The 53rd Army was a field army of the Soviet Union's

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 ...

which was formed in August 1941, disbanded in December 1941, and reformed in May 1942. It fought throughout

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

before again being disbanded after the war in October 1945. The army was first formed for the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran and was disbanded there in December 1941. The army reformed in May 1942. It fought in the

Demyansk Pocket The Demyansk Pocket (german: Kessel von Demjansk; russian: Демя́нский котёл) was the name given to the pocket of German troops encircled by the Red Army around Demyansk, south of Leningrad, during World War II's Eastern Front. Th ...

, the

Battle of Kursk The Battle of Kursk was a major World War II Eastern Front engagement between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in the southwestern USSR during late summer 1943; it ultimately became the largest tank battle in history. ...

, the

Battle of Belgorod A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

, the

Battle of the Dnieper The Battle of the Dnieper was a military campaign that took place in 1943 in Ukraine on the Eastern Front of World War II. One of the largest operations of the war, it involved almost 4,000,000 troops at a time stretched on a front. Over four ...

, the

Battle of the Korsun–Cherkassy Pocket A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and forc ...

, the Uman–Botoșani Offensive, the

Second Jassy–Kishinev Offensive The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds eac ...

, the

Battle of Debrecen The Battle of Debrecen, called by the Red Army the ''Debrecen Offensive Operation'', was a battle taking place 6–29 October 1944 on the Eastern Front in Hungary during World War II. The offensive was conducted by the 2nd Ukrainian Front ...

, the Budapest Offensive, and the

Prague Offensive The Prague offensive (russian: Пражская стратегическая наступательная операция, Prazhskaya strategicheskaya nastupatel'naya operatsiya, lit=Prague strategic offensive) was the last major military ...

. At the end of the war in Europe it was moved to the Far East and fought in the

Soviet invasion of Manchuria The Soviet invasion of Manchuria, formally known as the Manchurian strategic offensive operation (russian: Манчжурская стратегическая наступательная операция, Manchzhurskaya Strategicheskaya Nastu ...

. The army was disbanded in October 1945.

History

First formation

The 53rd Army was created by a

Stavka The ''Stavka'' ( Russian and Ukrainian: Ставка) is a name of the high command of the armed forces formerly in the Russian Empire, Soviet Union and currently in Ukraine. In Imperial Russia ''Stavka'' referred to the administrative staff, ...

directive on August 23, 1941. Its immediate task was to occupy

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...

in conjunction with the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...

and other Commonwealth armed forces in August and September 1941. The purpose was to secure Iranian oil fields as well as safeguard the shipment of

Lend-Lease Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (), was a policy under which the United States supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and other Allied nations with food, oil, ...

war material from the US through Iran to the USSR. Units of the 53rd Army crossed the border on August 27, overcame resistance from Iranian border guards, and advanced towards

Mashad Mashhad ( fa, مشهد, Mašhad ), also spelled Mashad, is the second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. It serves as the capital of Razavi Khorasan Province and has a po ...

. As part of the

Central Asian Military District The Red Banner Central Asian Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces, which existed in 1926–1945 and 1969–1989, with its headquarters at Tashkent (1926–1945) and Almaty (1969–1989). By USSR Order No.304 of 4 ...

, 53rd Army was described by the

Combat composition of the Soviet Army ''Boevoi sostav Sovetskoi armii'' ("Combat composition of the Soviet army") is an official Second World War Soviet Army order of battle published in five parts from 1963 through 1990 by the Voroshilov Academy of the General Staff and Voenizdat. ...

as including 58th Rifle Corps (68th and

83rd Mountain Rifle Division 83rd may refer to: *83rd Academy Awards, a ceremony that honored the best films of 2010 in the United States and took place on February 27, 2011 *83rd Grey Cup, the 1995 Canadian Football League championship game *83rd meridian east, a line of lon ...

389th Rifle Division The 389th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Soviet Union during World War II. The division was formed in October 1941 part of the 53rd Army of the Central Asian Military District, and was deployed for active field duty from May 194 ...

