60th Army (Soviet Union)

60th Army
General of the Army Ivan Chernyakhovsky
Active	October 1941 - December 1941 10 July 1942 - August 1945
Country	Soviet Union
Branch	Red Army
Type	Infantry
Part of	Moscow Military District Voronezh Front Kursk Front Central Front 1st Ukrainian Front 4th Ukrainian Front
Engagements	Battle of Voronezh (1942) Voronezh-Kastornoye offensive Battle of Kursk Lower Dnieper Offensive Battle of Kiev (1943) Lvov-Sandomierz Offensive Vistula-Oder Operation Prague Offensive
Commanders
Notable commanders	General of the Army Ivan Chernyakhovsky

The Red Army's 60th Army was a Soviet field army during the Second World War. It was first formed in reserve in the Moscow Military District in October, 1941, but soon was disbanded. It was formed a second time in July, 1942, and continued in service until postwar. The 60th Army was commanded by Gen. Ivan Danilovich Chernyakhovsky for much of the war, and it was while in this command that he proved himself worthy to be promoted to the rank of General of the Army and command of a Front at the age of 38 years. Elements of the army went on to, among other things, liberate the Auschwitz concentration camp.

The 60th Army was first formed in October, 1941, as a reserve formation of the Moscow Military District. It comprised the 334th, 336th, 348th, 358th, and 360th Rifle Divisions and the 11th Cavalry Division. All these divisions had been formed in the Volga Military District in the preceding months. The army was under the command of Lt. Gen. M.A. Purkayev. In December the rifle divisions were reassigned as follows: 334th, 358th and 360th to the 4th Shock Army, 336th to 5th Army, and 348th to 30th Army, while the 11th Cavalry joined the 7th Cavalry Corps in January. Purkayev's headquarters group had already been used to create the command cadre for the new 3rd Shock Army, and 60th Army was disbanded on Dec. 25.

In April and May 1942, STAVKA began forming a total of ten new combined-arms reserve armies in preparation for the expected German summer offensive. STAVKA expected this to be directed at Moscow, while the German plans were, in fact, for a drive to the southeast. On July 2, after disastrous losses further west, 3rd Reserve Army was released to take up positions north of Voronezh. The army was under command of Lt. Gen. M.A. Antoniuk. As late as July 5, the Soviet command believed the new German offensive was a prelude to an advance on Moscow, but shortly thereafter they understood the true intent. The 3rd Reserve Army was directed to deploy to Voronezh Front, in the immediate environs of that eponymous city, and was renamed 60th Army on July 10. At that time its order of battle was as follows: