18th Army (Soviet Union)

18th Army
Active	1941–46
Country	Soviet Union
Branch	Red Army
Size	several corps or, later, divisions
Part of	Front or Military District
Engagements	Operation Barbarossa

The 18th Army of the Soviet Union's Red Army was formed on 21 June 1941 on the basis of HQ Kharkov Military District and armies of the Kiev Special Military District.

The Army's commander in 1941 was General-Lieutenant Andrew Kirilovych Smirnov. The Army composition on the beginning of the war was:

It was caught soon after the start of Operation Barbarossa in 1941 in a huge encirclement south of Kiev along with the Sixth Soviet Army and 12th Army. This encirclement was part of the Battle of Uman. A further formation was shattered during the Battle of the Sea of Azov in September–October 1941.

On 1 October 1943 the army consisted of 20th Rifle Corps (8 гв. сбр, 81 и 83 морские сбр), 55th Guards Rifle Division, 89th Rifle Division, 176th, 318, 414th Rifle Divisions, 107 сбр, 255 бр морской пехоты, 10 гв. оптб, artillery, armoured forces, and engineers.

As part of Southern, North-Caucasian, Transcaucasian Front, and the 1st and 4th Ukrainian Fronts the 18th Army conducted defensive operations in right-bank Ukraine, participated in Donbass, the Rostov defensive and offensive operations, and in the fight for Caucasus. Based on the experience of the Kerch - Eltigen landing operation, the Army was uniquely identified as 18th Desant Army (Russian: 18-я десантная армия) for amphibious operations, between 15 February and 5 April 1944 around Malaya Zemlya.

...
Wikipedia