58th Army (Russia)

The 58th Army (Russian: 58-я армия) is a field army; first of the Soviet Union's Red Army and subsequently (since 1995) of the Russian Ground Forces.

World War II
It was first formed in the Siberian Military District in November 1941, including the 362nd, 364th, 368th, 370th, 380th, and 384th Rifle Divisions and the 77th Cavalry Division and moved to the Arkhangelsk Military District, but then the Army was redesignated the 3rd Tank Army in May 1942. It was reestablished within the Kalinin Front in June 1942, and in July included the 16th and 27th Guards Rifle Divisions, the 215th and 375th Rifle Divisions, the 35th and 81st Tank Brigades, and other support units.

It was reformed in the Transcaucasian Front from the 24th Army on 28 August 1942, under General Khomenko of the NKVD. Much of its senior cadre also came from the NKVD, and among its missions was to keep order in the Caucasus, particularly in the Groznyi and Makhachkala regions. This was because of a Chechen rising that had gone on since 1941 (see 1940-1944 Chechnya insurgency). 58th Army later joined the North Caucasus Front. On 1 November 1942 it consisted of the 271st and 416th Rifle Divisions, and the Makhachkala Division of the NKVD. Prior to the North Caucasus Front putting its main effort into the Kerch-Eltigen Operation (November 1943) the Army HQ was reorganised as Headquarters Volga Military District in October 1943.

Second Chechen War
The headquarters was reformed in 1995 in the North Caucasus Military District from the 42nd Army Corps at Vladikavkaz. During the Second Chechen War, the Army was commanded by General Vladimir Shamanov.

2008 Ossetia War
On 3 August 2008, five battalions of the Russian 58th Army commanded by Colonel-General Anatoliy Nogovitsin were moved to the vicinity of Roki Tunnel that links South Ossetia with North Ossetia. On 8 August 2008  the 58th Army invaded Georgia, moving into South Ossetia and engaging in combat against Georgian forces in defence of the South Ossetian region, most notably its capital Tskhinvali.

Order of Battle, 2003
The Army operates in a close coordination with the 4th Air Force and Air Defence Army of the district, and includes:
 * 19th Motor Rifle Division - Vladikavkaz
 * 205th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade- Budenovsk
 * 136th Guards Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade- Buynaksk, Dagestan (Cyrillic: гвардейская мотострелковая Уманско-Берлинская дивизия)
 * 135th Separate Motorized Rifle Regiment- Prochladny, Kabardino-Balkaria
 * 291st Separate Artillery Brigade- Maikop- (equipped with 2A65)
 * 943rd Multiple Rocket Launcher Regiment – Krasnooktabrsky (Uragan 220mm MRL)
 * 1128th Anti-Tank Regiment- Maikop
 * 67th Separate Anti-Aircraft Rocket Brigade (SAM)- Volgograd area (SA-11 'Buk' SAM)
 * 487th Separate Helicopter Regiment (Mi-8/Mi-24)- Budenovsk
 * 11th Separate Engineer Regiment- Kavkazskay
 * 234th Separate Signals Regiment – Vladikavkaz
 * 22nd Separate Regiment of Electronic Warfare- Vladikavkaz