The 69th 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 ...

established by the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

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 ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

History

Formation, Operation Star, and Third Battle of Kharkov

The army was formed in February 1943 with the

Voronezh Front The 1st Ukrainian Front (), previously the Voronezh Front (), was a major formation of the Red Army during World War II, being equivalent to a Western army group. They took part in the capture of Berlin, the capital of Nazi Germany. Wartime ...

from the

18th Rifle Corps 18 (eighteen) is the natural number following 17 and preceding 19. It is an even composite number. Mathematics 18 is a semiperfect number and an abundant number. It is a largely composite number, as it has 6 divisors and no smaller number h ...

, under the command of Lieutenant General

Mikhail Kazakov Mikhail Ilyich Kazakov (; – 25 December 1979) was an 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 a political commissar durin ...

. 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, an offensive which aimed to recapture

Kharkov Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

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

Novy Oskol Novy Oskol () 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'' () to distinguish it from Stary ...

and recapturing Volchansk 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 ...

, and operating in conjunction with the 3rd Tank Army and the 40th Army, 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 (World War II), Eastern Front of World War II, undertaken by Nazi Germany's Army Group South against the Soviet Red Army, around the city of Kharkov between 19 February ...

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

Valka Valka (; ) is a town and municipality in the Vidzeme region of 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 " ...

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 The Western Group of Forces (WGF), previously known as the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (GSOFG) and the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSFG), were the troops of the Soviet Army in East Germany. The Group of Soviet Occupation ...

. Its headquarters was relocated to

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

, 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 (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