5th Army (1st formation)

1939

Formed on September 28, 1939 in the Kiev Special Military District on the basis of the Northern (originally - Zhytomyr Army Group , then - Shepetovskaya ) army group of troops as part of the Ukrainian Front to participate in the Liberation Campaign in Western Ukraine and Western Belorussia .

The composition of the army on 10/02/1939: ^[1]

• Army management .

• Management of the 15th rifle corps , corps:

• 45th Infantry Division .
• 52nd Infantry Division.
• 87th Infantry Division .

• Management of the 8th rifle corps , corps:

• 81st Infantry Division .
• 44th Infantry Division .

• In reserve:

• 60th Infantry Division .
• 36th light tank brigade .
• 38th light tank brigade .

1940

The 5th Army took part in the annexation of Northern Bukovina to the USSR in June-July 1940 as part of the Southern Front (see Accession of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina to the USSR )

The composition of the army on 06.26.1940:

• 36th Rifle Corps
• 49th Rifle Corps

1941

The 5th Army covered the Lutsk area . ^[2]
Before the 5th Army, the enemy concentrated a large grouping of his troops as part of the 17th , 29th , 55th and 44th Army Corps of the 6th Army , 3rd , 48th and 14th Motorized Corps in the area from Wlodawa to Krystynopol. 1st tank group . In total, this group consisted of 21 divisions. ^[2]

In the first days of the war, the 5th Army engaged the forces of the German Army Group South . Army troops were fighting on the Kovel and Lutsk directions, took part in a tank battle at Dubno . The army forces, retreating with fights from Kovel to Kiev , suffered heavy losses. The remnants of the army were captured during the battle for Kiev . The army commander, Major General Tank Forces M. I. Potapov was taken prisoner while attempting to leave the encirclement. On September 20, 1941, the army administration was disbanded, and its units and units were transferred to the staffing of other armies of the Southwestern Front .

• Polish campaign of the Red Army (1939) - from September 17, 1939 to September 29, 1939
• Lviv-Chernivtsi strategic defensive operation
  • The border battle in Ukraine - from June 22, 1941 to June 27, 1941.
  • Lviv-Lutsk defensive operation - from June 27, 1941 to July 2, 1941.
  • Stanislavsko-Proskurov defensive operation - from July 3, 1941 to July 6, 1941.
• Kiev strategic defensive operation
  • Korosten defensive operation - from July 11, 1941 to August 20, 1941.
  • Kiev-Prilutsky defensive operation - from August 20, 1941 to September 26, 1941.

On the eve of the war, the army consisted of the 15th and 27th infantry corps , the 9th (in reserve) and the 22nd mechanized corps , the 2nd and 9th fortifications, a number of artillery, engineering and other units (a total of 5 infantry , 4 tank and 2 motorized divisions). Since the beginning of the war, the army was included in the South-Western Front .

On June 22, 1941 ^[3]

• 15th Rifle Corps
  • 45th Infantry Division
  • 62nd Infantry Division
• 27th infantry corps
  • 87th Infantry Division
  • 124th Infantry Division
  • 135th Infantry Division
• 9th mechanized body
  • 20th Panzer Division
  • 35th Panzer Division
  • 131st motorized division
  • 32nd Motorcycle Regiment
• 22nd mechanized building
  • 19th Panzer Division
  • 41st Panzer Division
  • 215th Motorized Division
  • 23rd Motorcycle Regiment
• 2nd (Vladimir-Volynsky) fortified area
• 1st Artillery Brigade
• 21st corps artillery regiment
• 231st Corps Artillery Regiment
• 264th Corps Artillery Regiment
• 5th Pontoon Bridge Regiment

From June 25 the 19th Mechanized Corps entered the structure of the 5th Army. ^[2]

July 20-22, 1941

• 19th mechanized building
• 9th mechanized body
• 22nd mechanized building
• 195th Infantry Division
• 200th Infantry Division
• 62nd Infantry Division
• 228th Infantry Division
• 193rd Infantry Division

On August 20-22, 1941

15th Rifle Corps

• 45th Infantry Division
• 62nd Infantry Division

31st infantry corps

• 193rd Infantry Division (1st formation)
• 195th Infantry Division (1st formation)
• 200th Infantry Division (1st formation)

9th mechanized body

• 20th Panzer Division
• 35th Panzer Division
• 131st motorized division

5th Army Air Force

• The 7th Separate reconnaissance aviation squadron was formed in the second half of July 1941. In service was the aircraft: 21 R-10 , two I-15bis and one U-2 . Squadron commanders - Captain AA Troshin. It operated as part of the 5th Army Air Force of the Southwestern Front. ^[four]
• The 148th separate communications aviation squadron was formed in the second half of July 1941. Armed with 8 aircraft U-2. It operated as part of the 5th Army Air Force of the Southwestern Front. ^[five]

Army Commander

• Potapov, Mikhail Ivanovich (June - September 1941), Major General of the tank forces

Military Council Member

• Nikishev, Mikhail Semenovich (14.8.1941 - 20.9.1941), divisional commissar

Chief of Staff 5 of the Army

• Akimenko, Adrian Zakharovich , Vrid
• Pisarevsky, Dmitry Semenovich (11.3.1941 - 20.9.1941), Major General

• Isaev A.V. From Dubno to Rostov. - M .: AST; Transit, 2004.
• Vladimirsky A.V. On Kiev direction. From the experience of combat operations by the troops of the 5th Army of the South-Western Front in June — September 1941. - M .: Voenizdat, 1989.
• The Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945: the active army. - Zhukovsky; M .: Kuchkovo field; Animi Fortitudo, 2005.
• Khazanov, D. B. 1941. Battle for the sky. From the Dnieper to the Gulf of Finland. - M .: Yauza, Eksmo, 2007.
• Meltyukhov, Mikhail Ivanovich Soviet-Polish Wars. The military-political confrontation of 1918-1939. Part Three September 1939. War from the West - M., 2001. Chapter: Soviet military preparations. (The book is on the website: http://militera.lib.ru/research/meltyukhov2/index.html )
• Meltyukhov M. I. Stalin's liberation campaign. M., Yauza, Eksmo, 2006. ISBN 5-699-17275-0 (see lib.rus.ec/b/300044/read)
• Red Banner Kiev. Essays on the history of the Red Banner Kiev Military District (1919-1979). Second edition, revised and updated. Kiev, publishing house of political literature of Ukraine, 1979.