson Oblast, southern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative centre of Henichesk Raion. Since 9 November 2022, it has served as the temporary administrative centre of the Russian o ...

Mariupol Mariupol is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is situated on the northern coast (Pryazovia) of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmius, Kalmius River. Prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it was the tenth-largest city in the coun ...

. In May, the Army took part in the suppression of the Grigoriev Uprising in the area of

. After that, the Army conducted defensive battles against Denikin's troops in the areas of

Ilovaisk Ilovaisk (, ; ) is a city in Donetsk Raion, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine; residence of Ilovaisk urban hromada. The city is ''de facto'' annexed by Russia and administered by the Donetsk People's Republic. The city is known as a major regional ra ...

Svatove Svatove (, ; , ) is a city on the Krasna River in Luhansk Oblast, eastern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Svatove Raion. Its population is It has been occupied by Russia since 2022. History After the proclamation of the s ...

and Kupyansk. In June 1919, the 2nd Ukrainian Soviet Army was reorganized into the 14th Army under the command of

Kliment Voroshilov Kliment Yefremovich Voroshilov ( ; ), popularly known as Klim Voroshilov (; 4 February 1881 – 2 December 1969), was a prominent Soviet Military of the Soviet Union, military officer and politician during the Stalinism, Stalin era (1924–195 ...

, which in 1919-20 fought in battles against Denikin's White Army and Poland.

Composition

The 2nd Ukrainian Soviet Army was created from the units of the Group of Forces of the Kharkov Direction (

1st Zadneprovsk Ukrainian Soviet Division The 1st Zadneprovskaya Ukrainian Soviet Division was a military unit of the Ukrainian Soviet Army during the Russian Civil War. History Formation On January 26, 1919, a special detachment under the command of Pavel Dybenko, the commander of the ...

, 2nd separate brigade, 3rd brigade, Crimean brigade), which were consolidated into 2 regular divisions: *

3rd Ukrainian Soviet Division 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 ...

(commanded by

Pavel Dybenko Pavel Efimovich Dybenko (; ; 16 February 1889 – 29 July 1938) was a Bolsheviks, Bolshevik revolutionary and a leading Soviet Union, Soviet officer and military commander. He was arrested, tortured and executed during the Great Purge and subseq ...

) *

7th Ukrainian Soviet Division The 7th Ukrainian Soviet Division was a military unit of the Red Army during the Russian Civil War in the armed forces of the Ukrainian SSR. History On 24 March 1919, the Revolutionary Military Council of the Ukrainian Front made a decision to ...

(commanded by

Nestor Makhno Nestor Ivanovych Makhno (, ; 7 November 1888 – 25 July 1934), also known as Bat'ko Makhno ( , ), was a Ukrainians, Ukrainian anarchist revolutionary and the commander of the Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine during the Ukrainian War o ...

)

Command

Commander: * Anatoly Skachko (

April 7 Events Pre-1600 * 451 – Attila the Hun captures Metz in France, killing most of its inhabitants and burning the town. * 529 – First '' Corpus Juris Civilis'', a fundamental work in jurisprudence, is issued by Eastern Roman Em ...

June 7 Events Pre-1600 * 421 – Emperor Theodosius II marries Aelia Eudocia at Constantinople (Byzantine Empire). * 879 – Pope John VIII recognises the Duchy of Croatia under Duke Branimir as an independent state. * 1002 – He ...

1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (later Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off th ...

). RVS members: * V. Ya.Dutsis (April 7 - June 7, 1919), * A. Tishchenko (April 7 -

May 5 Events Pre-1600 * 553 – The Second Council of Constantinople begins. * 1215 – Rebel barons renounce their allegiance to King John of England — part of a chain of events leading to the signing of the Magna Carta. * 1260 – ...

, 1919), * Mikola Vishnevetsky (May 5 - June 7, 1919). Chief of Staff: * N. A. Kartashov (April 7 - June 7, 1919)

References

Bibliography

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

History

Composition

Command

See also

References

Bibliography