5th Rifle Corps
5th Rifle Corps | |
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Country | Soviet Union |
Branch | Red Army |
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The 5th Rifle Corps was a corps of the
Formed in 1922, the corps was based at
The corps was formed for a second time in mid-1942 in the
First formation
Interwar period
The 5th Rifle Corps was first formed at
In April, Komdiv
Soviet invasion of Poland
The corps fought in the
At 4:00 on 20 September, the motorcycle group of the 13th Division's 119th Rifle Regiment entered
By the morning of 21 September, the 119th Regiment had arrived in Grodno, crossing to the right bank north of the 101st Regiment. Beginning at 6:00, the two regiments, reinforced with four guns and two tanks, attacked into the city, reaching the railway line by 12:00 despite Polish counterattacks and the city center at 14:00. The main forces of the 4th and 13th Divisions attacked from the east, but withdrew back to the city outskirts after reaching the railway line.[13] After the Polish troops withdrew from the city on 22 September, the corps moved west and southwest from Volkovysk behind the 6th Cavalry Corps' 11th Cavalry Division.[14][15]
On 24 September, the corps reached the Svislach–Porazava line, and its advance detachments took control of Bielsk Podlaski and Brańsk at 13:00 on 25 September. On the next day, in the Gaynovichi area, the corps captured 120 Polish soldiers and discovered an ammunition depot. On the same day, in the Czyżew area, a German rearguard detachment was fired upon by Polish troops, losing one killed and four wounded before moving to Ciechanowiec, where Soviet troops provided medical assistance to them. On 27 September, the corps' forward detachments reached Nur and Czyżew, discovering another Polish ammunition depot near Gaynuki and digging up buried weapons in the forests. That night, a Polish detachment of 50 cavalrymen attacked departing German units at Nur, who moved west covered by the 13th Division's reconnaissance battalion. The battalion scattered the Polish detachment in the area of the village of Moderka. By 19:00 on 29 September, the corps' units occupied Małkinia Górna and Kosów Lacki.[16] The 121st Rifle Division joined the corps by 2 October.[17]
Operation Barbarossa
In November 1940, the corps headquarters was relocated to the new border at Bielsk Podlaski. It included the 13th,
On the morning of 22 June, the corps headquarters was bombed by German aircraft.[24] Having suffered heavy losses to German bombing and artillery fire, the 113th Division assembled in a relatively orderly fashion and moved northwest to cover the border in accordance with pre-war planning. A few hours later, on the march, it was struck in the flank by troops of the IX Army Corps and routed. The division ceased to exist as a unit, although individual groups continued to fight on the southern edge of the Białowieża Forest for several days.[25]
The 86th Rifle Division defended positions to the northwest of the German breakthrough. To the west of Zambrów, two battalions from its 169th Rifle Regiment defended positions of the 64th Fortified Region. Their positions were somewhat strengthened by the fire of four battalions of the 124th Howitzer Artillery Regiment in the second half of the day, which inflicted losses on the German troops. The 330th Rifle Regiment defended the border railway station of Czyżew; it had been marching from the Zambrów area, where it had drilled the day before the war began, to summer camp at Ciechanów. Its 3rd Battalion was sent to the unfinished 64th Fortified Region positions at Zaręby Kościelne, which had been captured by German troops. The battalion suffered heavy losses in trying to retake the pillboxes at 8:00, but temporarily halted the German advance in the sector.[20]
The Western Front issued an order at 22:00 on 23 June that subordinated the 124th and 375th Howitzer Artillery Regiments and the 311th Gun Artillery Regiment to the corps commander.[26]
Due to its position, the corps was destroyed in the first days of Operation Barbarossa. It was disbanded in early July.[1]
Second formation
Garrison duty in the Far East
In June 1942, the 5th Rifle Corps was reformed as part of the
The corps' structure remained constant until December 1944, when all of its units except for the 66th Rifle Division were directly subordinated to the army headquarters.[34] In April 1945, the corps was directly subordinated to the front headquarters, including the 35th and 390th Rifle Divisions in its structure; the 66th Division remained with the 35th Army.[35] Due to its transfer, the corps became known as the 5th Separate Rifle Corps.[36]
Soviet invasion of Manchuria
In preparation for the
