Rifle corps (Soviet Union)

A rifle corps (Russian: стрелковый корпус, romanized: 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 field armies in areas not fighting the Germans (such as the Far East) 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]

  • 8th Rifle Corps
    • 7th Rifle Division
    • 249th Rifle Division
    • 85th Corps Artillery Regiment
    • 36th Sapper Battalion
    • 86th Medical Battalion
    • 482nd Reconnaissance Company
    • 162nd Machine Gun Battalion

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 converted to 'Army Corps' in 1955 though they still mostly consisted of Rifle and then Motor Rifle Divisions.

List of Soviet rifle corps

Formed before 22 June 1941

1–10 Corps
  • 1st Rifle Corps – 10th Army, Western Special MD, under General Major F.D. Rubtsov with 2nd and 8th Rifle Divisions. Last mention in the Soviet Order of Battle (OOB) on 1 July 1941 with corps directly subordinated to the Western Front. The corps reappeared in the OOB on 1 June 1942 directly subordinated to the North Caucasus Front, and made up of four rifle brigades. Thereafter, the last 1942 OOB mention of the corps is on 1 August 1942. The 1st Rifle Corps reappears in the Soviet OOB on 1 September 1943 as part of the Northwestern Front. Final mention on 1 May 1945 subordinated to the 1st Shock Army and in command of the 306th, 344th, and 357th Rifle Divisions. Feskov et al. 2004 says the corps headquarters, as well as the 4th Shock Army, was moved to Central Asia after the end of the war and established at Ashgabat.[5] In 1969, the corps headquarters was moved to Semipalatinsk, where it was raised in status to become 32nd Army. A tank division may have moved to Semipalatinsk alongside the corps headquarters.
  • 2nd Rifle Corps – formed in September 1922 as the 2nd Army Corps. As part of 13th Army Western Front participated in the Battle of Bialystok-Minsk near the Minsk and Slutsky Fortified Regions.[6] in late June – early July, 1941.[7] Reformed and fought against Japan in 1945. On 1 July 1945, was part of the Transbaikal Front and comprised 103rd, 275th, and 292nd Rifle Divisions.[8]
  • 3rd Rifle Corps- 4th Rifle Division, 20th Mountain Rifle, 47th Mtn Rifle, as part of Transcaucasus Military District.[9]
  • 4th Rifle Corps – 27th, 56th, and 85th Rifle Divisions, as part of 3rd Army.[10] (See ru:4-й стрелковый корпус (1-го формирования)). On 1 July 1945 the second formation of the corps was part of the Belomorsky Military District in the north, with 25th, 289th, and 341st Rifle Divisions.[11]
  • 5th Rifle Corps – 13th, 86th, and 113th Rifle Divisions, part of 10th Army, WSMD. Reactivated 27 June 1942, often known as 5th independent Rifle Corps.[12] On 1 July 1945 consisted of 35th Rifle Division (Soviet Union) and 390th Rifle Division (Soviet Union). With 2nd Far East Front during the Soviet invasion of Manchuria in 1945, then transferred to 15th Army (Soviet Union) (August–October 1945) and then the Far Eastern Military District. On 1 January 1946 it consisted of the 34th Rifle Division (Vyazemskiy, Khabarovsk Kray), and the 35th Rifle Division (Bikin, Khabarovsk Kray), and was part of the Far Eastern Military District. It was disbanded in July 1946.
  • 6th Rifle Corps – The 6th Rifle Corps HQ was formed in Kiev in May 1922. The Corps was formed on the orders of the Commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and Crimea number 627/162 from May 23, 1922 in Kiev, part of Kiev and Kharkov Military District.
  • 7th Rifle Corps – in the Odessa Military District, under General Major K.L. Dobroserdov included 116th, 196th, and 206th Rifle Divisions.[13] Finished war as part of 3rd Shock Army.
  • 8th Rifle Corps – 26th Army, Kiev Special Military District, under General Major M.G. Snegov with 99th, 173rd Rifle Divisions and 72nd Mountain Rifle Division[14] Became 41st Guards Rifle Corps 1945, spent last of its war service in the 42nd Army, Courland Group, Leningrad Front.
  • 9th Rifle Corps – In June, 1941, General Lieutenant Pavel Batov was in command of the 9th Separate Rifle Corps, which comprised the 106th and 156th Rifle Divisions and the 32nd Cavalry Division, with a total strength of about 35,000 men. This corps was the only major Red Army formation in the Crimea, Odessa Military District at the outbreak of Operation Barbarossa, and Batov had arrived at its headquarters in Simferopol just two days earlier.[15] In 1945 during the final Battle of Berlin the corps was part of 5th Shock Army and comprised the 230th, 248th, and 301st Rifle Divisions.[16] Served with 3rd Shock Army, later 3rd Combined Arms Army, from 1947–56. From 1947 consisted of 94th Guards Rifle Division (Schwerin) and 18th Mechanised Division (Perleberg). Disbanded 4 July 1956.[17]
  • 10th Rifle Corps -assigned to the 8th Army in the Baltic Military District (BSMD). Included the 10th, 48th, and 90th Rifle Divisions.[18] The corps arrived in the Urals Military District comprising the 91st, 279th, and 347th Rifle Divisions. Active in 1948 with three rifle brigades (12th, 14th and 40th (Kirov, Kirov Oblast)). 12th Brigade was disbanded, 14th Rifle Brigade became 91st Rifle Division in October 1953, and 40th Brigade was briefly 194th Rifle Division (1951–53) before becoming 65th Mechanised Division. Corps HQ moved to Vilnius in June 1956, becoming part of 11th Guards Army, and took over 26th Guards Rifle and 71st Mechanised Divisions. Became 10th Army Corps on 4 June 1957 but disbanded in June 1960.[19]

