The Army was created from the headquarters of
60th Army (1st formation), which had been formed in the
Moscow Military District in November 1941. Initially, the 60th Army comprised the
334th,
336th,
358th, and
360th Rifle Divisions and the
11th Cavalry Division, and was tasked with fortifying the left bank of the
Volga River from Unza to Kosmodemiansk. The rifle divisions were reallocated to the
4th Shock Army, which was forming up at the same time nearby. The headquarters of 60th Army was converted into the headquarters of 3rd Shock Army on 25 December 1941, under the command of General Lieutenant
Maksim Purkayev. On 1 January 1942, the Army was composed of the
23rd,
33rd and
257th Rifle Divisions,
20th,
27th,
31st,
42nd,
45th and
54th Separate Rifle Brigades, and a number of artillery and other units. The Shock Army was also singled out by having its own aviation units attached because of its intended use. These units included the
163rd Fighter Aviation Regiment (Yak–1),
728th Fighter Aviation Regiment (
Polikarpov I–16),
128th Short–range Bombing Regiment (Pe–2),
621st Aviation Regiment (R–5) and
663rd Aviation Regiment (
Po–2). However, by the beginning of April, this was reduced to one light–bombing regiment (12 Po–2 aircraft) and three fighter regiments with 12 Polikarpov I–16s in total. It was initially a part of the
Moscow Defense Zone in the
Reserve of the Supreme High Command (RVGK). However, 3rd Shock was soon allocated to join the
North–Western Front on 27 December 1941 as part of the Moscow counteroffensive. Matters were not improved by the lack of supplies, aggravated by horrible communications; the assault troops did not get a full meal before the offensive due to food shortages. However, after a few days the offensive – the
Toropets–Kholm operation – began to roll forward, with 3rd Shock approaching
Kholm, but it was getting dangerously separated from its neighbour,
4th Shock Army. By mid January, 3rd Shock had
surrounded Kholm and its forward units had cut the road between Kholm and Toropets.
Kholm itself was surrounded on 22 January, though it was never taken and was relieved on 5 May. With some success in view, Stalin widened the operation's goals, and with a Stavka directive on 19 January directed 3rd Shock, as part of the wider operation, to head for
Velikie Luki, and then to
Vitebsk,
Orsha, and
Smolensk. Two days later, 3rd Shock was shifted from the North–Western Front to the
Kalinin Front. However, the forces available were becoming dangerously thin for the enormous tasks that Stalin was setting them. The Army got no further than Velikie Luki, and was unable to take the town in the face of stiffening German resistance and shortages of food, fuel, and ammunition. Velikie Luki was
finally taken by the
Kalinin Front on 17 January 1943. The Army's next major effort was as part of the Nevel–Gorodok offensive operation in October–November 1943. Nevel was taken at the start of the offensive on 6 October 1943. The Kalinin Front had been renamed Baltic Front on 13 October 1943, and under Yeremenko, used two armies on the left flank, the 43rd and 49th, to distract the Germans' attention from his main blow, from the 3rd and 4th Shock Armies against
Third Panzer Army in the
Nevel area. This would see the Soviets astride the routes leading to the rear of Army Group North and cut vital rail links. Following the Starorussa–Novorzhev offensive operation (February 1944), the Army's next attack was as part of 2nd Baltic Front's July 1944 offensive: the Rezhitsa–Dvina offensive operation. Beginning on 10 July, 3rd Shock Army had reached the Velikaya River by 12 July, captured the bridges despite the demolition charges laid on them, and moved on to surround
Idritsa, which was captured that same day. Five days later the Army liberated
Sebezh after a deep outflanking movement. Rezhitsa (now
Rēzekne, Latvia) was taken on 26 July 1944, with the help of the
10th Guards Army. The 2nd Baltic Front was now facing central Latvia, and on 2 August 1944 the armies were on the march again, with 3rd Shock tasked to move south of Lake Lubań and on to the south of Madon, but after the Soviet forces seized
Krustpils, some heavy fighting followed with only limited success. 3rd Shock forced a passage over a tributary of the
Dvina River, the Oger, on 19 August, but then had to fend off a strong German attack mounted by three divisions with air support. The Soviets slowly moved toward Riga, but the emphasis was shifted south, and the 2nd Baltic Front found itself playing a supporting role from early October as Bagramyan's First Baltic Front raced for the Baltic coastline itself to sever the remaining connection between the German forces in East Prussia and those in Latvia and Estonia. Riga fell on 13 October and the remaining German forces in the area were bottled up in the Courland area. 3rd Shock then took part in the blockade of the
Courland pocket, and the first Soviet attacks started on 16 October. However, by the end of October, it was seen that despite some advances, there was little hope for full success, and the Army was shifted south. 3rd Shock became part of the
1st Belorussian Front from 31 December 1944. The Army was placed in the second echelon for the Warsaw–Poznań strategic offensive operation, attacking in the direction of Poznań under
Zhukov's
1st Belorussian Front. It then took part in the
Vistula–Oder Offensive between 12.1.1945 – 3.2.1945. As the Army moved quickly across Poland in March 1945 during the
Eastern–Pomeranian strategic offensive operation, it liberated a number of cities, including
Vangerin and
Labes on 3 March, and
Frayenvalde and
Regenvalde on 4 March 1945. The same day, in conjunction with the Polish 1st Army and the
1st Guards Tank Army, 3rd Shock entered
Dramburg. A day later, 3rd Shock entered
Gyultsov, and on 6 March the unit entered
Kammin. On 7 March, 3rd Shock entered
Shtepenitts, and liberated
Gollnov together with troops of the
2nd Guards Tank Army. The Army was in the second echelon of the
1st Belorussian Front in the
Battle of Berlin. In April 1945, the 3rd Shock Army (HQ Stendal) as part of the
1st Belorussian Front had the following major component formations and units: •
7th Rifle Corps (
146th,
265th,
364th Rifle Divisions) •
9th Tank Corps (
23rd,
95th, and
108th Tank Brigades and 8th Motor Rifle Brigade) (attached from front headquarters) •
12th Guards Rifle Corps (
23rd Guards,
52nd Guards,
33rd Rifle Divisions) •
79th Rifle Corps (
150th,
171st,
207th Rifle Divisions) • 1203rd, 1728th and 1729th Separate self–propelled assault artillery regiments • 136th Gun–Artillery Brigade • 45th Antitank Brigade • 25th Sapper Brigade • 5th and 13th Pontoon Bridging Brigades The Army took Pankow, a suburb of Berlin, on 23 April 1945. A week later, two regiments of the
150th Rifle Division, 79th Rifle Corps were responsible for erecting flags over the
Reichstag on 30 April 1945, one of which was known as the
Victory Banner. A future commander of the Army, V.I. Varennikov, would also command the
honour guard of the Victory Banner. The Army's active service ended when fighting ceased in Berlin on 8 May 1945. == World War II service ==