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The 16th Army was a field army 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, afte ...
during the
Russian Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Russian Civil War , partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I , image = , caption = Clockwise from top left: {{flatlist, *Soldiers ...
era. It was originally formed as the Western Army (russian: Западная Армия) on November 15, 1918, by the
Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...
for the purpose of recovering territories lost by the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
during the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and establishing
Soviet republics The Republics of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or the Union Republics ( rus, Сою́зные Респу́блики, r=Soyúznye Respúbliki) were national-based administrative units of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( ...
in those territories. The Western Army engaged various local forces from the Baltic States,
Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...
,
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
and
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
, and its actions contributed to starting the
Polish–Soviet War The Polish–Soviet War (Polish–Bolshevik War, Polish–Soviet War, Polish–Russian War 1919–1921) * russian: Советско-польская война (''Sovetsko-polskaya voyna'', Soviet-Polish War), Польский фронт (' ...
of 1919–1920. The army fought in the Polish Soviet War under the command of
Nikolai Sollogub Nikolai Vladimirovich Sollogub (russian: Николай Владимирович Соллогуб; – 7 August 1937) was a Soviet military specialist who served in World War I, the Russian Civil War, and the Polish-Soviet War, reaching the rank ...
and advanced westwards into Poland in July 1920 before being thrown back during the Battle of Warsaw in August. The army retreated east into Belarus and was disbanded in May 1921.


History


Formation

After the
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (also known as the Treaty of Brest in Russia) was a separate peace treaty signed on 3 March 1918 between Russia and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire), that ended Russia's ...
, the newly established Russo-German border was controlled on the Russian side, by the so-called Western Section of Curtain Troops (Западный участок отрядов завесы), or simply the Western Curtain. The curtain was a sparse and heterogeneous set of detachments. Its commander was
Vladimir Egoryev Vladimir Nikolayevich Yegoryev (russian: Влади́мир Никола́евич Его́рьев; March 16, 1869 – September 20, 1948) was a military commander and military expert of the Russian Empire, Russian SFSR, and Soviet Uni ...
. (His official rank was "military leader" (военный руководитель), since he was a former
Tsarist Tsarist autocracy (russian: царское самодержавие, transcr. ''tsarskoye samoderzhaviye''), also called Tsarism, was a form of autocracy (later absolute monarchy) specific to the Grand Duchy of Moscow and its successor states ...
general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...
) The Western Curtain covered over 800 kilometres along the line Nevel
Polotsk Polotsk (russian: По́лоцк; be, По́лацк, translit=Polatsk (BGN/PCGN), Polack (official transliteration); lt, Polockas; pl, Połock) is a historical city in Belarus, situated on the Dvina River. It is the center of the Polotsk Dist ...
Senno
Orsha Orsha ( be, О́рша, Во́рша, Orša, Vorša; russian: О́рша ; lt, Orša, pl, Orsza) is a city in Belarus in the Vitebsk Region, on the fork of the Dnieper and Arshytsa rivers. History Orsha was first mentioned in 1067 as Rsha ...
Mogilev Mogilev (russian: Могилёв, Mogilyov, ; yi, מאָלעוו, Molev, ) or Mahilyow ( be, Магілёў, Mahilioŭ, ) is a city in eastern Belarus, on the Dnieper River, about from the border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and from the bor ...
Zhlobin Zhlobin ( be, Жло́бін; russian: Жло́бин, pl, Żłobin, lt, Žlobinas) is a city in the Zhlobin District of Gomel Region, Belarus, located on the Dnieper river. As of 2017, the population was 76,078. The city is notable for being ...
Gomel Gomel (russian: Гомель, ) or Homiel ( be, Гомель, ) is the administrative centre of Gomel Region and the second-largest city in Belarus with 526,872 inhabitants (2015 census). Etymology There are at least six narratives of the o ...
Novy Oskol Novy Oskol (russian: Но́вый Оско́л) is a town and the administrative center of Novooskolsky District in Belgorod Oblast, Russia, northeast of Belgorod, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: It is called Novy Oskol (N ...
. Eventually the Western Curtain was arranged into seven detachments with over 20,000 troops. This number was actually very small in relation to the area it covered, and insufficient in case of any larger battle. Moreover, part of its manpower was moved to other bottlenecks of the
Russian Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Russian Civil War , partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I , image = , caption = Clockwise from top left: {{flatlist, *Soldiers ...
. Eventually, further recruiting by 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, afte ...
allowed a reorganization of the detachments of the Curtain into regular
division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...
s, and the Western Curtain was further reorganized into the Western Defense Region (Западный район обороны). It was created by the Revolutionary Military Council order #3/2 on September 11, 1918, headquartered at Kaluga. The Region extended from Petrograd to the Western edge of the Southern Front, and was commanded by
Andrei Snesarev Andrei Evgenyevich Snesarev (13 December 1865, Staraya Kalitva, – 4 December 1937, Moscow) was a Russian linguist, orientalist and military leader. Andrei was the son of a Russian Orthodox priest. After attending gymnasium school at Novocherk ...
. After the
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (also known as the Treaty of Brest in Russia) was a separate peace treaty signed on 3 March 1918 between Russia and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire), that ended Russia's ...
was annulled by the Soviets on November 13, 1918 the Western Defense Region was transformed into the Western Army (November 15, 1918), garrisoned in
Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest ...
. It was composed of: the Pskov Infantry Division (later the
Lithuanian Rifle Division Lithuanian may refer to: * Lithuanians * Lithuanian language * The country of Lithuania * Grand Duchy of Lithuania * Culture of Lithuania * Lithuanian cuisine * Lithuanian Jews as often called "Lithuanians" (''Lita'im'' or ''Litvaks'') by other Jew ...
), the 17th Vitebsk Rifle Division, the Western Rifle Division and units of the 2nd Area of Front Defense. By the end of 1918, the strength of the Western (16th) Army was around 19,000 men, but had little artillery or cavalry (8 guns and 261 horses total). Over the next few months the strength of the Army grew to 46,000 men due to conscription and the mobilization of Communist Party members. It was considered by the Soviet High Command to be one of the least important armies in that period.


