The 13th Army was a field army of the Soviet Union's Red Army, first created before World War II, which served from about 1939 to the 1990s.
It was first formed from Group Kozhevnikov during Russian Civil War and fought in the Southern, Southwestern, and again Southern Fronts. It then fought with the North-Western Front during the Winter War against Finland in 1939-40.
The Army headquarters was reformed in May - June, 1941 in the Western Special Military District, starting on May 5 in Mogilev.[1] In the beginning of June General-Lieutenant Peter Filatov arrived to take command (General-Lieutenant was a two-star equivalent rank, with the Soviet Army's Colonel General rank being a three-star position). From the beginning of Operation Barbarossa the Army included the 21st Rifle Corps, 50th Rifle Division, the 8th Artillery Brigade of anti-tank defense and a number of other separate units. From the end of June the Army conducted defensive fights in Minsk укрепрайоне, on борисовском a direction and on the Dnepr river. It conducted operations as part of the Soviet Western Front and the Soviet Central Front. Parts of the Army held up the German advance for almost three weeks near Mogilyov. The 172nd Rifle Division under General Romanov especially distinguished itself. Parts of the army participated in the Battle of Smolensk (1941). During September and October 1941 the Army was operating as part of the Bryansk Front and included the 6th Rifle Division.
The Army fought as part of the Soviet Central Front in the Battle of Kursk in July 1943 under General N.P. Pukhov, numbering four corps with twelve rifle divisions. The Army finished its war service in Germany with the 1st Ukrainian Front in 1945, consisting of the 24th Rifle Corps (117 Guards Rifle Division, 280th Rifle Division, 395th Rifle Division), 27th Rifle Corps(6th and 121st Guards Rifle Divisions), 102nd Rifle Corps (147th & 172nd Rifle Divisions), 17th Artillery Division, and many other smaller artillery and other formations.[2]
The Army, which was awarded the Order of the Red Banner after the Soviet victory, was located for the entire postwar period in the L'vov and Carpathian Military Districts, initially comprising three Rifle Corps (9 divisions). From 1947 to 1949 it was commanded by General Issa Pliyev. It was for much of this period headquartered at Rovno. Almost all its divisions were Guards formations: the 17th, 51st, 97th (the former 40th, 15th, and 97th Rifle Divisions). Only the 24th (subsequently resubordinated to Military District control) and the 161st (a former Rifle Division) were not Guards divisions, but both were renown formations.
The Army is still serving with the Ukrainian Ground Forces as the 13th Army Corps.
Sources, References, and See also
- ^ The Army staff was formed in May 1941 in the Western Special MD according to the decision of Central Committee of the Communist Party and Sovnarkom of the USSR of 23.04.41 No.1113-460cc. Lenskii, B&K, St. Petersburg, 2001
- ^ http://www.tashv.nm.ru/BoevojSostavSA/1945/19450501.html
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