During August 1941 the army formed a defensive line to the west, northwest and southwest of
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
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
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 Kuzminka River [ru], 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
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
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
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.
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.
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
(in Russian) 42-я армия в боях за Ленинград, «Исторический архив». // — Москва, 1959, № 2.
(in Russian) Боевые приказы и распоряжения штаба 42 Армии. 1941 г. // Оперативный отдел штаба Ленинградского фронта. 1941. 48 с. ЦАМО фонд 217 опись 1221 дело 70.
(in Russian)А. М. Андреев. От первого мгновения — до последнего. Изд. Voenizdat, серия Военные мемуары. 1984., 220 с., тираж 65000 экз., твёрдый переплёт
(in Russian)Жаркой Ф. М.Танковый марш. Изд. 4-е: МВАА. — Saint-Petersburg, 2012.
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