39th Army (Soviet Union)
| 39th Army | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1941–42 c. 1945–56 c. 1967–92 |
| Country |
 Soviet Union
|
| Branch |
 Red Army
|
| Type | Field Army |
| Size | Three Corps and additional units |
| Part of | Military District |
| Engagements | Battles of Rzhev, Soviet invasion of Manchuria |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
General Ivan Ivanovich Maslennikov |
The 39th Army was a Field Army of the Soviet Union's Red Army formed on 15 November 1941 in the Arkhangelsk Military District, in accordance with a directive issued by the Stavka (command headquarters) on 2 November 1941. The army was directly subordinate to the Stavka.
On 1 December 1941 the army was listed by the Soviet General Staff's official order of battle listings as including seven rifle divisions and two cavalry divisions (355th, 357th, 361st, 369th, 373rd, 377th, and 381st Rifle Divisions, plus 76th and 94th Cavalry Divisions.
On 1 December 1941 the army was tasked to build defense lines along the eastern bank of the river Sheksna. After regrouping in the area of Torzhok it was sent to the Kalinin Front on 22 December, where the 39th Army took part in the Kalinin Offensive Operation. The Kalinin Offensive Operation had begun on 5 December 1941 and was one part of the Moscow Strategic Counter-Offensive. The army was within the joint sector of the 22nd Army and 29th Army under the command of Lieutenant-General Ivan Maslennikov. At the end of December the 39th Army broke through the enemy defenses to a significant depth. During the battles of 2–7 January 1942 the troops on the right wing reached the Volga River and those in the center broke through a new line of defense organized by the enemy on the right bank of the Volga, covering Rzhev from the west and southwest. By the end of the operation on 8 January 1942 the 39th Army had reached the north-west of Rzhev.
The Sychevsk-Vyazma Offensive Operation (8 January – 20 April 1942) began immediately and the 39th Army broke through the enemy defenses in a narrow sector, expanding its offensive on Sychevka and providing a corridor through the enemy front for the 29th Army and 11th Cavalry Corps (commanded by Colonel S.V. Sokolov). By the end of January 1942 its troops came to the Vyazma-Smolensk railway on the north of Yartsevo where they met stubborn resistance of the enemy troops. In early February the enemy counter-attacks from Rzhev and Olenino stopped the advance of Soviet troops and the Russian troops on the Kalinin Front were forced into a defensive situation. This resulted in the Kholm-Zhirkovsky ledge being connected to the Kalinin Front by a narrow corridor between Nelidovo and Bely, where the 39th Army faced the threatening situation of having their lines of communication cut by the enemy. The 2nd Shock Army at the Volkhov Front was in a similar situation in the same time.
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