4th Cavalry Corps The 4th Cavalry Corps was a cavalry corps of the Soviet Red Army, formed three times. The corps first existed between 1928 and 1938 in the North Caucasus as a territorial unit, and was a Cossack unit for the last two years of its existence. Refor ...

(

18th 18 (eighteen) is the natural number following 17 and preceding 19. In mathematics * Eighteen is a composite number, its divisors being 1, 2, 3, 6 and 9. Three of these divisors (3, 6 and 9) add up to 18, hence 18 is a semiperfect number. ...

, 20th, 39th Cavalry Divisions), 44th Cavalry Division, and 72nd Independent Mountain Rifle Regiment (огсп) on 1 October 1941. The 53rd Army was disbanded in December 1941.

Second formation

The 53rd Army was reformed on May 1, 1942 from divisions of the 34th Army with the mission of fighting on the

Northwestern Front The Northwestern Front (Russian: ''Северо-Западный фронт'') was a military formation of the Red Army during the Winter War and World War II. It was operational with the 7th and 13th Armies during the Winter War. It was re-cr ...

. Until March 1943 it fought the German 16th Army in the

Demyansk Offensive The Battle of Demyansk was part of the Soviet offensive Operation Polar Star against Axis forces which took place in Demyansk from 15 to 28 February 1943. The Northwestern Front and Mikhail Khozin Special Group engaged the 16th Army of Army ...

and unsuccessfully attempted to cut the Ramushevo corridor. After the German breakout the 53rd Army was transferred to the Stavka reserve on March 22 and then to the

Reserve Front The Reserve Front was a major formation of the Red Army during the Second World War. First Formation The Reserve Front describes either of two distinct organizations during the war. The first version was created on July 30, 1941 in a reorganizati ...

on April 10. On April 15, it was transferred a third time, to the

Steppe Front The Steppe Front (russian: Степной фронт) was a front of the Red Army during the Second World War which existed from July to October 1943. History On 9 July 1943, Stavka designated a new Reserve Front in the Voronezh region, that had ...

, where it received new units and fought in the

. On July 16 its troops took defensive positions on a line from Podolhi to Poidjarug. It fought subsequently in the

, pushing back German troops from July 19 onwards. In August and September 1943 the Army fought in the Belgorod-Kharkov Offensive and the capture of eastern

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...

. Units of the 53rd Army advanced more than 200 km and in cooperation with other armies captured

Kharkov Kharkiv ( uk, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest city and municipality in Ukraine.

on August 23 and

Poltava Poltava (, ; uk, Полтава ) is a city located on the Vorskla River in central Ukraine. It is the capital city of the Poltava Oblast (province) and of the surrounding Poltava Raion (district) of the oblast. Poltava is administrative ...

a month later. On October 5 it reached the

Dnieper } The Dnieper () or 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. It is the longest river of Ukraine ...

. The 53rd Army

forced ''Forced'' is a single-player and co-op action role-playing game developed by BetaDwarf, released in October 2013 for Windows, OS X and Linux through the Steam platform as well as Wii U. It is about gladiators fighting for their freedom in a fan ...

the Dnieper, captured a bridgehead southeast of

Kremenchug Kremenchuk (; uk, Кременчу́к, Kremenchuk ) is an industrial city in central Ukraine which stands on the banks of the Dnipro River. The city serves as the administrative center of the Kremenchuk Raion (district) in Poltava Oblast (pro ...

, and fought hard until mid-November to retain its foothold on the right bank. The Army was transferred to the

2nd Ukrainian Front The 2nd Ukrainian Front (2-й Украинский фронт), was a front of the Red Army during the Second World War. History On October 20, 1943 the Steppe Front was renamed the 2nd Ukrainian Front. During the Second Jassy–Kishinev ...

on October 20 and attacked along the

Kirovohrad Kropyvnytskyi ( uk, Кропивницький, Kropyvnytskyi ) is a city in central Ukraine on the Inhul river with a population of . It is an administrative center of the Kirovohrad Oblast. Over its history, Kropyvnytskyi has changed its name ...

axis. By December 24 it had reached the line of Krasnosele and

Znamianka Znamianka ( uk, Зна́м'янка) is a town in Kropyvnytskyi Raion, Kirovohrad Oblast (province) of Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Znamianka urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Population: . It is located about half way be ...

