19th Army ( Soviet Union ) The 19th Army was a field army of the Soviet Union ' s Red Army , formed in 1941 and active during the Second World War . It was disbanded in 1945 or 1947 . First Formation . The army was first formed in June 1941 in the North Caucasus Military District under the command of General Lieutenant Ivan Koniev . Division Commissar I . P . Sheklanov became Member of the Army ' s Military Soviet . Initially the army consisted of the 25th Rifle Corps ( 127th Rifle Division , 134th Rifle Division , and 162nd Rifle Division ) , and 34th Rifle Corps ( 129th Rifle Division , 158th Rifle Division , and 171st Rifle Division ) , the 38th Rifle Division , the 442nd Corps Artillery Regiment , the 471st Corps Artillery Regiment and other units . Sources disagree as to whether a Mechanized Corps , either the 25th or the 26th , was directly subordinate to the Army as well . Three weeks before the outbreak of war the 19th Army was sent by rail to Ukraine in the Cherkassy region . The army received orders from Peoples Commissar of Defence , S . K . Timoshenko , to defend the Kiev Fortified Region . From 25 June 1941 , the Army was included into Group of Reserve Armies of the Highest Command ( STAVKA ) . The 19th Army was transferred by rail to Vitebsk , Rudnia , Smolensk . On 2 July , army was included into Western Front . The transfer by rail took more time than was expected . On 9 July the first units to arrive received orders to deny Vitebsk to the enemy and attack in the western direction and reach the western bank of Dvina . On the contrary , to the 11 July enemy brushed away Soviet forces from Vitebsk . On 11 July , the 19th Army was strengthened by 7th Mechanized Corps and on the next day attacked Vitebsk anew . At that time the enemy had the initiative . To the 16 July , German forces struck through Yartsevo to Smolensk . Three Soviet armies ( 16th , 20th and 19th ) found themselves in the operational encirclement . On 14 July , 19th Army Headquarters received orders to transfer its troops to the 16th Army and to move to the Kardumovo region , and then Yartsevo . 19th Army Staff with great effort broke out of the encirclement near Wadino and received new divisions under its command . Those new forces took defensive positions on the river Vol . During August – September 1941 , 19th Army took part in the Battle of Smolensk and tried to destroy the enemy Dukhowszczina group . In the middle of August army was strengthened with rifle , cavalry , tank division , two gun artillery regiments , three artillery divisions and two batteries of Rocket Artillery ( Katyusha ) additional from air army was protected by 43rd Mixed Aviation Division . Despite this reinforcements the army was not able to perform its task . A new attack on 1 September on Smolensk was also unsuccessful . On 10 September , the army took defensive positions . On 12 September , I . S . Koniev became the commander of Western Front . New commander of 19th Army became General Lieutenant M . F . Lukin . In October 1941 , forces of the 19th Army fought in the Vyazma Defensive operation ( 2 – 13 October ) . The army was surrounded by enemy forces southwest of Jelnya . In the middle of October part of the army fought its way out of the encirclement to the Mozhaisk defence line . The Army commander M . F . Lukin and Chief of Staff General Major W . F . Malyshkin became prisoners of War . The member of the Military Soviet of the Army Divisional Commissar I . P . Sheklanov died in action . General Lieutenant I . W . Boldin then took command , but soon afterwards the army was disbanded , on 20 October 1941 . The army ' s chief of Staff was General Major P . N . Rubtsov , from June to July 1941 , and then Colonel W . F . Malyschkin , who was promoted to General Major from October 1941 . 19th Army 2nd formation . The army was formed on the basis of a STAVKA Directive from 20 November 1941 as a STAVKA Reserve . By STAVKA order from 23 November 1941 , army was reformed into 1st Shock Army under direct command of STAVKA . Army Commander General Lieutenant W . I . Kuznetsov Army ' s Chief of Staff General Major Zachvatajev N . D . 19th Army 3rd formation . Formed on 4 April 1942 on the base of STAVKA Directive from 27 March 1942 . Army was formed on a base of Kandalakhsa Operational Group which was a part of the Karelian Front . The Army ' s units were 104th and 122nd Rifle Division s , 77th Marine Rifle Brigade , 4th Ski Brigade , two separate tank battalions and some artillery and other units . 99th Rifle Corps was also active with the army for a time . Up until December 1944 the Army was defending the Kandalaksha direction . In September , her forces defeated enemy Allakurti group and by the months end reached the USSR state border with Finland on river Naruska - Joki , lake Onikamo - Jarvi where the army went on the defence . On 15 November 1944 army was transferred into the Stavka Reserve and in January 1945 it was positioned near Grodno and Bialystok . On 29 January 1945 , the Army was subordinated to the 2nd Belorussian Front ( 2nd Formation ) . Then it took part in the East Pomeranian Offensive ( 10 February - 4 April ) during which course on 5 March it advanced to the coast of the Baltic Sea north of Koslin ( Koszalin ) and had an important role in the destruction of the east - Pomeranian enemy group . Next , the army together with 1st Guards Army , 70th Army and forces of the Baltic Fleet destroyed the enemy Gdynia group and entered port of Gdynia ( 28 March ) . In April - beginning of May the units of the army took part in destruction of enemy group in western coast of Danzig Bay . Then , in cooperation with the 2nd Shock Army , the army cleared Wolin peninsula , and Usedom and Rugia islands . On 9 May army received the capitulation of the German units on the Hel peninsula . On 1 May 1945 the army consisted of the 132nd Rifle Corps ( 18th , 27th , and 205th Rifle Division s ) , 134th Rifle Corps ( 10th Guards Rifle Division , 310th Rifle Division , 313th Rifle Division s ) , 91st and 153rd Fortified Regions ( УР ) , 204th Guard Artillery Brigade , 884 иптап , 268 минп , and 186th Anti - Aircraft Artillery Regiment ( зенап ) . Feskov et al . says the army remained in Poland until 1947 with two rifle corps of six divisions , when it was disbanded . Army Commanders General Major Morozov S . I . ( March 1942 - May 1943 ) General Major from February 1944 - General Lieutenant Kozlov G . K . ( May 1943 - March 1945 ) General Lieutenant Romanowsky W . Z . ( March 1945 - to the war ' s end ) Members of the Military Soviet of Army Brigade Commissar from December 1942 Colonel Kalinovsky A . P . ( April 1942 - March 1944 ) General Major Pankov S . i ( March 1944 - to the war ' s end ) Chiefs of Staff Colonel from January 1943 - General Major Markuschevich S . A . ( April 1942 - March 1945 ) General Lieutenant Ljapin P . I . ( March 1945 - to the war ' s end )