1941 The army was formed on 1 August 1941 by order of the commander of the
Transcaucasian Military District, dated 23 July 1941 based on the headquarters of the
3rd Rifle Corps. Its first commander was Lieutenant General and
Hero of the Soviet Union Stepan Chernyak. On 23 August the army was assigned the task of defending the border with Turkey from the Black Sea to the mountains of
Uch-Tapalyar and the coast of the Black Sea to the area of
Poti-
Sukhumi and transferred to the
Transcaucasian Front. On 1 September 1941 the army comprised the
4th,
9th,
47th Mountain, and the
224th Rifle Divisions, the 51st
Fortified Region (УР), the 457th and 647th Corps Artillery Regiments (кап), 547th Howitzer Artillery Regiment of the
Reserve of the Supreme High Command (RVGK), 151st, 365th, and 388th Separate Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalions, plus the
27th Fighter Aviation Division. The 51st and 75th Separate Engineering Battalions and the 7th Separate Armored Train Division were also part of the army. On 21 December, Major General
Alexander Khadeyev took command. The army was transferred to the
Caucasian Front on 30 December. On 15 May, the army became part of the Transcaucasian Front's Second Formation. In June 1942, the 3rd Rifle Corps became part of the army. The army was tasked to cover the passes through the Caucasus Mountains from
Mamison to
Belorechenskoye. On 15 August 1942 the army defended the central passes against German attacks. However, Sergatskov reportedly sent only small forces to observe the passes, allowing German troops to capture them. As a result, Sergatskov was replaced On 25 November, the army became part of the front's Black Sea Group. On 29 January, it captured
Maykop with the aid of local partisans. The army became part of the North Caucasian Front's Second Formation on 6 February. On 10 February, Rosly It captured
Krasnodar on 12 February in conjunction with the
18th Army. By 11 March, the army reached the
Kuban marshes in the
Troitsky area, where it went on the defensive. On 22 March, Ryzhov became 47th Army commander The army was placed in Stavka reserve on 30 March and became part of the
Reserve Front on 10 April. On 15 April, it became part of the
Steppe Military District. On 1 June, the army became part of the
Southwestern Front but was sent back to Stavka reserve on 24 July. On 8 August, the army moved back to the Southwestern Front. It became part of the Steppe Front on 11 September. On 2 October, it became part of the Southwestern Front. On 5 October 1943 the army fought a defensive battle to retain bridgeheads across the Dnieper River east of
Dniprodzerzhynsk. The army then fought in the
Krivoi Rog Offensive and captured Dniproderzhynsk on 25 October. In conjunction with the
8th Guards Army, it captured
Dnipropetrovsk on the same day.
1944 In 1944 the army participated in the capture of
Right-bank Ukraine. From 30 January, it fought in the
Nikopol–Krivoi Rog Offensive. During the offensive, the army captured
Apostolove on 5 February. It then turned west towards the
Inhulets. It captured
Krivoy Rog on 22 February along with the
37th Army and crossed the Inhulets north of Shirokoe. Between 6 and 18 March, the army fought in the
Bereznegovatoye–Snigirevka Offensive. The army then fought in the
Odessa Offensive. By 14 April 1944, the army had reached the line of Leontina and Palanca at the mouth of the
Dniester and seized a bridgehead southeast of Raskayevitsy. During August and September, the army fought in the
Second Jassy–Kishinev Offensive. On 20 August, the army broke through German defences along a 25 mile front. The army captured
Akkerman on 22 August and soon broke through to the
Cogâlnic River in the rear of the Romanian
Third Army. In early September, the army advanced southwards towards Bulgaria in the
Giurgiu-
Silistra area. It advanced in the direction of
Esechioi and
Kubrat during the attack into Bulgaria. The army became part of the
2nd Ukrainian Front on 20 September. From 6 October, the army fought in the
Battle of Debrecen. On 8 October, the army attacked with three mobile columns north of Belgrade. 10th Guards Rifle Corps attacked through
Vršac and cleared
Pančevo by 5 October against weak opposition. The 10th Guards Rifle Corps advanced on Belgrade from the north and northeast. The 31st Guards Rifle Corps advanced through the
Voivodina and advanced toward
Petrovgrad and the
Tisza. 37th Rifle Corps advanced from
Timișoara towards
Kikinda, destroying elements of the
4th SS Polizei Panzergrenadier Division and Hungarian forces. It advanced towards
Szeged and
Senta, providing the front's main fighting force in its advance from the south. On the night of 10–11 October, the army captured Szeged. From the end of October, the army fought in the
Budapest Offensive. The army was selected to advance towards Budapest through
Kecskemét. Kecskemet fell to the army on 1 November. On 1 December, the army included the
10th Guards Rifle Corps (including the
49th,
86th and
109th Guards Rifle Divisions), the
23rd Rifle Corps (including the
68th Guards,
99th and
316th Rifle Divisions) and the
37th Rifle Corps (including the
59th Guards,
108th Guards and
320th Rifle Divisions). The
180th Rifle Division was also part of the army. The 7th Breakthrough Artillery Division provided artillery support for the army. It included the 11th, 9th Guards and 17th Light Artillery Brigades, 25th Howitzer Artillery Brigade, 105th Heavy Howitzer Artillery Brigade and 3rd Mortar Brigade. The 45th Guards Light Artillery Brigade, 92nd Guards Corps Artillery Regiment, 12th and 24th Fighter Anti-Tank Artillery Brigades, 437th Fighter Anti-Tank Artillery Regiment, and 462nd Mortar Regiment provided the rest of the army's artillery support. The 38th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division was also part of the army and included the 1401st, 1405th, 1709th and 1712th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiments. The 991st, 1505th and 1897th Self-Propelled Artillery Regiments and 51st Engineering Brigade provided self-propelled artillery and sapper capability to 46th Army. The army crossed the Danube on the night of 4 December. On 5 December, the army's 37th Rifle Corps attacked positions of the
271st Volksgrenadier Division south of Budapest. 37th Rifle Corps was then heavily counterattacked by the
8th Panzer Division. On the same day, the army advanced towards
Csepel Island. The army cleared
Ercsi on 9 December and linked up with the 3rd Ukrainian Front at
Lake Velence. The army suffered heavy losses during its advance. On 14 December, the army was transferred to the
3rd Ukrainian Front.
1945 The 46th Army conducted attacks on Buda until 3 January, when it was directed to prevent breakouts. On 16 January, Shlemin was replaced by Major General Mikhail Filippovsky. After the fall of Budapest on 13 February, the army became part of the 2nd Ukrainian Front on 21 February. On 4 March, Lieutenant General Alexander Petrushevsky became the army commander. From July to September 1945, the army was relocated to the
Odessa Military District and on 25 September 1945 the army was disbanded. ==Subordination==