Soviet 2nd Shock Army

Second Shock Army

– 1944-45
by Van Nortan
Shock Armies were originally
intended break defensive positions to
enable the breakthrough of more
mobile formations, however the
realities of the Great Patriotic War
saw Shock Armies assuming the
same role as other front line Soviet
formations. The Second Shock Army
was formed in December 1941. Its
first commander was General
Lieutenant Sokolov a former NKVD
commissar who was found to be
absolutely incompetent and was
relieved of command in January
1942.

On January 7, 1942, the Second

Shock Army spearheaded the
Lubanskaya Offensive to relieve the
siege of Leningrad. Under a new
commander, Lieutenant General
Vlasov, the army crossed the Volkhov
River and broke through the German
18th Armies lines.
Vlasov’s units drove some 70km into
the German rear area, however, the
supporting Red Army formations
became bogged down. Vlasov
requested permission to retreat
which was denied and his troops
became encircled behind German
lines. The Second Shock Army
continually lost strength until May
1942 when the German counter-
offensive began. When finally
allowed to retreat, Vlasov’s army
was essentially destroyed during the
breakout attempt. Lt. Gen. Vlasov
was captured by the Wehrmacht in
early July.

In 1943 the army was rebuilt and

again used to attempt to lift the siege
of Leningrad. In September of 1943,
Stavka (Main Command of the
Armed Forces of the Union of SSR)
took a direct hand in planning the
operations to lift the siege. The 2nd
Shock Army was ordered to move by
naval transport to the Oranienbaum
bridgehead via the Gulf of Finland,
west of Leningrad. This move was
carried out in secret.

In January the 2nd Shock Army,

under a new commander General
Ivan I. Fedyuninsky, crushed two
Luftwaffe field divisions breaking the
German lines.
Combined with attacks by other
Soviet formations, the siege was
finally lifted. In February the
Wehrmacht retreated to Estonia to
the safety of the Panther Line of
defenses.

The 2nd Shock Army was then

ordered to take Narva, a critical city in
Estonia. The German army held fast
against the Soviet army through
September 1944 until it was forced to
retreat by breakthroughs to the south.
As a result of the strategic Soviet
victory in this region, the 2nd Shock
Army was moved south and assigned
to the 2nd Belorussian Front and
fought across Poland and
northeastern Germany staying near
the Baltic coast. On May 1, 1945, the
2nd Shock Army took Stralsund,
 Germany and ended the war there.

The Army
The 2nd Shock Army was primarily
an infantry formation with a large
contingent of attached artillery. The
composition of the army changed
depending on the availability of
troops and equipment as well as its
role on the front. While breaking the
siege of Leningrad was a priority of
the Stavka, both the Russians and
the Germans were reluctant to place
their main efforts so far north.

Generally speaking, the 2nd Shock

Army did not have access to newer
equipment or extensive reserves of
trained men. For example, in early
1944 no heavy tanks saw service
with the 2nd Shock Army, nor did it
have any T34-85 medium tanks. It
had to rely on anti-tank guns and
artillery to defeat the heavily
armoured Panthers and Tigers it
faced at Narva.
The troops ranged from experienced veterans to conscripts, and because of manpower shortages, new
replacement troops were often older or younger than the preferred fighting age. Political officers insure a
minimum level of morale among the troops, but the fighting spirit of 1942 and 1943 had faded to a more
fatalist, yet determined approach.
General Fedyuninsky greatest
difficulty was getting the various units
under his command to cooperate.
The Germans defending the Narva
River had a mobile reserve of tanks
and the ability to call in artillery as
needed to break up Soviet attacks.
On the other hand, Fedyuninsky’s
units would only act under direct
orders from the chain of command.

This inflexibility resulted in successful

attacks going unsupported by
available units or units continuing to
assault or fire upon targets which
were no longer important. Front
Commander General Govorov noted
this short coming, and while it was
not uncommon in the Red Army, he
felt it important enough to comment
on it to Fedyuninsky in his review of
the unit.
Order of Battle
The Second Shock Army in 1944-45 consisted of the following units:
34 Rifle Corps
109 Rifle Corps
122 Rifle Corps
13 Rifle Division
50 Rifle Brigade
48 Naval Rifle Brigade
71 Naval Rifle Brigade
16 Fortified Region
18 Breakthrough Artillery Division
81 Gun Artillery Brigade
116 Corps Artillery Regiment
154 Corps Artillery Regiment
1106 Gun Artillery Regiment
754 Howitzer Artillery Regiment
760 Antitank Artillery Regiment
882 Antitank Artillery Regiment
533 Separate Heavy Artillery Battalion
535 Separate Heavy Artillery Battalion
144 Mortar Regiment
174 Mortar Regiment
184 Mortar Regiment
281 Mortar Regiment
567 Mortar Regiment
30 Destroyer Brigade
38 Destroyer Brigade
318 Destroyer Brigade
322 Guards Mortar Regiment (Rockets)
43 Antiaircraft Artillery Division
92 Separate Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion
116 Separate Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion
30 Guards Tank Brigade
46 Guards Heavy Tank Brigade
222 Separate Tank Regiment
1439 Self Propelled Gun Regiment
1495 Self Propelled Gun Regiment
1811 Self Propelled Gun Regiment
4 Separate Armored Battalion
17 Separate Snowmobile Battalion
42 Separate Snowmobile Battalion
295 Separate Engineer Battalion
447 Separate Engineer Battalion
734 Separate Engineer Battalion

Fielding the 2nd Shock Army in Flames Of War

To field a Shock Strelkovy battalion from the 2nd Shock army, use the organization of the Udarny Strelkovy
Batalon from Red Bear. While not Guards, the Shock troops were still highly trained and motivated, despite
an overall pragmatic attitude. They will remain Fearless Trained, and gain the following special rule
instead of the Hardened Veterans special rule:

They Dig Like Ants

Even the Germans remarked how quickly units from the 2nd Shock Army could dig in, even if the ground
was frozen!

A force from the 2nd Shock Army does not use the Hardened Veterans special rule. Instead, Infantry, Man-
packed Gun and Gun teams from an Udarny Strelkovy Batalon successfully dig in on a roll of 3+.