33rd Army ( Soviet Union ) The Red Army ' s 33rd Army was a Soviet field army during the Second World War . It was disbanded by being redesignated HQ Smolensk Military District in 1945 . Initial Operations . It was initially formed in the Moscow Military District in July 1941 , consisting of the 1st , 5th , 9th , 17th , and 21st Moscow People ' s Militia divisions , plus artillery and other support units . Kombrig D . N . Onuprienko ( July — on October , 25th 1941 ) took command . It conducted defensive operations as a part of the Mozhaisk Defence Line and the Soviet Reserve Front . It was at Naro - Fominsk under General Lieutenant M . G . Yefremov in October 1941 . With the arrival of the 4th German Panzer Group to the Moscow - Volga channel and 2nd Panzer Army to Kashira , the conditions for the German capture of Moscow were created . But on December 1 , the Germans hit the centre of the Soviet front . Two German divisions with 70 tanks broke through in the 33rd Army ' s sector in the 222nd Rifle Division ' s area to the north of Naro - Fominsk . On December 2 , in the second half of day in the 110th Rifle Division ' s sector the Wehrmacht went over to the offensive and attacked in the direction of Mogutovo . At 16 : 00 , the 113th Rifle Division together with a regiment from 43rd Army led a counteroffensive on Klotovo and Kamenskoe with the task of hitting the rear of the German grouping to facilitate situation of 110th Rifle Division . As a result of this counterstroke , the opponent was routed . The Soviets captured 47 tanks and about 50 guns . From the west at Naro Fominsk Germans have directed on Kubinka along a highway , and then to Golitcin and Aprelevka , threatening rears of 33rd and 5th Soviet Armies . At Akulovo village German forces have met with 32nd Rifle Division and artillery fire . It was the last German attempt to break through to Moscow . When the 33rd Army was surrounded in 1942 Yefremov committed suicide rather than be captured . Following Yefremov ' s death General Kirill Meretskov took command in May and June 1942 . Smolensk 1943 . At the Battle of Smolensk ( 1943 ) , after a day of probing , the goal of which was to determine whether German troops would choose to withdraw or not from the first set of trenches , the offensive started on 7 August 1943 at 06 : 30 am ( with a preliminary bombardment starting at 04 : 40 am ) with a breakthrough towards Roslavl . Three armies ( apparently under the control of Soviet Western Front ) were committed to this offensive : the 5th Army , the 10th Guards Army and the 33rd Army , now under General V . N . Gordov . However , the attack quickly encountered heavy opposition and stalled . German troops attempted numerous counterattacks from their well - prepared defense positions , supported by tanks , assault guns , and the fire of heavy guns and mortars . As Konstantin Rokossovsky recalls , " we literally had to tear ourselves through German lines , one by one " . On the first day , the Soviet troops advanced only 4 kilometers ( 2 . 5 mi ) , with all available troops ( including artillery , communications men and engineers ) committed to battle . 1944 - 45 . From April 1944 the 33rd Army , under General Lieutenant V . D . Kryuchenkin , participated in Operation Bagration to retake Belarus as part of the 2nd Belorussian Front . During the Mogilyov Offensive it successfully crossed the Dniepr and Pronya rivers , and liberated Shklov on June 27 , 1944 . During the Minsk Offensive the army , in conjunction with the 50th and 49th Armies , participated in the rout of the surrounded Wehrmacht grouping to the east of Minsk . In the end of July – August the Army participated in the Kaunas Offensive during which it cleared the approaches to East Prussia . On September 10 , it was released from VGK reserve , and joined the 1st Belorussian Front on October 19 in preparation for the Warsaw - Poznan Offensive . On 25 December 1944 the Army consisted of the 16th Rifle Corps ( 89th " Tamanyan " Rifle Division , 339th Rifle Division , 383rd Rifle Division ) , 38th Rifle Corps ( 64th Rifle Division , 95th Rifle Division , 323rd Rifle Division ) , the 62nd Rifle Corps ( 49th Rifle Division , 222nd Rifle Division , 362nd Rifle Division ) , the 115th Fortified Region , 5th Artillery Division , and other support formations and units , including the 35 мбр [ Motor Rifle Brigade ] , 20 иптабр , 25 гмбр , 305 гмп , 56 гмп , the 64th Anti - Aircraft Division , the 9th Tank Corps , the 244th and 257th Tank Regiments , and the 360 & 361 сап ( Self - Propelled Artillery Regiments ) . On 1 May 1945 during the Battle of Berlin , the Army , part of the 1st Belorussian Front , consisted of the 16th Rifle Corps ( 323 , 339 , 383 RDs ) , 62nd Rifle Corps ( 95 , 222 , 362 RDs ) , 49th Rifle Division , 115th , 119th Fortified Region , and other support formations and units . After the initial Berlin breakthrough , 33rd Army , alongside other armies of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian Fronts helped to rout the surrounded German forces to the east of Berlin . Military operation for 33rd Army concluded on 6 May . The Army HQ was redesignated HQ Smolensk Military District in August 1945 .