The 31st Army was a field army 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

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Formation

The army was formed on July 15, 1941, in the

Moscow Military District The Order of Lenin Moscow Military District () is a Military districts of Russia, military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Originally it was a district of the Imperial Russian Army until the Russian Empire's collapse in 191 ...

. It was ordered to create a defensive line along Ostashkov -

Selizharovo Selizharovo () is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) and the administrative center of Selizharovsky District of Tver Oblast, Russia situated at the confluence of the Selizharovka and Volga Rivers. Population: History Selizharovo was ...

Rzhev Rzhev ( rus, Ржев, p=ˈrʐɛf) is a town in Tver Oblast, Russia, located southwest of Staritsa and from Tver, on the highway and railway connecting Moscow and Riga. It is the uppermost town situated on the Volga River. Population: Hist ...

. The army was stationed between the 27th Army to the north and the

49th Army The 49th Combined Arms Army () is a combined arms ( field) army (CAA) of the Russian Ground Forces, formed in 2010 and headquartered in Stavropol. Military Unit в/ч 35181. Part of the Southern Military District, the army traces its heritage b ...

to the south. 31st Army was formed with the following units: : 244th Rifle Division : 246th Rifle Division : 247th Rifle Division : 249th Rifle Division and on August 1, it was assigned to the Reserve Front, and added the following units: : 119th Rifle Division :110th Tank Division :43rd Corps Artillery Regiment :766th Antitank Artillery Regiment :537th Miner-Sapper Battalion The army was assigned to the Reserve Front on July 30, 1941, and it moved to the defensive line along Ostashkov - Yeltsy - Tishina River. It entered combat on October 2, 1941. At that time, the army was composed of: : 5th Rifle Division : 110th Rifle Division : 119th Rifle Division :247th Rifle Division :249th Rifle Division :296th Machine-Gun Artillery Battalion :297th Machine-Gun Artillery Battalion :43rd Corps Artillery Regiment :336th Corps Artillery Regiment :766th Antitank Artillery Regiment :873rd Antitank Artillery Regiment :199th Naval Artillery Battalion :282nd Naval Gun Battery :537th Miner-Sapper Battalion

Combat operations

1941

The 31st Army engaged the Germans on October 2, 1941, during

Operation Typhoon The Battle of Moscow was a military campaign that consisted of two periods of strategically significant fighting on a sector of the Eastern Front during World War II, between October 1941 and January 1942. The Soviet defensive effort frustrated H ...

. On October 6, it formed a task force under the command of Major General Polenov, and along with a task force from 19th Army under the command of Lieutenant General I. Boldin, was given the mission to break the enemy advance near

Volokolamsk Volokolamsk () is a town and the administrative center of Volokolamsky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the Gorodenka River, not far from its confluence with the Lama River, northwest of Moscow. Population: 25,729 (2024 Estimate ...

and

. On October 7 the first snow fell, turning the roads into mud and forcing the

3rd Panzer Group The 3rd Panzer Army () was a German armoured warfare, armoured formation during World War II, formed from the 3rd Panzer Group on 1 January 1942. 3rd Panzer Group The 3rd Panzer Group () was formed on 16 November 1940. It was a constituent ...

's advance to a halt. The snow allowed the army to set up defensive positions along the Zhuralyovo − Large Yakovtsevo − Ivashkova and create a corridor for retreating Soviet troops. This began the Kalinin Defensive Operation phase of the Moscow Strategic Defensive operations. On October 10, the 110th Tank Division was detached and ordered to Rzhev. On October 19, the army was reduced to: : 119th Rifle Division :183rd Rifle Division :46th Cavalry Division :54th Cavalry Division :8th Tank Brigade and :Motorized Rifle Brigade of the Kalinin Front From October 19 to 22, the army fought against German forces, which had broken into the district of Mednoye. The army received reinforcements from the 113th and 252nd Rifle Divisions. On October 22, the army was ordered to take the offensive in conjunction with the 29th and 30th Armies to liberate the city of Kalinin. While unable to retake the city, the attack was able to draw off a number of German forces from the attack on Moscow. On December 5 as part of the Moscow Strategic Offensive, the Kalinin Front began the Kalinin Offensive. Encountering stubborn resistance and repeated counterattacks, the 29th and 31st Army had broken the flanks of the forces defending Kalinin by December 15, and on December 16, the 31st Army liberated the city. On January 7, 1942, troops of the 39th, 29th, 31st and 30th armies were stopped on prepared defensive lines north of Rhzev near Lotoshino.

