In 1939, the 11th Army was formed in the
Belarusian Special Military District (BSMD) from the former Minsk Army Group. It took part in the
Soviet invasion of Poland. In the summer of 1940 it became part of the
Baltic Military District (from 17 August 1940 the Baltic Special military district). During the
German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, the 11th Army included the
16th Rifle Corps (which included the
5th,
33rd and
188th Rifle Divisions), the
29th Rifle Corps (
179th and
184th Rifle Divisions), the
3rd Mechanised Corps (640 tanks), the
23rd,
126th and
128th Rifle Divisions, the
42nd (Siauliai) and
46th Fortified Regions (Telsiai), the
45th Fortified Regions, and other smaller formations and units. It participated in military operations as part of the Soviet
Northwestern Front west and south-west of
Kaunas and
Vilnius. After 9 July 1941, it included the
41st,
22nd Rifle Corps, and the
1st Mechanised Corps. After 1 September 1941, it included the
180th,
182nd,
183rd,
202nd,
254th Rifle Divisions, 21st Motor Rifle Regiment, 9th Anti-Tank Artillery Brigade,
614th Corps Artillery Regiment, 698th Anti-Tank Artillery Regiment, the 87th and 110th Independent Tank Battalions,
7th Mixed Aviation Division, and a number of separate formations. In 1942 and 1943 it participated in attacks against the
Wehrmacht near
Solzy and
Staraya Russa and in operations around the
Demyansk Pocket. In the summer and fall 1943 it was part of the
Western Front. In mid July 1943 the Army commanded the
53rd Rifle Corps, the
4th,
96th,
260th,
273rd and
323rd Rifle Division, the 225th Tank Regiment and other units. From July 30, 11th Army joined the
Bryansk Front, and fought in the
Battle of Kursk. In December 1943 the 11th Army was dissolved, with the personnel being integrated into other Soviet armies. The commanders of the 11th Army were: •
Nikifor Medvedev (7 September 1939 – 26 July 1940) •
Vasili Morozov (26 July 1940 – 18 November 1942) •
Pavel Kurochkin (18 November 1942 – 15 March 1943) •
Anton Lopatin (15 March 1943 – 14 July 1943) •
Ivan Fedyuninsky (14 July 1943 – 23 December 1943) ==References==