5th Combined Arms Army
The 5th Combined Arms Red Banner Army (5-я общевойсковая армия) is a Russian Ground Forces formation in the Eastern Military District.
| 5th Combined Arms Red Banner Army | |
|---|---|
| 5-я общевойсковая армия | |
Great emblem of the 5th Combined Arms Army | |
| Active | 1939–Present |
| Country | Soviet Union (until 1991) Russia (since 1991) |
| Branch | Soviet Army (until 1991) Russian Ground Forces |
| Type | Combined Arms |
| Size | World War II: usually several corps (~10 divisions) Postwar: 5–7 divisions |
| Part of | Eastern Military District |
| Garrison/HQ | Ussuriysk |
| Engagements | World War II Invasion of Poland Operation Barbarossa Battle of Moscow Soviet invasion of Manchuria Russo-Ukrainian War 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive |
| Decorations |
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| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Major General Aleksey Podivilov |
It was formed in 1939, served during the Soviet invasion of Poland that year, and was deployed in the southern sector of the Soviet defences when Adolf Hitler's Operation Barbarossa began in June 1941 during World War II. In the disastrous first months of Barbarossa, the 5th Army was encircled and destroyed around Kiev.
Reformed under Lelyushenko and Govorov, it played a part in the last-ditch defence of Moscow, and then in the string of offensive and defensive campaigns that eventually saw the Soviet armies retake all of Soviet territory and push west into Poland and beyond into Germany itself. The 5th Army itself only advanced as far as East Prussia before it was moved east to take part in the Soviet attack on Japan.
Since 1945, under the Soviet and now Russian flag it has formed part of the Far East Military District keeping watch on the border with the People's Republic of China. As the Russian armed force shrunk, it found itself part of the larger Eastern Military District in the twenty-first century.