WWII Soviet Guard Units Part I Guardians of the Socialist State Guards Corps

Soviet Guards
Guardians of the Socialist State

Guards Corps

by John M. Astell

The Soviets fought WWII with two very distinct types of corps: command and combat. Command corps were HQ units controlling combat units, just like corps in other armies. Soviet command style corps are not shown directly in SE. Combat corps were unique to the Soviets, they were combat formations, just like divisions, with their own organic subunits.

Soviet combat-style corps are shown directly in SE, except for cavalry corps, which are shown one echelon lower.

GUARDS RIFLE CORPS

Rifle corps were command HQs, the same as infantry corps in other nations' armies, under the control of an army and controlling several (usually three) rifle divisions. Under the impact of invasion, the Soviets in 1941 found they had insufficient skilled officers for all the armies and corps they needed. Accordingly, they abolished most rifle corps and went to direct control of divisions from army HQs. At the cost of some theoretical (but obtainable) flexibility, this utilized their officer assets to better advantage. In 1943, with greater resources and more skilled officers, they brought back the rifle corps in order to achieve more flexibility in army operations. In the meantime, Guards rifle corps had been formed to control the growing numbers of Guards rifle divisions.

With few existing or experienced regular rifle corps to draw upon, I suspect that most Guards rifle corps were new formations.

A post-1941 rifle corps usually controlled three rifle divisions, although this could be increased or decreased as the situation demanded. From 1943 on wholesale swapping of units diminished; a rifle corps tended to retain the same rifle divisions and generally remain assigned to the same army, which allowed for greater coordination among the various echelons. The example seen in the 4th Guards Rifle Corps Table, again from the destruction of Army Group Center, is the 1944 4th Guards Rifle Corps of 8th Guards Army.

4 Gds Rifle XXX

Information on the various Guards rifle corps appears in the Guards Rifle Corps Chart:

XXX Date Notes

1 10.41 formed

10-41 became new 5 XXXX HQ?

12.41 reformed

12.41 became new 26 XXXX HQ?

1.42 reformed

2 ??.41 formed

3 ??.41 formed

4 41 or 42 formed

5 ??.42 formed

6 2.42? formed

7 ??.42 formed

8 ??.42 formed

9 6.42 formed

10 ??.42 formed *

11 ??.42 formed *

12 ??.42 formed

13 ??.42 formed

14 42 or 43 formed

15 ??.43 formed

16 ??.43 formed

17 ??.43 formed

18 4.43 formed

19 4.43 ex 6 Rifle XXX

20 ??.43 formed

21 ??.43 formed

22 ??.43 formed

23 ??.43 formed

24 ??.43 formed

25 ??.43 formed

26 ??.43 formed

27 ??.43 formed

28 4.43 ex 15 Rifle XXX

29 ??.43 formed

30 ??.43 formed

31 ??.43 formed

32 ??.43 formed

33 ??.43 formed

34 ??.43 formed

35 4.43 ex 7 Rifle XXX

36 ??.43 formed

37 1.44 formed

38 8.44 formed

39 8.44 formed

40 44 or 45 formed

* 10 and 11 Gds Rifle XXXs were formed in the summer of 1942 during a reorganization of airborne assets in the North Caucasus Front. There, 1,2,3,4, and 5 Maneuver Abn X and 4 Reserve Abn III became 5,6,7,8,9, 10 Gds Rifle X, with 10 Gds Rifle XXX formed to control brigades 5-7 and 11 Gds Rifle XXX for 8-10. It appears that these two corps operate more like combat corps that command corps in 1942, but some time in 1943 they became command corps controlling divisions.

GUARDS CAVALRY CORPS

Cavalry corps started the war as command units, but became combat units by the end of 1941. The many cavalry divisions the Soviets raised in 1941 were light units, more the size of brigades than divisions. The Soviets found that these cavalry divisions were too small to operate independently and were often misused by the infantry-oriented army commanders, so in December 1941 they converted their cavalry corps to combat units. These cavalry corps had three organic cavalry divisions and operated as intact units. Guards cavalry corps were formed from regular cavalry corps. As resources became available, the divisions were increased in size and the corps were augmented by supporting forces. In 1944, for example, the 3rd Guards Cavalry Corps contained the units listed below.

3 Gds Cav XXX

In SE, cavalry corps are not shown directly. Instead, the cavalry divisions are shown directly, with various independent small units factored into them to raise their strengths. Also see the Guards Cavalry Corps Chart below for additional data.

XXX Date Notes

1 11-41 ex 2 Cav XXX; Units: 1,2,7 Gds Cav XX *

2 11-41 ex 3 Cav XXX; Units: 3,4,17 Gds Cav XX

3 26.12.41 ex 5 Cav XXX; Units: 5,6 Gds Cav XX, 32 Cav XX

4 8.42 ex 17 Cav XXX; Units: 9,10 Gds Cav XX, 30 Cav XX

5 ??.42 ex 10 Cav XXX; Units: 11, 12 Gds Cav XX, 63 Cav XX

6 42 or 43 ex 7 Cav XXX; Units: 8,13 Gds Cav XX, 8 Cav XX

7 2.43 ex 8 Cav XXX; Units: 14,15,16 Gds Cav XX

* "Units" refers to the composition of the corps in 1943-45, as the corps differed from this more in 1941-42

GUARDS TANK CORPS

Tank Corps were the result of the resurrection of large Soviet tank formations in 1942. In 1941, the Soviets had massively copied the German Panzer corps, forming a series of mechanized corps, which consisted of two tank divisions and one motorized division. Totaling over a thousand tanks at full strength, the mechanized corps proved poorly organized, equipped, and led. They collapsed quickly in battle, although occasionally delivering one or two heavy blows before being surrounded and destroyed. For the rest of 1941 the Soviets abandoned large tank formations and concentrated on tank brigades, which were small enough to be led competently by their officers and numerous enough to support the many armies at the front.