11–20 Corps

21–30 Corps
  • 21st Rifle Corps – Headquarters formed in the Moscow Military District in September 1939.[45] Assigned to the WSMD with the 17th, 24th, and 37th Rifle Divisions.[53] Disbanded summer 1945.[30]
  • 22nd Rifle Corps – Headquarters formed in the Baltic Special Military District in August 1940.[45] With 180th and 182nd Rifle Divisions, part of 27th Army, BSMD[54] Estonian Territorial Rifle Corps.[55] Second formation 1943-summer 1945.[30]
  • 23rd Rifle Corps – in the Transcaucasus Military District comprising 136th Rifle Division and 138th Mountain Rifle Division under General Major K.F. Baranov.[9] Disbanded in Berlin while with 3rd Combined Arms Army, 4 July 1956. (Feskov et al 2013, 133)
  • 24th Rifle Corps – After the occupation of Latvia in June 1940 the annihilation of the Latvian Army began. The army was renamed the People's Army and in September–November 1940– the Red Army's 24th Territorial Rifle Corps. In September the corps contained 24,416 men but in autumn more than 800 officers and about 10,000 instructors and soldiers were discharged. The arresting of soldiers continued in the following months. In June 1940, the entire Territorial Corps was sent to Litene camp. Before leaving the camp, Latvians drafted in 1939 were demobilised, and replaced by about 4000 Russian soldiers from area around Moscow. On June 10, the corps senior officers were sent to Russia where they were arrested and most of them- shot. On June 14 at least 430 officers were arrested and sent to Gulag camps. After the German attack to Soviet Union, from June 29 to July 1 more 2080 Latvian soldiers were demobilsed, fearing that they might turn their weapons against the Russian commissars and officers. Simultaneously, many soldiers and officers deserted and when the corps crossed the Latvian border only about 3000 Latvian soldiers remained.[56] On June 22, 1941 it comprised the 181st and 183rd Rifle Divisions, part of 27th Army, BSMD. Latvian Territorial Rifle Corps.[55] It finished the war in 1945 in Germany as part of 13th Army – 117th Rifle Division, 380th Rifle Division, 395th Rifle Division.
  • 25th Rifle Corps – Headquarters formed in the Kharkov Military District in September 1939.[45] 127th, 134th and 162nd Rifle Divisions, part of 19th Army.[27] Disbanded summer 1945.[30] After the war, became 25th Army Corps on 25 June 1957 (Feskov et al 2013, 133)
  • 26th Rifle Corps – Comprised the 21st, 22nd, and 26th Rifle Divisions, part of First Red Banner Army, Soviet Far East Front. After the war, part of 36th Army for a time, and stationed at Dauriya. Disbanded 18 April 1956.[57]
  • 27th Rifle Corps – Headquarters formed in the Kiev Special Military District in September 1939.[45] Assigned to the 5th Army and composed of the 87th, 124th, and 135th Rifle Divisions.[29]
  • 28th Rifle Corps – Headquarters formed from the Headquarters of the Reserve Group of the Northwestern Front in February 1940.[45] Comprised the 6th, 42nd, 49th, and 75th Rifle Divisions as part of 4th Army. Disbanded summer 1945.[30]
  • 29th Rifle Corps – Headquarters formed in the Baltic Special Military District in August 1940.[45] Assigned to the 11th Army in the Baltic Military District, including the 179th and 181st Rifle Divisions.[20] Lithuanian Territorial Rifle Corps.[55] Destroyed(?) September 1941 in the initial stages of Operation Barbarossa, and disbanded. 29th Rifle Corps (II), March–April 1943. Reformed on 25 June 1943 as the 29th Rifle Corps.[58] Included 55th Rifle Division (IIIrd Formation), in September–October–November 1943 while part of 60th Army.[59] Mid 1957 reorganised as 29th Army Corps. Mid 1969 disbanded by being upgraded and reorganised as 35th Army.[60]
  • 30th Rifle Corps – Headquarters formed in the Orel Military District in September 1939.[45] In the Orel Military District, including the 19th, 149th and 217th Rifle Divisions.[61] Reformed and assigned to 18th Army, 4th Ukrainian Front in 1944 in the Mukachevo – Uzhgorod area during Carpathian-Uzhgorod Offensive Operation (9 September 1944 – 28 September 1944)[62] Disbanded summer 1945.[30]

31–40 Corps
  • 31st Rifle Corps – composed of the 193rd, 195th, 200th Rifle Divisions,[14] assigned to the Southwestern Front. Disbanded on 25 Sep 41. Reformed as part of 26th Army on 5 Feb 43, disbanded in 1952 in Murmansk to form the 6th Army
  • 32nd Rifle Corps – Headquarters formed in the Transbaikal Military District in September 1939.[45] 46th and 152nd Rifle Divisions, with 16th Army, STAVKA Reserve.[27] With 5th Shock Army in January–February 1945, 3rd Belorussian Front.[63] Briefly reformed at Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk in 1955 but disbanded in 1956. (Feskov et al 2013, 131, 580.)
  • 33rd Rifle Corps – in the Orel Military District, including 89th, 120th, and 145th Rifle Divisions.[18] Reformed from 119th Rifle Corps in June 1955; on 4 June 1957 renamed 33rd Army Corps. Moved from Dushanbe to Kemerovo (Siberian Military District) in 1968.[64] Disbanded July 1991, with elements absorbed by the 28th Army Corps, which was arriving in Kemerovo from the Olomouc, Czechoslovakia (Central Group of Forces).
  • 34th Rifle Corps – Headquarters formed in the Volga Military District in September 1939.[45] 129th, 158th and 171st Rifle Divisions, part of 19th Army[27]
  • 35th Rifle Corps – Headquarters formed in the Kiev Special Military District in September 1939.[45] 9th Army, Odessa Military District, comprising the 95th and 176th Rifle Divisions.[14][27]
  • 36th Rifle Corps – Headquarters formed in the Kiev Special Military District in September 1939.[45] Composed of the 140th, 146th, and 228th Rifle Divisions[14] Disbanded summer 1945,[30] while with 31st Army. Comprised 62nd, 88th and 331st Rifle Division on 10 June 1945.[65]
  • 37th Rifle Corps – Headquarters formed in the Kiev Special Military District in September 1939.[45] In the Kiev Special Military District, assigned to the 6th Army, including 80th, 139th, and 141st Rifle Divisions.[29]
  • 39th Rifle Corps – comprised the 32nd, 40th, and 92nd Rifle Divisions, part of 25th Army, Soviet Far East Front[66]
  • 40th Rifle Corps – Headquarters formed in the Transcaucasus Military District in March 1941.[45] in the Transcaucasus Military District under General Major A. A. Khadeev with 9th Rifle Division and 31st Rifle Division.[9]

41–50 Corps
  • 41st Rifle Corps – Headquarters formed in the Moscow Military District in March 1941.[45] in the Moscow Military District included 118th and 235th Rifle Divisions[67]
  • 42nd Rifle Corps – Headquarters formed in the Leningrad Military District in March 1941.[45] Assigned to the 14th Army, Leningrad Military District with the 104th and 22nd Rifle Divisions.[68] First Formation 22 June 1941, disbanded 14 October 1941; was used to reinforce the Kandalksha operational group.[69]
  • 44th Rifle Corps – under HQ Western Special Military District, comprised the 64th and 108th Rifle Divisions under General Major Vasily Yushkevich.
  • 45th Rifle Corps – with the 187th, 227th and 232nd Rifle Divisions, part of the Stavka Reserve.[70]
  • 47th Rifle Corps – under HQ Western Special Military District, comprised the 55th, 121st, and 143rd Rifle Divisions.[71]
  • 48th Rifle Corps – 9th Army, Odessa Military District, comprising the 30th Mountain Rifle and 74th Rifle Divisions.[14][27]
  • 49th Rifle Corps – composed of the 190th, 197th and 199th Rifle Divisions.[14] On August 4, 1943, the corps, as a part of the 7th Guards Army, overcoming the enemy's stubborn resistance and deflecting frenzied counterattacks, persistently moved forward to Belgorod. Increasing the attack force, parts of the corps stormed the city and cleared it on August 5. On January 18, 1944, the units of the corps, as a part of 53rd Army, fought defensively in the Zvenigorodka–Vodyanoy area. By February 13, 1944, the corps, after being subordinated to the 5th Guards Tank Army, was transferred back to 53A along with their defensive position.
  • 50th Rifle Corps – Assigned to the 23rd Army, Leningrad Military District with the 43rd, 70th and 123rd Rifle Divisions.[72] Used to form 42nd Army in August 41. Reformed in May–June 1943 and initially assigned to 38th Army. Disbanded in June–July 1945.

