High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The 40th Army of the Soviet Union`s Red Army was an army-level command that participated in the World War II from 1941 to 1945 and again specifically for the Soviet War in Afghanistan from 1979 to circa 1990. The Army became the core for the Soviet occupational force (OKSVA) in Afghanistan in 1980s, officially named as the limited contingent of Soviet forces in Afghanistan.