The 24th Army was a field army of the Soviet Union's

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, afte ...

, formed in 1941 and active during the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

. The army was disbanded and reformed a number of times during the war.

First Formation

The army headquarters, formed from Headquarters Siberian Military District; under General Staff instructions of 25 June 1941 arrived on 28 June 1941 at

Vyazma Vyazma (russian: Вя́зьма) is a town and the administrative center of Vyazemsky District in Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Vyazma River, about halfway between Smolensk, the administrative center of the oblast, and Mozhaysk. Thr ...

, accepting on arrival in this area six Siberian rifle divisions of the high command reserve (RVGK). Involved in the Yelnya Offensive, August–September 1941. Headquarters disbanded 10 October 1941, having been destroyed in the Vyazma Pocket. Composition on 1 September 1941: : 19th Rifle Division : 100th Rifle Division : 106th Rifle Division :

107th Rifle Division 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

: 120th Rifle Division :

303rd Rifle Division The 303rd Rifle Division began service as a standard Red Army rifle division shortly after the German invasion, and in its first formation fought in the central part of the Soviet-German front for a few months, taking part in the first offensive su ...

: 309th Rifle Division :6th Moscow People's Militia Division :275th Corps Artillery Regiment :488th Corps Artillery Regiment :685th Corps Artillery Regiment :305th Gun Artillery Regiment :573rd Gun Artillery Regiment :105th Howitzer Artillery Regiment (RVGK) :544th Howitzer Artillery Regiment (RVGK) :533rd Antitank Artillery Regiment :879th Antitank Artillery Regiment :880th Antitank Artillery Regiment :24th Mortar Battalion : 102nd Tank Division : 105th Tank Division : 103rd Motorized Division :37th Engineer Battalion :88th Engineer Battalion :103rd Motorized Engineer Battalion :56th Motorized Pontoon-Bridge Battalion :38th Mixed Aviation Division :10th Fighter Aviation Regiment :163rd Fighter Aviation Regiment :50th Bomber Aviation Regiment :77th Assault Aviation Regiment Composition on 1 October 1941: : 19th Rifle Division :

103rd Rifle Division The 103rd Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, formed three times. It was first formed in 1939. It was converted into a motorized division and fought in the Yelnya Offensive. After being converted back to a rifle division it was ...

: 106th Rifle Division : 139th Rifle Division (II) : 170th Rifle Division : 309th Rifle Division :275th Corps Artillery Regiment :305th Gun Artillery Regiment :573rd Gun Artillery Regiment :103rd Howitzer Artillery Regiment (RVGK) :105th Howitzer Artillery Regiment (RVGK) :544th Howitzer Artillery Regiment (RVGK) :879th Antitank Artillery Regiment :880th Antitank Artillery Regiment :42nd Artillery Battalion :24th Mortar Battalion : 144th Tank Brigade : 146th Tank Brigade :37th Engineer Battalion :88th Engineer Battalion :103rd Motorized Engineer Battalion :56th Motorized Pontoon-Bridge Battalion :38th Mixed Aviation Division :10th Fighter Aviation Regiment :66th Assault Aviation Regiment

Second Formation

Reformed from 9 December 1941 to 4 January 1942 when it was redesignated as 1st Reserve Army (II). The army was assigned the 385th Rifle Division for less than a month. The army remained in the Moscow Defense Zone through April 1942 with no assigned forces.

Third Formation

Reformed again on 20 May 1942, from an Operational Group under the command of Major General Aleksei Grechkin while assigned to the Southern Front. The army was concentrated in the area of

Salsk Salsk (russian: Сальск) is a town and the administrative center of Salsky District in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located on the Sredny Yegorlyk River (Don's basin), southeast of Rostov-on-Don, the administrative center of the oblast. Populat ...

, Rostov Oblast. The army was then transferred to the

North Caucasus Front The North Caucasian Front or North Caucasus Front was a major formation of the Red Army during the Second World War. The North Caucasus Front describes either of two distinct organizations during the war. First Creation The first formation wa ...

on 28 July. In early August the units assigned were transferred to the

12th 12 (twelve) is the natural number following 11 and preceding 13. Twelve is a superior highly composite number, divisible by 2, 3, 4, and 6. It is the number of years required for an orbital period of Jupiter. It is central to many systems ...

and 37th Armies, and its headquarters relocated to

Grozny Grozny ( rus, Грозный, p=ˈgroznɨj; ce, Соьлжа-ГӀала, translit=Sölƶa-Ġala), also spelled Groznyy, is the capital city of Chechnya, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the 2010 census, it had a po ...

, Chechen Republic, Soviet Union, where it was assigned to the

Transcaucasian Front Transcaucasian Front or Transcaucasus Front (russian: Закавказский Фронт) was a front of the Soviet Red Army—a military formation comparable to an army group, not a geographic military front—during the Second World War. Th ...

. The army was disbanded on 23 August and the headquarters personnel were used to form the 58th Army (II) on August 28, 1942; Composition on 1 June 1942: : 73rd Rifle Division : 140th Rifle Division : 228th Rifle Division : 255th Rifle Division :1660th Sapper Battalion :1663rd Sapper Battalion On 1 August only the Sapper Battalions remained assigned to the Army.

