42nd Army

Categories / Army. Navy/Blokade
42ND ARMY. An armed forces unit of the USSR during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-45. Formed in August 1941 on the Leningrad Front. Comprised of the 2nd and 3rd Guards divisions of the People's Volunteer Militia, the 6th Marine Brigade, the 500th Rifle Regiment, the Krasnogvardeysky Regional Reinforcements and other units. Committed to action in the Krasnogvardeysk (Gatchina) region at the beginning of September, suffered severe losses, retreated to the outskirts of southern Leningrad, held back German troops along the Ligovo–Pulkovo Line. In November 1941, army restaffed with regular units and held the line until January 1944. In coordination with the 2nd Attack Army, it played an important role in the Lifting of the Siege; during the Krasnoselsk-Ropshino operation, it liberated Krasnoe Selo, Gatchina and the southwestern Leningrad Region. From 25 April, it liberated the Pskov region as a part of the 3rd Baltic Front. From July, it became a reserve unit during reorganisation. From 10 August, it was a unit of the 2nd Baltic Front. It took part in the liberation of Latvia and the blockade of the Courland Group of German forces. Commanders of the Army included Major General V.I. Shcherbakov (until September 1941), Lieutenant General F.S. Ivanov (September 1941), Major General I.I. Fedyuninsky (until October 1941), Major General, then Lieutenant General I.F. Nikolaev (until December 1943), Colonel General I.I. Maslennikov (until March 1944), Lieutenant General V.Z. Romanovsky (March 1944), and Lieutenant General V.P. Sviridov (until May 1945).

Reference: 42-я армия в боях за Ленинград // Ист. архив. 1959. № 2. С. 68-90.

G. V. Kalashnikov. Fedyuninsky Ivan Ivanovich
Ivanov F.S.
Maslennikov Ivan Ivanovich
Nikolaev Ivan Fedorovich
Romanovsky Vladimir Zakharovich
Shcherbakov Vladimir Ivanovich
Sviridov Vladimir Petrovich
42-я армия в боях за Ленинград // Ист. архив, 1959 Leningrad Front
Lifting of the Siege, 1944