51–60 Corps

61–70 Corps

Named 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
  • 38th Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet Order of Battle (OOB) 1 June 1943, as part of the 50th Army, Western Front. Subordinate divisions at this date were the 17th, 326th, and 413th Rifle Divisions.
  • 43rd Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 June 1943, as part of the 2nd Shock Army, Leningrad Front. Subordinate divisions at this date were the 11th, 128th, and 314th Rifle Divisions. Disbanded. Reformed on 13 June 1955 by redesignation of 137th Rifle Corps. Became 43rd Army Corps on 25 June 1957 while at Petropavlovsk-Kamchatka, Kamchatskaya Oblast.[78]
  • 46th Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 August 1943, as part of the 61st Army, Bryansk Front. Subordinate divisions at this time were the 356th and 415th Rifle Divisions.
  • 54th Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 June 1943, as part of the 51st Army, Southern Front. Subordinate divisions at this time were the 87th, 99th, and 302nd Rifle Divisions.
  • 56th Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 August 1943, as part of the 16th Army, Far Eastern Front. Subordinate divisions at this time were the 79th and 101st Rifle Divisions. Assignment of numeric designation to the Special Rifle Corps that disappears from the Soviet OOB on the same date.
  • 57th Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 September 1943, as part of the 37th Army, STAVKA Reserve. Subordinate divisions at this time were the 62nd Guards, 92nd Guards, 110th Guards, and 53rd Rifle Divisions. In early October 1943 the corps, forcing the Dnieper, seized and held a bridgehead on the west bank of the river. On 06.03.1944 elements of the corps, participating in the Odessa Offensive (part of the Dnieper–Carpathian Offensive), parts of the corps breached the German defenses on the western bank of the Inhulets River and moved forward. Having stormed the inhabited locality of Lozovatka and after slight regrouping, the corps began the pursuit of the enemy. On March 16, 1944, the corps deterred the counterattacks by the enemy, who was attempting to force back our units from the Ingul River and to hold the river crossings near Sofiyevka with 35–40 tanks and several infantry battalions. On March 22, the units of the corps reached the Southern Bug River. On the night of March 27, (two divisions of) the corps, having crossed the Southern Bug, moved forward under the enemy's heavy fire and captured the large inhabited locality of Akmechet. On April 1, 1944, parts of the corps, acting as a part of the 37th Army, captured the inhabited localities of Stryukovo, Shvartsevo, Korneyevka, and the Tiligul River crossing. On April 5, the divisions of the corps fought a battle for the station of Migayevo. On April 11, 1944, the corps, having been reinforced from the reserve with the 15th Guards Rifle Division and with the support of the 23rd Tank Corps, liberated Tiraspol, forced the Dniester River, and stormed into Varnitsa. Commander: Major General AI Petrakovskii (- 18/01/1944 ) Major General FA Ostashenko (01.19.1944 – military commissar, deputy political commissar Colonel IN Karasev Chief of Staff : V.I. Mineev. On 9 August 1945 the corps, now part of the Soviet Far East command, comprised 52nd and 203rd Rifle Divisions under General Major A.A. Dakonov.[79]
  • 68th Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 August 1943, as part of the 57th Army, Southwestern Front. Subordinate divisions at this time were the 19th, 52nd, and 303rd Rifle Divisions.
  • 70th Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 August 1943, as a headquarters with no troops assigned and part of the Western Front.

71–80 Corps
  • 71st Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 August 1943, as a headquarters with no troops assigned and as part of the 31st Army, Western Front.
  • 72nd Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 August 1943, as a headquarters with no troops assigned and part of the 68th Army, Western Front. Part of 5th Army, 3rd Belorussian Front, on 1 November 1944. Part of 5th Army, 1st Far East Front, on 3 September 1945, comprising 63rd, 215th, and 277th Rifle Divisions. (BSSA)
  • 73rd Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 August 1943, as a headquarters with no troops assigned and as part of the 52nd Army, STAVKA Reserve.
  • 74th Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 August 1943, as a headquarters with no troops assigned and as part of the Moscow Military District.
  • 75th Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 August 1943, as a headquarters with no troops assigned and as part of the Moscow Military District.
  • 76th Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 August 1943, as a headquarters with no troops assigned and as part of the Moscow Military District. In Transcaucasus Military District postwar, until it became the 31st Army Corps in 1955.
  • 77th Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 August 1943, as a headquarters with no troops assigned and as part of the Moscow Military District. In July 1945 in Germany, part of 47th Army, with the 185th, 260th, 328th Rifle Divisions.
  • 78th Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 August 1943, as a headquarters with no troops assigned and part of the Ural Military District.
  • 79th Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 August 1943, as a headquarters with no troops assigned and part of the Ural Military District. This corps commanded units that stormed the Reichstag on 2 May 1945. (150th, 171st, 207th Rifle Divisions on July 9, 1945, on formation of Group of Soviet Forces in Germany). Disbanded by being redesignated 2nd Rifle Corps in 1957 in Sakhalin.[80]
  • 80th Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 August 1943, as a headquarters with no troops assigned and part of the Trans-Volga Military District.

