34th Army (Soviet Union)
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (October 2013) |
34th Army (1941–1944) | |
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Active | 16 July 1941 – 15 January 1944 |
Disbanded | 15 January 1944 |
Country | Demyansk Offensive Staraya-Russa Offensive (1943) |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | See List |
The 34th Army was part of the Red Army during the Second World War. The army was formed on 16 July 1941 in the Moscow Military District.
Combat history
1941
On 18 July the army was assigned to the Moscow line of defense occupying positions west of Maloyaroslavets where it was assigned troops. On 25 July the army became part of the reserve commanded by Lieutenant General Ivan Bogdanov, which on 30 July was designated as the Reserve Front the army headquarters located in Lüübnitsa, Russia (now Estonia). On 6 August the army was reassigned to the Northwestern Front.
Composition on 1 August 1941:[1]
- 245th Rifle Division
- 257th Rifle Division
- 259th Rifle Division
- 262nd Rifle Division
- 25th Cavalry Division
- 54th Cavalry Division
- 171st Antitank Artillery Regiment
- 759th Antitank Artillery Regiment
- 16th Armored Train
- 59th Armored Train
The army was tasked to defend the eastern bank of the
By 11 August the army had reached the
The first echelon, consisting of the 245th, 257th, 262nd Rifle and the 25th Cavalry Divisions, advanced quickly reaching there 18 August goals by 14 August and cutting the railroad between Dno and Staraya Russa.
By the end of September the army's line had stabilized to the north and northeast of Demyansk from Lake Vella to Lychkovo and remained in these positions through the end of the year.
1942
1943
The year began as it did in 1942 with preparations for participation in the
Composition on 1 February 1943:[2]
- 171st Rifle Division
- 182nd Rifle Division
- 200th Rifle Division
- 245th Rifle Division
- 144th Rifle Brigade
- 146th Rifle Brigade
- 161st Rifle Brigade
- 91st Fortified Region
- 458th Light Artillery Regiment (75th Light Artillery Brigade)
- 698th Light Artillery Regiment (78th Light Artillery Brigade)
- 387th Gun Artillery Regiment (76th Gun Artillery Brigade)
- 575th High-Power Howitzer Artillery Regiment
- 1200th High-Power Howitzer Artillery Regiment
- 482nd Mortar Regiment
- 9th Guards Mortar Brigade
- 95th Guards Mortar Regiment
- 83rd Tank Brigade
- 29th Armored Train Battalion
- 238th Engineer Battalion
- 1391st Engineer Regiment
- 597th Bomber Aviation Regiment
Prior to the start of the offensive the German successfully withdrew their forces from the
On 18 March the army, with forces recently reassigned from the 27th attempted to storm Staraya Russa. The army encountered five German divisions along the line of villages Dinner Medvedno, Bryashnaya Gore Sobolev Derevkovo to Porus, the attack was repulsed, restarted on 20 March when it was able to liberate a few small villages moving a little closer to Staraya Russa but unable to liberate the city. The army remained outside Staraya Russa until November 1943 holding the defensive line and attempting to storm the city. On 17–20 August another massive attack was attempted and repulsed again.
Composition on 1 April 1943:[3]
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Composition on 1 November 1943:[4]
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Disbanding
On 20 November 1943 the forces assigned to the army were transferred to
Commanders
- Brigade Commander Nikolai Nilovich Pronin- (18 July – 3 August 1941)
- Major General Kuzma Kachanov (ru) - (3 August – 12 September 1941) - executed
- Major General Petr Alferev - (12 September – 25 December 1941)
- Major General Nikolai Berzarin - (25 December 1941 – 14 October 1942)
- Lieutenant General Anton Lopatin - (14 October 1942 – 10 March 1943)
- Lieutenant General Pavel Kurochkin - (10 March – 22 June 1943)
- Lieutenant General Ivan Sovetnikov - (22 June 1943 – 13 January 1944)
References
- Notes
- Sources
- Ammentorp, Steen. "The Generals". Retrieved 30 July 2013.
- Marchand, Jean-Luc. Order of Battle Soviet Army World War 2. The Nafziger Collection, 24 Volumes