32nd Army (Soviet Union)

32nd Army
Active	16 July - 12 October 1941 10 March 1942 - August 1945 1969 - 4 June 1991
Country	USSR
Branch	Red Army
Type	Field Army
Size	Army
Engagements	World War II Battle of Moscow Svir–Petrozavodsk Offensive
Commanders
Notable commanders	See List

The 32nd Army was a formation of the Soviet Army during World War II. The army was formed twice during the war, disbanded as part of the post-war demobilization and then reformed in 1969 to protect the Soviet-Chinese border.

First Formation

The army was formed on 16 July 1941 in the Moscow Military District near the cities of Naro-Fominsk, Kubinka, and the settlement of Dorokhovo. The army was formed with four divisions of Moscow Militia. The assigned units included the 2nd, 7th, 8th, 13th Moscow Militia divisions.^[1] In addition, on 20 July 1941, 18th Moscow People's Militia Divisions was assigned to the Army at positions west of Moscow. The 18th had a strength of 10,000.

On 18 July the army was incorporated into the Moscow line of defense and took up defensive positions in the vicinity of Karacharovo. On 30 July the army was assigned to the Reserve Front. On 1 October, the army included the 2nd Rifle Division, 8th Rifle Division, 29th Rifle Division and the 140th Rifle Division. It also included the 685th Corps Artillery Regiment, 533rd Antitank Artillery Regiment, 877th Antitank Artillery Regiment, 200th Naval Artillery Battalion and the 36th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion.^[2]

On 3 October the army was heavily engaged in a defensive battle against German forces advancing on Vyazma as part of the northern wing of Operation Typhoon. On 5 October the army was reassigned to the Western Front and two days later along with the 16th, 19th, 20th and 24th Armies were encircled by the German 4th and 9th Armies and 3rd and 4th Panzer Groups. The 32nd Army was disbanded on 12 October 1941. Small elements of the army were able to break out of the encirclement and were assigned to the 16th and 19th Armies.

Second Formation

STAVKA ordered the army reformed on 2 March 1942. The reformation was completed on 10 March 1942. The army was formed from the Medvezhegorshaya and Maselskaya Operational Groups of the Karelian Front.^[1] On 1 April 1942 the army was composed of:^[3]

37th Rifle Division

71st Rifle Division

186th Rifle Division

263rd Rifle Division

289th Rifle Division

313th Rifle Division

61st Naval Rifle Brigade

65th Naval Rifle Brigade

66th Naval Rifle Brigade

1st Ski Brigade

2nd Ski Brigade

196th Ski Battalion

197th Ski Battalion

198th Ski Battalion

17th Mortar Battalion

208th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion

6th Aerosleigh Battalion

9th Aerosleigh Battalion

36th Aerosleigh Battalion

227th Separate Tank Company

261st Engineer Battalion

1211th Sapper Battalion

1212th Sapper Battalion

Until the end of May 1944 the 32nd Army defended the frontier in the Medvezhyegorsky District and from 21 July to 9 August the army participated in the Svir-Petrozavodsk Offensive, when part of the army reached the Finish border in the vicinity of Longonvara. When Finland was knocked out of the war on 19 September 1944 the army was relegated to guarding the Finnish border. During the offensive the army consisted of:^[4]

289th Rifle Division

313th Rifle Division

376th Rifle Division

65th Naval Rifle Brigade

80th Naval Rifle Brigade

33rd Ski Brigade

1237th Gun Artillery Regiment

173rd Mortar Regiment

280th Mortar Regiment

298th Mortar Regiment

63rd Guards Mortar Regiment (minus 297th Battalion)

275th Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment

208th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion

446th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion

376th Tank Battalion (minus Tank Company KV)

21st Aerosleigh Battalion

22nd Aerosleigh Battalion

26th Aerosleigh Battalion

261st Engineer Battalion

Composition on 1 November 1944:^[5]

135th Rifle Corps

176th Rifle Division

289th Rifle Division

313th Rifle Division

621st Mortar Regiment

63rd Guards Mortar Regiment

275th Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment

32nd Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion

446th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion

29th Tank Brigade

90th Separate Tank Regiment

261st Engineer Battalion

6th Flamethrower Battalion

194th Flamethrower Company

196th Flamethrower Company

On 15 November 1944 the 32nd Army was put into the Reserve of the Supreme High Command (Stavka Reserve) and on 21 April 1945 was directly subordinated to the Stavka.

