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| 23rd Army | |
|---|---|
| 23-я армия | |
| Active | 1941–1948 |
| Country | Soviet Union |
| Branch | Red Army |
| Type | Combined arms |
| Size | Field Army Three Corps and additional units |
| Engagements | Invasion of Karelian Isthmus Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Lieutenant-General M. N. Gerasimov Lieutenant-GeneralA. I. Cherepanov Lieutenant-General V. I. Shvetsov |
The23rd Army (Russian: 23-я армия) was aField Army of theSoviet Union'sRed Army.
Formed in May 1941 inKarelia, it fought in theContinuation War againstFinland in theKarelian Isthmus and defended the northwestern approaches toLeningrad duringWorld War II. After Finland withdrew from World War II in September 1944, the Army remained on the Finnish border and continued to garrison theKarelian Isthmus after the war until it was disbanded in 1948.
The Army was formed in May 1941 in theLeningrad Military District for the defence of the southernmost part of the Soviet Union'sborder with Finland, north and northeast ofVyborg. The7th Army was located on its right flank.
The Army initially included the19th and50th Rifle Corps, the10th Mechanized Corps (which included the 21st Tank Division, the24th Tank Division and the 198th Mechanised Division), the27th Vyborg Fortified Region, the28th Keksgolm Fortified Region, plus artillery and other units.
On 24 June, the Army was included in theNorthern Front. At the beginning of 10 July the Mechanised Corps was removed from the Army. From 31 July to the end of August in facing the Finnish offensive, it was unable to stop the Finnsreconquering the Karelian Isthmus and thus the Army fell back to the old border line and occupied positions in the 22ndKarelian Fortified Region. During the campaign, the army (more specifically the43rd Rifle Division) was decisively defeated at theBattle of Porlampi.
Due to a reorganization, the army was transferred to the Leningrad Front on 24 August. The 23rd Army hadsuffered enormous losses in battles against Finns in July to August 1941. When the Finnish Army halted the offensive on the command of Field Marshal Mannerheim on 1 September, the army consisted of only 80,000–90,000 men and had lost huge amounts of heavy weapons and material to the Finns. If Finland had not halted its attack and continued moving towards Leningrad, the 23rd Army probably would have had to withdraw to the city of Leningrad.
From 1942 to June 1944 the Army defended North Western approaches to Leningrad. In June 1944, the Army, including the97th,98th and115th Rifle Corps, and the17th Izyaslavsky Fortified Region and other units, participated in theVyborg offensive operation (10 June – 15 July 1944). In this operation, the 23rd Army followed the breakthrough of the21st Army in this operation, cleared the southern bank of the Vuoksi river and crossed the river in theBattle of Vuosalmi. After the termination of combat with Finland the Army formations were brought out to the state border against Finland, where they were located to the end of the war.
On 1 May 1945, operating under theLeningrad Front, the Army consisted of the97th Rifle Corps (177th,178th,224th Rifle Divisions), the 9th, 16th, 17thFortified Regions, the 47th Guards Gun Artillery Brigade, the 8th Guards and 21st Gun Artillery Regiments, the 94th Anti-Tank Artillery Regiment, the 174th Mortar Regiment, the 24th Guards Rocket Artillery Regiment, the 1469th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment, the 71st, 168th, 177th, and 618th Separate Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalions, the 14th Separate Armored Train Battalion, the 172nd Separate Engineer Battalion, and the 67th Separate Minesweeper Engineer Battalion.
On 9 July 1945, the Leningrad Front became the Leningrad Military District. In the postwar period, the Army initially included the14th and30th Guards Rifle Corps. The latter had relocated toVyborg on 10 June after it was transferred from the10th Guards Army, and it included the45th,63rd, and64th Guards Rifle Divisions.[1] In August, the 14th Guards Rifle Corps was transferred to theKharkov Military District. By 1 October, along with the 30th Guards Rifle Corps, the army included the 9th, 16th, 17th, and 22nd Fortified Regions. The fortified regions had become the 1st and 22nd Machine Gun Artillery Brigades by 1 August 1946. In April 1948, the Army's headquarters was disbanded, and its units became directly subordinate to the district headquarters.[2]
The following officers commanded the 23rd Army:
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