5th Guards Combined Arms Army: Difference between revisions

| unit_name = 5th Guards Combined Arms Red Banner Order of Zhukov Army

| native_name = 5-я гвардейская общевойсковая Краснознамённая, ордена Жукова армия

| dates = 1939–20221939–Present

| current_commander = Major General Aleksey[[Ivan PodivilovYeruslanov]]

The '''5th Guards Combined Arms Red Banner Order of Zhukov Army''' (5-я гвардейская общевойсковая Краснознамённая, ордена Жукова армия) is a [[Russian Ground Forces]] formation in the [[Eastern Military District]].

Reformed under [[Dmitry Lelyushenko|Lelyushenko]] and [[Leonid Govorov|Govorov]], it played a part in the last-ditch defence of Moscow, and then in the string of offensive and defensive campaigns that eventually saw the Soviet armies retake all of Soviet territory and push west into Poland and beyond into Germany itself. The 5th Army itself only advanced as far as [[East Prussia]] before it was moved east to take part in the Soviet attack on Japan.

The 5th Army was created in August 1939 in the Special Kiev [[Military District]] from the Northern (originally Shepetovskaya) Army Group.<ref>KOVO ("Red Banner Kiev", with FROM, 119; "War and policy. 1939–1941", ß.76, 77; " East Front " óÙ».24, ß.24.), Lenski, 2001</ref> In September 1939, the 5th Army took part in the [[Soviet invasion of Poland (1939)|Soviet invasion of Poland]], which had been justified by the [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact]]. The Army was originally placed under the command of [[I.G. Sovietnikov]].

On 22 June 1941, the 5th Army consisted of the [[15th Rifle Corps]] (under Colonel [[Ivan Fedyuninsky|I.I. Fedyuninsky]]<ref>Erickson, Road to Stalingrad, 2003 edition, p.94</ref> and incorporating the [[45th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)|45th Rifle Division]] and [[62nd Rifle Division]]s), as well as the [[27th Rifle Corps]] ([[87th Rifle Division|87th]], [[125th Rifle Division|125th]], [[135th Rifle Division]]sDivisions), the [[22nd Mechanised Corps]] ([[19th Tank Division|19th]], [[41st Tank Division]]sDivisions, [[215th Motorized Division]]), the 2nd [[Fortified Region]], seven artillery regiments, 2 [[NKVD]] border regiments, and an engineer regiment.<ref>Orbat.com/Niehorster, [http://niehorster.org/012_ussr/41_oob/kiev/army_05.html 5th Army Order of Battle, 22 June 1941] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160829105220/http://niehorster.org/012_ussr/41_oob/kiev/army_05.html |date=29 August 2016 }}</ref>

The main German thrust in the sector came at the junction point between the 5th Army and its neighbour to the south, the [[6th Army (Soviet Union)|6th Army]], and both the 5th and 6th Armies committed their mechanised forces quickly to try to stem the gap, but without success. The Commander Southwestern Front, [[Mikhail Kirponos]], decided to halt this with an attack into the flank of [[1st Panzer Group|Panzer Group 1]] using all the available mobile forces – five mechanised corps. This was unsuccessful in the face of the thrusting German advance, lack of coordination from the various Soviet formations, acute shortage of equipment and spares, and lack of proper equipment, especially radio sets.<ref>Prewar plans had assigned the civilian telephone network the major communication role. Erickson, 2003, p.143</ref>

Meanwhile, General M.I. Potapov, now commanding the 5th Army, was ordered on 29 June to make another attack on Panzer Group 1's flank from the woods of [[Klevany]]. Amid these efforts, Kirponos managed to withdraw most of his Front to a new line almost on the old Soviet/Polish border, and prevented the Germans from rupturing the Soviet defensive line.<ref>Erickson, 2003, p.167–68</ref>

By 7 September, the 5th Army was threatened with being split in two by the [[2nd Army (Wehrmacht)|Second Army]] coming from the east and the Sixth Army's northern outflanking of Kiev. The Stavka refused permission initially for the 5th Army to withdraw, as they were still hoping for results from a counterattack by the [[Bryansk Front]]. By 9 September, [[Joseph Stalin|Stalin]] had finally given authority for the 5th Army to withdraw but by then it was trapped, and on 20 September Potapov and his command group were taken prisoner.<ref>Erickson, 2003, p.206–210</ref> In the disastrous battle, the German forces encircled forces from the 5th, 21st, 26th, 38th and 37th Armies, [[Battle of Kiev (1941)|captured Kiev]], and claimed 665,000 prisoners (Soviet sources assert that the total strength of the Southwestern Front was 677,000 of which 150,000 had escaped).

