5th Shock Army
| 5th Shock Army (1942–46) | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Active | 9 December 1942 – December 1946 |
| Country | Soviet Union |
| Branch | Red Army |
| Size | Army |
| Part of |
Stalingrad Front Southwestern Front 4th Ukrainian Front 3rd Ukrainian Front 1st Belorussian Front 3rd Belorussian Front Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany |
| Engagements |
Battle of Stalingrad Rostov operations Liberation of Left Bank and Right Bank Ukraine, Jassy–Kishinev Offensive Vistula–Oder Offensive Battle of Berlin |
| Disbanded | December 1946 |
The 5th Shock Army was a Red Army field army of World War II. The army was formed on 9 December 1942 by redesignating the 10th Reserve Army. The army was formed two times prior to this with neither formation lasting more than a month before being redesignated.
The 5th Shock Army was formed on December 8, 1942, based upon the headquarters of the 10th Reserve Army, which was assigned to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command at the time. It was formed within Stalingrad Front, and was brought together in the remarkably short span of four days (December 9 - 12). Its first commanding officer was Lt. General M.M. Popov. The composition of the army on formation was:
After the German 6th Army was encircled at Stalingrad it was apparent to both sides that there were two possible routes that a German relief operation could follow: from the west from the area of the confluence of the Don and Chir Rivers; or from the southwest from the area around Kotelnikovo. As the distance from the west was significantly shorter than from the southwest, 5th Shock was formed specifically to counter the former threat, which it successfully carried out over the next two weeks.
Assigned to the Stalingrad Front, on 26 December 1942 the unit participated in Operation Saturn. Its composition on 1 January 1943 was as follows:
Transferred to the new Southern Front (the former Stalingrad Front), the army took part in the Salsk-Rostov Offensive as part of the 4th Ukrainian Front. In August 1943, it finally succeeded in breaking through the German Mius-Front defensive line on the river Mius, after which it participated in the Melitopol Offensive during the Battle of the Dnieper.
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