81–90 Corps
  • 81st Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 August 1943, as a headquarters with no troops assigned and part of the 68th Army, Western Front.
  • 82nd Rifle Corps – existed until 13.6.55, when it was renamed 25th Rifle Corps, and 25.6.57 it was renamed 25th AK. Disbanded 6.60. HQ in Nikolayev with the 28th Guards Motor Rifle Division, 34th Gds MSD and 95th Motor Rifle Division in the late 1950s.
  • 83rd Rifle Corps (119th, 339, 360th Rifle Divisions) as part of 4th Shock Army on 1 December 1944 (Combat Composition of the Soviet Army (BSSA))
  • 84th Rifle Corps
  • 85th Rifle Corps
  • 86th Rifle Corps
  • 87th Rifle Corps – see 33rd Motor Rifle Division#Service in the invasion of Manchuria. On 9 August 1945 comprised 342nd Rifle Division and 345th Rifle Division plus 914th Signals Battalion, 967th Engineer Battalion, plus an artillery regiment.[81] Became 32nd Rifle Corps 1955 and disbanded under that number in 1956. (Feskov et al 2013, 131, 580).
  • 88th Rifle Corps – Hunchun, August 1945[82]
  • 89th Rifle Corps
  • 90th Rifle Corps – finished war with 43rd Army, comprising 26th Rifle Division, 70th Rifle Division, and 319th Rifle Division. Corps headquarters, as well as 70th and 319th RDs were disbanded in August–September 1946.[83]

91–100 Corps
  • 91st Rifle Corps
  • 92nd Rifle Corps
  • 93rd Rifle Corps
  • 94th Rifle Corps (124th, 221st, 358th Rifle Divisions) and 113th Rifle Corps (192, 262, 338th Rifle Divisions) with 39th Army, RVGK on 1 May 1945),[84]
  • 95th Rifle Corps – disbanded by Stavka VGK Order 11097 of 29.5.45, which established the Northern Group of Forces.[21]
  • 96th Rifle Corps
  • 97th Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 November 1943, as a headquarters with no troops assigned and part of the Moscow Military District.
  • 98th Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 November 1943, as a headquarters with no troops assigned and part of the Moscow Military District. Disbanded by Stavka VGK Order 11097 of 29.5.45, which established the Northern Group of Forces.[21]
  • 99th Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 November 1943, as a headquarters with no troops assigned and part of the Moscow Military District. Later part of 14th Army, and 19th Army.
  • 100th Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 November 1943, as a headquarters with no troops assigned and part of the Moscow Military District.

101–110 Corps
  • 101st Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 September 1943, as a headquarters with no troops assigned and part of the Trans-Volga Military District.
  • 102nd Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 November 1943, as a headquarters with no troops assigned and part of the Trans-Volga Military District.
  • 103rd Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 November 1943, as a headquarters with no troops assigned and part of the Volga Military District. Disbanded by Stavka VGK Order 11097 of 29.5.45, which established the Northern Group of Forces.[21]
  • 104th Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 November 1943, as a headquarters with no troops assigned and part of the North Caucasus Military District. Included 58th Mountain Rifle Division. In June-July 1945 V.I. Feskov et al 2013 lists the corps, as part of 57th Army, Southern Group of Forces, it comprised the 21st, 74th, 93rd, and 151st Rifle Divisions.[85] By November 1945 the 21st Rifle Division had become the 20th Mechanised Division,[86] and the 151st Rifle Division had either been disbanded or transferred elsewhere. The corps appears to have disbanded on 11 June 1946.[87]
  • 105th Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 November 1943, as a headquarters with no troops assigned and part of the North Caucasus Military District. The 193rd Rifle Division was joined with the 354th Rifle Division in April to form the 105th Rifle Corps, commanded by General D. F. Alekseev, where it would remain for the duration of the war.[88]
  • 106th Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 November 1943, as a headquarters with no troops assigned and part of the North Caucasus Military District. 100th and 306th Rifle Divisions during the battle for Lvov in July 1944.[89] Disbanded by Stavka VGK Order 11097 of 29.5.45, which established the Northern Group of Forces.[21]
  • 107th Rifle Corps
  • 108th Rifle Corps – 372nd Rifle Division assigned to this corps from 1 September 1944 to 1 May 1945.
  • 109th Rifle Corps – on 9 July 1945 on the formation of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, this corps with 46th, 90th, 372nd Rifle Divisions) was part of 2nd Shock Army.
  • 110th Rifle Corps