Fourth Formation

Soon afterwards reformed again as part of the Stalingrad front from 9th Reserve Army on 1 September 1942. The army participated in the Battle of Stalingrad as part of both the Stalingrad and

Don Front The Don Front was a front of the Soviet Red Army during the Second World War, which existed between September 1942 and February 1943, and was commanded during its entire existence by Konstantin Rokossovsky. The name refers to Don River, Russia. Fo ...

s. In March–April 1943 relocated to the

Voronezh Voronezh ( rus, links=no, Воро́неж, p=vɐˈronʲɪʂ}) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on ...

area and was assigned to the

Steppe Military District The Steppe Military District () was a military district of the Soviet Union, formed twice. It was first formed in April 1943 during World War II near Voronezh as a strategic reserve, and after the beginning of the Battle of Kursk in July it became ...

as part of the STAVKA reserves for rebuilding. Was redesignated

4th Guards Army The 4th Guards Army was an elite Guards field army of the Soviet Union during World War II and the early postwar era. History On April 16, 1943, the Supreme Command ordered the army to be established. On May 5, 1943, the army was formed on the ...

in May 1943. Composition as of 1 September 1942: :

173rd Rifle Division 173rd or 173d may refer to: *173d Air Refueling Squadron, unit of the Nebraska Air National Guard 155th Air Refueling Wing *173D Special Troops Battalion, combat engineer battalion of the United States Army headquartered in Italy *173rd (3/1st Lond ...

: 207th Rifle Division : 221st Rifle Division :

292nd Rifle Division The 292nd Rifle Division () was an infantry division of the Soviet Union's Red Army during World War II, formed three times. The division was first formed in the summer of 1941 and was destroyed near Leningrad in the fall of that year. Reformed i ...

: 308th Rifle Division :1166th Gun Artillery Regiment :383rd Tank Destroyer Regiment :136th Mortar Regiment :247th Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment :278th Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment : 217th Tank Brigade Composition 1 May 1943: : 20th Guards Rifle Corps :: 5th Guards Airborne Division :: 7th Guards Airborne Division ::

8th Guards Airborne Division The 8th Guards Airborne Division was an airborne division of the Red Army during World War II. On 27 December 1944, it was renamed the 107th Guards Rifle Division. It became the 107th Guards Airborne Division on 7 June 1946, before being disbanded ...

21st Guards Rifle Corps First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

:: 68th Guards Rifle Division ::

69th Guards Rifle Division The 69th Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in February 1943, based on the 2nd formation of the 120th Rifle Division, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. It origina ...

84th Rifle Division The 84th Rifle Division () was an infantry division of the Red Army before and during World War II. History Prewar The 84th Rifle Division was formed in 1923 at Tula as one of several Red Army territorial divisions, assigned to the Moscow Mi ...

: 214th Rifle Division : 233rd Rifle Division : 252nd Rifle Division :452nd Tank Destroyer Regiment :1317th Tank Destroyer Regiment :466th Mortar Regiment : 27th Antiaircraft Division ::1354th Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment ::1358th Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment ::1364th Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment ::1370th Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment :48th Engineer Battalion

Commanders

*Lieutenant General

Stepan Kalinin Stepan Andrianovich Kalinin (russian: Степа́н Андриа́нович Кали́нин; 28 December 1890 – 11 September 1975) was a Soviet army commander. He fought in the Imperial Russian Army during World War I before going over to th ...

- (26 June – 15 July, 1941) *Major General Konstantin Rakutin - (15 July – 7 October, 1941)(KIA) *Major General Mikhail Ivanov - (10 December 1941 – 17 March 1942) *Major General of Artillery Iakov Broud - (17 March – 1 May, 1942) *Lieutenant General Ilia Smirnov - (12 May – 15 July, 1942) *Major General Vladimir Marcinkiewicz ( ru) - (15 July – 6 August, 1942) *Major General Vasily Khomenko (NKVD) - (7–23 August 1942) *Major General Dmitry Timofeyevich Kozlov - (August–October 1942) *Major General (Lieutenant General January 1943)

Ivan Galanin Ivan Vasilievich Galanin (; –12 November 1958) was a Red Army lieutenant general during World War II. Galanin was drafted into the Red Army in 1919 and fought as an ordinary soldier in the Russian Civil War. He became an officer during the inte ...

(October 1942 – April 1943) *Lieutenant General

Alexander Gorbatov Alexander Vasilyevich Gorbatov (russian: Алекса́ндр Васи́льевич Горба́тов; 21 March 1891 – 7 December 1973) was a Russian and Soviet officer who served as an officer in the Imperial Russian Army during the Fi ...

- (April 1943) *Major General

German Tarasov German Fyodorovich Tarasov (; – 19 October 1944) was a Red Army major general during World War II. An officer in the NKVD Border Troops before World War II, Tarasov was given command of the 249th Rifle Division after Operation Barbarossa, th ...

*Lieutenant General

Grigory Kulik Grigory Ivanovich Kulik ( ua, Григорій Іванович Кулик; russian: Григо́рий Ива́нович Кули́к, Grigóriy Ivánovich Kulík; 9 November 1890 – 24 August 1950), a Soviet Union, Soviet military commande ...

(April 1943)

References

Sources

* List No. 2, Appendix No. 3 to General Staff Directive No D-043of 1970. * Marchand, Jean-Luc. Order of Battle Soviet Army World War 2. The Nafziger Collection, 24 Volumes {{Armies of the Soviet Army

024 4 (four) is a number, numeral (linguistics), numeral and numerical digit, digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is tetraphobia, considered unlucky in many East Asian c ...

Military units and formations established in 1941 Military units and formations disestablished in 1943