, where it was stopped by German reserves. On January 5, 1944 the attack was resumed and the defending German units were destroyed. At the end of January the 53rd Army fought in the

Korsun-Shevchenkovsky Offensive Korsun-Shevchenkivskyi ( uk, Ко́рсунь-Шевче́нківський, ; pl, Korsuń Szewczenkowski; russian: Корсунь-Шевченковский) is a small city located in Cherkasy Raion of Cherkasy Oblast (province) in central ...

and attacked in the direction of

Zlatopol Zlatopil ( uk, Златопіль; also as the Russian transliteration Zlatopol) was a small city in Ukraine, located about 67 km northwest of Kropyvnytskyi. History The name of this village before 1787 was Hulajpol. During the partitions ...

. In the Uman–Botoșani Offensive it captured

Balta Balta may refer to: People * Balta (footballer) (born 1962), Spanish footballer and manager * Balta (surname) Places *Balta (crater), on Mars *Balta, Mehedinți, Romania *Bâlta, a village in Filiași, Dolj County, Romania *Bâlta, a village in ...

on March 29, Kotovsk three days later and, at the end of the offensive, a bridgehead on the

Dniester The Dniester, ; rus, Дне́стр, links=1, Dnéstr, ˈdⁿʲestr; ro, Nistru; grc, Τύρᾱς, Tyrās, ; la, Tyrās, la, Danaster, label=none, ) ( ,) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and ...

near

Dubăsari Dubăsari ( ro, Dubăsari , Moldovan Cyrillic alphabet: Дубэсарь) or Dubossary (russian: Дубоссары; yi, דובאסאר; uk, Дубоcсари) is a city in Transnistria, with a population of 23,650. Claimed by both the Republic ...

. Then it fought in the

, attacking along the Focșani axis, and entered

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north ...

on August 31. At the end of September it was on the Hungarian border northeast of

Arad Arad or ARAD may refer to: People * Arad (given name) * Arad (surname) Places and jurisdictions Bahrain * Arad, Bahrain, a village in Al Muharraq Governorate * Arad Fort, located on Arad shore * Arad Island, a former member of the Bahrain Islan ...

. In October it fought in the Battle of Debrecen, during which Army commander German Tarasov was killed on 19 October. In cooperation with the 1st Guards Mechanized Cavalry Group, it broke through German defenses and advanced 100 kilometers to the

Tisza The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa, is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and ...

near Polgár. Between November 7 and 10, 1944, the 53rd Army forced the Tisza during the Budapest Offensive north of

Abádszalók Abádszalók () is a town in Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county, in the Northern Great Plain region of central Hungary. The town was established in 1895 by the union of the villages of Tiszabad and Tiszalok. Geography It covers an area of and has a p ...

. In conjunction with the 110th Guards Rifle Division and

3rd Guards Airborne Division The 3rd Guards Airborne Division was a Red Army division of World War II. In December 1945 it appears to have become 125th Guards Rifle Division, while serving with 35th Guards Rifle Corps, 27th Army, Carpathian Military District.Feskov et al. 2 ...

of the 27th Army it captured

Eger Eger ( , ; ; also known by other alternative names) is the county seat of Heves County, and the second largest city in Northern Hungary (after Miskolc). A city with county rights. Eger is best known for its castle, thermal baths, baroque bu ...

on November 30. The 53rd Army then attacked along the

Lučenec Lučenec (; german: Lizenz; hu, Losonc; yi, לאשאנץ; la, Lutetia HungarorumLelkes György (1992), Magyar helységnév-azonosító szótár, Balassi Kiadó, Budapest, 508 p.) is a town in the Banská Bystrica Region of south-central Slovaki ...

axis, reached the

Hron The Hron ( sk, Hron; german: Gran; hu, Garam; la, Granus) is a long left tributary of the Danube During the Bratislava-Brno Operation the 53rd Army crossed the Hron on March 25 and captured