The 5th Army was re-raised for the second time in October 1941, under the command of [[Dmitri Danilovich Lelyushenko|Dmitri Lelyushenko]], as part of the [[Soviet Western Front]]. Recent sources give the actual re-raising date as 11 October 1941.<ref>Crofoot translating of Perechen, via {{cite web |url=http://www.armchairgeneral.com/rkkaww2/formations.htm |title=Formations |access-date=2016-10-19 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161029021231/http://www.armchairgeneral.com/rkkaww2/formations.htm |archive-date=29 October 2016 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> It included two rifle divisions and three tank brigades.<ref>Keith E. Bonn (ed.), Slaughterhouse: The Handbook of the Eastern Front, Aberjona Press, Bedford, PA, 2005, p.310</ref> At the [[Battle at Borodino Field]], on a former Napoleonic battlefield, the first elements of the reforming Army to arrive at the front—two regiments of the [[Soviet 32nd Rifle Division]] and the 18th and 19th Tank Brigades—attempted to halt the German [[10th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)|10th Panzer Division]] and [[2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich|Das Reich]] divisions which were striking for [[Mozhaisk]]. Lelyuschenko was wounded and General L.A. Govorov took over.<ref>Erickson, 2003, p.219-220</ref> What thin reserves there were ran out, and Mozhaisk fell on 18 October. Later that year the Army took part in the [https://web.archive.org/web/20071012111353/http://serpukhov.su/dima/war/eng/eklinn.htm Klin-Solnechogorsk offensive operation].

On 15 November, another German strike toward Moscow opened, but while the flanks saw heavy fighting, up until 28 November, the 5th Army along with the two other Armies forming Western Front’sFront's centre, 33rd and 43rd, were holding quite firmly, despite some attacks on the right-most sector of their line.<ref>Erickson, 2003, p.257-9</ref> On 1 December, a last effort by the German [[XX Army Corps (Wehrmacht)|XX Army Corps]] to reach Moscow saw a furious attack directed near the junction of the 5th Army and 33rd Army, which led to the Moscow-Minsk highway, the most direct route to the Soviet capital.<ref>Erickson, 2003, p.266</ref> Despite breaking through 33rd Army defences around [[Naro-Fominsk]], after all available reserves were directed by Zhukov toward the breach, by 4 December, the situation had been restored and the Soviet command could resume its planning to take the offensive.

As part of the Soviet winter counteroffensive from Moscow, the 5th Army was instructed to commence its offensive actions from 11 December, pushing for Ruza-Kolyubakovo, while right flank units joined the [[16th Army (Soviet Union)|16th Army]] in hitting [[Istra, Istrinsky District, Moscow Oblast|Istra]]. Eventually the 5th Army defeated the Germans near [[Zvenigorod]], and the 2nd Guards Cavalry Corps forced itself into the German rear in a daring raid, making further advances possible.<ref>Erickson, 2003, p.274, and T.N. Dupuy & Paul Martell, Great Battles on the Eastern Front, Bobbs-Merrill Company, Indianapolis/New York, 1982, p.48</ref> In Western Front directives of 6 and 8 January 1942, the 5th Army received orders to first outflank, and then to retake, Mozhaisk by 16 January. The 5th Army, now boasting seven rifle divisions, [[90th Guards Tank Division (1957–1985)|82nd Motorised Rifle Division]], three independent rifle brigades and 20th Tank Brigade, was on the move by mid January, and on 20 January took the town. However Govorov's rifle divisions were falling to below 2,500 each, and the Army ‘started'started to run out of steam.’'<ref>Erickson, 2003, p.312</ref>