Westward advance

Immediately after its formation, on November 17, 1918, the Western Army started a bloodless advance, following the retreat of the German forces, in the direction of
Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...
and
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
. The purpose of the Russian westward offensive of 1918–1919 was to take control over the territory abandoned by the German Army retreating from the Ober-Ost theater of operations. Later the Soviet Western Army engaged various self-defence and militia groups from Belarus, Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine. Among scores of battles, the Battle of Bereza Kartuska on February 14, 1919 sparked the
Polish–Soviet War The Polish–Soviet War (Polish–Bolshevik War, Polish–Soviet War, Polish–Russian War 1919–1921) * russian: Советско-польская война (''Sovetsko-polskaya voyna'', Soviet-Polish War), Польский фронт (' ...
. The army became part of the Western Front on February 19, and was renamed the Lithuanian-Belorussian Army on March 13. With this redesignation, the army officially became the army of the Lithuanian-Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, a Soviet puppet state covering the territory of Lithuania and Belorussia. On June 9, it became the 16th Army after it was pushed out of Lithuania after retreating from
Panevėžys Panevėžys (; Latin: ''Panevezen''; pl, Poniewież; yi, פּאָנעװעזש, ''Ponevezh''; see also other names) is the fifth largest city in Lithuania. As of 2011, it occupied with 113,653 inhabitants. As defined by Eurostat, the population ...
in the Lithuanian War of Independence. Around the same time, the army headquarters was moved forward to Mogilev. The army continued to retreat until August, ceding
Molodechno Maladzyechna ( be, Маладзе́чна, Maladziečna, ; russian: Молоде́чно, Molodechno; pl, Mołodeczno) is a city in the Minsk Region of Belarus, an administrative centre of the Maladzyechna District (and formerly of the Maladzyech ...
and
Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...
to Polish troops, and in August took up defensive positions on the line of the Berezina River. From August 14, it was commanded by
Nikolai Sollogub Nikolai Vladimirovich Sollogub (russian: Николай Владимирович Соллогуб; – 7 August 1937) was a Soviet military specialist who served in World War I, the Russian Civil War, and the Polish-Soviet War, reaching the rank ...
. In September, the army headquarters was relocated back to Smolensk, but moved to
Novozybkov Novozybkov (russian: Новозы́бков; be, Навазыбкаў) is a historical town in Bryansk Oblast, Russia. Population: The city has a branch of the Bryansk State University. History It was founded in 1701 and was granted town statu ...
from March and May 1920. Between March and April 1920, the army fought to capture
Mozyr Mazyr ( be, Мазыр, ; russian: Мозырь ''Mozyr'' , pl, Mozyrz , Yiddish: מאזיר) is a city in the Gomel Region of Belarus on the Pripyat River about east of Pinsk and northwest of Chernobyl. It is located at approximately . The p ...
. In May, the headquarters moved back to Mogilev.


