Soviet 1st Guards Mechanized Corps
Encyclopedia
The 1st Guards Mechanized Corps (honorific 'Vienna') was a Red Army
armoured
formation that saw service during World War II
on the Eastern Front
. After the war it continued to serve with Soviet
occupation forces in Central Europe
. It was originally the 1st Guards Rifle Division. The unit had approximately the same size and combat power as an early-war Wehrmacht
Panzer Division
, or a British
Armoured Division had during World War II.
In its final form, it was designated the 137th Military Base and was withdrawn from Vaziani in Georgia
and disbanded in ther early 1990s.
region during the re-establishment of the Mechanized Corps
as a formation in the Red Army
. It was then assigned to Southwestern Front
which was under the command of General N.F.Vatutin to participate in the encirclement of German Army Group A
in Operation Saturn
, which was undertaken during the Battle of Stalingrad
.
The 1st Guards Mechanized Corps consisted of the following units:
Combat Units
Support Units
Changes to unit organization
Depending on the specific tasks allotted to the Corps, units from the STAVKA Reserve could be added to help it achieve its mission. When the 1st Guards Mechanized Corps returned to the front in January 1945, its tank formations were completely equipped with American M4A2 Sherman Lend-Lease
tanks.
The Corps had been re-designated the 1st Guards Mechanised Division by March 1946 and served in the Transcaucasian Military District
before being reorganised as 2nd Guards Motor Rifle Division in 1957 and then 100th Guards MRD in 1965. At some point afterwards, probably in the late 1980s, it was renamed 171st Guards District Training Centre. It was based in Tblisi throughout the postwar period.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, it was redesignated as the 137th Military Base, and finally withdrawn and disbanded in the 1990s.
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...
armoured
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
formation that saw service during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
on the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
. After the war it continued to serve with Soviet
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....
occupation forces in Central Europe
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
. It was originally the 1st Guards Rifle Division. The unit had approximately the same size and combat power as an early-war Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
Panzer Division
Panzer Division
A panzer division was an armored division in the army and air force branches of the Wehrmacht as well as the Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany during World War II....
, or a British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
Armoured Division had during World War II.
In its final form, it was designated the 137th Military Base and was withdrawn from Vaziani in Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
and disbanded in ther early 1990s.
Formation
1st Guards Mechanized Corps was formed in November 1942 in the TambovTambov
Tambov is a city and the administrative center of Tambov Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Tsna and Studenets Rivers southeast of Moscow...
region during the re-establishment of the 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 :...
as a formation in the 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...
. It was then assigned to Southwestern Front
Soviet Southwestern Front
The Southwestern Front was a name given to a Front by the Imperial Russian Army during the First World War, by the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic during the Russian Civil War, and by the Red Army during the Second World War.The Southwestern Front in this article describes several...
which was under the command of General N.F.Vatutin to participate in the encirclement of German Army Group A
Army Group A
Army Group A was the name of a number of German Army Groups during World War II.-Western Front, 1940:During the German invasion of the Low Countries and France Army Group A was under the command of General Gerd von Rundstedt, and was responsible for the break-out through the Ardennes...
in Operation Saturn
Operation Saturn
Operation Saturn, revised as Operation Little Saturn, was a Red Army operation on the Eastern Front of World War II that led to battles in the northern Caucasus and Donets Basin regions of the Soviet Union from December 1942 to February 1943....
, which was undertaken during the Battle of Stalingrad
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was a major battle of World War II in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in southwestern Russia. The battle took place between 23 August 1942 and 2 February 1943...
.
The 1st Guards Mechanized Corps consisted of the following units:
Combat Units
- 1st Guards Mechanized Rifle Brigade
- 2nd Guards Mechanized Rifle Brigade
- 3rd Guards Mechanized Rifle Brigade
- 16, 17, 18, 19 Guards Tank Regiments (combined into the 9th Guards Tank Brigade by 1945)
- 116th Guards Artillery Regiment
- 1504th Guards Anti-Tank Regiment
- 267th Mortar Regiment
- 407th Guards Mortar Battalion
Support Units
- 54th Guards Signalling Battalion
- Corps Train
Changes to unit organization
- The 116th Guards Artillery Regiment had been replaced by the 382nd Guards, 1453rd, and 1821st self-propelled gun regiments by 1945.
- The 1504th Guards Anti-Tank Regiment was no longer with the corps in 1945.
- The 11th Guards Motorcycle Battalion and 1699th Anti-Aircraft Regiment had been added to the corps by 1945.
Depending on the specific tasks allotted to the Corps, units from the STAVKA Reserve could be added to help it achieve its mission. When the 1st Guards Mechanized Corps returned to the front in January 1945, its tank formations were completely equipped with American M4A2 Sherman Lend-Lease
Lend-Lease
Lend-Lease was the program under which the United States of America supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, China, Free France, and other Allied nations with materiel between 1941 and 1945. It was signed into law on March 11, 1941, a year and a half after the outbreak of war in Europe in...
tanks.
The Corps had been re-designated the 1st Guards Mechanised Division by March 1946 and served in the Transcaucasian Military District
Transcaucasian Military District
The Transcaucasian Military District, a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces, traces its history to May 1921 and the incorporation of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia into the USSR...
before being reorganised as 2nd Guards Motor Rifle Division in 1957 and then 100th Guards MRD in 1965. At some point afterwards, probably in the late 1980s, it was renamed 171st Guards District Training Centre. It was based in Tblisi throughout the postwar period.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, it was redesignated as the 137th Military Base, and finally withdrawn and disbanded in the 1990s.
1943
- Battle of Kharkov (1943)Third Battle of KharkovThe Third Battle of Kharkov was a series of offensive operations on the Eastern Front of World War II, undertaken by the German Army Group South against the Red Army, around the city of Kharkov , between 19 February and 15 March 1943...
- Battle of KurskBattle of KurskThe Battle of Kursk took place when German and Soviet forces confronted each other on the Eastern Front during World War II in the vicinity of the city of Kursk, in the Soviet Union in July and August 1943. It remains both the largest series of armored clashes, including the Battle of Prokhorovka,...
- Operation Polkovodets RumyantsevOperation Polkovodets RumyantsevOperation Polkovodets Rumyantsev was a code name for the Belgorod-Kharkov Strategic Offensive Operation conducted by the Red Army between 3 August 1943 and 23 August 1943 against the Wehrmacht's 4th Panzer Army and Army Group Kempf during World War II. The operation was conducted by the Voronezh...
- Battle of the lower Dnepr
1942
- Southwestern FrontSoviet Southwestern FrontThe Southwestern Front was a name given to a Front by the Imperial Russian Army during the First World War, by the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic during the Russian Civil War, and by the Red Army during the Second World War.The Southwestern Front in this article describes several...
- 3rd Guards Army
Books
- Bonn, K.E. 'Slaughterhouse - The Handbook of the Eastern Front', Aberjona Press
- Erickson, J.John Erickson (historian)John Erickson was a British historian who wrote extensively on the Second World War...
'The Road to Stalingrad' - Glantz, D.David GlantzDavid M. Glantz is an American military historian and the editor of the Journal of Slavic Military Studies....
'From the Don to the Dnepr'