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| 8th Army | |
|---|---|
| 8-я армия | |
| Active | 1939 (1939)–1945 |
| Country | Soviet Union |
| Branch | Red Army |
| Type | Combined arms |
| Size | Field army 100,000+ (organized intocorps) |
| Part of | Leningrad Front |
| Engagements | Winter War, Operation Barbarossa, Baltic Operation, Leningrad Strategic Defensive Siege of Leningrad, Battle of Narva |
The8th Army (Russian: 8-я армия) was afield army of the SovietRed Army during theSecond World War.
The 8th Army was formed in October 1939 (or 14 September 1939[1]) from the Novgorod Army Operational Group of theLeningrad Military District with the task of providing security of the Northwestern borders of theUSSR. (The Novgorod Group had been created a month before, on 13 August 1939 by the order No. 0129 of the Chairman of thePeople's Commissariat for Defence, Marshal of the Soviet UnionK.E. Voroshilov. The Group was created for operations inEstonia andLatvia.)
On 30 November 1939 the Soviet Union attacked Finland in theWinter War. The strength of the 8th Army, or overall the Red Army, in the north ofLake Ladoga (Ladoga Karelia), surprised the Finnish general staff. The Finns deployed only two divisions, and they had a support group of threebrigades, bringing their total strength to over 30,000 uniforms.[2] The Soviets had adivision for almost all roads leading west to the Finnish border. The Eighth Army was led byIvan Khabarov, but on 13 December he was replaced byGrigori Shtern. The Vice Commander of the Southern Group wasVladimir Kurdyumov from December 1939, who later was appointed the Vice Commander of the 15th Army.[3]
The mission was to destroy the Finnish troops in the area of Ladoga Karelia and advance to the area betweenSortavala andJoensuu within ten days. The Soviets had the advantage of a three-to-one ratio in men, five-to-one in artillery and alsoair supremacy.[2]
The Finnish troops conducted a pre-planned retreat before the overwhelming opposition. On 7 December, in middle of the Ladoga Karelian front, the Finns retreated near the small stream ofKollaa. The waterway itself did not offer any protection, but alongside there wereridges up to ten meters. Thebattle of Kollaa lasted until the end of war. Up to north the Finns retreated fromÄgläjärvi toTolvajärvi on 5 December, and defeated Soviet attacks by the139th Rifle Division and 75th Rifle Division in thebattle of Tolvajärvi on 12 December.[2]
In the south, two Soviet divisions were united on the northern side of the coastal road of Lake Ladoga. As before, these divisions were in a trap as the Finns could make counterattacks from a north to columns flank. The Finns made counterattacks in all fronts but were not successful – however the Red Army was now facing a position of defence rather than attack. On 19 December the Finns temporarily ceased their assaults as the soldiers were exhausted. It was not until the period 6 to 16 January 1940 that the Finns made another major offensive, and cut the Soviet division into a smaller group of different sizedmottis.[2]
Contrary to Finnish expectation, the encircled Soviets divisions did not try to break through to the east but instead they stayed put and entrenched themselves. The Soviets were expecting auxiliary troops and service shipments support to arrive by the air. However, the Finns repelled all efforts of the Soviet Eighth Army to resupply the encircled troops, and they did not get enough supplies from the air. As the Finns lacked the necessary heavy artillery equipment and were short of men, they did not directly attack the mottis they had created, but instead focussed on eliminating the most dangerous threats only and bide their time.[2]
In 1940 the Army became a part of theBaltic Special Military District.
From the morning of 22 June 1941 as part of theNorthwestern Front the army (10th Rifle Corps with10th,48th, and90th Rifle Divisions and11th Rifle Corps with11th Rifle Division and125th Rifle Division,12th Mechanised Corps, 47th, 51st, and 74th Corps Artillery Regiments, and 9th Anti-Tank Artillery Brigade and a number of other units)[4] joined the heavy fighting with superior forces of the GermanWehrmacht on theŠiauliai axis.
On 23–25 June its 12th Mechanised Corps with the part of the3rd Mechanised Corps of the11th Army southwest of Shyaulyaya executed a counterblow on the forces of the enemy'sPanzer Group 4, as a result of which their advance was delayed by several days. After 30 June the22nd Motor Rifle Division NKVD started operating as part of10th Rifle Corps. (Glantz, SC, 175)
During July–August the troops of the 8th Army conducted persistent defensive actions in the territory of Estonia. On 14 July, the army was transferred to theNorthern Front, and on 27 August of theLeningrad Front. In the beginning of September 1941 the army's troops fought on the neighboring approaches to Leningrad, retaining contact with the forces of the Red BannerBaltic Fleet on theOranienbaum bridgehead which played an important role in theSiege of Leningrad. At the beginning of November, the Army headquarters and some formations and units of the 8th Army were relocated into the eastern sector of the defence of the Leningrad Front and to the bridgehead on theNeva River inMoskovskaya Dubrovka (Nevsky Pyatachok). During November- December, they conducted persistent offensive combat for achieving Leningrad blockade break-through.
At the end of January 1942 the administration of the army, crossed onLake Ladoga ice to theVolkhov direction, combined formations and units for the Sinyavino operations group of54th Army, which occupied defenses from the south coast of Ladoga lake to theKirov railroad.On 9 June, the army was subordinated to theVolkhov Front. In August- September, it acted as a part of the Front's assault group for theSinyavino Offensive (1942).
During January 1943, the 8th Army participated in the Leningrad blockade break-through, covering the southern flank of the Front's assault group. During July–August it conducted furious fighting in the1st Mga Offensive.
During January 1944, the army headquarters and its support units were moved betweenNovgorod andLake Peipus. 119th Rifle Corps with286th and374th Rifle Divisions was established within the Army in November 1943.[5]
After accepting new formations, the Army participated in the Novgorod-Luga Offensive Operation. After regrouping as part of the Leningrad Front (from 16 February), the Army made several attempts to encircle the German Army Group Narwa in thebattle for Narva Bridgehead. After the failure to do so, the army took up defensive positions in late March to July. The Army participated in theNarva Offensive (July 1944) and theBattle of Tannenberg Line, 25 July to 10 August 1944. During September in cooperation with the2nd Shock Army and theBaltic Fleet, the army conducted theTallinn Offensive, as a result of which, mainland Estonia and the capitalTallinn were captured.
In October–November the army together with theBaltic Fleet conducted theMoonsund Landing Operation to capture theWest Estonian archipelago (Moonsund archipelago).
From December 1944, the Army carried out coastal defence tasks in Estonia to the end of the war.
In September 1945, the Army was disbanded by being redesignated HQ WesternSiberian Military District inNovosibirsk.
Members of the military council:
Chiefs of staff :
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