In the spring and summer of 1942 the Soviets were ready to try larger tank forces again, and settled on a formation consisting of three tank brigades, one motorized rifle brigade, and supporting units. This formation was called a tank corps and not a tank division for, I believe, two reasons. The first was to emphasize the importance of the formation, corps being more important than divisions. The second, my pet theory, is that a division is traditionally composed of regiments in the Soviet Army. The large tank units were composed of brigades, not regiments, and hence couldn't be called divisions. (Occasionally, independent rifle brigades would be formed into integral rifle corps, not divisions. Artillery divisions, it is true, came to be composed of brigades, but originally were composed of regiments.)

The fledgling tank corps were often handled roughly by the Germans, but they quickly gained experience and became a potent force. The best tank corps went on to be Guards. As the war progressed, the corps were given ever-increasing assets. By the end of the war, for example, the 4th Guards Tank Corps consisted of the units shown below.

4 Gds Tank XXX

Additional information on Guards Tank Corps in contained in the Guards Tank Corps Chart.

XXX Date Notes

1 8.12.42 ex 26 Tank XXX: Units: 15,16,17 Gds Tank X, 1 Gds Mot Rifle X

2 26.12.42 ex 24 Tank XXX: Units: 4,25,26 Gds Tank X, 4 Gds Mot Rifle X

3 29.12.42 ex 7 Tank XXX: Units: 3,18,19 Gds Tank X, 2 Gds Mot Rifle X

4 2.01.43 ex 17 Tank XXX: Units: 12,13,14 Gds Tank X, 3 Gds Mot Rifle X

5 7.02.43 ex 4 Tank XXX: Units: 20,21,22 Gds Tank X, 6 Gds Mot Rifle X

6 26.07.43 ex 12 Tank XXX: Units: 51,52,53 Gds Tank X, 22 Gds Mot Rifle X

7 26.07.43 ex 15 Tank XXX: Units: 54,55,56 Gds Tank X, 23 Gds Mot Rifle X

8 9.43? ex 2 Tank XXX: Units: 58,59,60 Gds Tank X, 28 Gds Mot Rifle X

9 20.11.44 ex 3 Tank XXX 1: Units: 65?,66?,67? Gds Tank X, 33? Gds Mot Rifle X

10 23.10.43 ex 30 Tank XXX: Units: 61,62,63 Gds Tank X, 29 Gds Mot Rifle X

11 23.10.43 ex 6 Tank XXX: Units: 40,44,45 Gds Tank X, 27 Gds Mot Rifle X

12 21.11.44 ex 16 Tank XXX 2: Units: 48,49?,50? Gds Tank X, 34 Gds Mot Rifle X

Notes:
1 9 Gds Tank XXX was formed out of sequence, after the 10 and 11 Gds Tank XXX. Its subunits are conjectures, based on the existing Gds Tank X and Gds Mot Rifle/Mech X sequences. Neither Soviet sources nor German intelligence list subunits for the 9 Gds.
2 49 and 50 Gds Tank Xs as subunits for 12 Gds Tank XXX are conjectures based on the Gds Tank X sequence, with Soviet and German evidence lacking.

GUARDS MECHANIZED CORPS

In operations in 1942 the Soviets found that the tank corps, although effective, had some deficiencies. In particular, they were tank heavy, with not enough motorized infantry present. Accordingly, the Soviets derived a new organization for their armored forces - by adding even more tanks! They also added more motorized infantry and came up with a well-balanced tank formation, the mechanized corps. Unlike German Panzergrenadier divisions, which in effect were stripped-down Panzer divisions, the mechanized corps surpassed the tank corps as armored formations. Rather than converting all the tank corps to the new organization, the Soviets kept the tank corps as they were and raised a new, separate series of mechanized corps. One reason for this seems to be that the mechanized corps required more resources and more scarce, highly trained specialists than did the tank corps. The Soviets could employ their resources better by using the less-demanding tank corps in general and the fewer mechanized corps only when necessary. Guards mechanized corps were formed directly from Guards rifle divisions and from battle-proven regular mechanized corps.

The initial mechanized corps consisted of three mechanized brigades (each brigade a mix of tanks and motorized infantry), two tank regiments, and support units. Later, the organization changed, dropping the two tank regiments and adding one tank brigade instead. Also, supporting units were increased continually. For example, in 1944 the 3rd Guards Mechanized Corps was organized as shown below.

3 Gds Mech XXX

More WWII Soviet Guard Units: Part 1

Introduction and History

Guards Armies and Groups

Guards Corps

More Soviet Guards: Part II

Introduction and Errata

Guards Divisions

Guards Brigades

Other Guards