111–120 Corps

121–130 Corps
  • 121st Rifle Corps – Headquarters formed during December 1943 in the reserve of the Belorussian Front.[95][96] With 49th Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front on 1 May 1945, assigned the 42nd, 191st, and 199th Rifle Divisions.[97] Disbanded during the northern hemisphere summer of 1945.[98]
  • 122nd Rifle Corps – Headquarters formed during December 1943 with the 2nd Shock Army of the Leningrad Front.[99][96] With 42nd Army of the Courland Group of Forces of the Leningrad Front on 1 May 1945, assigned the 56th and 85th Rifle Divisions.[100] Disbanded in March 1946.[101]
  • 123rd Rifle Corps – in Summer 1945, the 123rd Rifle Corps arrived in the Ural Military District and its headquarters was established at Kuibyshev. It comprised the 29th, 43rd, and 376th Rifle Divisions. They were established at Shikhany (Saratov Oblast), Kuibyshev, and Serdobsk. In 1946–53 they were reduced into the 10th, 21st, and 48th Rifle Brigades, and the 48th may have been disbanded in 1947. In 1953 the 63rd Mechanised Division was formed on the basis of the 29th Rifle Division at Shikhan. In 1955 the 123rd Rifle Corps became the 40th Rifle Corps, and in May 1957 the 40th Army Corps. That year the 43rd Rifle Division became the 43rd Motor Rifle Division, and the 63rd Mechanised Division the 110th Motor Rifle Division. In November 1964 the 110th was redesigned the 29th Motor Rifle Division. In 1968 the 29th MRD was moved to Kamen-Rybolov, Primorskiy Krai, in the Far East Military District. The 40th Army Corps was active until at least 1962, and Feskov et al 2013 lists its commanders until October 1960 (p. 508).[102]
  • 124th Rifle Corps – Headquarters began forming during December 1943 with the Moscow Military District.[103] With 50th Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front on 1 May 1945, assigned the 51st, 208th, and 216th Rifle Divisions.[104] Disbanded in December 1945.[105]
  • 125th Rifle Corps – in July 1945 in Germany, part of 47th Army, with 60th, 76th, 175th Rifle Divisions.
  • 126th Light Rifle Corps - Arctic, 14th Army
  • 127th Light Rifle Corps - Arctic, 14th Army
  • 128th Rifle Corps – Headquarters formed during April 1944 with the Moscow Military District.[106] With 28th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front on 1 May 1945, assigned the 61st, 130th, and 152nd Rifle Divisions.[51] Awarded Gumbinnen honorific. Stationed in the Belorussian Military District postwar with the 28th Army and renumbered as the 42nd Rifle Corps in 1954.[107]
  • 129th Rifle Corps – in July 1945, in Germany, part of 47th Army, with 82nd, 132nd, 143rd Rifle Divisions.
  • 130th Latvian Rifle Corps of the Order of Suvorov. This Red Army national formation was formed on June 5, 1944, shortly before the Red Army attacked Latvia. Their strength was about 15,000 men, which consisted three divisions – 43rd Guards, and 308th Latvian Rifle Division and a Soviet division. The corps commander was Major General Detlavs Brantkalns, Staff headquarters head Major General P. Baumanis, Corps rear commander was Regiment Commander E. Blekis.[108] The Latvian Rifle Corps (2nd Baltic Front) fought in Latvia at Rēzekne and Daugavpils, Madona, Krustpils and Riga Offensive (1944) and combat at Courland Pocket. During the Courland battles it was subordinate to 2nd Baltic Front 22nd and later 42nd Army. The Corps units fought against Latvian Legion 19th SS Division units.[109]

131–140 Corps
  • 132nd Rifle Corps – formed part of 19th Army
  • 133rd Rifle Corps – may have disbanded at Stanislav (Ivano-Frankovsk) in September 1945, along with its 104th and 122nd Rifle Divisions.[110]
  • 134th Rifle Corps – formed part of 19th Army. Disbanded by Stavka VGK Order 11097 of 29.5.45, which established the Northern Group of Forces.[21]
  • 135th Rifle Corps
  • 136th Rifle Corps
  • 137th Rifle Corps – established 5 December 1945 at Petropavlovsk-Kamchatka, Kamchatskaya Oblast.[111] See also . On 13 June 1955 redesignated 43rd Rifle Corps.

