45th Army (Soviet Union)

The 45th Army was formed in late July 1941 in the Transcaucasian Military District from the 23rd Rifle Corps. It included the 138th Mountain Rifle Division, 31st and 136th Rifle Divisions, 1st Mountain Cavalry Division, 55th Fortified Area and other units. The army's first commander was Konstantin Baranov.{{Cite web|url=http://www.generals.dk/general/Baronov/Konstantin_Fedorovich/Soviet_Union.html|title=Biography of Major-General Konstantin Fedorovich Baronov – (Константин Федорович Баронов) (1890–1943), Soviet Union|website=www.generals.dk|access-date=2016-07-13}} On 23 August, the army became part of the Transcaucasian Front. On 30 December 1941, it was subordinated to the Caucasian Front. The army guarded the Turkish border{{Cite web|url=http://samsv.narod.ru/Arm/a45/arm.html |title=45-я армия |website=samsv.narod.ru |language=Russian |trans-title=45th Army |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305015951/http://samsv.narod.ru/Arm/a45/arm.html |archive-date=2016-03-05 |access-date=2016-03-06 |url-status=live }}{{Sfn|Bonn, ed.|2005|p=324}} and covered Lend-Lease supply routes going through Iran.{{Sfn|Glantz|2009|p=574}}{{Sfn|Beshanov|2003|p=384}} In October 1941 Andrei Alexandrovich Kharitonov became temporary commander of the army.{{Cite web|url=http://www.generals.dk/general/Kharitonov/Andrei_Aleksandrovich/Soviet_Union.html|title=Biography of Major-General Andrei Aleksandrovich Kharitonov – (Андрей Александрович Харитонов) (1895–1967), Soviet Union|website=www.generals.dk|access-date=2016-07-13}} Between December 1941 and April 1942 the army was led by Vasily Novikov.{{Cite web|url=http://www.generals.dk/general/Novikov/Vasilii_Vasilevich/Soviet_Union.html|title=Biography of Lieutenant-General of Tank Troops Vasilii Vasilevich Novikov – (Василий Васильевич Новиков) (1898–1965), Soviet Union|website=www.generals.dk|access-date=2016-07-13}} In April, Fyodor Remezov became the army's commander. He would command 45th Army for the rest of its existence.{{Cite web|url=http://www.generals.dk/general/Remezov/Fedor_Nikitich/Soviet_Union.html|title=Biography of Lieutenant-General Fedor Nikitich Remezov – (Федор Никитич Ремезов) (1896–1990), Soviet Union|website=www.generals.dk|access-date=2016-07-13}}

The army was headquartered at Tbilisi. In July or August 1944, the 133rd Rifle Brigade became part of the army.Combat composition of the Soviet Army, 1 August 1944 The 116th Fortified Area joined the army in December 1944 or January 1945.Combat composition of the Soviet Army, 1 January 1945 Postwar, it became part of the Tbilisi Military District. In fall 1945, the army included the 261st Rifle Division at Leninakan, the 349th Rifle Division at Akhaltsikhe, and the 402nd Rifle Division at Batumi. The army also included five fortified areas: the 51st at Batumi, the 55th at Leninakan, the 69th at Echmiadzin, the 78th at Akhaltsikhe, and the 116th at Akhalkalaki. The army was disbanded in fall 1945.{{Sfn|Feskov et al |2013|pp=130, 525}}

Both its 12th and 13th Rifle Corps and a number of divisions (261st, 296th, 349th, 392nd, 402nd, 406th Rifle Divisions) existed for a long time, and some until the collapse of the Soviet Union. However, 349th Rifle Division was disbanded by 1946.

• Major General Konstantin Baranov (July - October 1941)
• Colonel Andrei A. Kharitonov (October - December 1941)
• Major General Vasily Novikov (December 1941 - April 1942)
• Lieutenant-General Fyodor Remezov (April 1942 - until the end of the war)

• {{Cite book|url=http://militera.lib.ru/research/beshanov_vv/index.html|title=Год 1942 — 'учебный»|last=Beshanov|first=Vladimir|publisher=Kharvest|year=2003|isbn=9789851309067|location=Minsk|language=Russian|trans-title=Year 1942 — "Training"}}
• {{Cite book|title=Slaughterhouse: The Handbook of the Eastern Front|publisher=Aberjona Press|year=2005|isbn=9780971765092|editor-last=Bonn|editor-first=Keith E.|location=Bedford, Pennsylvania|ref={{sfnRef|Bonn, ed.|2005}}}}
• {{Cite book|title=Вооруженные силы СССР после Второй Мировой войны: от Красной Армии к Советской|last1=Feskov|first1=V.I.|last2=Golikov|first2=V.I.|last3=Kalashnikov|first3=K.A.|last4=Slugin|first4=S.A.|publisher=Scientific and Technical Literature Publishing|year=2013|isbn=9785895035306|location=Tomsk|language=Russian|trans-title=The Armed Forces of the USSR after World War II: From the Red Army to the Soviet: Part 1 Land Forces|ref={{sfnRef|Feskov et al|2013}}}}
• {{Cite book|title=To the Gates of Stalingrad: Soviet-German Combat Operations, April–August 1942|last=Glantz|first=David M.|publisher=University Press of Kansas|year=2009|isbn=9780700616305|series=Stalingrad Trilogy|location=Lawrence}}

{{Armies of the Soviet Army}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}

045

Category:Military units and formations established in 1941

Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1946