Mechanized Corps (Red Army)

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Since 1932, the Red Army experimented with large armored formations known as Mechanized Corps . A mechanized corps usually consisted of two tank divisions and one motorized rifle division and had a target strength of over 1,000 tanks of various types and 37,000 officers, NCOs and men. The Mechanized Corps were the Red Army's mobile armed forces in the early stages of World War II .

Development of the Soviet armored forces in the prewar period

The Red Army took over numerous armored vehicles from the Tsarist Army, which were grouped together in so-called Armored Forces (Bronewyje sily) , predecessors of the Mechanized Corps. These were divided into motor vehicle armored departments (awtobroneotrjady) , which consisted of armored vehicles and armored trains . Most of the armored vehicles came from Great Britain and France, as Russia did not manufacture its own tanks during the civil war of 1918–1922.

In January 1918 the Council of Armored Forces (Soviet bronjewich Tschastej) of the Red Army was formed. Later it was renamed Central Directorate of Tanks ("Zentrobron") and then Main Armored Administration (Glawnoje bronjewoje uprawlenije) . In December 1920 the Red Army received the first light tanks from the Sormowo tank factory , where the MS-1 (Malij Soprowoschdenija 1 - Kleines Geleit 1) was manufactured from 1928 . As part of the Third Five-Year Plan (1928-1932), the Central Directorate for Mechanization and Motorization of the Red Workers 'and Peasants' Army was founded in 1929 and the first Mechanized Corps was formed.

Since the mid-1920s, the development of the armored troops had taken place primarily in Kazan , where the - kept secret - training center for the tank specialists of the German Reichswehr was located. During this time, leading Soviet military theorists such as Vladimir Kiriakowitsch Triandafillow and Konstantin Kalinowski, based on the cavalry operations of the civil war, developed the foundations of a doctrine of armored forces, which already included the massive use of tanks in different combat situations and cooperation with other branches of arms. In the mid-1930s, these foundations were expanded into the Doctrine of Operation in Depth .

Between 1931 and 1935 the Red Army developed various types of light and medium, and later also heavy, tanks, some of which were based on foreign makes, such as the Vickers Mark E ( T-26 ) and the Christie tank ( BT series ). In 1932 the "Military Academy for Mechanization and Motorization of the Red Workers and Peasants Army" opened its doors.

In 1937, the Central Directorate of Mechanization and Motorization was renamed Administration of Armored Forces (Avtobronjetankowoje uprawlenije) and soon afterwards was upgraded to the main administration (Glawnoje avtobronjetankowoje uprawlenije) under Dmitry Grigoryevich Pavlov .

First attempts with mechanized associations

In 1930 the 1st Mechanized Brigade had its own tank regiment with 110 tanks. By 1932 two Mechanized Corps, the 11th in the Leningrad Military District and the 45th in the Kiev Military District , each with three brigades and a total strength of 500 tanks, 250 armored reconnaissance vehicles, 250 trucks and 60 artillery pieces, followed by two more in 1933 and 1934. At the beginning of 1936 there were four Mechanized Corps, six independent mechanized brigades, six independent tank regiments, fifteen mechanized regiments in cavalry divisions and a considerable number of tank divisions and companies. In 1938 the Mechanized Corps were renamed the Panzer Corps, but their structure remained largely the same - two tank brigades and one motorized rifle brigade had a total strength of 12,700 men, 500 tanks (mostly T-26 and BT ) and 118 guns. The 10th MK was stationed in Leningrad , the 15th in Belarus , the 25th in Kiev and the 20th in Transbaikal.

In July 1939 a commission was set up under Marshal Grigory Ivanovich Kulik . a. also Semyon Michailowitsch Budjonny , Boris Michailowitsch Shaposhnikov , Semyon Konstantinowitsch Tymoshenko , Kirill Afanassjewitsch Merezkow , Lev Sakharovich Mechlis , Dmitri Grigoryevich Pavlov , MP Kovalev and BA Shchadenko should study and develop proposals for the future role of the Red Army. Based on the experience of the military mission in Spain , Pavlov called for the armored corps to be disbanded, but the commission refused. Rather, two tank corps (the 15th and the 25th) took part in the occupation of eastern Poland on September 17, 1939.

