Odessa Military District
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| Odessa Military District | |
|---|---|
Invasion of Poland (selected units), Invasion of Romania, World War II | |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Georgy Zhukov (06/1946 - 02/1948) |
The Odessa Military District (
Southern Operational Command
.
The district was originally established by the
Armed Forces of Moldova.[1]
An earlier district of the same name was established in 1864 by the Imperial Russian Army.
History
Years of existence
- December 24, 1862 – January 1918 Russian Empire, transformed into headquarters of Romanian Front
- April 9 – August 5, 1919 Russian SFSR, dissolved, remnants transferred to 12th Army
- October 11, 1939 – September 10, 1941 Soviet Union, dissolved remnants transferred to Southern Front
- March 23, 1944 – January 3, 1992 Soviet Union, passed on to Armed Forces of Ukraine
- July 9, 1945 – April 4, 1956, portion of territory was under jurisdiction of Tauric Military District
- July 9, 1945 – April 4, 1956, portion of territory was under jurisdiction of
- January 3, 1992 – January 3, 1998 Southern Operational Command
Russian Empire
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Odessa Military District
The Odessa Military District was established during the reforms of the Russian military minister
Governor General of Odesa city (then spelled Odessa) concurrently. In January 1918 the Odessa Military District headquarters was transformed into the headquarters of the Soviet Romanian Front under the jurisdiction of Rumcherod
. With the establishment of the Ukrainian government on its territory, it was terminated. OVO was reinstated as the Ukrainian forces were pushed out the area in April to August 1919.
Soviet Union
The district was reformed by the decision of October 11, 1939 specifically for the occupation of Bessarabia after the Soviet Union signed
Soviet invasion of Poland and Romania, previously formed on base of the Odessa Army Group of the Kiev Special Military District
(reformed Kiev Military District).
By directives OV/583 and OV/584 of the Soviet
5th, 9th and 12th Armies. The Southern Front
had 32 infantry divisions, 2 motorized infantry divisions, 6 cavalry divisions, 11 tank brigades, 3 paratrooper brigades, 30 artillery regiments, and smaller auxiliary units.
Two action plans were devised. The first plan was prepared for the case that Romania would not accept to evacuate
Bălţi
-Iaşi area. The second plan took into consideration the case that Romania would succumb to Soviet demands and would evacuate its military. In such a situation, Soviet troops were given the mission to reach quickly the Prut river, and take charge of the evacuation process of the Romanian troops. The first plan was taken as the basis of action. Along the portions where the offensive was supposed to take place, Soviets prepared to have at least a triple superiority of men and means.
On June 22, 1941 primary combat formations included:[2]
- 9th Army was relocated to the District as 9th Separate Army in June 1941 from the Leningrad Military District after the Winter War and invasion of Romania
- 2nd Mechanised Corps and 18th Mechanised Corps were associated with 9th Army.
- 7th Rifle Corps was formed in the District in June 1941,
- 9th Rifle Corps formed as part of the District on June 22, 1941,
- 3rd Airborne Corps
In August 1941 51st Independent Army was formed in the Crimea.
On September 10, 1941 the district was abolished as it was overran by the Armed Forces of Nazi Germany and its allies.
Post World War II Development
The District was reformed on April 23, 1944 with its headquarters at
Kirovohrad, which in October 1944 relocated to Odesa. In 1948, 4th Guards Army, with 10th Guards Budapest Rifle Corps (33rd Mech, 59, 86) and 24th Guards Rifle Corps (35 Guards Mech, 180th Rifle Division, 51 Ind Rifle Brigade), plus 82nd Rifle Corps (34th Guards Mech, 28th Guards Rifle, 52 Ind Rifle Brigade) were in the district.[3]
Nikolay Pukhov
took command.