As part of the [[Soviet Western Front|Western Front]] the 5th Army then took part in the Operation of [[Rzhev]]-[[Vyazma]], including the [[Second Rzhev-Sychevka Offensive]] in November–December 1942. It then fought with the 10th Guards & 33rd Armies in the [[Battle of Smolensk (1943)|Second Battle of Smolensk]], by which time the Army was being commanded by General V.S. Polenov. At a later point, General [[P.G. Shafranov]] held command for a period. For [[Operation Bagration]] of 1944 in [[Belorussia]], 5th Army was part of [[3rd Belorussian Front]]. The 5th Army, now under General [[Nikolai Ivanovich Krylov|N.I. Krylov]], was allocated to the Front's 'Northern Group' alongside 39th Army and a [[Cavalry mechanized group]] made up of 3rd Cavalry and [[4th Mechanized Corps (Soviet Union)|3rd Guards Mechanised Corps]].<ref>John Erickson, Road to Berlin, 1982, p.213</ref>

The Army's path took it through [[Vilnius]], which was cleared on 13 July with the assistance of the Polish underground after a final savage battle in the city centre. On 1 August 1944 the Army consisted of the 45th Rifle Corps (159th, 184th, 338th Rifle Divisions), the 65th Rifle Corps (97th, 144th, 371st RDs), the 72nd Rifle Corps (63rd, 215th, 277th RDs) and a wide array of supporting artillery, armour, and other units.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tashv.nm.ru/BoevojSostavSA/1944/19440801.html |title=Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1 August 1944 |publisher=tasha.nm.ru |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140314115629/http://www.tashv.nm.ru/BoevojSostavSA/1944/19440801.html |archive-date=14 March 2014}}</ref> The Army's final action in Europe was the [[East Prussian Offensive]] of 1945. Units of [[184th Rifle Division]], assigned as part of the 5th Army, were the first Soviet soldiers to reach the prewar frontier on 17 August 1944.<ref>Erickson, Road to Berlin, 1982, p.307–08</ref>

On 20 April 1945, the 5th Army was transferred from [[Stavka]] VGK reserve to the [[Maritime Group of Forces]], one of the formations which was being sent to the Far East to reinforce Soviet forces there in preparation for the beginning of hostilities against Japan. The MGF was re-designated the [[1st Far East Front]] on 5 August 1945. When the [[Soviet invasion of Manchuria]] commenced, the Army consisted of the [[17th Rifle Corps]] ([[187th Rifle Division|187th]] and [[366th Rifle Division]]s), [[45th Rifle Corps]] ([[157th Rifle Division|157th]], [[159th Rifle Division|159th]], and [[184th Rifle Division]]s), [[65th Rifle Corps]] ([[97th Rifle Division|97th]], [[144th Rifle Division|144th]], 190th, [[371st Rifle Division (Soviet Union)|371st Rifle Divisions]]), 72nd Rifle Corps (63rd, [[215th Rifle Division|215th]], [[277th Rifle Division]]s), the 72nd, 76th, 208th, 210th, and 218th Tank Brigades, the 105th Fortified Area, over 35 artillery brigades and regiments, and other units.<ref>Orbat.com/Niehorster, [http://www.niehorster.org/012_ussr/45-08-08/land/army_05.html 5th Army Order of Battle, 9 August 1945]{{dead link|date=June 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> During the [[Harbin]]-[[Jilin|Girin]] operation, the Army’sArmy's troops, part of the 1st Far East Front’sFront's main attack, broke through the Volynskiy area where the Japanese troops were resisting and advanced to the eastern spurs of the Taypinliy ridge.<ref>Krilov N.I., Alekseyev N.I., Dragan I.G., Towards victory: Combat road of the 5th Army, Moscow, 1970, p.117–145</ref>

* Major General [[M.I. Potapov]] (June -– September 1941),

* Major General [[Dmitry Lelyushenko]] (October 11 -– 17, October 1941),

* Major General of Artillery [[Leonid Govorov]] (October 18, October 1941 - April– 25, April 1942), from 11.1941 Lieutenant General of Artillery

* Major General [[Ivan Fedyuninsky]] (25 April 25– -15 October 15, 1942), from June 1942, Lieutenant General

* colonel-generalColonel General [[Yakov Cherevichenko]] (October 15, October 1942 - February– 27, February 1943),

* Lieutenant General [[Vitaly Polenov]] (February 27, February 1943 - October– 25, October 1943),

* Lieutenant General [[Nikolay Krylov (marshal)|Nikolay Krylov]] (October 25, October 1943 - October– 16, October 1944), from July 1944, Colonel-General

* Lieutenant General [[Pyotr Shafranov]] (October 16 -October December– 16, December 1944),

* Colonel General [[Nikolay Krylov (marshal)|Nikolay Krylov]] (16 December 16, 1944 -– December 1945).