On 1 May 1945 the Army was composed of:^[6]

203rd Gun Artillery Brigade

621st Mortar Regiment

275th Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment

194th Flamethrower Company

196th Flamethrower Company

The army was disbanded in August 1945.

Third Formation

This army was reformed using the command staff of the 1st Army Corps in 1969 when the Central Asian Military District was reestablished to protect the Soviet-Chinese border.

Composition:^[7]

71st Motor Rifle Division - The 71st Motor Rifle Division was formed in 1984 at Semipalatinsk. The 71st Motor Rifle Division became the 5202nd Base for Storage of Weapons and Equipment (VKhVT) (Semipalatinsk) in 1989. The 5202nd Base for Storage of Weapons and Equipment became part of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991-92.

155th Motor Rifle Division (Ust-Kamengorsk)

203rd Motor Rifle Division (Karaganda)

78th Tank Division (Ayaguz)

In March 1988 32nd Army became 1st Army Corps, and then in 1991 (June 1991) 40th Army was reformed at Semipalatinsk.

The army was redesignated on 4 June 1991 as the 40th Army.^[8][9]

Commanders

• Lieutenant General Nilolai K. Klykov (July - August 1941)^[10]
• Major General Ivan Fedyuninsky (August - September 1941)
• Major General Sergei V. Vishnevskii (September 1941 - October 1941)^[11]
• Major General Sergei Trofimenko (March - June 1942)
• Lieutenant General Filip D. Garelenko (June 1942 - 1944)^[12]

Notes

1. Soviet Military Encyclopedia. - T. 8. - S. 112.
2. Marchand, Vol II, page 10
3. Marchand, Vol IV, pages 65-6
4. Marchand, Vol XII, pages 77-8
5. Marchand, Vol XX, pp 2-3
6. Marchand, Vol XXIII, pg. 65
7. V.I. Feskov, Golikov V.I., K.A. Kalashnikov, and S.A. Slugin, The Armed Forces of the USSR after World War II, from the Red Army to the Soviet (Part 1: Land Forces). (В.И. Слугин С.А. Вооруженные силы СССР после Второй Мировой войны: от Красной Армии к Советской (часть 1: Сухопутные войска)) Томск, 2013, 543-544.
8. (Russian) A.Volkov - 40th Army: history of establishment, composition, changes in structure. (А. Волков - 40-я Армия: история создания, состав, изменение структуры.)
9. Holm 2015
10. Ammentorp, Steen. "The Generals". Retrieved 28 July 2013.
11. Ammentorp, Steen. "The Generals". Retrieved 28 July 2013.
12. Ammentorp, Steen. "The Generals". Retrieved 27 July 2013.

References

• V.I. Feskov, Golikov V.I., K.A. Kalashnikov, and S.A. Slugin, The Armed Forces of the USSR after World War II, from the Red Army to the Soviet (Part 1: Land Forces). (В.И. Слугин С.А. Вооруженные силы СССР после Второй Мировой войны: от Красной Армии к Советской (часть 1: Сухопутные войска)) Tomsk, 2013.
• Marchand, Jean-Luc (2011). Order of Battle Soviet Army World War, 24 Volumes. West Chester, OH: The Nafziger Collection, Inc.
• Thirty-second Army / / Soviet Military Encyclopedia / ed. A. Grechko . - M .: Military Publishing (Voenizdat), 1976. - T. 8. - 690 p. - (In 8 m). - 105,000 copies.