The 64th Army (russian: 64-я армия) 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 ...

established by the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

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 ...

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 opposin ...

. Formed as the 1st Reserve Army as 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 ...

in April 1942, the formation was designated as the 64th Army in July 1942. The Army distinguished itself at the

Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad (23 August 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II where Nazi Germany and its allies unsuccessfully fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (later re ...

, was granted Guards status and renamed the

7th Guards Army The 7th Guards Army was a field army of the Red Army during World War II and of the Soviet Army during the Cold War. History The 7th Guards Army was formed from the 64th Army on April 16, 1943. 64th Army had originally been formed from 1s ...

in April 1943.

History

After its creation, the 64th Army was included in the newly formed Stalingrad Front. With the beginning of the Stalingrad Strategic Defensive Operation, its advanced troops fought hard battles with the vanguards of the 6th German Army on the Tsimle River. The 64th Army repelled the offensive of the southern strike group of the enemy around

Surovikino Surovikino (russian: Сурови́кино) is a town and the administrative center of Surovikinsky District in Volgograd Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Chir and Don Rivers (Tsimlyansk Reservoir), west of Volgograd, the admi ...

, Rychkovo and further on the left bank of the Don. In early August, due to the threat of the 4th Panzer Army breaking through to Stalingrad from the southwest, the army troops were moved there and continued to conduct defensive battles. Since August 7, the army was part of the

Southeastern Front The Southeastern Front was a front of the Red Army during World War II. It was formed on August 5, 1942, out of parts of the Stalingrad Front, using the command elements from the First Tank Army and the disbanded Southern Front. The front's mai ...

(since September 28 Stalingrad Front 2nd Formation). At the end of August it repelled the enemy's attacks on the middle area, and in early September it was assigned to the internal defensive area of Stalingrad and was stationed around Staro-Dubovka, Elhi and Ivanovka, where it fought hard battles until September 12. Later it defended the southwestern outskirts and the southern part of Stalingrad. After the breakthrough of the defense of the South-Eastern Front at the junction of the 62nd and 64th armies and the withdrawal of its troops to the Volga in the area of Kuporosnoy, the main forces of the army defended the area south and southwest of Stalingrad, from where they systematically launched counterattacks on the flank of the enemy group who tried to take over the city. During the transition to the counter-offensive, the army was a part of the main strike group of the Stalingrad front and subsequently fought in the enemy's encirclement. On January 1, 1943, as part of the Don Front, it participated in the liquidation of the encircled German troops in Stalingrad. Since July 12, 1942 it was part of the Stalingrad Front and since January 1, 1943, of the

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 ...

. After the end of the Battle of Stalingrad, the 64th Army was from February 6, 1943 part of an Army group of troops under the command of Lieutenant General Kusma Trubnikov, which were held in reserve. Since the beginning of March 1943 it was part of the

Voronezh Front The 1st Ukrainian Front (Russian: Пéрвый Украи́нский фронт), previously the Voronezh Front (Russian: Воронежский Фронт) was a major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to a ...

and was engaged in defensive battles on the Donets River in the Belgorod region.. On May 1, 1943, the 64th Army was transformed into the

Army composition

: 36th Guards Rifle Division, :

29th Rifle Division The 29th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army and later the Soviet Army. It was first formed in November 1920 from the 1st Siberian Rifle Division, and fought in the Russian Civil War in Siberia. It was relocated to Belarus in 1 ...

, :

38th Rifle Division The 38th Rifle Division (38-я стрелковая дивизия) was an infantry division of the Soviet Union's Red Army during World War II. Formed in 1918 as the 2nd Don Infantry Division. In February 1919, as part of the 1st Army, the Div ...

, :

126th 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 ...

, : 138th Rifle Division, : 157th Rifle Division, : 169th Rifle Division, :

399th Rifle Division The 399th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army. Partially raised in 1941, this formation was abandoned until a second formation began in February 1942, this time in the far east of Siberia. The formation lasted until July, after ...

, :66th Marine Rifle Brigade, :157th Marine Rifle Brigade :Krasnodar Infantry School :118th fortified area :594th Cannon Artillery Regiment :156th separate bridge-building battalion

Commanders

*10 July 1942 to 4 August 1942: Lieutenant General

Vasily Chuikov Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov (russian: link=no, Васи́лий Ива́нович Чуйко́в; ; – 18 March 1982) was a Soviet military commander and Marshal of the Soviet Union. He is best known for commanding the 62nd Army which saw h ...

*4 August 1942 to 17 April 1943: Lieutenant General

Mikhail Shumilov Mikhail Stepanovich Shumilov (; November 17, 1895 – June 28, 1975) was a Soviet Colonel general and commander of the 64th Army during the Battle of Stalingrad. There he defended the southern outskirts of the city and the bridgehead of Beketov ...

Sources

64th Army in World War II on the website of the club "Memory" of Voronezh State University
* * {{Armies of the Soviet Army 064 Military units and formations established in 1942 Military units and formations disestablished in 1943