1st Guards Cavalry Corps
1st Guards Cavalry Corps | |
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World War Two
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Battle honours | Zhytomyr |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders |
1st Guards Cavalry Zhytomyr Red Banner Corps (Russian: 1-й гвардейский кавалерийский Житомирский Краснознаменный корпус) was a military unit of the Soviet
Despite being a cavalry unit, the guards have a long and robust history of successful warfare among all allied units. The cavalry men proved themselves as valuable units from the early days of
By the second half of the war, the cavalrymen who often spearheaded the front of the
Organization
By order of the NCO No. 342 of November 26, 1941, the
Body composition: (as of May 1, 1945)
1st Guards Cavalry Stavropol Order of Lenin, Red Banner, Order of Suvorov and Bogdan Khmelnitsky Division
61st Tank Zhytomyr Red Banner Regiment (from September 26, 1943);
2nd Guards Cavalry Crimean Order of Lenin, Red Banner twice, Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky Division
230th Tank Regiment (from October 8, 1943, to December 30, 1943);
58th Tank Katowice Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky Regiment (since May 22, 1944);
7th Guards Cavalry Zhytomyr Red Banner, Order of Suvorov and Bogdan Khmelnitsky Division
87th Tank Zhytomyr Red Banner Regiment (from September 29, 1943);
1244th Self-propelled Artillery Przemysl Order of Alexander Nevsky Regiment (from March 1944 to May 1945)
1461st self-propelled artillery Zhytomyr Red Banner Regiment (October 1943-January 1944)
143rd Guards Fighter-anti-tank Artillery Zhytomyr[2] Red Banner Regiment;
1st Separate Guards Fighter-anti-tank Order of the Red Star[3] division;
49th Separate Guards Mortar Division;
1st Guards Mortar Zhytomyr Red Banner Regiment of Rocket Artillery;
319th Anti-aircraft Artillery Katowice[4] Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky Regiment;
1st separate Guards anti-aircraft battery
Parts of the corps subordination:
1st Separate Guards Order of the Red Star[3]Communications Division (until May 1, 1942 – 10th Separate Communications Division);
187th separate motor transport battalion;
349th field auto repair base;
256th laundry squad;
27th field car factory;
1561st military postal station.
In operational subordination:
436th Fighter Aviation Regiment in the period from January 18, 1942, to February 4, 1942, on I-16 aircraft
28th Mixed Aviation Division between December 25, 1941, and January 25, 1942
Defensive Operations in Moscow 1941
Holding Tula
On 14 October 1941, the German
In order to hold Tula, which was a city that was essential to the Soviet war efforts against the
Battles around Kashira
On 18 November 1941, the
In a desperate attempt to defend against the German onslaught, the
Since that clash between the Soviet mobile troops and the 2nd Panzer in the vicinity of Kashira, the ability of the German forces located south in the Tula Oblast to conduct a thrust north towards Moscow was greatly hampered, resulting in the attacks by the 2nd Panzer Group towards the heart of the Soviet state to eventually be stalled. Thus, the 1st Guards Cavalry Corps held not just Kashira, but also hindered the Germans' capability of conducting a thrust towards Moscow in the south, saving Moscow and the Western Front from capitulation, which adequately demonstrated the fighting abilities of the valiant cavalrymen of the corps who were unflinching in battle.
Moscow Counteroffensive Phase: Pushing back the Panzers
Defeating Guderian
On 5 December 1941, the State Defence Committee, also known as the GKO, issued an order for the counteroffensive against Army Group Center to commence. It was on the same day that the 1st Guards Cavalry Corps and
As the 1st Guards Cavalry Corps continued advancing with much impetus, Guderian's forces were being pushed back rapidly. Later, the "panzer leader" requested permission to withdraw his forces to prevent further losses from being sustained, but it was turned down. Due to the fact that the cavalry corps were proclaiming an overwhelming number of victories over the German panzers, the disappointed and infuriated Fuhrer of the
General Offensive Phase: 7 January to 20 April 1942
Cutting the Minsk-Moscow Highway
On 7 January 1942, the General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party, Joseph Stalin. announced the end of the Moscow Counteroffensive Phase and the commencement of the General Offensive. He possessed much anticipation for the Red Army to carry on the momentum and conduct an offensive that would pierce straight into the lair of the fascist beast. An operational group was formed to first cut the Minsk-Moscow Highway, which was of the utmost importance to the German logistical system. The group comprised the 1st Guards Cavalry Corps, 33rd Army, 11th Cavalry Corps and the 4th Airborne Corps.
