On November 7, 1941, in addition to the military parade in Moscow, parades of military reserves also took place in Voronezh and Kuibyshev. The parade in Kuibyshev was commanded by Lieutenant General Purkayev. On December 25, 1941, he took command of the 3rd shock army.
The name itself eloquently said that the rank and file and command would have to fight on the most difficult sections of the front. At the tip of the attack. In the direction of the main blow.
20th century war
The wars of the 16th-19th centuries are “wars of one battle”. The army, which defeated the enemy in a decisive battle, became the winner.
World War I showed that the progress of armaments changed the course of the war. Previous tactics have become ineffective.
For the USSR, the need to develop new operational techniques was extremely urgent. The young state did not doubt the inevitability of war with the imperialist environment.
Deep breakthrough concept
The principles of modern warfare were developed by a team of military theorists led by V.K. Triandafillov with the support of M.N. Tukhachevsky.
The armies of the 20th century are well-armed and combat-ready. To win, it is necessary to conduct a series of offensive operations to break the front line in a limited area, with a deep raid behind enemy lines to the entire depth of defense. Battles must be repeated after each rearrangement of enemy forces.
Offensive tactics should be developed in the context of a strategic operation or the entire war. Instead of positional battles, highly maneuverable military operations were proposed on the contact line of troops.
The concept was adopted and recommended for mandatory use in the provisional Field Manual of 1936. Before the repression against the generals of the Red Army. Have time.
For the first time, G. Zhukov applied tactics in the battles of 1939 on Khalkhin Gol. The effectiveness of the concept has been proven.
Shock army
"Deep Breakthroughs" became part of the Soviet military doctrine and were successfully used on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War. The Battle of Stalingrad, Bagration and the Vistula-Oder operation — Triandafillov’s tactics ensured victory.
For the implementation of breakthroughs, shock armies were created. There were five, four formed in anticipation of large-scale offensive operations in the winter of 1941/42. The fifth shock was formed in December 1942.
Parts of the shock armies stormed the defenses on the front line, eliminated strongholds and overcame minefields with the support of artillery. The enemy’s resistance was overwhelmed by superior firepower and aggressive infantry tactics. They held a bridgehead, which allowed armored forces to raid the entire depth of the layered defense, avoiding the encirclement of tank divisions.
Composition and Command
The concept implied that armored units would be part of the shock armies. But in 1941-1942. there was no armored vehicles. At all. The tanks that were in service in the troops were destroyed in the first months of the fighting. Factories hastily evacuated east. The shock armies include infantry and artillery. And that is a great power.
In the 3rd shock army there were four rifle corps.
With the beginning of the mass production of military equipment, it was decided to form separate tank and air formations for greater mobility and efficiency.
The first commander of the 3rd shock army, M. A. Purkaev, was appointed commander of the Kalinin Front in August 1942. Until November 1943, the composition fought under the command of Lieutenant General Galitsky K. N. In November 1943, the army was received by Colonel General N. E. Chibisov, who was replaced in April 1944 by Lieutenant General V. A. Yushkevich.
In August 1944, Lieutenant General M. Gerasimov was appointed commander of the 3rd shock; in October he was replaced by Major General N. Simonyak.
The army ended the war under the command of Colonel General V. Kuznetsov.
Kholmsko-Toropetsk operation
The battle path of the 3rd shock army began in 1942. Together with the 4th troops, the Rzhev-Vyazma Wehrmacht group was to be surrounded and destroyed.
The Kholmsko-Toropetsk operation began on January 9. For a month, overcoming the resistance of the enemy, the army advanced. As a result, the front at the junction of the North and Center groups was broken, surrounded by a garrison in the city of Kholm and the demian group of the 16th army of the Nazis. On February 6, the 3rd strike army was forced to go on the defensive. In the rifle regiments, 200-300 fighters remained, there was no one to attack.
The Nazis succeeded in releasing the Demyansky Cauldron only on April 21, 1942.
Velikiye Luki operation
The next major operation of the army was Velikolukskaya. The operation was carried out by forces of the 3rd shock supported by the 3rd air army.
November 24, 1942 the troops went on the attack. By the evening of November 28, the encirclement ring around the city closed. Repeated attempts by the Nazis to break the blockade were unsuccessful. Positional battles continued until December 13, 1942. Opponents constantly introduced fresh divisions into battle.
The 3rd strike army went on December 13th to attack the Great Bow. Fierce fighting on the streets of the city lasted more than a month. The city was taken on the morning of January 16, 1943.
In 1943-1944 the army took part in offensive and defensive battles of the Kalinin and Baltic fronts on the Nevel, Starorussky, Rzhevsky, Riga directions. For more than two months, it blocked a large army group "North" on the Courland Peninsula. At the end of November 1944, it was withdrawn to the reserve of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander.
Wisla Oder operation
In December 1944, the Wehrmacht intelligence agency published an alarming assessment of Soviet intentions and capabilities. In January 1945, the same administration reported to Hitler that the Soviet offensive against the Center group would be directed to the area of the lower Vistula, and then to Berlin. Even German intelligence knew about the start date of the offensive: the offensive would begin in mid-January.
It was planned by the Headquarters, but the allies on the Western Front were bogged down in the Ardennes. They asked Stalin to divert the troops of the Reich on the Eastern Front. On January 6, 1945, the Vistula-Oder operation began.
Zhukov put the 3rd shock in the second echelon. To build up efforts in the direction of the main blow.
Berlin, 1945
The army received Zhukov’s order for the march on January 17. Move columns with readiness at any time to join the battle.
The army followed the advancing troops, not taking part in the battles. By early February, they reached the old German-Polish border.
In less than three weeks they traveled about 500 km. Berlin was less than 100 km away. But in Pomerania there were about six combat-ready divisions of the Wisla group. The 3rd shock received her order to destroy.
The farther inland Germany advanced, the fiercer became the resistance of the doomed Wehrmacht soldiers. But stopping the winners was already impossible.
150 rifle division of the 3rd shock army stormed the reystag. The battle in the building itself lasted a day: from night 30 to the evening of May 1. The Reichstag burned. The fight went on. By evening, the Nazis threw a white flag at one of the entrances. On the night of May 2, the Reichstag surrendered.
Victory Banner over the Reichstag was erected by fighters of the 150th Infantry Division. After the war, the 3rd All-Arms Red Banner Army.