1942

From January 8 to April 20, the army participated in the Rzhev-Vyazma Strategic Offensive. On April 20, the army moved into defensive positions east of

Zubtsov Zubtsov () is a town and the administrative center of Zubtsovsky District in Tver Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Volga and Vazuza Rivers, south of Tver, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: 8,100 (1998 est.) ...

, Russia. On July 23, the army was assigned to the Western Front, and took part in the Rzhev-Sychevka offensive from July 30 to August 23, liberating the city of Zubstov on the 23 August. From November 25 to December 20, 1942, the army participated in

Operation Mars Operation Mars (Russian: Операция «Марс»), also known as the Second Rzhev-Sychevka Offensive Operation (Russian: Вторая Ржевско-Сычёвская наступательная операция), was the codename f ...

1943

On March 20, 1943, the army crossed 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 ...

, despite the complications of the spring thaw breaking up the river's ice. The army attempted to go on the offensive, but was unable to break through the German defenses, and by the end of the month the commander decided to discontinue the general offensive and join the defense. Composition as of August 1, 1943: :36th Rifle Corps :: 215th Rifle Division :: 274th Rifle Division :: 359th Rifle Division :45th Rifle Corps :: 88th Rifle Division :: 220th Rifle Division :: 331st Rifle Division :71st Rifle Corps (Headquarters only) :

82nd Rifle Division 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. Etymology English ''eight'', from Old English '', æhta'', Proto-Germanic ''*ahto'' is a direct continuation of Proto-Indo-European numerals, Proto-Indo-European '':wikt:Append ...

: 133rd Rifle Division : 251st Rifle Division :392nd Gun Artillery Regiment :542nd Gun Artillery Regiment :644th Gun Artillery Regiment :646th Gun Artillery Regiment :529th Tank Destroyer Regiment :873rd Tank Destroyer Regiment :549th Mortar Regiment :341st Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment :1269th Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment :1478th Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment :2nd Guard Motorcycle Regiment :72nd Engineer Battalion :291st Engineer Battalion On August 7, the army went on the offensive as part of

Operation Suvorov The second Smolensk operation (code naming " Suvorov";Istomin (1975), pp. 20–21 7 August – 2 October 1943) was a Soviet strategic offensive operation conducted by the Red Army as part of the Summer-Autumn Campaign of 1943. Staged almost simu ...

, part of the Smolensk Strategic Offensive. The army made only limited penetrations of the German lines. After a beating of heavy German counterattacks, the attack was suspended on August 11. After a regrouping of the forces, the attack resumed on August 16. However, the forces were unable to advance even a mile and the attack was again suspended on August 20. The attack resumed on August 30 with little progress made. That evening the Germans began to withdraw their forces. The Soviet pursuit began on August 31 with the crossing of the Vopets River. After a week of retreating, the Germans managed to establish a defensive line near Yartsevo and on September 7 took up defensive positions. On September 15 they resumed the attack, crossing the Vop River. In conjunction with the 5th and 68th Armies, they liberated

Smolensk Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest cities in Russia. It has been a regional capital for most of ...

on September 25.

1944

From February to March, the army participated in operations to liberate Brest. At the opening of Operation Bagration, the army consisted of: :36th Rifle Corps :: 220th Rifle Division :: 352nd Rifle Division :71st Rifle Corps :: 88th Rifle Division ::192nd Rifle Division :: 331st Rifle Division :113th Rifle Corps :: 62nd Rifle Division :: 174th Rifle Division : 173rd Rifle Division :140th Gun Artillery Brigade :392nd Corps Gun Artillery Regiment :570th Corps Gun Artillery Regiment :83rd Guards Howitzer Artillery Regiment :43rd Antitank Artillery Brigade :529th Tank Destroyer Regiment :549th Mortar Regiment :74th Guards Mortar Regiment :2nd Separate Artillery Observation Balloon Battalion :66th Antiaircraft Artillery Division ::1981st Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment ::1985th Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment ::1989th Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment ::1993rd Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment :1275th Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment :1478th Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment :1481st Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment :525th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion :213th Tank Brigade :926th SU Regiment :927th SU Regiment :959th SU Regiment :1445th SU Regiment :52nd Armored Train Battalion :90th Pontoon-Bridge Battalion (8th Pontoon-Bridge Brigade) :14th Flamethrower Battalion :15th Flamethrower Battalion Assigned to the

3rd Belorussian Front The 3rd Belorussian Front () was a Front of the Red Army during the Second World War. The 3rd Belorussian Front was created on 24 April 1944 from forces previously assigned to the Western Front. Over 381 days in combat, the 3rd Belorussian Fr ...

, the army

Operation Bagration Operation Bagration () was the codename for the 1944 Soviet Byelorussian strategic offensive operation (), a military campaign fought between 22 June and 19 August 1944 in Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Byelorussia in the Eastern ...

participated in the assault of German forces in the

Minsk Offensive The Minsk offensive () was part of the second phase of the Belorussian strategic offensive of the Red Army in summer 1944, commonly known as Operation Bagration. The Red Army encircled the German 4th Army (Wehrmacht), Fourth Army in the city of ...

encirclement. In addition to the 31st Army, the

2nd Belorussian Front The 2nd Belorussian Front (, ''Vtoroi Belorusskiy front'', also romanized "Byelorussian SSR, Byelorussian"), was a Front (military formation), major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to a Western army group. I ...

's 33rd, 49th and 50th Armies were given the task of containing the Germans within the encirclement, and defeating German forces in the surrounding area. The elimination of the German forces escaping from the city took place in three phases: * July 5–7 – Destruction and suppression of organized attempts to break out. After the surrender of the city, the German forces broke up into several disorganized groups and attempted to escape the encirclement. * July 8–9 – Destruction of groups which had taken refuge in the forests south-east of Minsk. * July 10–13 – Soviet troops combed the woods, capturing any remaining small enemy groups. By the end of the summer of 1944, the forces of the 3rd Belorussian Front and 31st Army had reached the border of

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

1945

The army took part in the East Prussian Strategic Offensive under the command of the

. The army was transferred to 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 order to participate in the Prague Offensive. Composition at the end of World War II: :36th Rifle Corps :: 173rd Rifle Division :: 176th Rifle Division :: 352nd Rifle Division :

44th Rifle Corps The 44th Rifle Corps was a corps of the Red Army of the Soviet Union. It took part in the Great Patriotic War in 1941 and 1943-45. On 22 June 1941, the corps consisted of the 64th Rifle Division and the 108th Rifle Division ( General Major Ale ...

:: 62nd Rifle Division :: 174th Rifle Division :: 220th Rifle Division :71st Rifle Corps ::

54th Rifle Division The 54th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Soviet Union's Red Army and Soviet Army, formed twice. The division was formed in 1936 and fought in the Winter War. The division spent most of World War II in Karelia fighting with Finnish t ...

:: 88th Rifle Division :: 331st Rifle Division :140th Gun Artillery Brigade :51st Guards Tank Destroyer Regiment :357th Guards Tank Destroyer Regiment :529th Tank Destroyer Regiment :549th Mortar Regiment :1478th Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment :926th SU Regiment :959th SU Regiment :31st Engineer-Sapper Brigade The army was disbanded in September 1945.

Command Staff

Commanders *Major General Vasilii Nikitich Dalmatov – (July 15 – October 13, 1941) *Major General V. A. Yushkevich – (October 17, 1941 – March 19, 1942) *Major General V. I. Vostrukhov – (March 19 – April 14, 1942) *Major General V. Polenov – (April 15, 1942 – February 27, 1943) *Major General V. Gluzdovsky – (February 27, 1943 – May 27, 1944) *Lieutenant General V. Glagolev – (May 27 – December 15, 1944) *Lieutenant General P. G. Shafranov – (December 15, 1944 – May 11, 1945)

References

Marchand, Jean-Luc. Order of Battle Soviet Army World War 2. The Nafziger Collection, 24 Volumes {{Armies of the Soviet Army 031 Military units and formations established in 1941 Military units and formations disestablished in 1946