28th Guards Motor Rifle Division, 34th Guards MRD and 95th MRD in the late 1950s. Disbanded in June 1960.[5]
In May 1955 the district's forces included the
66th Guards Rifle Divisions.[6] In May 1957 the 20th Rifle Division became the 93rd Motor Rifle Division, but the division was disbanded in March 1959.[7]
In 1960 the 113th Guards Motor Rifle Division and 95th Motor Rifle Division were disbanded.
In April 1960 the Odessa Military District consisted of three oblasts (
Crimean Oblast, and Kherson Oblast
.
From September 1984 the District came under command of the South-Western Strategic Direction, with its headquarters at
Kishinev.[8]
Later developments
In the Odessa District's territory were additionally deployed the
32nd Army Corps (possibly reformed on the basis of the headquarters units of the former Tauric Military District) in 1956,[9] complemented by the 98th Guards Airborne Division
as well as seven additional motor rifle divisions.
The
air support for the District's units and the 49th Air Defence Corps, 8th Air Defence Army
was tasked with national air defence for the territory.
The Odessa Military District was transferred to the jurisdiction of Ukraine after the
William E. Odom says that 'in accordance with the Minsk agreements [from the CIS summit in Minsk of 30–31 December 1991], Shaposhnikov sent an order on 3 January 1992, formally transferring conventional forces to Ukraine. President Kravchuk then approved the firing of the three military district commanders (..). On 7–8 January each were removed, none resisting because within their headquarters Kravchuk's people had quietly created a network of officers loyal to his government.'[10]
Its units were split between the
Armed Forces of the Russian Federation
.
Commanders
Commanders 1862-1914
- Paul Demetrius von Kotzebue Count, General of Infantry (12.12.1862 — 11.01.1874)
- Vladimir Savvich Semeka, Adjutant General, Lieutenant General (11.01.1874 — 01.04.1879)
- Eduard Totleben, Count, Adjutant General, Engineer General, Interim Governor General (01.04.1879 — 18.05.1880)
- Alexander Drenteln Adjutant General, General of Infantry, Interim Governor General (18.05.1880 — 14.01.1881)
- Alexander Mikhailovich Dondukov-Korsakov Prince, General of the Cavalry, Adjutant General, Interim Governor General (14.01.1881 — 01.01.1882)
- Iosif Gurko Adjutant-General, General of the Cavalry, Interim Governor-General (09.01.1882 — 07.07.1883)
- Christopher Roop General of Infantry, Provisional Governor General (21.10.1883 — 12.10.1890)
- Alexander Ivanovich Musin-Pushkin, Count, General of the Cavalry (23.10.1890 — 19.12.1903)
- Alexander von Kaulbars Baron, Lieutenant General (01.01.1904 — 22.10.1904)
- Semyon Vasilievich Kakhanov, General of the cavalry (10.1904 - 27.08.1905)
- Alexander von Kaulbars, Baron, General of the Cavalry (27.08.1905 — 23.12.1909)
- Nikolai Zarubaev, General of Infantry (24.12.1909 — 10.06.1912)
- Vladimir Nikolaevich Nikitin, General of artillery (13.06.1912 — 19.07.1914)
Commanders, 1939–1991
- Lieutenant General Ivan Boldin (10.1939 — 07.1940)
- Lieutenant General Yakov Cherevichenko (07.1940 — 06.1941)
- Lieutenant General Nikandr Chibisov (06.1941 — 08.1941)
- Major General Ivan Ivanov (08.1941 - 09.1941)
- German occupation
- General Colonel Ivan Zakharkin (03.1944 — 10.1944)
- Major General Aleksei Pervushin (10.1944)
- General Colonel Vasily Yushkevich (10.1944 - 06.1946) (former commander of 31st Army)[11]
- Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov (06.1946 – 02.1948)
- General Colonel Nikolay Pukhov(02.1948–1951),
- General Colonel Kuzma Galitsky (1951–1954),
- General Colonel Alexei Radzievsky (1954–1959),
- General Colonel Hamazasp Babadzhanian (P H Babadjanyan) (1959-03.1967),
- General Colonel M V Lugovtsev (03.1967 – 12.1967)
- General Colonel A G Shyrypov (01.1968 – 1974)
- General Colonel I M Voloshin (1974–1982)
- General Colonel S A Elagin (1982–1986)
- General Colonel Ivan S Morozov (1986–1992)
Forces in the 1980s
Around 1988, the District contained the following forces:[12]
- 14th Guards Army
- 28th Guards Motor Rifle Division (28th Guards Mechanised Brigadecirca 2001)
- 59th Guards Motor Rifle Division (Tiraspol)
- Belgorod-Dnestrovsky)
- 28th Guards Motor Rifle Division (
- 32nd Army Corps 'Кенигсберский' (Simferopol)[13]
- 126th Motor Rifle Division (Simferopol) Formed 17 November 1964.[14] Transferred to the Black Sea Fleetin 1989. Disbanded 1 February 1996.
