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| 28th Army (Soviet Union) | |
|---|---|
| Unit name | 28th Army |
| Native name | 28-я армия |
| Dates | 1941–1960s |
| Country | Soviet Union |
| Branch | Red Army |
| Type | Field army |
| Role | Combined arms operations |
| Size | Army |
| Garrison | Moscow Oblast (varied) |
| Notable commanders | Vasily Gerasimenko, Nikolai Berzarin, Filipp Golikov, Afanasy Beloborodov |
28th Army (Soviet Union) was a field army formation of the Red Army and later the Soviet Army. Formed during the crises of 1941, it participated in the Great Patriotic War, postwar occupation duties, and Cold War reorganizations within the Soviet Union and Soviet forces in Eastern Europe. The army's subordinate formations included rifle divisions, tank brigades, artillery units, and support services drawn from military districts such as the Moscow Military District and fronts including the Kalinin Front, Western Front, and Northwestern Front.
The 28th Army was constituted in July 1941 under the direction of the Soviet Union high command structures including the Stavka, as German forces under Heer commanders like Fedor von Bock and Gerd von Rundstedt mounted Operation Barbarossa. Initially assembled from reserve formations transferred from the Moscow Military District, the army incorporated cadres from formations such as the 50th Rifle Division and 3rd Tank Division and was tasked with defending approaches to Moscow and the Smolensk region. Early commanders appointed by the People's Commissariat of Defense included officers with service in the Red Army and Soviet–Finnish War. The formation process involved coordination with agencies like the Main Directorate of Personnel and logistical branches in the Soviet rail network.
During 1941–1943 the 28th Army fought in operations against the Wehrmacht across sectors that included Vyazma, Rzhev, and the Demyansk Pocket. Under fronts commanded by generals such as Georgy Zhukov, Konstantin Rokossovsky, and Ivan Konev, the army engaged in defensive actions, counteroffensives, and encirclement battles. It was involved in engagements connected to strategic operations like Operation Typhoon and the battles for the Moscow Strategic Defensive Operation, contributing infantry and artillery to combined arms offensives alongside formations like the 16th Army, 19th Army, and 33rd Army. During 1942–1944 the 28th Army participated in attritional fighting in the Rzhev Salient, cooperating with the Soviet Air Forces and BM-13 Katyusha rocket artillery units, and later took part in offensives that tied into the Operation Bagration planning and the drive toward Belarus and Baltic States.
After the victory in Europe the 28th Army was engaged in occupation duties in areas liberated by the Red Army, coordinating with NKVD internal security organs and civilian authorities for demobilization and reconstruction. In the late 1940s and 1950s the army underwent reorganization under directives from the Ministry of Defence and the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR, converting wartime rifle divisions into peacetime motor rifle divisions and integrating T-54 series tanks, SU-100 tank destroyers, and modernized artillery. The army's role during the Cold War involved territorial defense within the Baltic Military District and training rotations tied to strategic planning by figures such as Nikita Khrushchev and Georgy Zhukov (postwar adviser roles). It interfaced with Warsaw Pact coordination, Soviet naval commands in the Baltic Sea, and air defense assets under the Soviet Air Defence Forces.
Commanders of the 28th Army included senior Red Army officers appointed by the Stavka and later the Ministry of Defence (Soviet Union), such as Vasily Gerasimenko, Nikolai Berzarin, Filipp Golikov, and Afanasy Beloborodov. The army staff incorporated chiefs from branches like the Main Artillery Directorate, Rear Services, and the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU). Subordinate corps and divisions changed over time, typically including rifle corps, tank brigades, mortar regiments, and anti-aircraft units drawn from organizational templates established in prewar regulations such as the Soviet Army order of battle, 1941 and postwar Tables of Organization and Equipment (TO&E). The command worked in concert with adjacent formations led by generals including Andrei Yeremenko and coordinated offensives with fronts under commanders like Rodion Malinovsky.
Throughout its existence the 28th Army employed a range of Soviet weaponry and equipment. In 1941 its infantry used the Mosin–Nagant, PPSh-41, and DP-27 support guns, supported by 45 mm anti-tank gun M1937 and divisional artillery such as the 76 mm divisional gun M1942 (ZiS-3). Armored elements operated early-war models like the T-26 and BT series tanks, later replaced by T-34 medium tanks and IS series heavy tanks in offensive operations. Self-propelled artillery such as the SU-76 and SU-85 appeared in supporting roles, while anti-aircraft defense used guns like the 37 mm anti-aircraft gun M1939 (61-K) and radar assets from the Red Army Signal Corps. Postwar modernization introduced T-54, T-55, and later models, ZSU-23-4 anti-aircraft systems, and motorized transport from manufacturers like ZIL and GAZ. Typical wartime order of battle lists included multiple rifle divisions, a tank brigade, artillery regiments, sapper battalions, reconnaissance companies, and medical services drawn from institutions such as the People's Commissariat for Health.
The 28th Army's wartime deeds are commemorated in regional memorials, regimental museums, and in unit histories kept in archives such as the Central Archives of the Ministry of Defence (Russia). Veterans received honors like the Order of the Red Banner and the Hero of the Soviet Union award for individual acts, and battle honors were inscribed on standards kept by successor formations in the Soviet Army and later in post-Soviet militaries. Historians drawing on published works by scholars from institutions including the Russian Academy of Sciences, memoirs of commanders, and declassified documents in archival collections continue to study the army's operations in campaigns linked to Vyazma, Rzhev, and the liberation of Belarus to assess leadership decisions and tactical evolution. The army's lineage influences contemporary military historians, museum exhibits in cities like Moscow, Smolensk, and Riga, and scholarly treatments in journals associated with the Institute of Military History (Russia).
Category:Field armies of the Soviet Union Category:Military units and formations established in 1941 Category:Military units and formations of the Soviet Union in World War II