42nd Army

The 42nd Army (Russian: 42-я армия) was a field army of the Soviet Union's Red Army, created in 1941.

Created on 5 August 1941. Formed on the basis of the 50th Rifle Corps under the command of Major General Vladimir Ivanovich Shcherbakov. The army initially consisted of the 291st Rifle Division and the 2nd and 3rd Guards Leningrad Peoples' Militia Divisions. The 51st Corps, 690th Anti-Tank and 740th Artillery Regiments, and the Krasnogvardeisk Fortified Region soon joined the Army. Sources disagree on when the army was disbanded; V.I. Feskov et al. 2004 says that it 'ceased to exist in Summer 1945;' his later corrected edition of 2013 specifies 30 July 1945 (V.I. Feskov et al 2013, 131) while David Glantz in an earlier 2009 document lists the army on an order of battle for November 1945 in the Baltic Military District with no forces assigned. He also says it was 'disbanded in 1946.'

History

1941–1943

During August 1941 the army formed a defensive line to the west, northwest and southwest of Krasnogvardeisk. By 19 August 1941, the leading German troops (1st and 8th Panzer Divisions) were fighting the troops of the Krasnogvardeisk Fortified Region. The army's final line of defence was formed on August 21, 1941, when German troops were forced to suspend the offensive in the south-western approaches to Krasnogvardeisk and go on the defensive. The 2nd Guards People's Militia Division especially distinguished itself during the fighting.

The army took part in the Leningrad Strategic Defensive operation from 9–30 September 1941. Conducted combat operations in the approaches to Leningrad from the Gulf of Finland to the city of Pushkin.

Composition on 1 September 1941:

2nd Guards Leningrad People's Militia Division

3rd Guards Leningrad People's Militia Division (minus 2nd Rifle Regiment)

Krasnogvardeisk Fortified Region

51st Corps Artillery Regiment

690th Antitank Artillery Regiment

Mixed Artillery Regiment

704th Artillery Regiment (198th Motorized Division)

42nd Pontoon-Bridge Battalion

106th Motorized Engineer Battalion

Composition on 1 October 1941:

13th Rifle Division

44th Rifle Division

56th Rifle Division

189th Rifle Division

21st Rifle Division (NKVD)

6th Naval Infantry Brigade

7th Naval Infantry Brigade

268th Machine-Gun Artillery Battalion

282nd Machine-Gun Artillery Battalion

291st Machine-Gun Artillery Battalion

14th Antitank Brigade

28th Corps Artillery Regiment

47th Corps Artillery Regiment

51st Corps Artillery Regiment

73rd Corps Artillery Regiment

101st Howitzer Artillery Regiment (RVGK)

704th Artillery Regiment

296th Antitank Artillery Battalion

1st Separate Mortar Battalion

2nd Separate Mortar Battalion

3rd Separate Mortar Battalion

Separate Guards Mortar Battalion

51st Tank Battalion

29th Sapper Battalion

456th Sapper Battalion

The army's intensive fight for the defense of Leningrad began on 9 September 1941. At this time the army occupied a line from Trinty to the southeast to Krasnogvardeisk. From north to south the following units occupied the line; 264th Machine-Gun Artillery Battalion, 3rd Guards Leningrad People's Militia Division, 277th, 4th, 265th, 276th Machine-Gun Artillery Battalion 2nd Guards Leningrad People's Militia Division, 126th and 267th Machine-Gun Artillery Battalions. On the right flank of was the 8th Army defending Oranienbaum and to the east the 55th Army. Against this Army Group North sent the 291st, 58th, 1st Infantry, 30th Motorized, 1st and 6th Panzer Divisions. The SS Police Division and the 269th Infantry Divisions reinforced the attack.

At the start of the German offensive the 42nd Army was composed mostly of militia units and inexperienced soldiers and lacking in weapons, ammunition, transport and communications. The 1st Panzer Division arrived on 10 September 1941 to continue the advance, and forced the 3rd Guards People's Militia Division back. Meanwhile, parts of the 42nd Army continued to defend Krasnogvardeisk stubbornly, despite German troops reaching the rear of the fortified area, threatening to cut off their communications completely, as well as the linkages with the neighboring 55th Army. The 42nd Army only left Krasnogvardeisk on September 13, 1941, after intense street fighting. The remnants of the army were forced to take up new line of defense. During the night of 12–13 September took up positions of the Pulkovski defensive line, extending from Strelna through Konstantinovka, Finskoye Koyrovo, Upper Koyrovo, Upper Kuzmin near the , and Pulkovo Heights. From 12–15 September the front added a rifle division, a NKVD division, two militia divisions, two antitank brigades and several rifle brigades.