Polish-Soviet War


May Offensive

From May 14 to June 8, 1920, the army fought in the Western Front counterattack against the Polish Kiev Offensive, the May Offensive. In the counterattack, planned by front commander
Mikhail Tukhachevsky Mikhail Nikolayevich Tukhachevsky ( rus, Михаил Николаевич Тухачевский, Mikhail Nikolayevich Tukhachevskiy, p=tʊxɐˈtɕefskʲɪj;  – 12 June 1937) nicknamed the Red Napoleon by foreign newspapers, was a Sovie ...
, the 16th Army was to frontally attack the Polish 4th Army at
Borisov Borisov or Borisova may refer to: Places * Barysaw, or Borisov, Belarus ** Borisov Arena, a football stadium ** Battle of Borisov, 1812 * Borisov, Volgograd Oblast, Russia * Borišov, a mountain in Slovakia * Borisova, Perm Krai, Russia * Bor ...
and
Igumen Hegumen, hegumenos, or igumen ( el, ἡγούμενος, trans. ), is the title for the head of a monastery in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, similar to the title of abbot. The head of a convent of nuns is called a hegumenia ...
and keep it from moving to reinforce threatened Polish units, while the 15th Army, the main force, would advance southwest towards Molodechno, then wheel around and push the 1st Polish Army into the rear of the 4th, driving them into the
Pripet marshes __NOTOC__ The Pinsk Marshes ( be, Пінскія балоты, ''Pinskiya baloty''), also known as the Pripet Marshes ( be, Прыпяцкія балоты, ''Prypiackija baloty''), the Polesie Marshes, and the Rokitno Marshes, are a vast natural ...
and destroying them there. The attack began on May 14, but failed when the Soviet advance was unable to build momentum and the 15th Army was counterattacked and forced into a disorderly retreat at the beginning of June. The 16th Army crossed the
Berezina The Berezina or Biarezina ( be, Бярэ́зіна; ) is a river in Belarus and a right tributary of the Dnieper. The river starts in the Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve. The length of the Berezina is 613 km. The width of the river is 15-20 m, the ...
and created a bridgehead, but was itself counterattacked and forced to retreat back across the Berezina.