The group swung north and fought against the mighty
Rzhev-Vyazma: Hideous Defeat and the Great Raid
Upon severing the Minsk-Moscow highway, the 1st Guards Cavalry Corps,
The corps, therefore, consisted of the 1st and 2nd Guards, 41, 57, and 75th Cavalry Divisions, as well as several ski battalions. The three-light raid cavalry divisions formed by the abbreviated states of 1941 were much weaker than the guard divisions: 41st number 1291 people, 57th – 1706 people, 75th – 2760 people. According to various sources, ski battalions had from 800 to 2 thousand people. Thus, the corps totaled about 19,000 people. Fierce battles ensued, and the Soviets inside the envelope faced overwhelming defeat, with the 33rd Army being annihilated entirely. The commander of the army, General Mikhail Yefremov, committed suicide to evade capitulation on realizing that he was incapable of carrying on the fight. Besides that, the 11th Cavalry Corps had also been segregated from the 1st Guards Cavalry Corps and subsequently obliterated as well, leaving only the 1st Guards Cavalry as the surviving unit inside the encirclement. In this battle, heavy casualties were inflicted upon the Red Army for the severe miscalculations and errors in the decisions implemented prior to the clash. The situation was aggravated by the lack of a unified command of the operation. Unfortunately, the forces of
With no other options, General Pavel Belov had to continue roaming behind the enemy lines with his horsemen. As a cunning commander who wielded exceptional strategic ingenuity, Belov was able to lead his cavalry and launch numerous raids behind the enemy lines, disrupting supply routes and mounting ambushes and sudden attacks against groups of German soldiers. After the corps rolled away from Vyazma, Belov decided to proceed with semi-partisan actions. The most important task was the supply of combat units and the treatment of the wounded. It was necessary to prepare the area and space for a new deployment of the corps. This area became a partisan region from Germination to Dorogobuzh. The corps received replenishment of more than 11 thousand people as they joined its regiments and squadrons. This was further made possible as a significant amount of weapons and ammunition remained in the surrounding forests after the Red Army retreated in the fall of 1941.
The German
After its recovery of the raid, the Guards were sent to help the 16th Army in its next offensive. During the next 2 weeks perseverance, heroism, and courage in defensive battles were shown by the units of the 1st Guards. The horsemen suffered the heaviest blows from the 11th and 20th Panzer divisions of the enemy, who tried to break through to Dretovo, Kozelsk, Kaluga. The corps, being at the junction of the 16th Army (Soviet Union) and the 61st Army (Soviet Union), took the brunt of the German grouping and prevented its breakthrough to Sukhinichi, Kozelsk and Kaluga, having completed the task assigned to it. In continuous heavy fighting, the corps, together with infantry and tank units, inflicted heavy losses on the enemy in manpower and equipment, upset and weakened him, and forced him to go on the defensive on the Southern bank of the Zhizdra River. Having regrouped forces and put himself in order, the corps launched a counteroffensive and, together with other units of the 16th Army, pushed the enemy 5–10 km South of the Zhizdra River, providing the necessary springboard for the future on advance. Total losses from August 12 to September 8 of the corps during the operation amounted to 10457 people killed and wounded, 2,915 horses, 41 guns, 119 mortars.[3] On September 9, the corps was withdrawn to reserve 16 Army in the area of Yu-z Sukhinichi. On September 28, it moved to the Western Front reserve. In early October, the first marching squadrons arrived as replacements, rest and combat training of the division lasted until January 29, 1943.