Dissolution in 1939 and re-establishment in 1940

Although the Soviet armored forces had played a not insignificant role in the battles on Lake Khazan (1938) and on Chalchin Gol (1939) as well as in the Finnish Winter War (1939-1940), there were no mechanized corps, but only smaller units to support the Infantry deployed. Rather, in November 1939, the dissolution of the tank corps and the formation of motorized divisions were ordered. Apparently the Supreme Military Council had come to the conclusion that the tank corps were too cumbersome and that smaller units promised better results. Another reason may have been that the armored forces - and the motorization and mechanization of the Red Army in general - were connected to Tukhachevsky, who was tried and executed in a show trial in 1937. However, the successes of the German tank divisions in the western campaign in 1940 proved the efficiency of large mechanized units, and so the decision to disband the Mechanized Corps was reversed on July 9, 1940, when Defense Minister Tymoshenko ordered the establishment of ten Mechanized Corps, which will soon be followed by twenty more should. These mechanized corps, which had two armored and one motorized rifle division, were probably the largest formations of their kind in the world, even if their strength from 37,200 men with 1,108 tanks, 208 armored reconnaissance vehicles and over 300 guns soon increased to 36,000 men 1,031 tanks was reduced. In fact, however, hardly any of the Mechanized Corps had full equipment or crew on the day of the German attack on the Soviet Union . Many corps existed only on paper, their units were widely dispersed, and there was hardly any training in the association. Most of the armored vehicles were not operational and could not be repaired due to a lack of spare parts. The armored divisions had an average of 68% of their nominal strength, the motorized rifle divisions around 50%. Some Mechanized Corps had no or less than 10% of their armor strength. In addition, the majority of the Mechanized Corps were being converted from the BT-5 and BT-7 to the more modern tanks KW-1 and T-34. Even in retrofitted units, crew training was not yet complete.

In addition to the Mechanized Corps, there were also independent tank divisions in the rifle divisions, which were supposed to support the infantry in breaking through the enemy positions ( tanki neposredstvennoj podderschki pechoti ).

Great Patriotic War

In the first phase of the Great Patriotic War , the Mechanized Corps were defeated and formally dissolved after a few weeks. Due to the inexperience of the leaders and insufficient means of communication - the armored divisions were dependent on the civilian telephone network, which was systematically destroyed by the Germans after the beginning of the war - the Mechanized Corps were unable to develop their combat power and offer little resistance to the German advance. Some Mechanized Corps (e.g. the 8th, 9th and 15th) provided heavy resistance to the German tank units, while others (e.g. the 6th, 16th and 23rd) were wiped out in the first few days (the 6. on June 23rd). On June 25, the 9th, 19th and 22nd Mechanized Corps had only 66, 35 and 33 tanks, respectively. Still other Mechanized Corps (e.g. the 10th, 18th, 24th and 27th) were not used in formation, but rather thrown into battle in parts and worn out. In rare cases the superior KW-1 and T-34 tanks were successfully used against the German units, such as on October 5, 1941 near Mzensk , when the German armored spearheads were almost cut off and General Heinz Guderian was almost captured .

By the end of August 1941, however, most of the Mechanized Corps had been destroyed and the remaining tanks were grouped into smaller units. It was not until September 1942 that the High Command took up the concept of the Mechanized Corps again. The new Mechanized Corps consisted of four brigades , similar to the tank corps established from March 1942 , including three mechanized rifle brigades and one tank brigade. The strength of these corps, which were organized as an association of allied arms , roughly corresponded to that of a German tank division. The corps formed the Mobile Operations Group as part of a front (Army Group) and were deployed after breaking through the main line of defense. A total of thirteen Mechanized Corps were set up in the course of the war, nine of which were given the title of Guard. Another corps, the 10th Mechanized Corps, was formed in June 1945 and used in Operation Auguststurm , the attack on the Japanese Kwantung Army . The 1st, 3rd and 9th Guards Mechanized Corps were mostly equipped with M4A2s from the US government's loan and lease program .

Composition of a Mechanized Corps in 1940

  • 2 armored divisions, each with
    • 2 tank regiments
    • 1 motorized rifle regiment
    • 1 motorized howitzer regiment
    • Division troops
      • Anti-aircraft department
      • Armored Reconnaissance Department
      • Motor vehicle department
      • Repair Battalion
      • Medical department
  • 1 mechanized division, each with
    • 2 motorized rifle regiments
    • 1 light tank regiment
    • 1 motorized artillery regiment
    • Division troops
      • Anti-tank department
      • Anti-aircraft department
      • Intelligence department
      • Motor vehicle department
      • Division supply troops
  • Corps troops
    • 1 motorcycle regiment
    • 1 news department
    • 1 motorized engineer battalion
    • 1 flight squad

Total thickness:

  • 1108 tanks (420 T-34s , 126 KWs , 560 light tanks)
  • 37,200 officers, NCOs and men
  • 5 tank regiments with 20 tank divisions
  • 4 motorized rifle regiments with 12 motorized rifle battalions
  • 2 motorized artillery / howitzer regiments with 4 artillery compartments.

