The 69th Army (russian: 69-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 army, air armies are equivalent formation within some air forces, ...

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 nationa ...

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

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 ...

History

Formation, Operation Star, and Third Battle of Kharkov

The army was formed in February 1943 with 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 ...

from the 18th Rifle Corps, under the command of Lieutenant General

Mikhail Kazakov Mikhail Ilyich Kazakov (; – 25 December 1979) was an Army General (Soviet rank), army general of the Soviet Army and a Hero of the Soviet Union. After serving as an ordinary soldier in the final stages of the Russian Civil War, Kazakov became ...

. It originally included the 161st, 180th and 270th Rifle Divisions, the 1st Destroyer Division (an anti-tank unit), the 37th Rifle and 173rd Tank Brigades, as well as artillery and other units. By the time it was sent into combat, the army had been reinforced with two more rifle divisions and a tank regiment, and had a strength of around 40,000 men and 50 tanks. Without finishing its formation, the army was sent into battle in

Operation Star Operation Star or Operation Zvezda (russian: Звезда, lit=Star) was a Red Army offensive on the Eastern Front of World War II begun on 2 February 1943. The attack was the responsibility of the Voronezh Front under the command of Filipp Go ...

, an offensive which aimed to recapture

Kharkov Kharkiv ( uk, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest city and municipality in Ukraine.

. The offensive began on 4 February and the army experienced initial success, defeating opposing German units southwest of Novy Oskol and recapturing

Volchansk Volchansk (russian: Волча́нск) is a town under the administrative jurisdiction of the Town of Karpinsk in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Volchanka River (a right tributary of the Sosva in the Ob's basin), north of Y ...

alongside the 38th Army on 9 February. Developing the offensive, its troops crossed the

Donets The Seversky Donets () or Siverskyi Donets (), usually simply called the Donets, is a river on the south of the East European Plain. It originates in the Central Russian Upland, north of Belgorod, flows south-east through Ukraine (Kharkiv, D ...

, and operating in conjunction with the 3rd Tank Army and the

40th Army The 40th Army (, ''40-ya obshchevoyskovaya armiya'', "40th Combined Arms Army") of the Soviet Ground Forces was an army-level command that participated in World War II from 1941 to 1945 and was reformed specifically for the Soviet–Afghan War fr ...

, recaptured Kharkov on 16 February. When the offensive was stopped by the German counterattack that began the

Third Battle of Kharkov The Third Battle of Kharkov was a series of battles on the Eastern Front of World War II, undertaken by Army Group South of Nazi Germany against the Soviet Red Army, around the city of Kharkov between 19 February and 15 March 1943. Known ...

in early March, the 69th had reached the area southeast of Oposhnya and southwest of

Valka Valka (; german: Walk) is a town and municipality in northern Latvia, on the border with Estonia along both banks of the river Pedele. Valka and the Estonian town Valga are twins, separated by the Estonian/Latvian border but using the slogan "O ...

and Sharovka. During the Third Battle of Kharkov, the army was able to hold the German attacks for three days but was forced to withdraw back to the left bank of the Donets on the line between Shishino and Bezlyudovka, where the German advance was finally halted. As a result of heavy losses, the 69th was withdrawn to the front reserve on 20 March.

Postwar

After the end of the war, the army became part of the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany. Its headquarters was relocated to

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world an ...

, where it was used to form the headquarters of the Baku Military District in August.

Commanders

*Lieutenant General

(02.02.1943 - 22.03.1943) *Major General

Vasily Kryuchenkin Vasily Dmitrievich Kryuchenkin (, ; January 13, 1894 – June 10, 1976, Kyiv) was a Soviet Lieutenant general during World War II who commanded several armies. Before World War II He was born in the village of Karpovka in the Orenburg Ob ...

(22.03.1943 - 03.04.1944), Lieutenant General since 28.06.1943 *Lieutenant General Vladimir Kolpakchi (03.04.1944 - end of war)

References

Citations

Bibliography

* {{Armies of the Soviet Army Field armies of the Soviet Union Military units and formations established in 1943 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945