10th Mechanized Corps (Soviet Union)

The 10th Mechanized Corps
Mechanized Corps (Soviet)
A mechanised corps was a Soviet armoured formation used prior to the beginning of World War II.- Pre-war development of Soviet mechanised forces :...

was a formation in the Soviet Red Army

Red Army

The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...

during the Second World War. Initially formed in March 1941 in response the German victories of 1940 it was attached to the Leningrad Military District

Leningrad Military District

The Leningrad Military District was a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In 2010 it was merged with the Moscow Military District, the Northern Fleet and the Baltic Fleet to form the new Western Military District.-History:...

, & held in reserve near Leningrad

Leningrad

Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...

fortified region in Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

It was under the command of Major General I. G. Lazarev when the German Operation Barbarossa

Operation Barbarossa

Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...

began in June 1941. It initially comprised the 21st and 24th Tank Divisions, & the 198th Mechanized Division. After the Invasion began the Leningrad Military District

Leningrad Military District

was renamed Northern Front

Northern Front

Northern Front may refer to one of the following.* Russian Northern Front , a unit of the Imperial Russian army during the World War I.* Polish Northern Front , a unit of the Polish Army during the Polish-Bolshevik War...

, Commanded by Lieutenant General Markian M. Popov

Markian Popov

Markian Mikhaylovich Popov was a Soviet military commander, Army General , and Hero of the Soviet Union .- Life :During the German-Soviet War at various times he commanded a number of Armies and a number of Fronts. His career was uneven....

.

The 10th Mechanized Corps was not involved in the first battles of Operation Barbarossa

Operation Barbarossa

, being brought out of reserve on 10 July 1941 to form part of the Luga Operational Group under the command of Lieutenant General K. P. Piadyshev, defending the 'Luga Line'. The defences for which were constructed by 55,000 civilians & which extended from Narva

Narva

Narva is the third largest city in Estonia. It is located at the eastern extreme point of Estonia, by the Russian border, on the Narva River which drains Lake Peipus.-Early history:...

to Shimsk

Shimsk

Shimsk is an urban locality and the administrative center of Shimsky District of Novgorod Oblast, Russia, located on a highway connecting Veliky Novgorod and Pskov, southwest of Veliky Novgorod. Another road connects the settlement with Staraya Russa. Shimsk lies on Shelon River, approximately ...

on Lake Ilmen

Lake Ilmen

Ilmen is a historically important lake in the Novgorod Oblast of Russia, formerly a vital part of the Trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks. The city of Novgorod lies six kilometers below the lake's outflow....

. It first engaged 8th Panzer Division on 13 July 1941 along with the 177th Rifle Division isolating it from its neighbouring divisions for several days around Dno

DNO

DNO may refer to:*De Nederlandse Opera based in Amsterdam, Netherlands*DNO International, a Norwegian oil company*Distribution Network Operator, companies licenced to distribute electricity in Great Britain...

& costing it 70 of its 150 tanks destroyed or damaged.

However the Luga Operational Group was encircled & destroyed on 8 August 1941 near Krasnogvardeisk

Krasnogvardeysky District, Saint Petersburg

Krasnogvardeysky District is a district of the federal city of Saint Petersburg, Russia. District's population:...

which resulted in losses of 30,000 men, 120 tanks & 400 guns. The 10th Mechanized Corps was officially disbanded a short time later although individual units continued to exist separately for a short while.

Footnotes

On 22 June 1941 10th Mechanized Corps consisted 26,168 Men, 469 Tanks, 86 Armoured Cars, 75 Artillery Pieces, 157 Mortars, 1000 Vehicles, 34 Tractors & 460 Motorcycles including lighter models T-26, Bt 7, & T-28

T-28

The Soviet T-28 was among the world's first medium tanks. The prototype was completed in 1931 and production began in late 1932. It was an infantry-support tank intended to break through fortified defences...

's models.On 11 July 1941 Col P Poluboiarov, Northwestern Front armoured directorate reported that from 10 July, the 21st Tank Division of the 10th Mechanized Corps was put at the disposal of the front. It consisted of one tank regiment, a motorized rifle regiment, an artillery battalion, & other divisional units. It had around 100 old light tanks.

Footnotes

Further reading