The corps after 1942 were less armored but had more infantry and artillery, depending on the order.

Overview

Mechanized Corps of the Red Army on June 22, 1941
number Location front commander Actual strength team Actual strength tank
1. Pskov Northwest Front Major General of the Armored Forces Mikhail Lwowitsch Tschernjawski 31,349 1,037
2. Kishinev Southern Front (from June 25, 1941) Major General Yuri Vladimirovich Novoselsky 32,396 517
3. Vilnius Northwest Front Major General of the Armored Forces Alexei Wassiljewitsch Kurkin 31,975 651
4th Lwow Southwest front Major General Andrei Andreevich Vlasov 28,098 979
5. Transbaikal Military District Major General of the Armored Forces Ilya Prokofievich Alexejenko 1,070
6th Białystok Western front Major General Mikhail Georgievich Khazkilevich 32,382 1,131
7th Moscow Military District Major General Vasily Ivanovich Vinogradov 959
8th. Stryj Southwest front Lieutenant General Dmitri Ivanovich Ryabyshev 28,713 898
9. Novohrad-Wolynskyi Southwest front Major General Konstantin Konstantinowitsch Rokossowski 26,833 298
10. Leningrad Northern front Major General Ivan Gavrilowitsch Lazarev 26,168 469
11. Waukawysk Western front Major General Dmitri Karpovtisch Mostovenko 21,605 414
12. Šiauliai Northwest Front Major General Nikolai Michailowitsch Schestopalow 28,832 749
13. Western special military district Western front Major General Pyotr Nikolaevich Achjustin 17,809 282
14th Kobryn Western front Major General Stepan Ilyich Oborin 19,332 518
15th Brody Southwest front Major General Ignati Ivanovich Karpeso 33,935 749
16. Chernovtsy Southwest front Brigade commander Alexander Dmitrievich Sokolov 26,920 482
17th Baranavichy Western front Major General Mikhail Petrovich Petrov 16,578 63
18th Belgorod-Dnestrovsky Southern Front (from June 25, 1941) Major General Pyotr Vasilyevich Woloch 26,879 282
19th Zhytomyr Southwest front Major General of the Armored Forces Nikolai Vladimirovich Feklenko 21,654 453
20th Baryssau Western front Major General Andrei Grigoryevich Nikitin 20,391 94
21st Moscow Military District Major General Dmitri Danilowitsch Lelyuschenko 175
22nd Lutsk Southwest front Major General Semyon Mikhailovich Kondrusev 24,087 712
23. Oryol military district Major General Mikhail Akimovich Myasnikov 413
24. Proskurov Southwest front Major General Vladimir Ivanovich Tschistjakow 21,556 222
25th Kharkov Military District Western front Major General Semyon Moisseyevich Krivoschein 300
26th North Caucasian Military District Major General Nikolai Yakovlevich Kirichenko 184
27. Central Asian Military District Major General Ivan Efimovich Petrov 356
28. Transcaucasian Military District Major General Vasily Vasilyevich Novikov 859
29 Transbaikal Military District (dissolved on May 7, 1941) - -
30th Far Eastern Front Lieutenant General Vasili Stepanowitsch Golubowski 2,969

swell

literature

  • David M. Glantz (ed.): The Initial Period of War on the Eastern Front, June 22 – August 1941 , p. 19th
  • J. Page, Timm Bean: Russian Tanks of World War II , Zenith Press.
  • Michael Parrish: Formation and Leadership of the Soviet Mechanized Corps in 1941 In: Military Affairs , Vol. 47, No. 2 (Apr., 983), p. 63-66.
  • Sharp, Charles, Soviet Armor Tactics in World War II: Red Army Armor Tactics from Individual Vehicle to Company from the Combat Regulations of 1944 .
  • Sharp, Charles, Soviet Order of Battle in World War II Vol 1: The Deadly Beginning: Soviet Tank, Mechanized, Motorized Divisions and Tank Brigades of 1940–1942 .
  • Steven Zaloga & Leland Ness: The Red Army Handbook .