It was first formed in August 1939 in the Kiev Special Military District from the Volochiskaya Army Group (a corps-sized formation).

It was immediately reformed within the Southern Front on the basis of the 48th Rifle Corps and other units, and defended the west bank of the Dnepr River northwest of Dnipropetrovsk.

[7] It was then transferred to the Soviet Southwestern Front and took part in defensive actions in the Donbas, the Barvenkovo-Lozovaia operation, and the Second Battle of Kharkov, but along with the 57th Army, was surrounded in the Izium pocket with the loss of 200,000 plus men in casualties alone, and afterwards formally disbanded.

The 1st Ukrainian Front forces besieged the city with the 22nd and 74th Rifle Corps, and the 77th Fortified Region, as well as other smaller units.

Even approximate estimates vary greatly concerning the number of German troops trapped in Breslau.

In 1988 the army consisted of: In 1989 the 16th Motor Rifle Division (mobilisation) became the 5186th Base for Storage of Weapons and Equipment (БХВТ) (30th мотострелковая бригада), and the 37th similarly became a weapons and equipment storage base (VKhVT).

Its units fought during the Northeastern Ukraine offensive around Kharkiv, but failed to capture the city.

[23] Reportedly, the army's commander, Lieutenant General Yershov, was dismissed and placed under house arrest at the end of March.

[24] As of April 2023, the army is conducting operations along the Svatove-Kreminna line in Luhansk Oblast.