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It has been suggested that this article be split into articles titled [[::58th Army (Russia)|58th Army (Russia)]] and [[::58th Army (Soviet Union)|58th Army (Soviet Union)]]. (Discuss.) (August 2013) |
| 58th Army (I Formation) (Nov. 1941-Aug. 1942) 58th Army (II Formation) (Aug. 1942-Oct. 1943) 58th Army (III Formation) (1995-present) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active | 1941 - current |
| Country | Soviet Union, Russia |
| Branch | Red Army, Russian Ground Forces |
| Type | Field army |
| Size | several corps or divisions |
| Part of | North Caucasus Military District |
| Garrison/HQ | Vladikavkaz |
| Engagements | 1940-1944 Chechnya insurgency, Second Chechen War, South Ossetian Crisis |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | General-Colonel Anatoliy Nogovitsin |
The 58th Army (Russian: 58-я армия) is a field army; first of the Soviet Union's Red Army and subsequently (since 1995) of the Russian Ground Forces.
World War II[]
It was first formed in the Siberian Military District in November 1941, including the 362nd, 364th, 368th, 370th, 380th, and 384th Rifle Divisions and the 77th Cavalry Division and moved to the Arkhangelsk Military District, but then the Army was redesignated the 3rd Tank Army in May 1942. It was reestablished within the Kalinin Front in June 1942, and in July included the 16th and 27th Guards Rifle Divisions, the 215th and 375th Rifle Divisions, the 35th and 81st Tank Brigades, and other support units.[1]
It was reformed in the Transcaucasian Front from the 24th Army on 28 August 1942, under General Khomenko of the NKVD. Much of its senior cadre also came from the NKVD, and among its missions was to keep order in the Caucasus, particularly in the Groznyi and Makhachkala regions.[2] This was because of a Chechen rising that had gone on since 1941 (see 1940-1944 Chechnya insurgency). 58th Army later joined the North Caucasus Front. On 1 November 1942 it consisted of the 271st and 416th Rifle Divisions, and the Makhachkala Division of the NKVD.[3] Prior to the North Caucasus Front putting its main effort into the Kerch-Eltigen Operation (November 1943) the Army HQ was reorganised as Headquarters Volga Military District in October 1943.[4]
Second Chechen War[]
The headquarters was reformed in 1995 in the North Caucasus Military District from the 42nd Army Corps at Vladikavkaz.
During the Second Chechen War, the Army was commanded by General Vladimir Shamanov.[5]
2008 Ossetia War[]
On 3 August 2008, five battalions of the Russian 58th Army commanded by Colonel-General Anatoliy Nogovitsin were moved to the vicinity of Roki Tunnel that links South Ossetia with North Ossetia.[6] On 8 August 2008 [7][8][9] the 58th Army invaded Georgia, moving into South Ossetia and engaging in combat against Georgian forces in defence of the South Ossetian region, most notably its capital Tskhinvali.[10][11]
Order of Battle, 2003[]
Structure 58th Army
The Army operates in a close coordination with the 4th Air Force and Air Defence Army of the district, and includes:[12]
- 19th Motor Rifle Division - Vladikavkaz
- 205th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade- Budenovsk
- 136th Guards Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade- Buynaksk, Dagestan (Cyrillic: гвардейская мотострелковая Уманско-Берлинская дивизия)
- 135th Separate Motorized Rifle Regiment- Prochladny, Kabardino-Balkaria
- 291st Separate Artillery Brigade- Maikop- (equipped with 2A65)
- 943rd Multiple Rocket Launcher Regiment – Krasnooktabrsky (Uragan 220mm MRL)
- 1128th Anti-Tank Regiment- Maikop
- 67th Separate Anti-Aircraft Rocket Brigade (SAM)- Volgograd area (SA-11 'Buk' SAM)
- 487th Separate Helicopter Regiment (Mi-8/Mi-24)- Budenovsk
- 11th Separate Engineer Regiment- Kavkazskay
- 234th Separate Signals Regiment – Vladikavkaz
- 22nd Separate Regiment of Electronic Warfare- Vladikavkaz
2018[]
After the 2018 structural reforms, the army now has the following structure:
- Army Headquarters in Vladikavkaz under General Major Evgeny Nikiforov
- 20th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade in Volgograd
- 439th Guards Reactive Artillery Brigade in Znamensk
- 77th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade in Korenovsk
- 11th Separate Guards Engineer Brigade in Kamensk-Shakhtinsky
- 102nd Military Base in Yerevan and Cyumri
- 28th Separate Radiological, Chemical, and Nuclear Brigade in Kamyshin
- 42nd Guards Motor Rifle Division in Chechnya
Notes[]
- ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1 July 1942
- ↑ David Glantz, personal correspondence, December 2007
- ↑ BSSA via
- ↑ David Glantz, Companion to Colossus Reborn, 2005, p.59
- ↑ p.109, Murphy
- ↑ Talking Through Gritted Teeth. BBC Monitoring, 6 August 2008
- ↑ Torrey Clark and Greg Walters, Putin Says `War Has Started,' Georgia Claims Invasion (Update4), Bloomberg.com, 8 August 2008
- ↑ Finn, Peter (9 August 2008). "Russian Air, Ground Forces Strike Georgia". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/08/AR2008080800285_2.html?sid=ST2008080802320&pos=.
- ↑ "Russian tanks enter South Ossetia". BBC News. 8 August 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7548715.stm.
- ↑ [1] Oleg Shchedrov reporting for Reuters, Russian troops close to S. Ossetian capital, Moscow, August 8 13:38:12 GMT (Reuters)
- ↑ [2] Минобороны РФ заявило о расстреле российских миротворцев, Lenta.ru, Rambler Media Group, Saturday, 09.08.2008, 03:45:33
- ↑ Russian Ground Forces in the North Caucasus Military District v.1.0 December 1, 2003, Colin Robinson (editing and some text), Vadim Teplitskiy(unit list), and Craig Crofoot (history text), via http://www.orbat.com
Further reading[]
- Murphy, Paul J., The Wolves of Islam: Russia and the Faces of Chechen Terror, Brassey's, 2004
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The original article can be found at 58th Army (Russia) and the edit history here.