Third Battle of Kharkiv and Liberation of Ukraine
At the end of January 1943, The Corps was transferred to the South-Western Front and from February 5, was included in the
In the second half of April–August, the Corps was in the reserve of the Southwestern Front and did not participate in the Battle of Kursk. In early September, it was transferred to the Voronezh, from October 20, 1943, to the 1st Ukrainian Front. Here they again the unit proved itself by crossing the river Dnepr and taking part in the Kyiv offensive operation, which resulted in the liberation of the Ukrainian capital. As the battle progressed a big initiative was made possible by the horsemen persuading the Germans into the industrial city of Zhitomer. For its role in the battles during the liberation of the city of Zhitomir, the 2nd Guards Cavalry Division was awarded the second Order of the Red Banner (November 13, 1943). As the situation became critical for the Germans as they brought Panzer forces and on November 20 they retook the city. It would take the Red Army another offense and on January 14 the city was retaken by the Red Army, thus Zhitomer became the only city to get saluted two separate times by Moscow through the war.
Liberation of Europe and Germany
After its liberation of Ukraine, the 1st Guards cavalry Corps which was part of the 1st Ukrainian Front entered Poland during the
Commanders
- Major General Pavel Alexeyevich Belov (26 November 1941 – 28 June 1942)
- Guard Lieutenant General Viktor Kirillovich Baranov (29 June 1942 – 11 May 1945)
Heroes of the Soviet Union
Guard Lieutenant General Viktor Kirillovich Baranov
1st Guards Cavalry Division – 9 people
2nd Guards Cavalry Division – 18 people
7th Guards Cavalry Division – 7 people
143rd separate guards anti-tank artillery regiment: 1 person
Total:36
In all nearly 30,000 soldiers and officers of the 1st Guards Cavalry Corps were awarded government awards.
Engagement
- Operation Barbarossa
- Operation Typhoon
- Battle of Moscow
- Battle of Rzhev-Vyazma
- Kozelsk offensive
- Operation Hannover
- Third Battle of Kharkov
- Second Battle of Kiev
- Zhitomir–Berdichev offensive
- Dnieper-Carpathian Offensive
- Lvov–Sandomierz offensive
- Sandomierz–Silesian offensive
- Vistula-Oder Offensive
- Battle of Berlin
- Prague offensive
Further reading
- Russia Beyond: Did Soviet Cavalry Crush the German Tanks During WW2? Link: Did the Soviet cavalry crush German tanks in WWII?
- Lone Sentry: Cavalry in Mass: Soviet Doctrine for Employing Horse-Mounted Troops Link: Lone Sentry: Cavalry in Mass, Soviet Doctrine for Employing Horse-Mounted Troops (WWII U.S. Intelligence Bulletin, May 1946)
- History Net: Red Sabers: J. E. B. Stuart, Soviet Cavalry Guru Link: Red Sabers: J. E. B. Stuart, Soviet Cavalry Guru
- John S. Harrel: Soviet Cavalry Operations During The Second World War(2019)
- 1-й гвардейский кавалерийский Житомирский Краснознаменный корпус им. Совнаркома Украинской ССР: Сайт посвящен соединениям РККА в годы Великой Отечественной войны * 1st Guards Cavalry Zhytomyr Red Banner Corps named after Council of People's Commissars of the Ukrainian SSR"': "The site is dedicated to the Red Army units during the Great Patriotic War: Link: 1-й гвардейский кавалерийский корпус
See also
- Lev Dovator
- Pavel Belov
- Issa Pliev
- Alexey Selivanov
- Viktor Baranov
- Georgy Zhukov
- Heinz Guderian
- 2nd Panzer Group
References
- ^ von Clausewitz, Carl (1832). On War. Kingdom of Prussia.
- ^ a b Bellamy, Chris. Absolute War: Soviet Russia in the Second World War.
- ^ a b "1-й гвардейский кавалерийский корпус". www.rkkawwii.ru. Retrieved 2022-10-12.
- ^ Phillips, Gervase (13 August 2018). "Red Sabers: J. E. B. Stuart, Soviet Cavalry Guru". History Net.
- ^ "1-й гвардейский кавалерийский корпус". www.rkkawwii.ru.