1st Guards Special Rifle Corps

Red Army blocking formation active briefly in 1941

The 1st Guards Special Rifle Corps (Russian: 1-й особый гвардейский стрелковый корпус 1-ĭ osobyĭ gvardyeĭskiĭ strelkovyĭ korpus) was a hastily formed Red Army corps active briefly in 1941, during the German advance on Moscow.

The Corps was created on 4 October 1941 by special request of the STAVKA supreme command, in an area of the city of Mtsensk (the Oryol Oblast). Initially its structure included the 6th Guards Rifle Division, 5th Airborne Corps, 4th Tank Brigade, 11th Tank Brigade, the Tula military school, several Border Guard Regiments, two artillery regiments, two rocket artillery battalions and the 6th reserve aviation group. Major General Dmitri Lelyushenko was appointed the commander of the corps. The corps was given several tasks: to destroy the nearby enemy, to break through into Oryol, to slow the progress of the German tank armies, and to block the way to Tula.

The Soviet government and STAVKA command highly valued the efforts and sacrifices of the 1st Guards Rifle Corps in the Oryol-Bryansk defensive operation, which took place from 4 to 18 October 1941. On 11 November the National Commissioner of Defense renamed the 4th Tank Brigade, which played a vital role in the battle of Mtsensk, the 1st Guards tank brigade. The Commander of the brigade, Colonel Mikhail Katukov, was eventually promoted to commander of the Soviet 1st Guards Tank Army, and was twice awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union award.

On 12 October 1941, by the order of STAVKA supreme command, the corps was transformed into the 26th Army. On 25 October 1941, its field HQ was disbanded, and its constituent formations were transferred to the 50th Army of the Bryansk Front.

2nd Formation

A new 1st Guards Rifle Corps was formed on 31 December 1941. Its first commander, Col. Afanasy Gryaznov, was appointed the same day; he would be promoted to major general ten days later. As of 1 February it was under the direct command of Northwestern Front, with the following units in its order of battle:

7th Guards Rifle Division
14th, 15th, 52nd Rifle Brigades
72nd Naval Rifle Brigade
203rd, 204th and 205th Ski Brigades^[1]
878th Corps Artillery Regiment (re-designated 37th Guards Artillery Regiment later that month, with 4 batteries of 4 122mm guns each.)

The Corps saw action around the Demyansk Pocket for most of 1942, with a number of rifle brigades under command, but also with 7th Guards Rifle and 37th Guards Artillery under command as well. In October the Corps headquarters went into the Reserve of the Supreme High Command, where it was assigned to the 1st Reserve Army, which later became the 2nd Guards Army. For the duration of the war it served as an administrative command, with no assigned support units.^[2]

References

^ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1942, p. 26
^ Charles C. Sharp, "Red Guards", Soviet Guards Rifle and Airborne Units 1941 to 1945, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, vol. IV, Nafziger, 1995, p. 37

Sources and See also

ru:1-й особый гвардейский стрелковый корпус
http://rkkaww2.armchairgeneral.com/maps/1941W/Moscow41/1SGRC_Orel-Mtsensk_Oct3_11_41.jpg Archived 2007-01-25 at the Wayback Machine
Main Personnel Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union (1964). Командование корпусного и дивизионного звена советских вооруженных сил периода Великой Отечественной войны 1941 – 1945 гг [Commanders of Corps and Divisions in the Great Patriotic War, 1941–1945] (in Russian). Moscow: Frunze Military Academy. p. 42

Soviet Union corps

Airborne corps

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8th Guards
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Mechanized corps

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Rifle corps

Rifle	1st 1st Light 2nd 2nd Light 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 16th 17th 18th 19th 20th 21st 22nd 23rd 24th 25th 26th 27th 28th 29th 30th 31st 31st Special 32nd 32nd Guards 33rd 34th 35th 36th 37th 38th 39th 40th 41st 42nd 43rd 44th 44th Special 45th 45th Special 46th 47th 48th 49th 50th 51st 52nd 53rd 54th 55th 56th 57th 58th 59th 60th 61st 62nd 63rd 64th 65th 66th 67th 68th 69th 70th 71st 72nd 73rd 74th 75th 76th 77th 78th 79th 80th 81st 82nd 83rd 84th 85th 86th 87th 88th 89th 90th 91st 92nd 93rd 94th 95th 96th 97th 98th 99th 100th 101st 102nd 103rd 104th 105th 106th 107th 108th 109th 110th 111th 112th 113th 114th 115th 116th 117th 118th 119th 120th 121st 122nd 123rd 124th 125th 126th Light Mountain Rifle 127th Light Mountain Rifle 128th 129th 130th 131st 132nd 133rd 134th 135th 137th Special
Guards Rifle	1st 1st Special 2nd 3rd (1942) 3rd (1943) 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 16th 18th 19th 20th 21st 22nd 23rd 24th 25th 26th 27th 28th 29th 30th 31st 32nd 33rd 34th 35th 36th 37th 38th 39th 40th 41st

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