Rifle corps (Soviet Union)

A rifle corps (Russian: стрелковый корпус, strelkovyy korpus) was a Soviet corps-level military formation during the mid-twentieth century. Rifle corps were made up of a varying number of rifle divisions, although the allocation of three rifle divisions to a rifle corps was common during the latter part of World War II.

Unlike army corps formed by Germany and the Western Allies, Soviet rifle corps were composed primarily of combat troops and had only a small logistical component. Because the rifle divisions themselves were also primarily made up of combat troops, the rifle corps were numerically smaller than corps of other nations. The Soviets also formed Guards rifle corps during World War II, although these were often assigned control of regular rifle divisions and sometimes controlled no Guards rifle divisions.

The Red Army as a whole had 27 rifle corps headquarters in its order of battle on 1 June 1938; this had been expanded to 62 by June 1941.[1] When Germany invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, the Red Army initially had some 32 rifle corps headquarters as part of their order of battle in action against the Germans. Because Joseph Stalin's prewar purge of the Red Army had removed so many experienced leaders, the rifle corps echelon of command in Soviet forces engaged against the Germans dwindled in the face of massive Red Army losses of 1941. The stark shortage of experienced leaders forced the Red Army to have rifle army headquarters directly supervising rifle divisions without the assistance of intervening rifle corps headquarters.[2] The use of rifle corps headquarters never disappeared entirely from the Red Army during World War II, as rifle armies in areas not fighting the Germans (such as the Far Eastern military region) maintained their use of rifle corps headquarters during the entire war.

An example of wartime rifle corps organization is that of the 8th Estonian Rifle Corps in 1942:[3]

Of the 8th Rifle Corps' 1942 strength of 26,466 men, only 2,599 (less than 10 per cent) made up the corps headquarters and corps assets, the remainder being assigned to the two rifle divisions.

By November 1941, the Soviet order of battle showed only one rifle corps headquarters still active among the forces fighting the German invasion. By early 1942, however, the Soviets began to reactivate rifle corps headquarters for use as an intermediate command echelon between the rifle armies and rifle divisions. Doubtlessly, the direct command of divisions by army headquarters resulted in too-large spans of control for army commanders and the Red Army desired to reintroduce the rifle corps headquarters once enough experienced commanders and staff officers were available. By the end of 1942, 21 rifle corps headquarters were in action with Soviet forces engaging the Germans. This grew to over 100 by the end of 1943, and reached a peak of 174 either in action against the Germans or as part of the strategic reserve of the Stavka by the end of the war with Germany in May 1945.

Circa September 1945, the 11, 15, 16, 21, 22, 25, 28, 36, 42, 43, 44, 47, 51, 52, 55, 61, 62, 64, 67, 68, 70, 71, 74, 77, 80, 89, 91, 93, 95, 96, 98, 100, 106, 115, 117, 118, 120, 121, 133, and 135th Rifle Corps were disbanded.[4]

A limited number of Rifle Corps remained as part of the Ground Forces post 1945. They were slowly converted to 'Army Corps' though they still mostly consisted of Rifle and then Motor Rifle Divisions.

List of Soviet rifle corps

22 June 1941

1–10 Corps

11–20 Corps

21–30 Corps

31–40 Corps

41–50 Corps

51–60 Corps

75th Rifle Division, 89th Rifle Brigade, and 90th Rifle Brigade with 4th Army.[56]

61–70 Corps

World War II

Almost all Soviet Rifle Corps were disbanded in the first several months of the war and reformed as the Soviet High Command gained experience in commanding large numbers of forces.

1–70 Corps

71–80 Corps

81–90 Corps

91–100 Corps

101–110 Corps

111–120 Corps

121–130 Corps

131–140 Corps

Guards Rifle Corps

1st–40th Guards Rifle Corps formed after June 22, 1941:

