3rd Shock Army (Soviet Union)
| 3rd Shock Army (1945-54) 3rd Combined Arms Army (1954-74) 3rd 'Red Banner' Combined Arms Army (1974-92) |
|
|---|---|
| Active | 1941–1991 |
| Country | USSR |
| Allegiance |
 Soviet Union
|
| Branch | Regular Army |
| Type | Shock Army |
| Size | 4 Corps and 2 Independent Regiments |
| Part of | Military District |
| Engagements |
Toropets–Kholm Offensive Velikiye Luki Offensive Operation Battle of Nevel (1943) Baltic Offensive Vistula–Oder Offensive East Pomeranian Offensive Battle of Berlin |
The 3rd Shock Army (Russian: Третья ударная армия) was a field army of the Red Army formed during the Second World War. The 'Shock' armies were created with the specific structure to engage and destroy significant enemy forces, and were reinforced with more armoured and artillery assets than other combined arms armies. Where necessary the Shock armies were reinforced with mechanised, tank and cavalry formations and units. During the Second World War, some Shock armies included armoured trains and air-sled equipped units.
The Army was created from the 60th Army (1st formation), which had been formed in the Moscow Military District in November 1941. Initially, 60th Army comprised the 334th, 336th, 348th, 352nd, 358th, and 360th Rifle Divisions and the 11th Cavalry Division, and was tasked to fortify the left bank of the Volga River from Unza to Kosmodemiansk.
60th Army was converted into 3rd Shock Army on 25 December 1941, under the command of General Lieutenant Maksim Purkayev. On 1 January 1942, the Army was composed of the 23rd, 33rd and 257th Rifle Divisions, 20th, 27th, 31st, 42nd, 45th and 54th Separate Rifle Brigades, and a number of artillery and other units. The Shock Army was also singled out by having its own aviation units attached in view of its intended use. These units included: 163rd Fighter Aviation Regiment (Yak-1), 728th Fighter Aviation Regiment (Polikarpov I-16), 128th short-range bombing regiment (Pe-2), 621st aviation regiment (R-5) and 663rd aviation regiment (Po-2). However, by the beginning of April, this was reduced to one light-bombing regiment (12 Po-2) and three fighter regiments with 12 Polikarpov I-16s in total.
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