Vráble Vráble ( hu, Verebély) is a small town in the Nitra District, Nitra Region, western Slovakia. Etymology The name derives from ''vrábeľ'' - a Slovak dialect name of sparrow (''vrabec''). Geography It is located in the Danubian Hills on the � ...

on March 28,

Nitra Nitra (; also known by other #Etymology, alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, situated at the foot of Zobor Mountain in the valley of the river Nitra (river), Nitra. It is located 95 km east of Bratislava. With a population of about ...

on March 30,

Hlohovec Hlohovec (german: Freistad(l) an der Waag, Hungarian ''Galgóc''), is a town in southwestern Slovakia, with a population of 21,508. Name The name comes from ''*Glogovec'', the Old Slavic name for a place densely overgrown by hawthorn. The Hun ...

on April 1, and

Hodonín Hodonín (; german: Göding) is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 24,000 inhabitants. Administrative parts Hodonín is made up of only one administrative part. Geography Hodonín is located about southeast ...

on April 13. Brno was captured on April 26 in cooperation with the

6th Guards Tank Army The 6th Guards Order of Red Banner Tank Army was a tank army of the Soviet Union's Red Army, first formed in January 1944 as the 6th Tank Army,Glantz (Companion), p. 66. and disbanded in Ukraine in the 1990s after the dissolution of the Soviet Un ...

and 1st Guards Cavalry Mechanized Group. In the last days before the German surrender the 53rd Army fought in the

. From June to July 1945 it was deployed in

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 millio ...

near Choibalsan, and at the beginning of August the 53rd Army was transferred to the

Transbaikal Front The Transbaikal Front (russian: Забайкальский фронт) was a front formed on September 15, 1941, on the basis of the Transbaikal Military District. Initially, it included the 17th and 36th armies, but in August 1942 the 12th Air A ...

. It fought in the

Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation The Soviet invasion of Manchuria, formally known as the Manchurian strategic offensive operation (russian: Манчжурская стратегическая наступательная операция, Manchzhurskaya Strategicheskaya Nastu ...

and was disbanded in October 1945.

Composition

The 53rd Army was composed of the following units:

1941

68th Mountain Rifle Division The 68th Mountain Rifle Division () was a mountain infantry division of the Red Army before and during World War II. Formed in late 1919 during the Russian Civil War as the 3rd Turkestan Rifle Division, it served with the Turkestan Front in the ...

* 39th Cavalry Division *

18th Mountain Cavalry Division 18 (eighteen) is the natural number following 17 and preceding 19. In mathematics * Eighteen is a composite number, its divisors being 1, 2, 3, 6 and 9. Three of these divisors (3, 6 and 9) add up to 18, hence 18 is a semiperfect number. ...

** 20th Mountain Cavalry Division *

238th Rifle Division The 238th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, originally formed in the months just before the start of the German invasion, based on the ''shtat'' (table of organization and equipment) of September 13, 1939. It was the highest- ...

* 9th Rocket Mortar Battalion * 72nd Separate Mountain Rifle Regiment

1 May 1942

22nd Guards Rifle Division The 22nd Guards Rifle Division was unique in being the only Guards rifle division formed twice during the Great Patriotic War. It was first formed from the 363rd Rifle Division in March 1942. Soon after forming it provided a command cadre for the ...

23rd Rifle Division The 23rd Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army and Soviet Army, formed three times. It was formed in July 1922 in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, inheriting the Order of the Red Banner from the predecessor Zavolzhskaya ...

130th Rifle Division Thirteen or 13 may refer to: * 13 (number), the natural number following 12 and preceding 14 * One of the years 13 BC, AD 13, 1913, 2013 Music * 13AD (band), an Indian classic and hard rock band Albums * ''13'' (Black Sabbath album), 2013 * ...

166th Rifle Division The 166th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Soviet Union's Red Army that fought in World War II, formed twice. The division's first formation was formed in 1939 and wiped out in the Vyazma Pocket in October 1941. In January 1942, the ...

235th Rifle Division The 235th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, originally formed in the months just before the start of the German invasion, based on the ''shtat'' (table of organization and equipment) of September 13, 1939. As part of the 41s ...

