The 66th Army was a

field army A field army (also known as numbered army or simply army) is a military formation in many armed forces, composed of two or more corps. It may be subordinate to an army group. Air army, Air armies are the equivalent formations in air forces, and ...

of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

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

Volga The Volga (, ) is the longest river in Europe and the longest endorheic basin river in the world. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchment ...

to the north of Stalingrad during September and October 1942. During Operation Uranus, the Soviet encirclement of German troops in Stalingrad, 66th Army troops linked up with those of the 62nd Army, 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.

Commanders

* Vladimir Kurdyumov (05.08.1942 -15.08.1942) * Stepan Kalinin (15.08.1942 -27.08.1942) * Rodion Malinovsky (27.08.1942 -14.10.1942) *

Aleksey Semenovich Zhadov Aleksey Semenovich Zhadov (), born with the surname "Zhidov" (, 30 March 1901 – 30 November 1977), was a Soviet military officer in the Red Army, who during World War II commanded the 66th Army, later renamed the 5th Guards Army, from the Battl ...

(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