First formation The 57th Army was formed in October 1941 and subordinated to the
Reserve of the Supreme High Command (RVGK). Still under RVGK control in December 1941, the 57th Army was made up the
333rd,
335th,
337th,
341st,
349th and
351st Rifle Divisions, as well as the
60th and
70th Cavalry Divisions. Starting on 1 January 1942, the 57th Army participated in the offensive by
Southwestern Front against the lines of the German
6th Army and
17th Army. After the Soviet 6th Army had forced a breach around
Izium at the gap of the two German armies' positions, 57th Army and the
6th Cavalry Corps were inserted into the new salient, capturing
Barvinkove (Russian spelling:
Barvenkovo) on 24 January and the important logistical strongpoint
Lozova, including a German supply depot, on the 27th. The Germans reacted by 3 February with the transfer of
XI Corps to the
Pavlohrad sector, where it stood opposite 57th Army, which was now in the
Barvenkovo Salient, bordered in the southeast by
XLIV Corps, in the south by
Gruppe Mackensen of
III Panzer Corps, in the west by XI Corps, and in the north by
Gruppe Dostler and by
LI Army Corps. During the May 1942
Battle of Kharkov, the army was surrounded and practically destroyed. Attempting to break out, General
Podlas, the army commander, was killed in action. Slowly rebuilt, by December 1942, the army was part of the
Stalingrad Front. The 57th Army was disbanded in February 1943 to form the headquarters of the
68th Army.
Second formation The 57th Army was formed a second time in April 1943 and subordinated to the
Southwestern Front. The 68th Rifle Corps first appears in Soviet OOB 1 August 1943, as part of the 57th Army, Southwestern Front. Subordinate divisions at this time were the
19th,
52nd, and
303rd Rifle Divisions. The army subsequently fought in Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, and Hungary until the end of the war. During the final months of the war, the army occupied the southernmost position of the Soviet front line; to the south of 57th Army on the eastern front were Bulgarian (including the
Bulgarian First Army) and Yugoslavian forces. At war's end, the 57th Army was subordinated to the
3rd Ukrainian Front, and commanded the following forces. Infantry units :
6th Guards Rifle Corps ::
10th Guards Airborne Division ::
20th Guards Rifle Division ::
61st Guards Rifle Division :
64th Rifle Corps ::
73rd Guards Rifle Division ::
113th Rifle Division ::
299th Rifle Division :
133rd Rifle Corps ::
84th Rifle Division ::
104th Rifle Division ::
122nd Rifle Division Artillery units :160th Gun-Artillery Brigade :42nd Guards Corps Artillery Regiment :374th Antitank Regiment :523rd Mortar Regiment :71st Anti-Aircraft Regiment Engineer units :65th Engineer-Sapper Brigade The 57th Army became part of the
Southern Group of Forces when it was formed in June 1945. It was stationed in Romania with its headquarters at
Craiova. On 10 June 1946 the 57th Army became the 9th Mechanized Army. It included the
19th Tank Division,
20th Mechanized Division,
24th Guards Mechanized Division, and the
6th Guards Rifle Corps. In December the 6th Guards Rifle Corps was disbanded, along with two of its divisions. In early 1947 the 19th Tank Division was moved back to the Soviet Union, where it was disbanded. On 15 July 1947 the army itself was disbanded, along with the 24th Guards and 20th Mechanized Divisions. == Commanders ==