From 13–15 September the army conducted a stubborn defensive battle, interspersed with counterattacks all along its front. On 15 September German forces broke through to Strelna, cutting off part of the 10th and 11th Rifle Divisions on the right flank of the army. From 17–21 September the army attacked Uritsk trying to reconnect with the 8th Army, but with no success. The last attempt to break through the defensive lines was on 23 September on the armies right flank in the Pulkovo Heights area but the attack was repelled. On 30 September the army participated in the operation to take Uritskom, Pine Glade, village Volodarskogo and output to Strelna, where parts of the army were to meet with a sea landing, but the operation was unsuccessful.

The defensive line had stabilized by 23 September with the army occupying a 16.5 kilometers front from the Gulf of Finland to the junction with the 55th Army at Pulkovo. The forward line of troops extended from the eastern edge of Uritsk, eastern outskirts of the old-Panov, New Koyrovo, and the southwestern outskirts of Pulkovo. By 1 November the front expanded by 10.5 kilometers before crossing the Vitebsk Railway line at Kolpino, and then further to the outskirts of Putrolovo finally reaching a total length of 36 kilometers. The army defended this line until January 1944.

During the period September 1941 to January 1944, the army was focused on improving the defense lines. An important mission for the army was Counter-battery fire against enemy long-range artillery firing on Leningrad. In January 1943 the army allocated half of it forces to participate in Operation Spark, an attempt to break the blockade of Leningrad.

Composition on 1 January 1942:

13th Rifle Division

189th Rifle Division

21st Rifle Division (NKVD)

247th Machine-Gun Artillery Battalion

291st Machine-Gun Artillery Battalion

292nd Machine-Gun Artillery Battalion

14th Antitank Brigade

47th Artillery Regiment

73rd Artillery Regiment

541st Howitzer Artillery Regiment

1st Antitank Artillery Regiment

2nd Antitank Artillery Regiment

3rd Antitank Artillery Regiment

4th Antitank Artillery Regiment

5th Antitank Artillery Regiment

3rd Special-power Artillery Battalion

72nd Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion

89th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion

51st Tank Battalion

29th Engineer Battalion

54th Engineer Battalion

106th Engineer Battalion

Composition on 1 July 1942:

13th Rifle Division

21st Rifle Division

72nd Rifle Division

85th Rifle Division

189th Rifle Division

34th Machine-Gun Artillery Battalion

247th Machine-Gun Artillery Battalion

291st Machine-Gun Artillery Battalion

292nd Machine-Gun Artillery Battalion

339th Machine-Gun Artillery Battalion

14th Guards Artillery Regiment

73rd Army Artillery Regiment

541st Howitzer Artillery Regiment

289th Light Artillery Regiment

304th Light Artillery Regiment

509th Light Artillery Regiment

705th Light Artillery Regiment

706th Light Artillery Regiment

884th Light Artillery Regiment

72nd Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion

89th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion

2nd Separate Armored Car Battalion

72nd Armored Train Battalion

29th Engineer Battalion

54th Engineer Battalion

585th Engineer Battalion

Composition on 1 January 1943:

85th Rifle Division

109th Rifle Division

125th Rifle Division

189th Rifle Division

79th Fortified Region

14th Guards Artillery Regiment

289th Tank Destroyer Regiment

304th Tank Destroyer Regiment

384th Tank Destroyer Regiment

509th Tank Destroyer Regiment

705th Tank Destroyer Regiment

760th Tank Destroyer Regiment

533rd Mortar Regiment (unnumbered Artillery Division)

474th Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment

71st Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion

1st Tank Brigade

31st Separate Guards Tank Regiment

1st Separate Armored Car Battalion

2nd Separate Armored Car Battalion

54th Engineer Battalion

585th Engineer Battalion

914th Mixed Aviation Regiment

Composition on 1 July 1943:

56th Rifle Division

85th Rifle Division

109th Rifle Division

125th Rifle Division

189th Rifle Division

79th Fortified Region

18th Artillery Division

:65th Light Artillery Brigade

:51st Gun Artillery Brigade

:38th Howitzer Artillery Brigade

:15th Mortar Brigade

12th Guards Artillery Regiment

14th Guards Artillery Regiment

73rd Gun Artillery Regiment

1486th Gun Artillery Regiment

324th High-power Howitzer Artillery Regiment

304th Tank Destroyer Regiment

384th Tank Destroyer Regiment

509th Tank Destroyer Regiment

705th Tank Destroyer Regiment

760th Tank Destroyer Regiment

533rd Mortar Regiment

534th Mortar Regiment

320th Guards Mortar Regiment

7th Antiaircraft Artillery Division

:465th Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment

:474th Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment

:602nd Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment

:632nd Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment

631st Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment

72nd Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion

1st Tank Brigade

49th Separate Guards Tank Regiment

1439th SU Regiment

2nd Separate Armored Car Battalion

72nd Armored Train Battalion

54th Engineer Battalion

585th Engineer Battalion

1944

The army participated in the Leningrad-Novgorod and Pskov-Ostrov operations, the later while assigned to the 3rd Baltic Front.

