| 47th Army | |
|---|---|
| 47-я армия | |
| Active | 1941–1946 |
| Country |  Soviet Union |
| Branch | Red Army |
| Size | Field army |
| Part of | Transcaucasian Front Caucasian Front |
| Engagements | World War II |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Andrei Grechko |
The47th Army (Russian:47-я армия) was afield army of theRed Army duringWorld War II, active from 1941 to 1946.
The 47th Army was formed in late July 1941 in theTranscaucasian Military District as part of the Soviet Union's border defenses with Iran. On 1 August 1941 the army's composition was reported as including the236th Rifle Division,63rd and76th Mountain Rifle Divisions, the 116th Howitzer Artillery Regiment (an RVGK asset), the 456th Corps Artillery Regiment, the 6th and 54th Tank Divisions, and engineering forces which included the 61st motorized engineer battalion, 75th independent engineer battalion, and the 6th and 54th pontoon bridge battalions.[1]
Soviet units began their part of theAnglo-Soviet invasion of Iran on 25 August 1941. The 47th Army broke through the border and moved from theAzerbaijan SSR intoIranian Azerbaijan.[2] They moved towardsTabriz andLake Urmia. They captured the Iranian city ofJolfa. An Iranianreconnaissance aircraft discovered the forces south of Jolfa moving towardsMarand. It was possible for the Iranian 3rd Division under General Matboodi to movemotorized infantry towardsShibli in order to halt the breakthrough, but due to being taken by surprise, he failed to make the proper counterattack. He also failed to destroy the bridges and highways with explosives, allowing the Soviets to rapidly move through the region.[3] Five Iranian bombers were intercepted trying to attack the Soviet positions around Jolfa.[4]
On 1 October 1941 the army was reported to include the 20th and63rd Mountain Rifle Divisions, the402nd Rifle Division, the 324th Mountain Rifle Regiment of the77th Mountain Rifle Division, the1st Mountain Cavalry Division (though listed as 1 кд not гкд in BSSA), and the17th,23rd and24th Cavalry Divisions (кд).[5]
By January 1942, the army was assigned to theCrimean Front, and fought in theKerch Peninsula in Crimea, theTaman Peninsula and Caucasus region of southern Russia, in theBelgorod-Kharkov Offensive, and to the east of theDnieper River in Ukraine until early 1944.[6]
On 1 June 1942, the army's infantry comprised32nd and33rd Guards Rifle Division,77th Mountain Rifle Division, and 103rd Rifle Brigade. Artillery assigned included 547th Cannon Artillery Regiment, 18th Guards Mortar Regiment, and additionally40th Tank Brigade was part of the army.[7]In March 1944, the 47th Army was subordinated to the2nd Belorussian Front, and then moved to the1st Belorussian Front in mid-April 1944 and fought as part of this force until the end ofWorld War II in Europe. As part of the 1st BRF, the 47th Army fought in theVistula-Oder Offensive,East Pomeranian Offensive, and theBerlin Offensive.[8]
Key actions that the 47th Army took part in were the liberation ofKovel on July 6, 1944, forcing the Germans out of thePraga suburb of Warsaw on September 14, 1944, and achieving a junction with troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front on April 25, 1945, that completed the encirclement of Berlin.[9]
The 47th Army in January 1945 had nine rifle divisions (77th Rifle Corps with185th, 234th,328th Rifle Divisions), 125th Rifle Corps (60th,76th, 175th Rifle Divisions), 129th Rifle Corps (132nd,143rd, 260th Rifle Divisions),[10] 30th Guards Gun-artillery Brigade, 31st Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division with four anti-aircraft artillery regiments (1376th, 1380th, 1386th, and 1392nd) plus a separate anti-aircraft artillery regiment (1488th), 163rd Anti-Tank Artillery Regiment, 460th Mortar Regiment, 75th rocket launcher regiment, 70th Guards Independent Tank Regiment, four regiments of self-propelled guns, an armoured train unit, aDUKW truck battalion, an engineer-sapper brigade, and two flamethrower units.
The 47th Army was inactivated on February 5, 1946, inHalle, Germany, after taking part in the occupation of eastern Germany.
The following officers commanded the army during World War II.[9]
| Armies |
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| Guards | |
| Tank/Mechanized | |
| Guards Tank/Mechanized | |
| Shock | |
| Cavalry | |
| Sapper |
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| Reserve Army |
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