The army headquarters, formed from Headquarters Siberian Military District; under General Staff instructions of 25 June 1941 arrived on 28 June 1941 at Vyazma, accepting on arrival in this area six Siberian rifle divisions of the high command reserve (RVGK).
Reformed from 9 December 1941 to 4 January 1942 when it was redesignated as 1st Reserve Army (II).
The army remained in the Moscow Defense Zone through April 1942 with no assigned forces.
Reformed again on 20 May 1942, from an Operational Group under the command of Major General Aleksei Grechkin[5] while assigned to the Southern Front.
In March–April 1943 relocated to the Voronezh area and was assigned to the Steppe Military District as part of the STAVKA reserves for rebuilding.