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1st Shock Army | |
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Active | 1941–1945 |
Country | USSR |
Allegiance | Soviet Union |
Branch | Regular Army |
Type | Shock troops |
Size | Varied in the Years |
Part of | Military District |
Engagements | Tartu Offensive Battle of Moscow Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive Riga Offensive Courland Encirclement |
The 1st Shock Army (Russian: 1-я ударная армия) was a field army established by the Soviet Union's Red Army during World War II. The 1st Shock Army was created in late 1941 and fought in the northern areas of Russia and the Baltic States until the surrender of Germany in 1945. The Army was created in accordance with prewar doctrine that called for Shock Armies to 'overcome difficult defensive dispositions in order to create a tactical penetration of sufficient breadth and depth to permit the commitment of mobile formations for deeper exploitation.'[1] However, as the war went on, Shock Armies lost this specific role and reverted, in general, to ordinary frontline formations.