241st Rifle Division The 241st Rifle Division was formed as an infantry division of the Red Army from the remnants of the 28th Tank Division in November/December 1941. It was based on the ''shtat'' (table of organization and equipment) of July 29, 1941 and was reformed ...

250th Rifle Division 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. It has attained significance throughout history in part because typical humans have five digits on e ...

1 July 1943

28th Guards Rifle Division 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number ...

84th Rifle Division The 84th Rifle Division () was an infantry division of the Red Army before and during World War II. History Prewar The 84th Rifle Division was formed in 1923 at Tula as one of several Red Army territorial divisions, assigned to the Moscow Mi ...

* 116th Rifle Division *

214th Rifle Division The 214th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, originally formed in the months just before the start of the German invasion, based on the ''shtat'' ( table of organization and equipment) of September 13, 1939. It was moved to t ...

233rd Rifle Division The 233rd Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, originally formed in the months just before the start of the German invasion, based on the ''shtat'' ( table of organization and equipment) of September 13, 1939. As part of 20th A ...

* 252nd Rifle Division *

299th Rifle Division The 299th Rifle Division () was an infantry division of the Soviet Union's Red Army during World War II, formed twice. The division was first formed in the summer of 1941 and was destroyed during the Battle of Moscow in the fall of that year. The ...

August 1945

18th Guards Rifle Corps 18 (eighteen) is the natural number following 17 and preceding 19. In mathematics * Eighteen is a composite number, its divisors being 1, 2, 3, 6 and 9. Three of these divisors (3, 6 and 9) add up to 18, hence 18 is a semiperfect number. ...

49th Rifle Corps "Thank God for Mississippi" is an adage used in the United States, particularly in the South, that is generally used when discussing rankings of U.S. states. Since the U.S. state of Mississippi commonly ranks at or near the bottom of such rankings ...

* 57th Rifle Corps

Commanders

The 53rd Army was commanded by the following officers: *

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Sergei Trofimenko Sergei Georgievich Trofimenko (10 (22) September 1899 in Ryovny – 16 October 1953 in Moscow) was a Soviet military commander, active in the Russian Civil War and the Second World War. His final rank was colonel-general. He had been promoted t ...

(1941) * Major General Alexander Ksenofontov (April–October 1942) * Major General

Gennady Korotkov Gennady Petrovich Korotkov (18 August 1898 – 23 November 1982) was a Soviet Army lieutenant general who held field army command during World War II. Early life and World War I Gennady Petrovich Korotkov was born on 18 August 1898 in the city of ...

(October 1942 – January 1943) * Major General

Yevgeny Zhuravlev Yevgeny Petrovich Zhuravlev (Russian: Евгений Петрович Журавлев), (October 8, 1896 - May 11, 1983) was a Soviet lieutenant-general in World War II. Biography Zhuravlev was born in the village of Roudkovka in the Chernigov ...

(January–March 1943) *

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) 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 ...

Ivan Managarov Ivan Mefodyevich Managarov (; – 27 November 1981) was a Soviet Army colonel general and a Hero of the Soviet Union who held field army command during World War II. A decorated veteran of the Imperial Russian Army, Managarov fought as a cavalr ...

(March–December 1943) * Major General

German Tarasov German Fyodorovich Tarasov (; – 19 October 1944) was a Red Army major general during World War II. An officer in the NKVD Border Guard, NKVD Border Troops before World War II, Tarasov was given command of the 249th Rifle Division (Soviet Union ...

(December 1943 – January 1944) * Lieutenant General

Ivan Galanin Ivan Vasilievich Galanin (; –12 November 1958) was a Red Army lieutenant general during World War II. Galanin was drafted into the Red Army in 1919 and fought as an ordinary soldier in the Russian Civil War. He became an officer during the inte ...

(January–March 1944) * Lieutenant General (promoted to Colonel General) Ivan Managarov (March 1944 – 1945)

References

External links

Boyevye dieystwa Sovietskoy armiy w Wielikoy Ochetesveonnoi vajnie 53-ja Armija
{{Armies of the Soviet Army Military units and formations established in 1941 Field armies of the Soviet Union Military units and formations disestablished in 1945