Jump to content

67th Army (Soviet Union)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
67th Army
Active1942–1945
CountrySoviet Union
BranchRed Army
TypeField army
EngagementsWorld War II
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Nikolai Simoniak

The67th Armywas a field army of theSoviet Union'sRed Army.The 67th Army was formed in October 1942 on theLeningrad Frontfrom the Neva Operational Group. It defended the right bank of theNeva River,holding theNevsky Pyatachokand covering theRoad of Life.In January 1943 the army fought inOperation Iskra.In late December, the army was combined with55th Army.The 67th Army headquarters was disbanded and 55th Army headquarters was renamed 67th Army headquarters. Between January and March 1944 67th Army fought in theLeningrad–Novgorod Offensive,in which it capturedMgaandLuga.In April the army became part of the3rd Baltic Frontand fought in thePskov-Ostrov Offensivein July and theTartu Offensivein August and September. The army fought in theRiga Offensivein September and October. The army then fought to eliminate theCourland Pocket.After the end of the war the army was disbanded during the summer of 1945.

History

[edit]

Formation

[edit]

The 67th Army was formed on 10 October 1942 on the basis of a Stavka directive dated on 9 October 1942. It was part of the Leningrad Front and was formed from the Neva Operational Group[1]as a result of the failure of theSinyavino Offensive,in which the Neva Operational Group was unable to capture significant bridgeheads across the Neva. The Operational Group was reinforced with new units and redesignated the 67th Army.[2]The 67th Army's first commander was Major GeneralMikhail Dukhanov.By early November, it included the45th Guards,46th,and86th Rifle Divisions,the 11th and 55th Rifle Brigades, the 16th Fortified Area, and artillery, tank, and other units. The army defended the right bank of the Neva from the rapids toLake Ladoga.At the same time it held the Nevsky Pyatachok and covered the Road of Life across Lake Ladoga.[3][4]During late December the army conducted training operations in preparation for the forthcoming Operation Iskra, an offensive aimed at defeating the18th Armyin theShlisselburg-Sinyavinobulge and lifting the Siege of Leningrad.[5]

1943 Operations around Leningrad

[edit]

Operation Iskra began on 12 January. On 12 January, after an artillery bombardment, the army advanced along a 12-kilometer front across the ice on the Neva with four rifle divisions between Shlisselburg andDubrovka.[5]The 45th Guards Rifle Division and 86th Rifle Division's attacks were repulsed by German troops. The 136th and 268th Rifle Divisions attacked around Marino, losing 3,000 casualties. The two divisions overran forward German divisions and captured Marino, capturing a bridgehead. The German170th Infantry Divisionformed a defense line around theGorodokhospital and power plant, stopping the advance.[6]

Troops of the 67th Army and 2nd Shock Army link up during Operation Iskra

On 13 January, the army's 136th Rifle Division and the 61st Tank Brigade advanced four kilometers to the east. The 170th Infantry Division counterattacked after the failure of the Soviet attack there, forcing the 268th Division back two kilometers. For the next three days the army advanced to the northeast but was stopped at Gorodok. On the morning of 18 January the army linked up with theVolkhov Front's2nd Shock Army.The 136th Rifle Division and 61st Tank Brigade advanced into Workers Settlement No. 5 and the 86th Rifle Division captured Shlisselburg. German troops established a new defensive line and the 67th Army continued to attack Gorodok on 20 January but was unsuccessful.[7]

The 67th Army supported the attack in theBattle of Krasny Bor,capturing Gorodok after six days on 18 February.[8]On 22 July, the 67th Army attacked the Sinyavino Heights from the west. Its30th Guards Rifle Corpswas stopped by German resistance. The attack continued at a lower intensity until 22 August. The attack was begun again on 15 September and the 30th Guards Rifle Corps captured the Sinyavino Heights.[9]On 25 December, the 67th Army's headquarters was disbanded and 55th Army's headquarters was renamed 67th Army headquarters. 55th Army commander Lieutenant generalVladimir Sviridovtook command.[3][4]

Leningrad-Novgorod Offensive

[edit]

