21st Army (Soviet Union)
| 21st Army | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1941-1945 |
| Country |
 Soviet Union
|
| Branch | Red Army |
| Type | Combined arms |
| Size | Field army |
| Engagements | |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Fyodor Kuznetsov Vasiliy Gordov |
Fyodor Kuznetsov Vasiliy Gordov
Mikhail Grigoryevich Yefremov
Vasily Kuznetsov
The Soviet 21st Army was a field army of the Red Army during World War II.
21st Army was a part of the Second Operational Echelon of the Red Army. It was formed from the forces of the Volga Military District in May 1941 and was initially based on 63rd Rifle Corps (53rd, 148th, and 167th Rifle Divisions) and 66th Rifle Corps. The army was under the command of Lieutenant-General Vasilii Gerasimenko, and its chief of staff was Major-General Vasilii Gordov. The commander of 63rd Rifle Corps was Lieutenant-General Leonid Petrovskii and the commander of 66th Rifle Corps was Major-General Fedor Sudakov. In early June the army was moved to the eastern fringes of the Pripyat Marshes south of Homel. At the outbreak of hostilities on 22 June the army was redeployed north to defend the right bank of the Dnepr between Rybchev and Stary-Bykhov. At the same time 25th Mechanised Corps, under the command of Major-General Semyon Krivoshein, was assigned to 21st Army from the Kharkov Military District.
On 27 June 1941 it was proposed to Joseph Stalin that the Soviet armies (13th Army, 19th Army, 20th Army, 21st, 22nd Army) would defend the line going through the Daugava-Polotsk-Vitebsk-Orsha-Mogilev-Mazyr. On 2 July, 21st Army was subordinated to the command of Western Front. On 4 July, the 3rd Panzer Division crossed the Dnepr and established a bridgehead on the east bank near Rahachow. Relentless assaults made by 63rd Rifle Corps from 21st Army forced the Germans to evacuate the bridgehead two days later. On 6 July a battle-group from the 21st Army (led by the 117th Rifle Division) crossed the Dnepr at Zhlobin south of Rahachow and attacked in direction of Babruysk. The Soviet attack was repelled by the German 10th Motorized Division with help from 3rd Panzer Division as German forces closed to the Dnepr, taking Rahachow and Zhlobin by 7 July and isolating 66th Rifle Corps' 117th Rifle Division in the eastern fringes of the Pripyat Marshes.
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