July Offensive and Battle of Warsaw

Between July 4 and 23, the army fought in the July Offensive, the renewed Soviet offensive in the war. During the offensive, the army rapidly advanced through Belarus, capturing Igumen,
Bobruisk Babruysk, Babrujsk or Bobruisk ( be, Бабруйск , Łacinka: , rus, Бобруйск, Bobrujsk, bɐˈbruɪ̯s̪k, yi, באָברויסק ) is a city in the Mogilev Region of eastern Belarus on the Berezina River. , its population was 209 ...
, Minsk, Baranovichi, Slonim, and
Vawkavysk Vawkavysk ( be, Ваўкавы́ск, ; russian: Волковы́ск; pl, Wołkowysk; lt, Valkaviskas; yi, וואלקאוויסק; names in other languages) is one of the oldest towns in southwestern Belarus and the capital of the Vawkavysk ...
. On July 25, the Soviet attack on Warsaw began, culminating in the Battle of Warsaw. The 16th Army continued to advance westward, and on the night of August 1, the army attacked Polish general Wladyslaw Sikorski's Polesie Group at Brest-Litovsk after crossing the Western Bug, and captured the town, breaching the fourth and final Polish defensive line in front of Warsaw. The army was unable to exploit its success by quickly advancing on Warsaw, however, because a counterattack by Sikorski in the first week of August threw it back across the Western Bug. On August 8, Tukhachevsky issued his order for the capture of Warsaw, in which the 16th Army was to attack the city from the east, covered on its flank by the Mozyr Group of Forces. During the Battle of Radzymin between August 13 and 16, the army's 27th Omsk Rifle Division, commanded by
Vitovt Putna Vitovt Kazimirovich Putna (russian: Ви́товт Казими́рович Пу́тна, lt, Vytautas Putna; 1893–1937) was a Soviet Red Army officer of Lithuanian origin. A World War I veteran of the Imperial Russian Army and Bolshevik s ...
, fought to capture
Radzymin Radzymin is a town in Poland and is one of the distant suburbs of the city of Warsaw. It is located in the powiat of Wołomin of the Masovian Voivodeship. The town has 8,818 inhabitants (as of 2008, but the surrounding commune is heavily pop ...
, which changed hands more than five times during the fighting. At the same time, Polish leader
Józef Piłsudski Józef Klemens Piłsudski (; 5 December 1867 – 12 May 1935) was a Polish statesman who served as the Naczelnik państwa, Chief of State (1918–1922) and Marshal of Poland, First Marshal of Second Polish Republic, Poland (from 1920). He was ...
's Assault Group began the counteroffensive. They quickly broke through the understrength Mozyr Group on 16th Army's flank, and on 18 August the army came under attack from both the three divisions of the Assault Group's 4th Army on its flank and the
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 ...
and 15th Divisions advancing from Warsaw on its front. Under pressure, the three southernmost divisions of the 16th Army began a precipitate retreat to the east, but then were attacked in turn by troops from the Assault Group. As a result of these actions, the 8th and 10th Rifle Divisions were destroyed, while the 2nd Rifle Division suffered heavy losses. The 17th Rifle Division lost communication with the rest of the army in the chaos, leaving the Putna's 27th as the only intact unit in the army. Out of touch with the situation at the front due to Polish radio jamming, Tukhachevsky ordered Sollogub to create a defensive line between Radzymin and Brest-Litovsk with his southern divisions to prevent Polish troops from attacking the Soviet rear. For this purpose, the army's commander was given permission to draw on the 60,000 replacements near Grodno. Sollogub issued the orders on August 19, when army headquarters had lost contact with all of its units, so they were not received. Early on the next day, he was almost captured by Feliks Jaworski's Polish cavalry brigade at his headquarters in Ostrożany. By this time, most of the army had fled across the Bug towards Białystok, with only the 27th Division holding a couple of crossings to allow stragglers to pass through. By August 21, the army's remnants were hurriedly retreating eastwards in small groups, mostly avoiding roads and towns, with the 27th Division, down to 25% strength, guarding the rear and covering the retreat of both the 16th Army and the Mozyr Group. On August 22, Białystok was captured by the Polish
1st Legions Infantry Division Polish 1st Legions Infantry Division () was a tactical unit of the Polish Army between the World Wars. Formed on February 20, 1919, partially of veterans of the I Brigade of the Polish Legions, the unit saw extensive action during the Polish-Bol ...
, cutting off stragglers from the army and the Mozyr Group. The 27th Division launched a counterattack and briefly opened the road, but Putna left the area after a Polish counterattack retook the gains, leaving the stragglers to capture. Three days later, the division crossed the
Niemen The Neman, Nioman, Nemunas or MemelTo bankside nations of the present: Lithuanian: be, Нёман, , ; russian: Неман, ''Neman''; past: ger, Memel (where touching Prussia only, otherwise Nieman); lv, Nemuna; et, Neemen; pl, Niemen; ...
, moving towards Vawkavysk, away from the Polish forces. After withdrawing east of the Niemen back into Belarus, Tukhachevsky began preparations for renewing the offensive. As part of the resulting reorganization of the Red Army units of the front, the two best units of the 16th Army, the 2nd and 27th Divisions, were transferred to the 15th Army. In exchange, the army received the 48th and 56th Rifle Divisions, bringing it back up to its strength before the Battle of Warsaw, and its headquarters was located at Slonim.


