26th Army (Soviet Union)
| 26th Army | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1940–1947 |
| Country |  Soviet Union |
| Branch | Red Army |
| Type | Combined arms |
| Engagements | World War II |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Lev Skvirsky |
The26th Army(Russian:26-я армия26-ya armiya) was afield armyof the Soviet Union'sRed Army,active from 1941.
Operational history
[edit]First Formation
[edit]26th Army was a part of theSouthwestern Frontand defended the Soviet-German border betweenPrzemyśland theCarpathian Mountainsin June 1941. The Army was located on the eastern bank ofSan rivermanning the 8thFortified District.The 26th Army commander was Lt. Gen.Fyodor Kostenkowho was a Ukrainian. Its opponent was the GermanSeventeenth Armyunder command of GeneralCarl-Heinrich von Stülpnagel.
The 26th Army consisted of the8th Rifle Corps,with the99th Rifle Division,173rd Rifle Division,and the72nd Mountain Rifle Division,the 8th Fortified District, a number of artillery units (the 2nd Anti-Tank Brigade, 233rd Corps Artillery Regiment, 236th Corps Artillery Regiment, and the 28th Independent Anti-Aircraft Squadron, the8th Mechanised Corpswith the12th Tank Division,34th Tank Division,and the7th Mechanized Division), and the 17th Pontoon-Bridge Regiment on 22 June 1941.[1]Headquarters was atBorislav.
The Germans attacked the junction between6th Armyand 26th Army. On 23 June General Kirponos ordered 26th Army armour troops (8th Mechanized Corps) to move to Brody out of the command of Kostenko.[2]Meanwhile, German assault created a twenty-mile breach on 24 June.[3]During the night from 26th to 27 June, 6th and 26th retreated from frontier fortifications.[4]The 26th Army and 12th Army now held a line fromOstropoltoBar.[5]On 10 July Kostenko's Army together with 6th Army and 12th Army became threatened by south eastern swing of Kleist's1st Panzer Group,[6]which could cut them off fromDnieperriver.[7]On 20 July two Rifle Corps of 26th Army attacked in northern direction towards the Dnieper.[8]Only small part of the 26th Army with its commander reached the Dnieper. Most of its units were destroyed or captured by Germans. The 6th Army and 26th Army were split apart.
Second Formation
[edit]The 26th Army was quickly rebuilt in October 1941 by subsequent reinforcements and included elements of the1st Guards Special Rifle Corpsand now defended the Dnieper river atKanievandRzhishchevsouth-west of Kiev. 6th and 12th Army ended up inUmanPocket. 26th Army tried to relieve those armies and attacked in theBoguslav-Zwenigorodkadirection. It didn't work.[9]In September 26 Army itself became surrounded in theKiev Pocket.The Soviets tried to break out, 26th Army was supposed to attack onLubny.[10]General Kostenko escaped from the encirclement with quite a large group of his soldiers.[11]The army was disbanded and the remaining forces were assigned to the50th Army.
Third Formation
[edit]The third time, 26th Army formed in November 1941 in theVolga Military District.On 18 December it was assigned to the newly formedVolkhov Front.In late December 1941 the army was redesignated as the2nd Shock Army.
Commander: Lieutenant GeneralGrigory Grigorievich Sokolov(November–December 1941)
Fourth Formation
[edit]The army was reformed for the fourth time within theKarelian Frontin March–April 1942.[12] On 1 January 1943 the army comprised27th,54th,186th,and263rd Rifle Divisions,61st, 67th, 80th (less 2nd Battalion), and 85th Naval Infantry Brigades, artillery, and other units.[13]
Commander in 1943–1945 was Major General (later Lieutenant General)Lev Skvirsky.
Composition
[edit]At the end of the war the army consisted of:[14]
- 30th Rifle Corps
- 104th Rifle Corps
- 135th Rifle Corps
- Artillery, engineer, and tank units.
Commanders
[edit]- Lieutenant GeneralFyodor Kostenko(June–September 1941)
- Major GeneralAlexey Kurkin(October 1941)
- Lieutenant GeneralGrigory Grigorievich Sokolov(November–December 1941)
- Major General Nikolai Nikishin (March 1942 – May 1943)
- Major General (later Lieutenant General)Lev Skvirsky(May 1943 – January 1945)
- Lieutenant GeneralNikolai Gagen(January–May 1945)
Post War Service
[edit]The army ended the war inRomaniaand was assigned to theSouthern Group of Forces.The army along with most of its subordinate units were disbanded in 1947. The 25th Guards and 23rd Mechanized Divisions were reassigned to Ukraine.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^http:// tashv.nm.ru/BoevojSostavSA/1941/19410622.htmlArchived2010-03-06 at theWayback Machine,Boevoi Sostav Sovietskoi Armii czast I juni-dekabr 1941 goda Moskva 1966
- ^Erickson, John.The Road to Stalingrad.Cassell, 2003, page 163
- ^Erickson, page 164
- ^Nowakowski Tomasz, Skotnicki Mariusz Kijów 1941 Altair Warszawa 1995 page 20
- ^Erickson, page 168
- ^Erickson, page 169
- ^Nowakowski, Tomasz.Skotnicki Mariuszpage 25
- ^Nowakowski, Tomasz.Skotnicki Mariuszpage 27
- ^Erickson p. 203
- ^Nowakowski, Tomasz,Skotnicki Mariuszpage 46
- ^Fugate, Bryan,Lev Dvoriecki Blitzkrieg nad Dnieprem BellonaWarszawa 2001 page 226
- ^Keith E. Bonn, Slaughterhouse, Aberjona Press, 2005, p. 318
- ^"Боевой состав Советской Армии на 1 января 1943 г".Archived fromthe originalon 2013-05-29.Retrieved2013-04-07.
- ^Marchand, Vol. XXIII, pg.45-6
- Feskov, V.I.; K.A. Kalashnikov; V.I. Golikov. (2004).The Soviet Army in the Years of the 'Cold War' (1945-1991).Tomsk:Tomsk University Press.ISBN5-7511-1819-7.
- Marchand, Jean-Luc (2011).Order of Battle Soviet Army World War, 24 Volumes.West Chester, OH: The Nafziger Collection, Inc.
External links
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| Guards | |
| Tank/Mechanized | |
| Guards Tank/Mechanized | |
| Shock | |
| Cavalry | |
| Sapper |
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| Reserve Army |
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