To support their operations, the corps and the 15th Army achieved a maximum artillery density of between 100 and 150 guns and mortars per kilometer (161 to 241 guns per mile) in their primary attack sectors. The corps' attack was preceded by a 30-minute artillery preparation, and its assault crossing was supported by a 50-minute artillery bombardment. In the crossing phase, the corps' artillery fired five minutes of heavy fire on predetermined targets to support the assault crossings of the forward detachments, before moving forward into the Japanese rear.[43] Pashkov placed the 390th Division and the 172nd Tank Brigade in the first echelon, spearheading the Ussuri crossing, followed by the 35th Division in the second echelon.[38]
On the first day of the invasion, 9 August, the corps' assault units and reconnaissance detachments crossed the Ussuri at 01:00, aboard rafts, barges, steamship ferries, and boats of the 3rd Brigade of the Amur Flotilla. The opposite bank and Jaoho fortifications were defended by only one infantry company from the Japanese 135th Infantry Division, supported by two battalions of Manchurian auxiliaries. After the artillery preparation, the 390th Division's advanced battalions crossed the river and captured a bridgehead north of Jaoho in the morning, subsequently followed by main force units. It took fifteen hours to ferry the tanks of the 172nd Tank Brigade across the Ussuri, although a shortage of roads forced the brigade to leave its rear units behind.[44]
The 390th Division captured the Jaoho Fortified Region and the town of Jaoho by the end of 10 August, beginning the advance southwest towards Paoching on the next day. The troops traveled in march columns led by tanks from the 172nd Brigade. The march was lengthened by poor road conditions, while the Japanese offered little resistance due to the Japanese Fifth Army having withdrawn the 135th Division west to join the main Japanese force. Paoching was captured by the 172nd Brigade and the lead units of the 390th Division on 14 August after they pushed out its garrison. The 172nd and the 390th then continued towards Poli, followed by the main forces of the corps. On 19 August, the lead elements of the corps linked up with the 35th Army's 66th Rifle Division at Poli after crossing southward through the mountains from Paoching, having faced "virtually no Japanese resistance".[45] During the invasion, the 5th Corps reported the capture of 2,786 Japanese and Manchukuoan soldiers and officers. Its role in the campaign ended after reaching Poli.[44]
Postwar
By 3 September, the corps had been transferred to the 15th Army, and included the
Commanders
The following officers are known to have commanded the corps' first formation:[10]
- Markian Germanovich (June 1924–March 1926)[2]
- Ivan Smolin (March 1926–May 1927)[3]
- Alexander Todorsky (July 1927–November 1928)[48]
- Sergey Gribov (promoted to Komkor 1935, November 1928–December 1935)[3]
- Komdiv Yevgeny Kazansky (February 1936–April 1937)[5]
- Komdiv Leonid Petrovsky (May–November 1937)[6]
- Komdiv Filipp Yershakov (November 1937–January 1938)[7]
- Komdiv Vasily Chuikov (April–June 1938)[8]
- Komdiv (promoted to Major General 5 June 1940) Alexander Garnov (10 February 1939–after 22 June 1941)
The following officers commanded the corps' second formation:[27]
- Colonel Alexey Khvostov (27 June 1942–25 June 1943)
- Major General Ivan Pashkov (26 June 1943–after 3 September 1945)
References
Citations
- ^ a b Dvoinykh, Kariaeva, Stegantsev, eds. 1993, pp. 21–22.
- ^ a b Cherushev & Cherushev 2012, pp. 69–70.
- ^ a b c d Cherushev & Cherushev 2012, pp. 107–108.
- ^ Cherushev & Cherushev 2012, pp. 74–75.
- ^ a b Cherushev & Cherushev 2012, pp. 220–221.
- ^ a b Melnikov 2013, pp. 125–126.
- ^ a b Kuzelenkov 2005, p. 141.
- ^ a b Kuzelenkov 2005, p. 213.
- ^ Dvoinykh, Kariaeva, Stegantsev, eds. 1991, p. 379.
- ^ a b Main Personnel Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union 1964, p. 8.
- ^ a b Meltyukhov 2001, p. 299.
- ^ a b Meltyukhov 2001, p. 310.
- ^ a b Meltyukhov 2001, p. 311.
- ^ a b Meltyukhov 2001, p. 313.
- ^ Meltyukhov 2001, p. 336.
- ^ Meltyukhov 2001, pp. 336–337.
- ^ Meltyukhov 2001, p. 350.
- ^ a b Gurkin & Malanin 1963, p. 8.
- ^ Stepanov, V.S. "86-я сд: первые дни войны" [86th Rifle Division: The First Days of the War]. rkka.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 18 December 2017.
- ^ a b Yegorov 2008, pp. 238–239.
- ^ Yegorov 2008, p. 11.
- ^ Yegorov 2008, p. 13.
- ^ Yegorov 2008, p. 39.
- ^ Yegorov 2008, p. 99.
- ^ Yegorov 2008, p. 234.
- ^ Yegorov 2008, pp. 167–168.
- ^ a b c Main Personnel Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union 1964, p. 9.
- ^ Gurkin, Shchitov-Izotov & Volkov 1966, p. 138.
- ^ Gurkin, Shchitov-Izotov & Volkov 1966, p. 161.
- ^ Gurkin, Shchitov-Izotov & Volkov 1966, p. 184.