On 1 January 1944, the army included the116thand118th Rifle Corps,the291st Rifle Division,14th Fortified Area, 81st Gun Artillery Brigade, artillery, engineering, and other units.[10]The army fought in the Leningrad-Novgorod Offensive. Operating in conjunction with the troops of the Volkhov Front it defeated the Mga and Luga groups of German troops and captured Mga on 21 January. The army attempted to surround the GermanXXVII Army CorpsandXXVIII Army Corpsfrom the north, but its attacks were stopped by the12th Panzer Division.[11]The army captured Luga on 12 February.[12]Continuing the offensive, the army reached the Pskov-Ostrov fortified area at the end of February. In March Sviridov was replaced by Lieutenant generalVladimir Romanovsky.[3][4]

Operations in the Baltic

[edit]

On 24 April the 67th Army became part of the newly formed 3rd Baltic Front. By 1 June 1944, the army comprised the 110th Rifle Corps (168th,265th,268th Rifle Divisions), 116th Rifle Corps (85th,86th,291st Rifle Divisions), 119th Rifle Corps (198th,285th,326th Rifle Divisions) and 123rd Rifle Corps (56th,239th,364th Rifle Divisions).[13]

It fought in the Pskov-Ostrov Offensive between 17 and 21 July. The army captured Ostrov on 21 July. Between 10 August and 6 September it fought in the Tartu Offensive. The army broke through the lines of GermanXXXVIII Army Corpson the first day of the offensive and capturedPechoryon the next day.[14]The army capturedVoruon 13 August, at which point the army's advance was shifted towardsTartu.Tartu was captured on 25 August,[15]after a day of heavy street fighting.[16]Between 14 September and 22 October the army fought in the Riga Offensive. The army helped push back the German16thand 18th Armies and capturedRigaon 13 October, reaching the coast. On 16 October the army became part of theLeningrad Front.The army then took up defensive positions to secure the coast of the Gulf of Riga. In March 1945Nikolai Simoniakbecame the army's commander. The Courland Pocket surrendered at the end of the war in early May.[3]The army was disbanded between June and July.[4]The army headquarters was disbanded on 2 August in theLeningrad Military District. [17]

Commanders

[edit]

References

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^Forczyk 2009,p. 23.
  2. ^Forczyk 2009,p. 69.
  3. ^abcd"67-я АРМИЯ"[67th Army].bdsa.ru(in Russian).Retrieved2016-07-12.
  4. ^abcd"67-я армия"[67th Army].victory.mil.ru(in Russian). Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. Archived fromthe originalon 2 June 2008.Retrieved12 July2016.
  5. ^abErickson 1999,p. 60.
  6. ^Forczyk 2009,pp. 72–73.
  7. ^Forczyk 2009,pp. 74–75.
  8. ^Forczyk 2009,p. 77.
  9. ^Forczyk 2009,pp. 84–85.
  10. ^Combat composition of the Soviet Army,1 January 1944
  11. ^Buttar 2013,p. 170.
  12. ^Erickson 1999,p. 175.
  13. ^Combat composition of the Soviet Army
  14. ^Buttar 2013,p. 231.
  15. ^Erickson 1999,p. 322.
  16. ^Buttar 2013,p. 234.
  17. ^Feskov et al 2013,p. 131.

Bibliography

[edit]
  • Buttar, Prit (2013).Between Giants: The Battle for the Baltics in World War II.London: Bloomsbury.ISBN9781472802873.
  • Erickson, John (1999) [1983].Stalin's War with Germany: The road to Berlin.New Haven: Yale University Press.ISBN9780300078138.
  • Feskov, V.I.; Golikov, V.I.; Kalashnikov, K.A.; Slugin, S.A. (2013).Вооруженные силы СССР после Второй Мировой войны: от Красной Армии к Советской[The Armed Forces of the USSR after World War II: From the Red Army to the Soviet: Part 1 Land Forces] (in Russian). Tomsk: Scientific and Technical Literature Publishing.ISBN9785895035306.
  • Forczyk, Robert (2009).Leningrad 1941–44: The epic siege.Oxford: Osprey.ISBN9781846034411.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=67th_Army_(Soviet_Union)&oldid=1177923385"