After the victory over Japan, the 5th Army remained in the Far East, and was the most powerful army in the [[Far East Military District]] throughout the entire postwar period. After the disbandment of the [[9th Mechanised Army]] and the [[25th Army (Soviet Union)|25th Army]] in 1957, 5th Army's composition was supplemented by a whole series of divisions, including the divisions that became, after many redesignations, 277th Motor Rifle Division and 123rd Guards MRD. The [[4th Missile Brigade]] joined the army in 1963.<ref>{{Cite web|title=4th Missile Brigade|url=http://www.ww2.dk/new/army/rbr/4rbr.htm|website=www.ww2.dk|access-date=2016-02-16|last=Holm|first=Michael|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314100702/http://www.ww2.dk/new/army/rbr/4rbr.htm|archive-date=14 March 2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref> In 1968 the [[29th Motor Rifle Division]] arrived from Shikhany ([[Saratov Oblast]]) at Kamen-Rybolov, Primorskiy Kray.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ww2.dk/new/army/msd/29msd.htm|title=29th Motorised Rifle Division|last=Holm|first=Michael|website=www.ww2.dk|access-date=2016-07-14|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160830181016/http://www.ww2.dk/new/army/msd/29msd.htm|archive-date=30 August 2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

In the 1970s and 1980s, the 81st Guards MRD and the 199th MRDs became part of the 5th Army. The 4th, 5th, 13th 15th, and [[20th Fortified Region]]s were also part of the army for decades (see [[Fortified district]]). In 1976 the 119th Motor Rifle Division (mobilisation) was formed at Lyalichi, Primorskiy Kray, which became the 77th Tank Division (mobilisation) in January 1982.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ww2.dk/new/army/td/77td.htm|title=77th Tank Division|last=Holm|first=Michael|website=www.ww2.dk|access-date=2016-07-14|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160830180638/http://www.ww2.dk/new/army/td/77td.htm|archive-date=30 August 2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref> General [[Igor Rodionov]], later the Russian Minister of Defence, commanded the Army from 1983 to 1985.

On 29 November 2000 the then Far East Military District commander, General Colonel [[Yuri Yakubov]], was reported in ''[[Vremya Novostei]]'' as saying that only 'four fully staffed operational regiments and several operational divisions' in the district were combat ready. In addition, the last exercise for reserve divisions was run in 1985.<ref>Dmitri Chernov, 'Army Commander's Woes', in Vremya Novostei, 29 November 2000, p.3 via Agency WPS: Defence & Security via Lexis-Nexis.</ref> One regiment at [[Yekaterinoslavka, Khabarovsk Krai]] was reported in October 1999 as being the only 100% manned regiment in 35th Army, so it could be guessed that during the 1999–2000 time period the remaining three full-strength regiments were with the 5th Army.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Robinson |first=Colin |date=June 2005 |title=The Russian Ground Forces: A Structural Status Examination |journal=Journal of Slavic Military Studies |publisher=Taylor and Francis |volume=18 |issue=2 |page=204 |doi=10.1080/13518040590944421|s2cid=145691472 }}</ref>

In 2007 Russian reports described the army as consisting of Headquarters [at Ussuriysk]; the [[81st Guards Motor Rifle Division|81st Guards]] ([[Bikin]]) and [[121st Motor Rifle Division]] (Sibirtsevo), the [[127th Machine Gun Artillery Division|127th]] (Segreevka) and 129th (Barabash) MGADs, the [[130th Machine-Gun Artillery Division]] ([[Lesozavodsk]]), [[20th Guards Rocket Brigade]] (Spassk-Dalny) ([[OTR-21 Tochka]] SSM), 719th Multiple Rocket Launcher Regiment (Pokrovka), 958th Anti-Tank Artillery Regiment, and other smaller combat and support formations.<ref>Far Eastern Military District, {{cite web |url=http://www8.brinkster.com/vad777/russia/grand_force/districts/dvo.htm |title=Dvo |access-date=2008-02-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513075152/http://www8.brinkster.com/vad777/russia/grand_force/districts/dvo.htm |archive-date=13 May 2008 |df=dmy-all}}, accessed 29 July 2007. See also a Russian forum source for this list of [http://www.soldat.ru/forum/?gb=3&id=38510 Current units] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727210158/http://www.soldat.ru/forum/?gb=3&id=38510 |date=27 July 2011}}</ref>

