7th Army (Soviet Union)
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The 7th Army (Russian: 7-я армия) was a 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 ...
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 ...
during
World War II 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 ...
, primarily against Finland. It was disbanded in 1944. It first saw action in the 1939–40
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 ...
against
Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
. In November 1939, just before the initial Soviet attack, it consisted of the
19th Rifle Corps The 19th Rifle Corps was a corps of the Soviet Red Army. The 1st Pacific Rifle Division was shifted into the 19th Rifle Corps of the Siberian Military District in June 1929 after the 5th Army (RSFSR), 5th Red Banner Army of the RSFSR was disband ...
( 24th Rifle Division, 43rd, 70th, 123 RD),
50th Rifle Corps The 50th Rifle Corps was a corps of the Soviet Red Army. It was part of the 23rd Army on 22 June 1941. It took part in the Great Patriotic War. Organization On 22 June 1941, the corps included the following units: * 43rd Rifle Division * 70 ...
(49 RD, 90 RD, 142 RD),
10th Tank Corps The 10th Tank Corps was a tank corps of the Red Army, formed twice. First Formation In May–June 1938, the 7th Mechanized Corps headquarters was relocated from Novy Petergof to Luga and converted into the 10th Tank Corps when the Red Army ...
, 138th Rifle Division, and an independent tank brigade. The Army was first under Commander (Second rank) Vsevolod Yakovlev, but he was removed from command of his army and returned to Leningrad. Command of the war operation
Kirill Meretskov Kirill Afanasievich Meretskov (; – 30 December 1968) was a Soviet Union, Soviet military commander. Having joined the Communist Party in 1917, he served in the Red Army from 1920. During the Winter War of 1939–1940 against Finland, he had t ...
was called-off due to extensive failures and heavy casualties, and he replaced Yakovlev as the commander of the Seventh Army. Edwards 2006, p. 125 7th Army was reformed in Autumn (second half of) 1940 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 ...
. Before the German
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 ...
began it covered the Soviet frontier to the north of
Lake Ladoga Lake Ladoga is a freshwater lake located in the Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia, in the vicinity of Saint Petersburg. It is the largest lake located entirely in Europe, the second largest lake in Russia after Lake ...
. After 24 June 1941 the army included the 54th, 71st, 168th and 237th Rifle Divisions, the 26th
Fortified Region A fortified district or fortified region (, ukreplyonny raion, ukrepraion) in the military terminology of the Soviet Union, is a territory within which a complex system of defense fortifications was engineered. Each fortified district consiste ...
, the
55th Composite Aviation Division The 55th Mixed Aviation Division was an Aviation Division of the Soviet Air Forces during World War II. History The division was formed on 25 February 1941 in the Leningrad Military District. It formed part of the 'operational army' from 22 Ju ...
, and some artillery and engineering formations. It became part of the Northern Front, then 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 ...
, and conducted defensive operations in
Karelia Karelia (; Karelian language, Karelian and ; , historically Коре́ла, ''Korela'' []; ) is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for Russia (including the Soviet Union, Soviet era), Finland, and Sweden. It is currentl ...
, however losing Finnish reconquest of Ladoga Karelia (1941), Ladoga Karelia to the Finns in July–August 1941. On 25 September 1941 it was renamed the 7th Separate Army, directly subordinate to
Stavka The ''Stavka'' ( Russian and Ukrainian: Ставка, ) is a name of the high command of the armed forces used formerly in the Russian Empire and Soviet Union and currently in Ukraine. In Imperial Russia ''Stavka'' referred to the administrat ...
, (VGK – the Supreme High Command), and it remained in that status until February 1944. In the middle of October 1941 – June 1944 it defended the
Svir River The Svir (; ; Karelian and Finnish: ) is a river in Podporozhsky, Lodeynopolsky, and Volkhovsky districts in the north-east of Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It flows westwards from Lake Onega to Lake Ladoga, thus connecting the two largest l ...
line between Lakes Onega and Ladoga. From June to August 1944 the army, comprising now the 37th Guards, 4th, 94th, and
99th Rifle Corps 99th may refer to: * 99th Brigade (disambiguation) * 99th Division (disambiguation) In military terms, 99th Division or 99th Infantry Division may refer to: ; Infantry divisions : * 99th Division (1st Formation) (People's Republic of China) * 99 ...
, 150th and 162nd Fortified Regions, and a number of artillery, tank, engineering and other units, 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 ...
, participated in the Svir–Petrozavodsk Operation. It was disbanded in the beginning of January 1945. On the basis of its headquarters the 9th Guards Army of the
Airborne Forces Airborne forces are ground combat units carried by aircraft and airdropped into battle zones, typically by parachute drop. Parachute-qualified infantry and support personnel serving in airborne units are also known as paratroopers. The main ...
was created on 18 December 1944.


Commanders

The Army was commanded by the following officers. *Komandarm 2nd Rank Vsevolod Yakovlev (September – December 1939) *Army General
Kirill Meretskov Kirill Afanasievich Meretskov (; – 30 December 1968) was a Soviet Union, Soviet military commander. Having joined the Communist Party in 1917, he served in the Red Army from 1920. During the Winter War of 1939–1940 against Finland, he had t ...
(December 1939 – June 1941) *Lieutenant-General Filipp D. Gorelenko (June – September 1941 and November 1941 – June 1942); *Army General
Kirill Meretskov Kirill Afanasievich Meretskov (; – 30 December 1968) was a Soviet Union, Soviet military commander. Having joined the Communist Party in 1917, he served in the Red Army from 1920. During the Winter War of 1939–1940 against Finland, he had t ...
(September – November 1941) *Lieutenant-General Sergey Trofimenko (July 1942 – January 1943) *Major-General Alexey Krutikov (January 1943 – August 1944), (promoted to lieutenant-general in April 1943); *Lieutenant-General Vladimir Gluzdovsky (August – November 1944)


References


Citations


Bibliography

*Keith E. Bonn (ed.), Slaughterhouse: The Handbook of the Eastern Front, Aberjona Press, Bedford, PA, 2005 * *http://samsv.narod.ru/Arm/a07/arm.html {{Armies of the Soviet Army
007 The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...
Military units and formations established in 1939 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 Military units and formations of the Soviet Union in the Winter War Continuation War