Transcaucasian Front
The army was formed on 1 August 1941 by order of the commander of the Transcaucasian Military District, dated 23 July 1941 based on the headquarters of the 3rd Rifle Corps. Its first commander was Lieutenant General and Hero of the Soviet Union Stepan Chernyak. On 23 August the army was assigned the task of defending the border with Turkey from the Black Sea to the mountains of Uch-Tapalyar and the coast of the Black Sea to the area of Poti-Sukhumi and transferred to the Transcaucasian Front.