22nd Army (Soviet Union)

The22nd Army(‹See Tfd›Russian:22-я армия) was afield armyof theRed ArmyduringWorld War II.

The 22nd Army was formed in June 1941 after theGerman invasion of the Soviet Unionand served through World War II until its disbandment in 1945.

World War II

Originally it was formed in June 1941 within theRed Armyand it comprised51st Rifle Corps(98th,112th,and153rdRifle Divisions) and62nd Rifle Corps(170th,174th,and186th Rifle Divisions), and several separate regiments, including the 336th and 545th Corps Artillery Regiments.Headquarters was atVelikiye Lukiby 22 June 1941, and General LieutenantFilipp Yershakovtook command (who would direct the army until August 1941). Lenski notes that it was then made part of the 'Group of armies of the Reserve of the Main Command'.

During theBattle of Smolensk (1941),six rifle divisions of the army fought fiercely against what victory.mil.ru describes as sixteenWehrmachtdivisions, including three tank and three motorized, and under their assault 22nd Army was forced to retreat.On July 16, 1941, the Germans managed to surround the 51st Rifle Corps, and on July 20, to seizeVelikiye Luki.48th Tank Division joined the Army by August 1, 1941.

As part of theSoviet Western Front,since October, 17th theKalinin Front,the Army conducted defensive operations on theIdritsa–Drissa–Vitebskfrontier, participated in theBattle of Smolensk,theKalinindefensive operation, and theBattles of Rzhev-Operation Marsin 1942.General Major V. A. Yushkevich again took command in April 1942, after previously commanding the army in August–October 1941.3rd Mechanised Corpsunder General Major M. Ye. Katukov joined the Army in September 1942 when it was formed, though it was later reassigned.83rd Corps Artillery Regimenthad joined the Army by 1 November 1942.

The Army's task as part of Operation Mars was as part of what in Soviet parlance was the 'Bely Offensive Operation in conjunction with39th Army.Spearheaded by the 3rd Mechanised Corps, the army was tasked to: 'advance eastward up theLuchesa Rivervalley, pierce the German defenses, assist in the capture ofBely,and encircle German forces aroundOleninoin conjunction with 39th Army.''Early on 25 November, 22nd Army, with over 50,000 men and 270 tanks of 3rd Mechanised Corps, assaulted eastward up the Luchesa River valley. Attacking along a narrow corridor flanked by forests and frozen swamps, Soviet forces tore a gaping hole through German defences and drove German forces eastward up the valley. General Yushkevich's attack was spearheaded by Colonel I. V. Karpov's 238th Rifle Division and two regiments of Colonel M. F. Andryushenko's 185th Rifle Division, supported by a tank brigade of General Katukov's mechanised corps. The combined force routed a regiment of the German86th Infantry Divisionand punctured the German front.'

In 1943, the Army fought as part of theNorth-Western Frontsince April 21, then from October 13 as part of theBaltic Front,which became 2nd Baltic Front on October 20, 1943. 22nd Army defended the river Lovat, and participated in operations atKholm,Velikiye Luki, Leningrad-Novgorod,Staraya Russa–Novorzhev,and Rezhitsa–Dvina.It then took part in theRiga Offensive Operation,part of theBaltic Offensive.Since October 1944, together with the other armies of the Front it carried out the blockade of the GermanArmy Group Courlandin theCourland Pocket.One of the Army's rifle corps was the Latvian130th Rifle Corpsthat included two rifle divisions in which served a large number of Latvians in their ranks who would soon be facing their opposites in the Latvian19th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS.

Postwar

Immediately after the war ended, its headquarters, along with the109th Rifle Division,arrived in the South Ukraine in May 1945. In the Northern summer of 1945, together with the headquarters of theSeparate Coastal Army,located in the Crimea, it was reorganised as the new but short-livedTavria Military District.

It arrived in the Odessa/Tavria area with the83rd Rifle Corps(47th,119th,and168th Rifle Divisions); the100th Rifle Corps(28th, 37th, and219th Rifle Divisions); and the110th Rifle Corps(256th,268th,and394th Rifle Divisions;the latter was soon redesignated as the48th Rifle Division). Seemingly all these forces, except the 48th Rifle Division, were disestablished rather quickly in 1945-46.

Commanders

• Lieutenant generalFilipp Yershakov(June–August 1941)
• General-Major (since March 1943 General-lieutenant)V. A. Yushkevich(August–October, 19th 1941, April–December 1942, March 1943 – April 1944; Yushkevich went on to command 31st Army, and after the war, theOdessa Military Districtbriefly)
• Major generalVladimir Ivanovich Vostrukhov(on October, 20 1941 – March 1942)
• Major generalDmitry Seleznev(December 1942 – March 1943)
• Lieutenant generalGennady Korotkov(April 1944 – May 1945)