The 62nd Army (russian: 62-я армия) was a
field army established by the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
'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 ...
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 ...
. Formed as the 7th 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 Stav ...
in May 1942, the formation was designated as the 62nd Army the following month. After an epic combat performance in the
Battle of Stalingrad, the 62nd Army was granted
Guards status and renamed the
8th Guards Army in April 1943.
History
The 7th Reserve Army was formed 28 May 1942 as part of the
Stavka Reserve (RVGK). Within one month, this force had been redesignated the 62nd Army. From mid August 1942 until late January 1943, the 62nd Army, under the command of 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 ...
, fought in the
Battle of Stalingrad. 62nd Army conducted an epic defense of the city against repeated and desperate attacks by the German
6th Army. The Army, along with the 64th Army, was operating under the Soviet
Stalingrad Front. After the German assault at Stalingrad had come to utter disaster, the 62nd Army was uniquely awarded the Order of Lenin, and granted Guards status as the
8th Guards Army.
On 13 September 1942 the Army composition was:
:
33rd,
35th Guards,
87th,
98th,
112th,
131st,
196th,
229th,
244th,
315th,
399th Rifle Divisions
:
10th
10 (ten) is the even natural number following 9 and preceding 11. Ten is the base of the decimal numeral system, by far the most common system of denoting numbers in both spoken and written language. It is the first double-digit number. The re ...
,
38th,
42nd,
115th,
124th,
129th,
149th Rifle Brigades post 9-27-1942
193rd Rifle Division
:
23rd Tank Corps
:20th Tank Destroyer Brigade
:115th
Fortified Region
A fortified district or fortified region (russian: Укреплённый район, Укрепрайон, ukreplyonny raion, ukrepraion) in the military terminology of the Soviet Union, is a territory within which a complex system of defense fo ...
:twelve artillery and mortar regiments
(Note: 33rd Guards, 87th and 229th rifle divisions were in the process of being brought up to strength; 131st and 399th rifle divisions were held in the second echelon of the Army.)
On 1 November 1942 during the height of the Battle of Stalingrad, the 62nd Army commanded the
13th
In music or music theory, a thirteenth is the note thirteen scale degrees from the root of a chord and also the interval between the root and the thirteenth. The interval can be also described as a compound sixth, spanning an octave pl ...
,
37th, and
39th Guards Rifle Divisions, the
45th,
95th, 112th,
138th,
193rd,
284th and
308th Rifle Divisions, the 42nd,
92nd, 115th, 124th, 149th, and
160th Rifle Brigades, the 84th Tank and 2nd Motor Rifle Brigades, the 115th Fortified Region, and 20 regiments of howitzer, gun, antitank, mortar, rocket, and anti-aircraft artillery among other support units.
Combat Composition of the Soviet Army
1 November 1942 (Russian) Many of these formations were burnt-out shells by the end of the Battle of Stalingrad, with many formations reduced to less than 5% of its original manpower. On 16 April 1943, the 62nd Army became the 8th Guards Army.
Commanders
*Jul 1942 to Aug 1942: Major General V. Ia. Kolpakchi
*Aug 1942 to Sep 1942: Lieutenant General A. I. Lopatin
*Sep 1942 to Apr 1943: Lieutenant General V. I. Chuikov
Notes
References
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{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2013
062
Military units and formations established in 1942
Military units and formations disestablished in 1943