- ^ Gurkin, Shchitov-Izotov & Volkov 1966, p. 252.
- ^ Gurkin et al. 1972, p. 77.
- ^ Gurkin et al. 1972, pp. 210–211.
- ^ Gurkin et al. 1990, p. 39.
- ^ Gurkin et al. 1990, pp. 183–184.
- ^ a b Glantz 2003, p. 101.
- ^ a b "2-й Дальневосточный фронт" [2nd Far Eastern Front] (in Russian). Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
- ^ a b c Glantz 2003, p. 269.
- ^ Glantz 2003, p. 109.
- ^ Glantz 2003, pp. 163–164.
- ^ Glantz 2003, p. 165.
- ^ Glantz 2003, pp. 262–263.
- ^ Glantz 2003, pp. 170–171.
- ^ a b Glantz 2003, pp. 269–270.
- ^ Glantz 2003, p. 243.
- ^ Gurkin et al. 1990, p. 208.
- ^ Feskov et al 2013, p. 579.
- ^ Cherushev & Cherushev 2012, pp. 114–116.
Bibliography
- Cherushev, Nikolai Semyonovich; Cherushev, Yury Nikolaevich (2012). Расстрелянная элита РККА (командармы 1-го и 2-го рангов, комкоры, комдивы и им равные): 1937—1941. Биографический словарь. [Executed Elite of the Red Army (Komandarms of the 1st and 2nd ranks, Komkors, Komdivs, and equivalents) 1937–1941 Biographical Dictionary] (in Russian). Moscow: Kuchkovo Pole. ISBN 9785995002178.
- Dvoinykh, L.V.; Kariaeva, T.F.; Stegantsev, M.V., eds. (1991). Центральный государственный архив Советской армии. [Central State Archive of the Soviet Army] (in Russian). Vol. 1. Minneapolis: Eastview Publications. ISBN 1-879944-02-2. Archived from the originalon 2012-03-09. Retrieved 2018-01-05.
- Dvoinykh, L.V.; Kariaeva, T.F.; Stegantsev, M.V., eds. (1993). Центральный государственный архив Советской армии. [Central State Archive of the Soviet Army] (in Russian). Vol. 2. Minneapolis: Eastview Publications. ISBN 1-879944-03-0. Archived from the originalon 2013-10-17. Retrieved 2018-01-04.
- Feskov, V.I.; Golikov, V.I.; Kalashnikov, K.A.; Slugin, S.A. (2013). Вооруженные силы СССР после Второй Мировой войны: от Красной Армии к Советской [The Armed Forces of the USSR after World War II: From the Red Army to the Soviet: Part 1 Land Forces] (in Russian). Tomsk: Scientific and Technical Literature Publishing. ISBN 9785895035306.
- ISBN 0-7146-5279-2.
- Gurkin, V.V.; Malanin, K.A. (1963). Боевой состав Советской армии: Часть I (июнь-декабрь 1941 года) [Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, Part I (June–December 1941)] (PDF) (in Russian). Moscow: Military Historical Department of the Military Scientific Directorate of the General Staff.
- Gurkin, V.V.; et al. (1966). Боевой состав Советской армии: Часть II (Январь-декабрь 1942 года) [Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, Part II (January–December 1942)] (PDF) (in Russian). Moscow: Voenizdat.
- Gurkin, V.V.; et al. (1972). Боевой состав Советской армии: Часть III (Январь — декабрь 1943 г.) [Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, Part III (January–December 1943)] (PDF) (in Russian). Moscow: Voenizdat.
- Gurkin, V.V.; et al. (1990). Боевой состав Советской армии: Часть V (Январь—сентябрь 1945 г.) [Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, Part V (January–September 1945)] (PDF) (in Russian). Moscow: Voenizdat.
- Kuzelenkov, V.N., ed. (2005). Командный и начальствующий состав Красной Армии в 1940-1941 гг. [Commanders and Command Staff of the Red Army 1940–1941] (in Russian). Moscow/St. Petersburg: Letny sad. ISBN 5-94381-137-0.
- 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.
- Melnikov, Vladimir (2013). На днепровском рубеже. Тайна гибели генерала Петровского. [On the Dnieper line: The mystery of the death of General Petrovsky] (in Russian). Moscow: Veche. ISBN 978-5-4444-0114-9.
- Meltyukhov, Mikhail (2001). Советско-польские войны. Военно-политическое противостояние 1918-1939 гг. [Soviet–Polish War: Military and Political Confrontation 1918–1939] (in Russian). Moscow: Veche. ISBN 9785783809514.
- Yegorov, Dmitry (2008). Июнь 41-го. Разгром Западного фронта [June '41: The Defeat of the Western Front] (in Russian). Moscow: Yauza. ISBN 978-5-699-27810-7.