In the context of the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]], elements of the 5th Army (including units from the 57th Motor Rifle Brigade and two additional Motor Rifle Regiments) had been deployed to [[Belarus]] and were participating in active operations.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gfsis.org/russian-monitor/view/3121|title = Rondeli Russian Military Digest: Issue 118, 24 January -– 30 January 2022}}</ref>

* [[Nikanor Zakhvatayev]] (December 1945 —– 18 February 1947)

* [[Ivan Chistyakov]] (19 February 1947 —– 19 April 1948)

* [[Pyotr Koshevoy]] (20 April 1948 —– 8 June 1954)

* {{ill|Mikhail Ivanovich Potapov|ru|Потапов, Михаил Иванович|lt=Mikhail Potapov}} (August 1954 —– 15 April 1958)

* {{ill|Aleksandr Yegorovsky|ru|Егоровский, Александр Александрович}} (16 April 1958 —– 23 September 1960)

* [[Yakov Repin]] (24 September 1960 —– 3 March 1964)

* [[Vasily Petrov (marshal)|Vasily Petrov]] (June 1964 -– 21 January 1966)

* {{ill|Kamil Ganeyev|ru|Ганеев, Камиль Самигуллович}} (22 January 1966 —– 18 August 1969)

* {{ill|Pyotr Sysoyev|ru|Сысоев, Пётр Иванович}} (19 August 1969 —– April 1971)

* {{ill|Vladimir Konchits|ru|Кончиц, Владимир Николаевич}} (April 1971 —– 6 March 1974)

* {{ill|Anatoly Ryakhov|ru|Ряхов, Анатолий Яковлевич}} (7 March 1974 —– 3 January 1979)

* [[Anatoly Petrovich Smirnov|Anatoly Smirnov]] (4 January 1979 —– June 1983)

* [[Igor Rodionov]] (June 1983 —– 18 August 1985)

* [[Anatoly Kostenko]] (19 April 1985 —– October 1987)

* [[Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Yudin|Aleksandr Yudin]] (October 1987 —– December 1989)

* {{ill|Nikolai Zvinchukov|ru|Звинчуков, Николай Иванович}} (December 1989 —– July 1990)

* [[Vladimir Yakovlevich Potapov|Vladimir Potapov]] (July 1990 —– February 1993)

* [[Nikolai Kormiltsev]] (May 1993 —– November 1994)

* [[Aleksandr Sergeyevich Morozov|Aleksandr Morozov]] (November 1994 -– November 1997)

* {{ill|[[Aleksandr Belousov|ru|Белоусов, Александр Васильевич}}]] (November 1997 —– August 1999)

* [[Aleksandr Vasilyevich Novikov|Aleksandr Novikov]] (August 1999 —– September 2001)

* [[Aleksandr Stolyarov]] (September 2001 —– June 2003)

* [[Nikolai Dymov]] (June 2003 —– June 2006)

* [[Anatoly Sidorov]] (July 2006 —– June 2008)

* [[Aleksandr Dvornikov]] (June 2008 —– January 2011)

* [[Andrey Serdyukov]] (January 2011 —– February 2013)

* [[Aleksey Salmin]] (October 2013 —– September 2016)

* [[Valery Asapov]] (October 2016 —– September 2017)

* [[Roman Kutuzov (general)|Roman Kutuzov]] (October 2017 —– August 2018)

* {{ill|Oleg Tsekov|ru|Цеков, Олег Муссович}} (August 2018 —– September 2020)

* {{ill|Aleksey Podivilov|ru|Подивилов, Алексей Владимирович}} (18 September 2020 —– present2022)

{{Reflist|2}}