It was reformed in theTranscaucasian Front from the24th Army on 28 August 1942, under GeneralVasily Khomenko of the NKVD. Much of its senior cadre also came from the NKVD, and among its missions was to keep order in the Caucasus, particularly in the Groznyi and Makhachkala regions.[3] This was because of a Chechen uprising that had gone on since 1941 (see1940-1944 Chechnya insurgency). 58th Army later joined theNorth Caucasus Front. On 1 November 1942 it consisted of the271st and416th Rifle Division, and the Makhachkala Division of theNKVD.[4] Prior to the North Caucasus Front putting its main effort into theKerch-Eltigen Operation (November 1943) the Army HQ was reorganised as HeadquartersVolga Military District in October 1943.[5]
In 2004, units from the 58th provided assistance with armoured vehicles to the forces involved storming the school on the third day of theBeslan school siege.[citation needed]
On 3 August 2008, five battalions of the Russian 58th Army were moved to the vicinity ofRoki Tunnel that links Georgia's breakaway South Ossetia with Russia's North Ossetia.[9]
On 8 August 2008[10][11][12] the 58th Army crossed the border into Georgia and engaged in combat against Georgian forces, most notably in the city ofTskhinvali.[13][14] Its then-commander, Lieutenant GeneralAnatoly Khrulyov was wounded in action.[15]
BM-21 "27777" launch vehicle at display in Kyiv 2014.
In June 2014 Ukrainian troops captured a damagedBM-21 Grad launcher, which the Ukrainians identified as equipment of the 58th Army of the Russian Federation.[16]
Major generalSergey Kuzovlev became commander of the army on 18 August 2016.[17] In late 2016 the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that the42nd Guards Motor Rifle Division had been reformed from the 8th Guards Mountain Motor Rifle Brigade, the 17th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade, and the 18th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade.[18] In January 2017,20th Guards Army commander Major generalYevgeny Nikiforov replaced Kuzovlev.[19]
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On the eve of theRussian invasion of Ukraine, it was reported that the headquarters of the 58th Army had deployed to Crimea commanding between 12 and 17 battalion tactical groups.[20][21] Once the invasion commenced, units of the 58th Army took part in hostilities on thesouthern front of the war.
About 300South Ossetian soldiers of4th Guards Military Base were reported in late March to have refused to return to combat after five days on the frontline in Ukraine, and instead gone back to South Ossetia.[22][23]
On 11 July 2023, the 58th Army headquarters inBerdiansk,Zaporizhzhia Oblast was destroyed by a missile strike.[24][25] Among those reportedly killed was Lieutenant-GeneralOleg Tsokov, the deputy commander of the RussianSouthern Military District, making him the highest ranking Russian officer killed during the invasion.[26][27]
On 12 July 2023, the army commander, Major GeneralIvan Popov, was removed from his post. In a Telegram message posted by a Russian MP, he claimed to have been fired by Defence MinisterSergei Shoigu after complaining about inadequacies in logistics that led to high casualties among his men and accusing his superiors of treason.[24] Popov was replaced by Lieutenant GeneralDenis Lyamin.[28]
On 26 September 2023, the unit was awarded the "Guards" honorific for its defense of the southern front during the2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive.[29]
^"Войсковая часть 27777 (18-я ОМСБр)" [Military Unit No. 27777 (18th OMSBr)].voinskayachast.net (in Russian). 4 September 2015. Retrieved12 August 2016.
^"Войсковая часть 20634 (19-я ОМСБр)" [Military Unit Number 20634 (19th OMSBr)].voinskayachast.net (in Russian). 17 March 2015. Retrieved3 October 2016.
^"Войсковая часть 63354 (136-я ОМСБр)" [Military Unit Number 63354 (136th OMSBr)].voinskayachast.net (in Russian). 10 March 2015. Retrieved3 October 2016.
^"Войсковая часть 64670 (291-я АртБр)" [Military Unit Number 64670 (291st ArtBr)].voinskayachast.net (in Russian). 16 November 2015. Retrieved3 October 2016.
^Bailey, Riley; Hird, Karolina; Mappes, Grace; Evans; Angelica; Harward, Christina; Clark, Mason (14 July 2023)."Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, July 14, 2023".Institute for the Study of War. Retrieved15 July 2023.Chechen Republic Head Ramzan Kadyrov claimed that elements of the Chechen 'Vostok-Akhmat' battalion (291st Motorized Rifle Regiment, 58th Combined Arms Army, Southern Military District) are defending in the Orikhiv area.
V.I. Feskov; Golikov V.I.; K.A. Kalashnikov; S.A. Slugin (2013).Вооруженные силы СССР после Второй Мировой войны: от Красной Армии к Советской (часть 1: Сухопутные войска) [The Armed Forces of the USSR after World War II, from the Red Army to the Soviet (Part 1: Land Forces)]. Tomsk.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)[1] Improved version of 2004 work with many inaccuracies corrected.
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