58th Army

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name=58th Army (I Formation) (Nov. 1941-Aug. 1942)
58th Army (II Formation) (Aug. 1942-Oct. 1943)
58th Army (III Formation) (1995-present)


caption=
country=Soviet Union, Russia
type= Field army
branch=Red Army, Russian Ground Forces
dates=1941 - current
command_structure=
size= several corps or divisions
garrison=Vladikavkaz
nickname=
motto=
colors=
march=
battles=1940-1944 Chechnya insurgency, Second Chechen War, South Ossetian Crisis
notable_commanders=The 58th Army is a field army; first of the Soviet Union's Red Army and subsequently (since 1995) of the Russian Ground Forces.

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 Archangelsk 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. [ [http://www.tashv.nm.ru/BoevojSostavSA/1942/19420701.html Combat Composition of the Soviet Army] , 1 July 1942] In August it was redesignated the 39th Army.

World War II

It was reformed in the Transcaucasian Front from the 24th Army on August 28 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. [David Glantz, personal correspondence, December 2007] 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. [BSSA via [http://www.feldgrau.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=8526&view=next&sid=080fae5f40fcd7083637a72ca76f7f4e] ] 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. [David Glantz, Companion to Colossus Reborn, 2005, p.59]

econd 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. [p.109, Murphy]

2008 Ossetia war

On 4 August 2008, five battalions of the Russian 58th Army were moved to the vicinity of Roki Tunnel that links South Ossetia with North Ossetia [ [http://www.tol.cz/look/TOL/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIssue=281&NrSection=1&NrArticle=19821 Talking Through Gritted Teeth] . BBC Monitoring, 6 August 2008 ] . On 8 August 2008 [ Torrey Clark and Greg Walters, [http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aWgZSCLsIpMM&refer=home Putin Says `War Has Started,' Georgia Claims Invasion (Update4)] , Bloomberg.com, 8 August 2008] [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/08/AR2008080800285_2.html?sid=ST2008080802320&pos=] p.2, Peter Finn, William Branigin, Georgian, Russian Troops Clash in South Ossetia, "Washington Post Foreign Service", Friday, August 8, 2008; 2:03 PM] [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7548715.stm] the Army moved to South Ossetia and engaged in combat with Georgian forces. [ [http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L8402970.htm] Oleg Shchedrov reporting for Reuters, Russian troops close to S. Ossetian capital, Moscow, August 8 13:38:12 GMT (Reuters)] [ [http://lenta.ru/news/2008/08/08/peacekeepers/] Минобороны РФ заявило о расстреле российских миротворцев, Lenta.ru, Rambler Media Group, Saturday, 09.08.2008, 03:45:33]

Order of Battle, 2003

The Army operates in a close coordination with the 4th Air Force and Air Defence Army of the district, and includes: [Russian Ground Forces in the North Caucasus Military Districtv.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]
*19th Motor Rifle Division - Vladikavkaz
*205th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade- Budenovsk
*136th Guards Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade- Buynaksk, Dagestan
*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

Citations and notes

References

* Murphy, Paul J., "The Wolves of Islam: Russia and the Faces of Chechen Terror", Brassey's, 2004