45th Army (Soviet Union)

The 45th Army was a field army of the Red Army in World War II. Formed in late July 1941, the army spent most of the war guarding the Turkish border and disbanded in fall 1945.

45th Army
Active	1941–1945
Country	Soviet Union
Branch	Red Army
Type	Field army
Garrison/HQ	Tbilisi
Commanders
Notable commanders	Vasily Novikov Fyodor Remezov

History

The 45th Army was formed in late July 1941 in the Transcaucasian Military District from the 23rd Rifle Corps. It included the 138th Mountain Rifle Division, 31st and 136th Rifle Divisions, 1st Mountain Cavalry Division, 55th Fortified Area and other units. The army's first commander was Konstantin Baranov.[1] On 23 August, the army became part of the Transcaucasian Front. On 30 December 1941, it was subordinated to the Caucasian Front. The army guarded the Turkish border[2][3] and covered Lend-Lease supply routes going through Iran.[4][5] In October 1941 Andrei Alexandrovich Kharitonov became temporary commander of the army.[6] Between December 1941 and April 1942 the army was led by Vasily Novikov.[7] In April, Fyodor Remezov became the army's commander. He would command 45th Army for the rest of its existence.[8]

The army was headquartered at Tbilisi. In July or August 1944, the 133rd Rifle Brigade became part of the army.[9] The 116th Fortified Area joined the army in December 1944 or January 1945.[10] Postwar, it became part of the Tbilisi Military District. In fall 1945, the army included the 261st Rifle Division at Leninakan, the 349th Rifle Division at Akhaltsikhe, and the 402nd Rifle Division at Batumi. The army also included five fortified areas: the 51st at Batumi, the 55th at Leninakan, the 69th at Echmiadzin, the 78th at Akhaltsikhe, and the 116th at Akhalkalaki. The army was disbanded in fall 1945.[11]

Both its 12th and 13th Rifle Corps and a number of divisions (261st, 296th, 349th, 392nd, 402nd, 406th Rifle Divisions) existed for a long time, and some until the collapse of the Soviet Union. However, 349th Rifle Division was disbanded by 1946.

Commanders

• Major General Konstantin Baranov (July - October 1941)
• Colonel Andrei A. Kharitonov (October - December 1941)
• Major General Vasily Novikov (December 1941 - April 1942)
• Lieutenant-General Fyodor Remezov (April 1942 - until the end of the war)

References

Citations

1. "Biography of Major-General Konstantin Fedorovich Baronov – (Константин Федорович Баронов) (1890–1943), Soviet Union". www.generals.dk. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
2. "45-я армия" [45th Army]. samsv.narod.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
3. Bonn, ed. 2005, p. 324.
4. Glantz 2009, p. 574.
5. Beshanov 2003, p. 384.
6. "Biography of Major-General Andrei Aleksandrovich Kharitonov – (Андрей Александрович Харитонов) (1895–1967), Soviet Union". www.generals.dk. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
7. "Biography of Lieutenant-General of Tank Troops Vasilii Vasilevich Novikov – (Василий Васильевич Новиков) (1898–1965), Soviet Union". www.generals.dk. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
8. "Biography of Lieutenant-General Fedor Nikitich Remezov – (Федор Никитич Ремезов) (1896–1990), Soviet Union". www.generals.dk. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
9. Combat composition of the Soviet Army, 1 August 1944
10. Combat composition of the Soviet Army, 1 January 1945
11. Feskov et al 2013, pp. 130, 525.

Bibliography

• Beshanov, Vladimir (2003). Год 1942 — 'учебный» [Year 1942 — "Training"] (in Russian). Minsk: Kharvest. ISBN 9789851309067.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Bonn, Keith E., ed. (2005). Slaughterhouse: The Handbook of the Eastern Front. Bedford, Pennsylvania: Aberjona Press. ISBN 9780971765092.
• Feskov, V.I.; Golikov, V.I.; Kalashnikov, K.A.; Slugin, S.A. (2013). Вооруженные силы СССР после Второй Мировой войны: от Красной Армии к Советской [The Armed Forces of the USSR after World War II: From the Red Army to the Soviet: Part 1 Land Forces] (in Russian). Tomsk: Scientific and Technical Literature Publishing. ISBN 9785895035306.
• Glantz, David M. (2009). To the Gates of Stalingrad: Soviet-German Combat Operations, April–August 1942. Stalingrad Trilogy. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas. ISBN 9780700616305.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)