33rd Army (Soviet Union)
33rd Army | |
---|---|
Active | July 1941 – August 1945 |
Country | Warsaw-Poznan Offensive Battle of Berlin |
The
Initial Operations
It was initially formed in the
It was at
With the arrival of the German
When the 33rd Army was surrounded in 1942 Yefremov committed suicide rather than be captured. Following Yefremov's death General Kirill Meretskov took command in May and June 1942.
Smolensk 1943
At the
However, the attack quickly encountered heavy opposition and stalled. German troops attempted numerous counterattacks from their well-prepared defense positions, supported by tanks, assault guns, and the fire of heavy guns and mortars. As Konstantin Rokossovsky recalls, "we literally had to tear ourselves through German lines, one by one".[3] On the first day, the Soviet troops advanced only 4 kilometers (2.5 mi),[4] with all available troops (including artillery, communications men and engineers) committed to battle.[5]
1944–45
From April 1944 the 33rd Army, under General Lieutenant
On 25 December 1944 the Army consisted of the
On 1 May 1945 during the Battle of Berlin, the Army, part of the 1st Belorussian Front, consisted of the 16th Rifle Corps (323, 339, 383 RDs), 62nd Rifle Corps (95, 222, 362 RDs), 49th Rifle Division, 115th, 119th Fortified Region, and other support formations and units.[6] After the initial Berlin breakthrough, 33rd Army, alongside other armies of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian Fronts helped to rout the surrounded German forces to the east of Berlin. Military operation for 33rd Army concluded on 6 May. The Army HQ was redesignated HQ Smolensk Military District in August 1945.[7]
Commanders
The following officers commanded the army:[8]
- Kombrig Dmitry Onuprienko (20 July – 25 October 1941)
- Lieutenant General Mikhail Grigoryevich Yefremov(25 October 1941 — April 1942)
- Army General Kirill Meretskov (4 May — 8 June 1942)
- Lieutenant General Mikhail Khozin (8 June–18 October 1942)
- Lieutenant General Vasily Gordov (promoted to Colonel General 9 September 1943; 18 October 1942–13 March 1944)
- Colonel General Ivan Yefimovich Petrov(13 March — 12 April 1944)
- Lieutenant General Vasily Kryuchenkin(12 April–9 July 1944)
- Lieutenant General Stepan Morozov (9 July–29 September 1944)
- Colonel General Vyacheslav Tsvetayev (29 September 1944–after May 1945)
Sources and references
- ^ See also Irregular RKKA formations
- ^ Naro-Fominsk Defensive Operation Archived 2007-06-20 at the Wayback Machine, accessed April 2008
- ^ K. Rokossovsky, Soldier's duty, Moscow, Politizdat, 1988, p. 218.
- ^ V.P. Istomin, Smolensk offensive operation, 1943, Moscow, Mil. Lib., 1975, pp. 81–82
- ^ V.P. Istomin, p.84
- ^ "Боевой состав Советской Армии на 1 May 1945". Archived from the original on 26 December 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2008.
- ^ "ВОВ-60 – 33-я армия". Archived from the original on 2012-08-05. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
- ^ Beloborodov 1963, pp. 496–497.
- Beloborodov, Afanasy, ed. (1963). Военные кадры Советского государства в Великой Отечественной войне 1941 – 1945 гг [Military Leaders of the Soviet State in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945] (in Russian). Moscow: Voenizdat.
- http://samsv.narod.ru/Arm/a33/arm.html
- I.Zhorov In rear of the enemy near Vyazma, ВИЖ, 1965, № 6.