Battle of the Niemen River and operations in Belarus

However, Pilsudski launched his attack, known as the Battle of the Niemen River, on September 21. Although the Soviet line initially held, Polish forces moved through Lithuania, then swept south into the rear of the Soviet northern flank, which began a disorganized retreat. In the center, the 15th and 16th Armies retreated in an orderly fashion thanks to the actions of the 27th Division, the southernmost of the 15th Army units. By October 1, the units of the two armies were holding positions in a line of old Russian World War I trenches, opposite the former Polish positions from before the July Offensive. The defense line was quickly broken through by the Polish advance, and by the time the Polish troops captured Minsk and reached the Berezina on October 15, the 16th Army had been reduced to a skeleton of its original size. The war ended on the next day when the cease-fire between Poland and the RSFSR took effect. On October 17, the army was reinforced with troops from the disbanded 4th Army. From October, it was headquartered at Mogilev. Between November and December, the 16th Army fought against Stanisław Bułak-Bałachowicz's troops. On December 7, the army received the troops of the disbanded 3rd Army. In March, the Gomel Fortified Region became part of the 16th Army. The army was disbanded on May 7, 1921, and its troops distributed to other Western Front units.


Commanders

The army was commanded by the following officers: *
Andrei Snesarev Andrei Evgenyevich Snesarev (13 December 1865, Staraya Kalitva, – 4 December 1937, Moscow) was a Russian linguist, orientalist and military leader. Andrei was the son of a Russian Orthodox priest. After attending gymnasium school at Novocherk ...
(November 15, 1918May 31, 1919) *
Filipp Mironov Filipp Kuzmich Mironov (1872–1921) was a Bolshevik revolutionary leader during and after the Russian Revolution. He actively supported the idea of democracy in the form of the Soviet Republic, was one of the first commanders in the Red Army. ...
(acting, May 3114, 1919) *
Alexander Novikov Alexander Alexandrovich Novikov (russian: link=no, Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Но́виков; – 3 December 1976) was the chief marshal of aviation for the Soviet Air Force during the Soviet Union's involvement in th ...
(June 14July 22, 1919) *
Vasily Glagolev Vasily Vasilyevich Glagolev (russian: Васи́лий Васи́льевич Глаго́лев; 21 February 1896 – 21 September 1947) was a Red Army Colonel general, Hero of the Soviet Union, and commander of the Soviet airborne (VDV). After i ...
(July 22August 14, 1919) *
Nikolai Sollogub Nikolai Vladimirovich Sollogub (russian: Николай Владимирович Соллогуб; – 7 August 1937) was a Soviet military specialist who served in World War I, the Russian Civil War, and the Polish-Soviet War, reaching the rank ...
(August 14, 1919September 21, 1920) * Alexander Kuk (September 26, 1920April 24, 1921) * Yevgeny Shilovsky (April 24May 7, 1921)


See also

* Western Rifle Division *
Nikolai Sollogub Nikolai Vladimirovich Sollogub (russian: Николай Владимирович Соллогуб; – 7 August 1937) was a Soviet military specialist who served in World War I, the Russian Civil War, and the Polish-Soviet War, reaching the rank ...


References


Citations


Bibliography

* * * * {{Soviet Armies of the Russian Civil War Soviet field armies in the Russian Civil War Military units and formations established in 1918 Military units and formations disestablished in 1921