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Soviet 2nd Shock Army
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Second Shock Army – 1944-45 by Van Nortan
Shock Armies were originally intended break defensive positions to enable the breakthrough of more mobile formations, however the realities of the Great Patriotic War saw Shock Armies assuming the same role as other front line Soviet formations. The Second Shock Army was formed in December 1941. Its first commander was General Lieutenant Sokolov a former NKVD commissar who was found to be absolutely incompetent and was relieved of command in January 1942.
On January 7, 1942, the Second Shock Army spearheaded the Lubanskaya Offensive to relieve the siege of Leningrad. Under a new commander, Lieutenant General Vlasov, the army crossed the Volkhov River and broke through the German 18th Armies lines.
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Vlasov’s units drove some 70km into the German rear area, however, the supporting Red Army formations became bogged down. Vlasov requested permission to retreat which was denied and his troops became encircled behind German lines. The Second Shock Army continually lost strength until May 1942 when the German counter-offensive began. When finally allowed to retreat, Vlasov’s army was essentially destroyed during the breakout attempt. Lt. Gen. Vlasov was captured by the Wehrmacht in early July.
In 1943 the army was rebuilt and again used to attempt to lift the siege of Leningrad. In September of 1943, Stavka (Main Command of the Armed Forces of the Union of SSR) took a direct hand in planning the operations to lift the siege. The 2nd Shock Army was ordered to move by naval transport to the Oranienbaum bridgehead via the Gulf of Finland, west of Leningrad. This move was carried out in secret.
In January the 2nd Shock Army, under a new commander General Ivan I. Fedyuninsky, crushed two Luftwaffe field divisions breaking the German lines.
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Combined with attacks by other Soviet formations, the siege was finally lifted. In February the Wehrmacht retreated to Estonia to the safety of the Panther Line of defenses.
The 2nd Shock Army was then ordered to take Narva, a critical city in Estonia. The German army held fast against the Soviet army through September 1944 until it was forced to retreat by breakthroughs to the south. As a result of the strategic Soviet victory in this region, the 2nd Shock Army was moved south and assigned to the 2nd Belorussian Front and fought across Poland and northeastern Germany staying near the Baltic coast. On May 1, 1945, the 2nd Shock Army took Stralsund, Germany and ended the war there.
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The Army
The 2nd Shock Army was primarily an infantry formation with a large contingent of attached artillery. The composition of the army changed depending on the availability of troops and equipment as well as its role on the front. While breaking the siege of Leningrad was a priority of the Stavka, both the Russians and the Germans were reluctant to place their main efforts so far north.
Generally speaking, the 2nd Shock Army did not have access to newer equipment or extensive reserves of trained men. For example, in early 1944 no heavy tanks saw service with the 2nd Shock Army, nor did it have any T34-85 medium tanks. It had to rely on anti-tank guns and artillery to defeat the heavily armoured Panthers and Tigers it faced at Narva.
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The troops ranged from experienced veterans to conscripts, and because of manpower shortages, new replacement troops were often older or younger than the preferred fighting age. Political officers insure a minimum level of morale among the troops, but the fighting spirit of 1942 and 1943 had faded to a more fatalist, yet determined approach. |
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General Fedyuninsky greatest difficulty was getting the various units under his command to cooperate. The Germans defending the Narva River had a mobile reserve of tanks and the ability to call in artillery as needed to break up Soviet attacks. On the other hand, Fedyuninsky’s units would only act under direct orders from the chain of command.
This inflexibility resulted in successful attacks going unsupported by available units or units continuing to assault or fire upon targets which were no longer important. Front Commander General Govorov noted this short coming, and while it was not uncommon in the Red Army, he felt it important enough to comment on it to Fedyuninsky in his review of the unit.
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Order of Battle
The Second Shock Army in 1944-45 consisted of the following units:
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34 Rifle Corps 109 Rifle Corps 122 Rifle Corps 13 Rifle Division 50 Rifle Brigade 48 Naval Rifle Brigade 71 Naval Rifle Brigade 16 Fortified Region 18 Breakthrough Artillery Division 81 Gun Artillery Brigade 116 Corps Artillery Regiment 154 Corps Artillery Regiment 1106 Gun Artillery Regiment 754 Howitzer Artillery Regiment 760 Antitank Artillery Regiment 882 Antitank Artillery Regiment 533 Separate Heavy Artillery Battalion 535 Separate Heavy Artillery Battalion 144 Mortar Regiment 174 Mortar Regiment 184 Mortar Regiment 281 Mortar Regiment 567 Mortar Regiment |
30 Destroyer Brigade 38 Destroyer Brigade 318 Destroyer Brigade 322 Guards Mortar Regiment (Rockets) 43 Antiaircraft Artillery Division 92 Separate Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion 116 Separate Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion 30 Guards Tank Brigade 46 Guards Heavy Tank Brigade 222 Separate Tank Regiment 1439 Self Propelled Gun Regiment 1495 Self Propelled Gun Regiment 1811 Self Propelled Gun Regiment 4 Separate Armored Battalion 17 Separate Snowmobile Battalion 42 Separate Snowmobile Battalion 295 Separate Engineer Battalion 447 Separate Engineer Battalion 734 Separate Engineer Battalion
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Fielding the 2nd Shock Army in Flames Of War
To field a Shock Strelkovy battalion from the 2nd Shock army, use the use the Hro Shock Rifle Battalion on page 33 of Soviet Bagration. While not Guards, the Shock troops were still highly trained and motivated, despite an overall pragmatic attitude.
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Last Updated On Thursday, March 4, 2021 by Wayne at Battlefront
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