The 20th Army was a

field army A field army (or numbered army or simply army) is a military formation in many armed forces, composed of two or more corps and may be subordinate to an army group. Likewise, air armies are equivalent formation within some air forces, and with ...

of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

that fought on the Eastern Front during

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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

First formation

The Army was first formed in the

Orel Military District The Orel Military District ( rus, Орловский военный округ (ОрВО), r=Orlovskiy voyennyy okrug (OrVO), p=) was a military district of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and the Soviet Union. Established in 1918 ...

in June 1941. On 22 June 1941 the Army was part of the

Reserve of the Supreme High Command The Reserve of the Supreme High Command (Russian: Резерв Верховного Главнокомандования; also known as the '' Stavka'' Reserve or RVGK ( ru , РВГК)) comprises reserve military formations and units; the Sta ...

and was located west of Moscow. On 27 June 1941 it was proposed to

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

that the Soviet armies ( 13th Army, 19th Army, 20th, 21st Army, and 22nd Army) would defend the line going through the

Daugava , be, Заходняя Дзвіна (), liv, Vēna, et, Väina, german: Düna , image = Fluss-lv-Düna.png , image_caption = The drainage basin of the Daugava , source1_location = Valdai Hills, Russia , mouth_location = Gulf of Riga, Baltic Se ...

Polotsk Polotsk (russian: По́лоцк; be, По́лацк, translit=Polatsk (BGN/PCGN), Polack (official transliteration); lt, Polockas; pl, Połock) is a historical city in Belarus, situated on the Dvina River. It is the center of the Polotsk Distr ...

Vitebsk Vitebsk or Viciebsk (russian: Витебск, ; be, Ві́цебск, ; , ''Vitebsk'', lt, Vitebskas, pl, Witebsk), is a city in Belarus. The capital of the Vitebsk Region, it has 366,299 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth-largest ci ...

Orsha Orsha ( be, О́рша, Во́рша, Orša, Vorša; russian: О́рша ; lt, Orša, pl, Orsza) is a city in Belarus in the Vitebsk Region, on the fork of the Dnieper and Arshytsa rivers. History Orsha was first mentioned in 1067 as Rsha ...

Mogilev Mogilev (russian: Могилёв, Mogilyov, ; yi, מאָלעוו, Molev, ) or Mahilyow ( be, Магілёў, Mahilioŭ, ) is a city in eastern Belarus, on the Dnieper River, about from the border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and from the bor ...

Mazyr russian: Мозырь , nickname = , image_skyline = Mazyr Montage (2017).jpg , imagesize = 250px , image_flag = , image_shield = Coat of Arms of Mazyr, Belarus.svg , image_map = , map_caption ...

as part of 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 reorganiza ...

. Committed as part of Western Front in defensive battles in Belarus, Smolensk, and Vyazma. By 5 August 1941 the army, in

David Glantz David M. Glantz (born January 11, 1942) is an American military historian known for his books on the Red Army during World War II and as the chief editor of ''The Journal of Slavic Military Studies''. Born in Port Chester, New York, Glantz r ...

's words, had been 'reduced to a skeleton.' The strength of the 289th Rifle Division had fallen to 285 men, 17 machine guns, and one anti-tank gun, the 73rd Rifle Division to 100 men and 4 to 5 machine guns, 144th Rifle Division to 440 men, and 153rd Rifle Division to 750 men.Two reports in ''SBDVOV'', issue 37, pages 271-273, dated 4 August 1941 and 5 August 1941 cited in

, ''Stumbling Colossus'', University Press of Kansas, 210. The Army HQ was disbanded having been encircled and destroyed in the Vyazma Pocket.

Order of Battle 22 June 1941

Source:

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. ...

(BSSA) via tashv.nm.ru and Leo Niehorster *

61st Rifle Corps The 61st Rifle Corps (Russian: 61-й стрелковый корпус '' '') was a Red Army infantry corps during World War II, formed twice. The 61st Rifle Corps was formed firmed in Tula during September 1939. After Operation Barbarossa, it was ...

110th Rifle Division The 110th Rifle Division was a formation of the Soviet Union's Red Army during the course of World War II, which was formed, dissolved, and re-formed three times throughout the war. History First formation The division was first formed 20 Septem ...