1–10 Guards Rifle Corps

11–20 Guards Rifle Corps

21–30 Guards Rifle Corps

31–41 Guards Rifle Corps

See also

Notes

  1. Glantz, Colossus, p. 107
  2. Stavka Circular 01 of July 15, 1941 directed several changes to Red Army force structure, the elimination of rifle corps headquarters and subordination of rifle divisions directly to rifle army headquarters among them. Glantz and House, p. 65.
  3. historycommission.ee
  4. Feskov et al 2004, 77.
  5. V.I. Feskov et al 2004, 45
  6. Minsk Minsk fortified region - general information
  7. Battle of Minsk
  8. Feskov et al 2013, 49
  9. 1 2 3 Leo Niehorster, Transcaucasus Military District, Red Army, 22.06.41
  10. 3rd Army, Western Special Military District, Red Army, 22.06.41
  11. Feskov et al 2013
  12. Holm, Michael. "5th Rifle Corps". www.ww2.dk. Retrieved 2016-03-21.
  13. Odessa Military District, Red Army, 22.06.41
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Glantz, Stumbling Colossus, pg. 265
  15. Robert Forczyk, Where The Iron Crosses Grow, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, UK, 2014, p 34, and Glantz, Stalin's Generals, Phoenix Press, 2001, p 37
  16. Marchand, Vol. 23, p.19-20. Full reference at 5th Shock Army article
  17. Holm, 9th Rifle Corps
  18. 1 2 3 Glantz, Stumbling Colossus, pg. 261
  19. Holm/Feskov 2013, 10th Rifle Corps.
  20. 1 2 3 4 Glantz, Stumbling Colossus, pg. 262
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Feskov 2013, 407.
  22. niehorster.orbat.com
  23. http://www.ww2.dk/new/army/corps/12ak.htm, and Feskov V.I., Golikov V.I., Калашников К.А., В.И. Слугин С.А. Вооруженные силы СССР после Второй Мировой войны: от Красной Армии к Советской (часть 1: Сухопутные войска) Томск, 2013, 522 onwards.
  24. Combat composition of the Soviet Army, 1945, via Soldat.ru.
  25. Feskov et al 2013, 51.
  26. Holm, http://www.ww2.dk/new/army/corps/31ak.htm
  27. Feskov 2013, 132, 407.
  28. 1 2 3 Glantz, Stumbling Colossus, pg. 264
  29. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Feskov et al 2013, 132.
  30. http://www.ww2.dk/new/army/corps/18sk.htm
  31. 1 2 3
  32. Glantz, Stumbling Colossus, pg 263.
  33. 27th Army, Baltic Special Military District, Red Army, 22.06.41
  34. 1 2 3 Nigel Thomas, Germany's Eastern Front Allies (2): Baltic Forces, Osprey, 5.
  35. Bleiere, Daina; Ilgvars Butulis; Antonijs Zunda; Aivars Stranga; Inesis Feldmanis (2006). History of Latvia : the 20th century. Riga: Jumava. p. 327. ISBN 9984-38-038-6. OCLC 70240317.
  36. 1 2
  37. V.I. Feskov et al 2013, 133.
  38. Keith E. Bonn, Slaughterhouse, Aberjona Press, 2005, 341.
  39. Crofoot, Avanzini, Armies of the Bear
  40. Holm, 35th Combined Arms Army, 2015.
  41. Leo Niehorster, Orel Military District, Red Army, 22.06.41
  42. Восточно-Карпатская наступательная операция
  43. For the January–February 1945 period, see also 'Breakthrough [of] prepared defenses [by] infantry units (according to experience of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.). Collection of articles. - Moscow: Military Publishing, 1957. - 376 p., / Military Academy named for MV Frunze, chapter 9.
  44. http://www.ww2.dk/new/Army/corps/33ak.htm
  45. Feskov et al 2013, 47.
  46. Moscow Military District, Red Army, 22.06.41
  47. Glantz, Stumbling Colossus, pg 261
  48. Soviet General Staff, Perechen No.4 Headquarters of Corps, Moscow, 1956, p.23.
  49. Glantz, Stumbling Colossus, pg. 263
  50. Glatz, Stumbling Colossus, pg. 261
  51. 1 2 Leo Niehorster
  52. 1 2 Leo Niehorster
  53. niehorster.orbat.com
  54. Source Combat composition of the Soviet Army
  55. 1 2 Leo Niehorster, 21st Army, 22 June 1941
  56. tashv.nm.ru
  57. 1 2 Crofoot, Craig. Armies of the Bear.
  58. Feskov et al 2013, 133, and Holm 2015.
  59. http://niehorster.org/012_ussr/45-08-08/corps_057-rifle.htm
  60. V.I. Feskov et al 2004, 45.
  61. Niehorster, http://niehorster.org/012_ussr/45-08-08/corps_087-rifle.htm
  62. David Glantz, "The Soviet Strategic Offensive in Manchuria, 1945: 'August Storm'", p. 250
  63. Feskov et al 2013, 408.
  64. 1 2 tashv.nm.ru, Combat composition of the Soviet Army, 1 May 1945, accessed October 2011
  65. V.I. Feskov et al. 2013, p. 48.
  66. V.I. Feskov et al. 2013, p. 204
  67. V.I. Feskov et al 2013, p. 422.
  68. Sharp, p 76
  69. Glantz and others "The Battle for Lvov: The Soviet General Staff Study"
  70. Glantz, David (2002). The Battle for Leningrad 1941-1944. Lawrence, Kansas: University of Kansas Press. p. 360. ISBN 0-7006-1208-4.
  71. Feskov et al 2013, 537.
  72. "Вооруженные Силы СССР после Второй мировой войны: от Красной Армии к Советской (часть 1: Сухопутные войска)" by V.I. Feskov, V.I. Golikov, K.A. Kalashnikov and S.A. Slugin, Tomsk.
  73. LATVIAN UNITS IN THE RED ARMY.
  74. Scott Hegerty, The Latvian Legion.
  75. Feskov et al 2013, 463.
  76. Holm 2015
  77. Feskov et al 2004, 46.
  78. Michael Holm, 10th Guards Combined Arms Army
  79. 1 2 V.I. Feskov et al 2004, 46.
  80. 1 2 Keith E. Bonn, Slaughterhouse: the Handbook of the Eastern Front, Aberjona Press, Bedford, PA, 2005, 345.
  81. Feskov et al 2004, 46.
  82. http://www.uvao.ru/uvao/ru/pages/print/o_105604
  83. Michael Holm, 14th Guards Combined Arms Army, 2015.
  84. Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1 May 1945
  85. Keith E. Bonn, Slaughterhouse: the Handbook of the Eastern Front, Aberjona Press, Bedford, PA, 2005, 345-6.
  86. Michael Holm, 49th Guards Rocket Division, and Feskov et al 2004, 46, 133.
  87. Marchand, Jean-Luc (2011). Order of Battle Soviet Army World War 2 1945 March and April Berlin: The Final Battle. West Chester, OH: The Nafziger Collection. pp. 85–86. ISBN 1-58545-331-5.
  88. Holm, 27th Guards Army Corps, 2015.
  89. Журнал Санкт-Петербургский университет ISSN 1681-1941 / № 1-2 (3657-3658), 19 January 2004 года
  90. Andrew Duncan, article in Jane's Intelligence Review, 1998
  91. Clark 2012, p. 230, 399–402.
  92. Feskov et al 2004, 45.

Sources

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