The 66th 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 ...

. It was established in August 1942 from the 8th Reserve Army. The 66th Army fought to break through to the

Volga The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the List of rivers of Europe#Rivers of Europe by length, longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Cas ...

to the north of

Stalingrad Volgograd ( rus, Волгогра́д, a=ru-Volgograd.ogg, p=vəɫɡɐˈɡrat), geographical renaming, formerly Tsaritsyn (russian: Цари́цын, Tsarítsyn, label=none; ) (1589–1925), and Stalingrad (russian: Сталингра́д, Stal ...

during September and October 1942. During

Operation Uranus Operation Uranus (russian: Опера́ция «Ура́н», Operatsiya "Uran") was the codename of the Soviet Red Army's 19–23 November 1942 strategic operation on the Eastern Front of World War II which led to the encirclement of Axis ...

, the Soviet encirclement of German troops in Stalingrad, 66th Army troops linked up with those of the

62nd Army The 62nd Army (russian: 62-я армия) was a field army established by the Soviet Union's Red Army during the Second World War. Formed as the 7th Reserve Army as part of the Reserve of the Supreme High Command in May 1942, the formation was des ...

, forming the inner encirclement. Until February the army fought to destroy the pocket and then was held in reserve. In May 1943 it became the 5th Guards Army for its actions during 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 ...

Commanders

Vladimir Kurdyumov Vladimir Nikolayevich Kurdyumov (russian: Владимир Николаевич Курдюмов 1 October 1895, Ilmen14 February 1970) was a Soviet Lieutenant General. Kurdyumov served in the Red Army since 1918 in World War I and the Russian Civ ...

(05.08.1942 -15.08.1942) *

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 ...

(15.08.1942 -27.08.1942) *

Rodion Malinovsky Rodion Yakovlevich Malinovsky (russian: Родио́н Я́ковлевич Малино́вский, ukr, Родіо́н Я́кович Малино́вський ; – 31 March 1967) was a Soviet military commander. He was Marshal of the Sovi ...

(27.08.1942 -14.10.1942) *

Aleksey Semenovich Zhadov Aleksey Semenovich Zhadov (russian: Алексе́й Семёнович Жа́дов), born with the surname "Zhidov" (russian: Жи́дов, 30 March 1901 - 30 November 1977), was a Soviet military officer in the Red Army, who during World War I ...

(14.10.1942 –16.04.1943)

Bibliography

*''Шестьдесят шестая армия'' // {{Armies of the Soviet Army Military units and formations established in 1942 Field armies of the Soviet Union Military units and formations disestablished in 1943