Guards Rifle Corps

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

1–10 Guards Rifle Corps

11–20 Guards Rifle Corps
  • 11th Guards Rifle Corps – still active in the Voronezh Military District in 1955.
  • 12th Guards Rifle Corps –
  • 13th Guards Rifle Corps – became 13th Guards Army Corps postwar, stationed in Moscow Military District. Disbanded by being redesignated 22nd Army 1990–91.
  • 14th Guards Rifle Corps
  • 15th Guards Rifle Corps – finished the war as part of 10th Guards Army.
  • 16th Guards Rifle Corps – finished the war as part of 11th Guards Army, incorporating the 1st Guards Rifle Division, 11th Guards Rifle Division, and 31st Guards Rifle Division on 1 May 1945.[119]
  • 17th Guards Rifle Corps
  • 18th Guards Rifle Corps – Formed April 1943. 18th Guards Red Banner Stanislavsky-Budapest. General Lieutenant Ivan Afonin took command of the corps in February 1943. Assigned to armies including the 13th, 60th, 1st Guards, 38th Army, 18th, 46th, and 53rd Armies.[120] After the war with Japan the Corps was transferred from Transbaikal to the Siberian Military District (Omsk). Later included the 109th Guards, 67th and 95th MRD (former 109th Guards, 56th and 198th RD) and 411 Guards Corps artillery regiment. Presumably in 1960, it was reorganised as Headquarters 49th Guards Rocket Division, Strategic Rocket Forces.[121]
  • 19th Guards Rifle Corps – finished the war as part of 10th Guards Army.
  • 20th Guards Rifle Corps