** 144th Rifle Division ** 172nd Rifle Division * 69th Rifle Corps ** 73rd Rifle Division ** 229th Rifle Division ** 233rd Rifle Division * 18th Rifle Division * 301st Howitzer Artillery Regiment (RGK) * 537th High Power Howitzer Artillery Regiment (RGK) * 438th Corps Artillery Regiment * 7th Mechanised Corps ** 14th Tank Division ** 18th Tank Division ** 1st Moscow Motor Rifle Division ** 9th Motorcycle Regiment * 60th Pontoon Bridge Battalion

Commanders

* Lieutenant General

Fyodor Remezov Fyodor Nikitich Remezov (; 6 June 1990) was a Soviet Army general during World War II who commanded several armies and military districts. Remezov joined the Red Army in 1918 and fought in the Russian Civil War as a junior commander. After the ...

(Jun–Jul 1941) * Lieutenant General

Pavel Kurochkin Pavel Alekseyevich Kurochkin (russian: Па́вел Алексе́евич Ку́рочкин; – 28 December 1989) was a Soviet army commander. Military career Pavel Kurochkin was born in the village of Gornevo, Smolensk Governorate. He ...

(Jul–Aug 1941) * Lieutenant General Mikhail Fedorovich Lukin (Aug–Sep 1941) * Lieutenant General Filipp Yershakov (Sep 1941 – Oct 1941) (POW)

Second formation

Reestablished in November 1941 from Operational Group Liziukov. Reformed November 1941 for the

Battle of Moscow The Battle of Moscow was a military campaign that consisted of two periods of strategically significant fighting on a sector of the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front during World War II. It took place between September 1941 and January ...

, including 331st and 350th Rifle Divisions, and the 28th, 35th, and 64th separate rifle brigades. Fought as part of the Western Front. In 1942-43 it operated on the Rzhev-Sychevka bridgehead (including

42nd Guards Rifle Division The 42nd Guards Priluki Order of Lenin Red Banner Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky Tank Division (Military Unit Number 29410) was an armoured division of the Soviet Ground Forces, active from 1957 to 1990. The division was formed with the Western F ...

from November 1942), and took part in the Rzhev-Vyazma offensive operation. In 1944 it became part of the

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, a ...

Reserve and was then reassigned to

Kalinin Front The Kalinin Front was a major formation of the Red Army active in the Eastern Front of World War II, named for the city of Kalinin. It was formally established by Stavka directive on 17 October 1941 and allocated three armies: 22nd, 29th Army a ...

and

Leningrad Front The Leningrad Front (russian: Ленинградский фронт) was formed during the 1941 German approach on Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) by dividing the Northern Front into the Leningrad Front and Karelian Front The Karelian Front ...

. It was disbanded in April 1944 by being dispersed within the formations of 3rd Baltic Front. The army was in strategic reserve from July 1943 to April 1944. In April 1944 the headquarters was disbanded and used to form the 3rd Baltic Front.

Commanders

* Lieutenant General

Andrey Vlasov Andrey Andreyevich Vlasov (russian: Андрéй Андрéевич Влáсов, – August 1, 1946) was a Soviet Red Army general and Nazi collaborator. During World War II, he fought in the Battle of Moscow and later was captured att ...

(Nov 1941 – Mar 1942) * Lieutenant General

Max Reyter Max Andreyevich Reyter (russian: Макс Андреевич Рейтер, link=no, lv, Mārtiņš Reiters; – 6 April 1950)Alternative transliterations found in English-language sources include Reiter and Reuter. was an Imperial Russian ...

(Mar–Sep 1942) * Major General

Nikolay Kiryukhin Nikolay Ivanovich Kiryukhin (; 2 August 1896 – 13 December 1953) was a Soviet Army lieutenant general and a Hero of the Soviet Union. A prewar Bolshevik, Kiryukhin was drafted into the Imperial Russian Army during World War I. He served as a ...

(Oct–Dec 1942) * Lieutenant General

Mikhail Khozin Mikhail Semyonovich Khozin (russian: Михаи́л Семёнович Хо́зин; 27 February 1979) was a Soviet general. He was the commander of the Leningrad Front from October 1941 to June 1942, until he was relieved from command and rep ...

(Dec 1942 – Jan 1943) * Lieutenant General Nikolai Berzarin (Jan–Mar 1943) * Major General

Arkady Yermakov Arkady Nikolayevich Yermakov ( – 25 October 1957) was a Soviet Army lieutenant general. Yermakov served as a Red Army commander during the Winter War and World War II. He served as the Senior Military Adviser to the Chinese People's Liberatio ...

(Mar–Aug 1943) * Lieutenant General Nikolai Berzarin (Aug–Sep 1943) * Major General

(Sep 1943) * Lieutenant General Anton Lopatin (Sep–Oct 1943) * Lieutenant General Nikolai Gusev (Nov 1943 – Apr 1944)

References

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