In the late hours of January 13, 1944, long-range bombers from the Baltic Fleet attacked the main German command points on the defensive line, presaging the Krasnoye Selo-Ropsha Offensive. On January 14, troops from both the Oranienbaum foothold and Volkhov Front attacked, followed the next day by troops of the 42nd Army under the command of Ivan Maslennikov from the Pulkovo Heights. An artillery barrage was launched all along the front, laying down 220,000 shells onto the German lines. Fog inhibited major progress for the first few days, although the 2nd Shock Army and 42nd Army advanced two miles on a seven-mile front while in combat with the 9th and 10th Luftwaffe Field Divisions.

The 42nd Army was tasked with breaking through the heavily fortified bands of enemy defenses established over the past two years. The 42nd Army first was to strike west to connect with the 2nd Shock Army advancing from the Oranienbaum bridgehead. Before the operation, 42nd Army was significantly reinforced; the main striking force of the army was the 30th Guards Rifle Corps. Soviet troops confronted L Army Corps (126th, 170th, 215th Infantry Divisions). The German artillery group consisted of 43 artillery battalions, 12 divisional artillery battalions ( summarized in the 125th, 240th, 215th and 11th Artillery Regiments) and 31 from OKH reserve. The front line of defense was from the coast of the Gulf of Finland to the river Izhorka Popova in the east. In the main line of defense, there were 13 German centers of resistance: Uritsk, Old Panov, Novo-Panov, Finnish Koyrovo, Kokkolevo rarely Kuzmino - Alexandrovka Big Kuzmino station Children's Village, New, State Farm "Pushkin", settlement Volodarskogo Pushkin and Slutsk. In total, there were 34 centers of resistance strongpoints. The total depth of the enemy defense reached 13–15 kilometers. It took the army two full days to break through the left flank of the German lines. On the right flank was not as successful, with the army taking almost a week to break through the front lines and into the German rear areas.

Composition on 1 January 1944:

30th Guards Rifle Corps

:45th Guards Rifle Division

:63rd Guards Rifle Division

:64th Guards Rifle Division

109th Rifle Corps

:72nd Rifle Division

:109th Rifle Division

:125th Rifle Division

110th Rifle Corps

:56th Rifle Division

:85th Rifle Division

:86th Rifle Division

79th Fortified Region

18th Artillery Penetration Division

:65th Light Artillery Brigade

:58th Howitzer Artillery Brigade

:3rd Heavy Howitzer Brigade

:80th Heavy Artillery Brigade

:120th High-power Howitzer Artillery Brigade

:42nd Mortar Brigade

23rd Artillery Penetration Division

:79th Light Artillery Brigade

:38th Howitzer Artillery Brigade

:2nd Heavy Howitzer Brigade

:96th Heavy Howitzer Brigade

:21st Guards High-power Howitzer Artillery Brigade

:28th Mortar Brigade

1157th Corps Artillery Regiment

1106th Gun Artillery Regiment

1486th Gun Artillery Regiment

52nd Guards Heavy Gun Artillery Battalion

304th Tank Destroyer Regiment

384th Tank Destroyer Regiment

509th Tank Destroyer Regiment

705th Tank Destroyer Regiment

1973rd Tank Destroyer Regiment

104th Mortar Regiment

174th Mortar Regiment

533rd Mortar Regiment

534th Mortar Regiment

20th Guards Mortar Regiment (minus 211th Battalion)

38th Guards Mortar Regiment

320th Guards Mortar Regiment

321st Guards Mortar Regiment

7th Antiaircraft Artillery Division

:465th Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment

:474th Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment

:602nd Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment

:632nd Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment

32nd Antiaircraft Artillery Division

:1377th Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment

:1387th Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment

:1393rd Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment

:1413th Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment

631st Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment

72nd Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion

220th Tank Brigade

31st Separate Guards Tank Regiment

46th Separate Guards Tank Regiment

49th Separate Guards Tank Regiment

205th Separate Tank Regiment

260th Separate Tank Regiment

1439th SU Regiment

1902nd SU Regiment

2nd Separate Armored Car Battalion

71st Armored Train Battalion

72nd Armored Train Battalion

54th Engineer Battalion

585th Engineer Battalion

Composition on 1 September 1944:

93rd Rifle Corps

:219th Rifle Division

:379th Rifle Division

:391st Rifle Division

110th Rifle Corps

:2nd Rifle Division

:168th Rifle Division

:268th Rifle Division

124th Rifle Corps

:48th Rifle Division

:123rd Rifle Division

:256th Rifle Division

141st Gun Artillery Brigade

304th Tank Destroyer Regiment

311th Guards Tank Destroyer Regiment (6th Guards Antitank Artillery Brigade)

122nd Mortar Regiment

93rd Guards Mortar Regiment

310th Guards Mortar Regiment

42nd Antiaircraft Artillery Division

:620th Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment

:709th Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment

:714th Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment

:729th Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment

631st Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment

64th Guards Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion

1297th SU Regiment

24th Engineer-Sapper Brigade

1945

Conducted a number of attacks against the German Army Group Courland positions. The attacks were conducted on 20–28 February 1945, again on 17 March 1945 but were unsuccessful. The army was still on the front lines for the surrender of the Army Group Courland.

Order of Battle as of 1 April 45:

23rd Guards Rifle Corps‡

:51st Guards Rifle Division‡

:67th Guards Rifle Division‡

8th Estonian Rifle Corps‡

:7th Estonian Rifle Division‡

:249th Estonian Rifle Division‡

122nd Rifle Corpsâ€Â

:56th Rifle Divisionâ€Â

:85th Rifle Divisionâ€Â

:332nd Rifle Division‡

130th Latvian Rifle Corps

:43rd Guards Rifle Division

:308th Latvian Rifle Division

118th Fortified Region

27th Artillery Division‡

:78th Light Artillery Brigade‡

:74th Howitzer Artillery Brigade‡

:76th Gun Artillery Brigade‡

:783rd Artillery Reconnaissance Battalion‡

69th Light Artillery Brigade (6th Guards Artillery Penetration Division)‡â€Â

141st Gun Artillery Brigade

87th Heavy howitzer Artillery Brigade (6th Guards Artillery Penetration Division)‡â€Â

395th Howitzer Regiment‡

304th Tank Destroy Regiment

4th Mortar Brigade (6th Guards Artillery Penetration Division)‡â€Â

122nd Mortar Regiment

14th Guards Mortar Brigade‡

72nd Guards Mortar Regiment

93rd Guards Mortar Regiment‡

310th Guards Mortar Regiment

42nd Antiaircraft Artillery Division

:620th Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment

:709th Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment

:714th Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment

:729th Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment

631st Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment

32nd Guards Tank Regiment‡

1052nd SU Regiment

1503rd SU Regiment‡

24th Engineer-Sapper Brigade

54th Motorized Pontoon-Bridge Battalion‡

45th Flamethrower Battalion

† Located in the Far East by November 1945 ‡ Removed from the army by 1 May 1945

Before the war ended the Army was already drawing down forces. A few of the forces headed east for the attack on Japan. More were to be demobilized.

Commanders

• Major General Vladimir Ivanovich Shcherbakov - (5 August – 1 September, 1941)
• Lieutenant General Fedor Sergeevich Ivanov - (1 September – 15 September, 1941)
• Major General I. I. Fedyuninsky - (16 September – 24 October, 1941)
• Major General Ivan Nikolaev - (24 October 1941 – 23 December 1943)
• Colonel General I. I. Maslennikov - (23 December 1943 – 14 March 1944)
• Lieutenant General Vladimir Zakharovich Romanovsky - (14 March – 24 March, 1944)
• Lieutenant General Vladimir Petrovich Sviridov - (24 March 1944 – 9 May 1945)

Notes

References

• Keith Bonn, Slaughterhouse: The Handbook of the Eastern Front, Aberjona Press, Bedford, PA, 2005 (especially for army HQ raising/disbandment dates)
• V.I. Feskov et al., The Soviet Army in the Period of the Cold War, Tomsk University Press, 2004
• Glantz, David, Order of Battle USSR 1945-48 Handout, History 391 (Spr 2009), The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, Charleston, SC
• Marchand, Jean-Luc, Order of Battle Soviet Army World War 2, 24 volumes, The Nafziger Collection

Further reading

• 42-я армия в боях за Ленинград, «Исторический архив». // — Москва, 1959, № 2.
• Боевые приказы и распоряжения штаба 42 Армии. 1941 г. // Оперативный отдел штаба Ленинградского фронта. 1941. 48 с. ЦАМО фонд 217 опись 1221 дело 70.
• А. М. Андреев. От первого мгновения — до последнего. Изд. Voenizdat, серия Военные мемуары. 1984., 220 с., тираж 65000 экз., твёрдый переплёт
• Жаркой Ф. М. Танковый марш. Изд. 4-е: МВАА. — Saint-Petersburg, 2012.

External links

• http://samsv.narod.ru/Arm/arm.html - (Russian)
• Combat Composition of the Soviet Army via tashv.nm.ru