21–30 Guards Rifle Corps

31–41 Guards Rifle Corps
  • 31st Guards Rifle Corps – part of 4th Guards Army
  • 32nd Guards Rifle Corps – part of 5th Guards Army, fought in Berlin Offensive
  • 33rd Guards Rifle Corps – part of 5th Guards Army
  • 34th Guards Rifle Corps – formed 25 April 1943 from 18th Rifle Corps (III), part of 5th Guards Army since July 1944, fought in Sandomierz–Silesian Offensive, Prague Offensive
  • 35th Guards Rifle Corps – Although it never fought in the vicinity of Prokhorovka, the 35th Guard Rifle Corps confronted the supportive actions of the III Panzer Corps on the right flank of II SS Panzer Corps during the Battle of Prokhorovka (precisely, during Operation Roland).[126]
  • 36th Guards Rifle Corps – Neman Red Banner. At least until the end of the 1950s the corps was part of the 11th Guards Army, including the 1st Guards Motor Rifle Division and 5th MRDs and the 30th Mechanised Division (unclear as to whether the two last-mentioned were Guards divisions.)[127]
  • 37th Guards Rifle Corps – later 37th Guards Airborne Corps, fought in Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive, Vienna Offensive and Prague Offensive; honorific "Svir"
  • 38th Guards Rifle Corps – later 38th Guards Airborne Corps, honorific "Vienna", fought in Vienna & Prague Offensives
  • 39th Guards Rifle Corps – later 39th Guards Airborne Corps, honorific "Vienna", fought in Vienna & Prague Offensives
  • 40th Guards Rifle Corps – on 9 July 1945 in Germany, this corps was part of 2nd Shock Army.
  • 41st Guards Rifle Corps – Estonian Tallinn. Formed 1945 from 8th Estonian 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" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-06-09. Retrieved 2010-02-18.
  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. 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. 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. Glantz, Stumbling Colossus, pg. 261
  19. Holm/Feskov 2013, 10th Rifle Corps.
  20. Glantz, Stumbling Colossus, pg. 262
  21. 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. Gurkin & Malanin 1963, p. 10.
  28. Feskov 2013, 132, 407.
  29. Glantz, Stumbling Colossus, pg. 264
  30. Feskov et al 2013, 132.
  31. Dvoinykh, Kariaeva & Stegantsev 1993, p. 33–34.
  32. Gurkin & Malanin 1963, p. 13.
  33. Gurkin et al. 1972, p. 16.
  34. Main Personnel Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union 1964, p. 14.
  35. Gurkin et al. 1972, p. 65.
  36. http://www.ww2.dk/new/army/corps/18sk.htm
  37. Dvoinykh, Kariaeva & Stegantsev 1993, pp. 34–35.
  38. Gurkin & Malanin 1963, p. 7.
  39. Pokrovsky 1956, p. 14.
  40. Main Personnel Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union 1964, p. 15.
  41. Vozhakin 2006, p. 484.
  42. Gurkin et al. 1990, p. 149.
  43. Feskov et al. 2013, pp. 525–527.
  44. Dvoinykh, Kariaeva & Stegantsev 1993, pp. 35–36.
  45. Meltyukhov 2008, p. 479.
  46. Gurkin & Malanin 1963, p. 11.
  47. Pokrovsky 1956, p. 15.
  48. Glantz 2010, p. 393.
  49. Gurkin et al. 1972, p. 67.
  50. Kirillin et al. 2005, p. 42.
  51. Gurkin et al. 1990, p. 160.
  52. Feskov et al. 2013, p. 132.
  53. Glantz, Stumbling Colossus, pg 263.
  54. 27th Army, Baltic Special Military District, Red Army, 22.06.41
  55. Nigel Thomas, Germany's Eastern Front Allies (2): Baltic Forces, Osprey, 5.
  56. 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.
  57. V.I. Feskov et al 2013, 133.
  58. Keith E. Bonn, Slaughterhouse, Aberjona Press, 2005, 341.
  59. Crofoot, Avanzini, Armies of the Bear
  60. Holm, 35th Combined Arms Army, 2015.
  61. Leo Niehorster, Orel Military District, Red Army, 22.06.41
  62. Восточно-Карпатская наступательная операция
  63. 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.
  64. http://www.ww2.dk/new/Army/corps/33ak.htm
  65. Feskov et al 2013, 47.
  66. "25th Army, Far East Front, Red Army, 22.06.41".
  67. Moscow Military District, Red Army, 22.06.41
  68. Glantz, Stumbling Colossus, pg 261
  69. Soviet General Staff, Perechen No.4 Headquarters of Corps, Moscow, 1956, p.23.
  70. "STAVKA Strategic Reserves, Red Army, 22.06.41".
  71. Glantz, Stumbling Colossus, pg. 263
  72. Glatz, Stumbling Colossus, pg. 261
  73. Leo Niehorster
  74. niehorster.orbat.com
  75. Source Combat composition of the Soviet Army
  76. tashv.nm.ru
  77. Crofoot, Craig. Armies of the Bear.
  78. Feskov et al 2013, 133, and Holm 2015.
  79. http://niehorster.org/012_ussr/45-08-08/corps_057-rifle.htm%5B%5D
  80. V.I. Feskov et al 2004, 45.
  81. Niehorster, http://niehorster.org/012_ussr/45-08-08/corps_087-rifle.htm%5B%5D
  82. David Glantz, "The Soviet Strategic Offensive in Manchuria, 1945: 'August Storm'", p. 250
  83. Feskov et al 2013, 408.
  84. tashv.nm.ru, Combat composition of the Soviet Army, 1 May 1945 Archived 26 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine, accessed October 2011
  85. V.I. Feskov et al. 2013, p. 48.
  86. V.I. Feskov et al. 2013, p. 204
  87. V.I. Feskov et al 2013, p. 422.
  88. Sharp, p 76
  89. Glantz and others "The Battle for Lvov: The Soviet General Staff Study"
  90. Glantz, David (2002). The Battle for Leningrad 1941–1944. Lawrence, Kansas: University of Kansas Press. p. 360. ISBN 0-7006-1208-4.
  91. Feskov et al 2013, 537.
  92. "Журнал боевых действий 120 ск с приложением кратких сводок, с разбором боевых действий и схемы". pamyat-naroda.ru. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
  93. Gurkin et al. 1990, p. 159.
  94. Kirillin et al. 2005, p. 49.
  95. Gurkin et al. 1988, p. 15.
  96. Main Personnel Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union 1964, p. 39.
  97. Gurkin et al. 1990, p. 153.
  98. Feskov et al. 2013, p. 380.
  99. Gurkin et al. 1988, p. 8.
  100. Gurkin et al. 1990, p. 148.
  101. Feskov et al. 2013, p. 558.
  102. "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.
  103. Gurkin et al. 1988, p. 30.
  104. Gurkin et al. 1990, p. 151.
  105. Feskov et al. 2013, p. 478.
  106. "Журнал боевых действий 128 ск". pamyat-naroda.ru. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
  107. Feskov et al. 2013, p. 459.
  108. LATVIAN UNITS IN THE RED ARMY.
  109. Scott Hegerty, The Latvian Legion.
  110. Feskov et al 2013, 463.
  111. Michael Holm, http://www.ww2.dk/new/, 2015.
  112. Feskov et al 2004, 46.
  113. Michael Holm, 10th Guards Combined Arms Army
  114. V.I. Feskov et al 2004, 46.
  115. Keith E. Bonn, Slaughterhouse: the Handbook of the Eastern Front, Aberjona Press, Bedford, PA, 2005, 345.
  116. Feskov et al 2004, 46.
  117. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-04-24. Retrieved 2011-12-05.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  118. Michael Holm, 14th Guards Combined Arms Army, 2015.
  119. "Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1 May 1945". Archived from the original on 26 December 2013. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  120. Keith E. Bonn, Slaughterhouse: the Handbook of the Eastern Front, Aberjona Press, Bedford, PA, 2005, 345–6.
  121. Michael Holm, 49th Guards Rocket Division, and Feskov et al 2004, 46, 133.
  122. 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 978-1-58545-331-3.
  123. Holm, 27th Guards Army Corps, 2015.
  124. Журнал Санкт-Петербургский университет ISSN 1681-1941 / № 1–2 (3657–3658), 19 January 2004 года
  125. Andrew Duncan, article in Jane's Intelligence Review, 1998
  126. Clark 2012, p. 230, 399–402.
  127. Feskov et al 2004, 45.

Sources
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