31st Army ( Soviet Union ) The 31st Army was a field army of the Red Army during the Second World War . Formation . The army was formed on 15 July 1941 in the Moscow Military District . The army was ordered to create a line of defense along the line of Ostashkov - Selizharovo - Rzhev . The army was stationed between the 27th Army to the north and the 49th Army to the south . The army was formed with the following units : and by 1 August was assigned to the Reserve Front and had added the following units : The army was assigned to the Reserve Front on 30 July 1941 and its defensive sector altered to the line Ostashkov - Dace ? ( Ельцы ) - Tishina River . The fighting reached the army on 2 October 1941 . At that time the army was composed of : Combat operations . 1941 . The army engaged the Germans on 2 October 1941 when the Operation Typhoon kicked off towards Rzhev . On 6 October the army formed a task force under the command of Major General Polenov and assisted by a task force from 19th Army under the command of Lieutenant General I . Boldin whose mission was to break the enemy advance on Volokolamsk and Rzhev . On 7 October the first snow fell turning the roads into mud and forcing a halt to the 3rd Panzer Group ' s advance . The snow and allowed the army to setup defensive positions along the Zhuralyovo − Large Yakovtsevo − Ivashkova and create a corridor for retreating Soviet troops . This began the Kalinin Defensive phase of the Moscow Strategic Defensive operations . On 10 October the 110th Tank Division was detached and ordered to Rzhev . On 19 October the army was reduced to : From 19 to 22 October the army fought against German forces which had broken through the around the city of Mednoye and received the 113th and 252nd Rifle Divisions . On 22 October the army , in conjunction with the 29th and 30th Armies to liberate the city of Kalinin . While unable to retake the city the attack was able to draw off a number of German forces from the attack on Moscow . On 5 December as part of the Moscow Strategic Offensive the Kalinin Front began the Kalinin Offensive . Encountering stubborn resistance and repeated counterattacks the 29th and 31st Army had by 15 December broken the flanks of the forces defending Kalinin and on 16 December 31st Army liberated the city . On 7 January 1942 troops of the 39th , 29th , 31st and 30th Armies were stopped on prepared defensive lines north of Rhzev near Lotoshino . 1942 . From 8 January to 20 April the army participated in the Rzhev - Vyazma Strategic Offensive . From 20 April the army moved into defensive positions east of Zubtsov , Russia . On 23 July the army was assigned to the Western Front and took part in the Rzhev - Sychevka offensive from 30 July to 23 August , liberating the city of Zubstov on the 23rd . From 25 November to 20 December 1942 the army participated in Operation Mars . 1943 . On 20 March 1943 the army crossed the Dnieper River despite the complications of the spring thaw breaking up the ice on the river . The army attempted to go on the offensive but was unable to break through the German defenses and by the end of the month it was decided to discontinue the general offensive and go over on to the defense . Composition as of 1 August 1943 : On 7 August the army went over on the offensive as part of Operation Suvorov as part of the Smolensk Strategic Offensive . The army made only limited penetrations of the German lines and beating of heavy German counterattacks the attack was suspended on 11 August . After a regrouping of forces the attack resumed on 16 August but the forces were unable to advance even a mile and the attack was again suspended on 20 August . The attack resumed on 30 August with little progress made . That evening the German forces begin to withdraw their forces . The pursuit by Soviet forces began on 31 August with the crossing of Vopets River . After a week of retreat the Germans managed to establish a defensive line near Yartsevo and on 7 September took up defensive positions . On 15 September they resumed the attack , crossed the Vop River and in conjunction with the 5th and 68th Armies liberated Smolensk on 25 September . 1944 . In February - March the army participated in operations to liberate Brest . At the opening of Operation Bagration the army consisted of : Assigned to the 3rd Belorussian Front the army Operation Bagration participated in the elimination of German forces in the Minsk Offensive encirclement . In addition to the 31st Army the 2nd Belorussian Front ' s 33rd , 49th and 50th Armies were given the task of containing the Germans within the encirclement and destroying German forces in the surrounding area . The elimination of the German forces escaping from the city took place in three phases : By the end of the summer of 1944 the forces of 3rd Belorussian Front and 31st Army had reached the approaches to the border of East Prussia . 1945 . Took part in the East Prussian Strategic Offensive under the command of the 3rd Belorussian Front . The army was transferred to the 1st Ukrainian Front in order to participate in the Prague Offensive . Composition at the end of World War II : The army was disbanded in September 1945 . Command Staff . Commanders References . Marchand , Jean - Luc . Order of Battle Soviet Army World War 2 . The Nafziger Collection , 24 Volumes See also . List of Soviet armies