- Feodosiya)(501st Motor Rifle Regiment (Kerch), 84th Motor Rifle Regiment, 91 мсп, ап (Керчь), зрп). In 1990 became the 5378th Base for Storage of Weapons and Equipment. Came under Ukrainian control 1992.
- 1398th Anti-tank Artillery Regiment (Lugovoe/Луговое)
- Other corps troops included the - 9th Engineer-Sapper Battalion, 909th Signals Battalion, 287 радиотехнический батальон, 858 ремонтно-восстановительный батальон (Мазанка) - 301st Artillery Brigade (Simferopol)
- District Troops
- 92nd Guards Training Motor Rifle Division (Nikolaev/Shirokiy Lan) - Reorganised as the 150th District Training Centre, and later after Ukrainian independence, the 92nd District Training Centre.[15]
- Bolgrad)
- 40th independent Landing-Assault Brigade (Nikolayev, Odesa Oblast, from October 1979).79th Airmobile Brigade.
- 10th independent Special Forces Brigade GRU (activated 10.62 in Karagoz, Crimean Oblast). Taken over by Ukraine early 1992 (directive issued 11.10.91).
- Zaporozhia/Novaya Alexandrovka)[17]In 1988 consisted of 371st Multiple rocket Launcher Brigade (48 9A52 "Smerch") and two artillery regiments - 701st Howitzer artillery regiment (48 units of D-30) and 751st antitank artillery regiment (84 MT-LBT guided missile system), and 3 shelves and 2 base in Novo-Aleksandrovka
- 5th Air Army
Ukraine/Moldova
Following the
Russian Airborne Troops
.
The 5381st Equipment Storage Base with its headquarters at Florești, the former 86th Guards Motor Rifle Division, was taken over by Moldova.[18]
The 5th Air Army was later redesignated the 5th Aviation Corps of the Ukrainian Air Force in 1994.[19]
Colonel General
Ministry of Defense of Ukraine from July 1, 1997.[citation needed] The command encompasses nine oblasts
: Odesa, Mykolaiv, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kirovohrad, Kharkiv, and the autonomous republic of Crimea.
Commanders (Ukraine)
- General Lieutenant Vitaliy Radetsky (1992–1993)
- Colonel General Volodymyr Shkidchenko (1993–1998)
Notes
- ^ a b Feskov et al. 2013, p. 495.
- ^ Orbat.com/Niehorster, Administrative Order of Battle 22 June 1941, accessed August 2009
- ^ Feskov et al. 2013, p. 49.
- ^ Tsouras 1994, pp. 43–44.
- ^ Feskov et al. 2013, p. 491.
- ^ Feskov et al 2004, 49.
- ^ "93rd Motorised Rifle Division".
- ^ Holm, High Command of the South-Western Direction, 2015
- ^ Feskov et al 2004, p.47
- ^ William E. Odom, The Collapse of the Soviet Military, Yale University Press, 1998, p.383 citing 'Colonel General Ivan Bizhan, Deputy Minister of Defence in Ukraine, related this episode to me and others on 12 October 1996.'
- ^ Курская Битва
- ^ Feskov et al 2004., for most formations.
- ^ Feskov et al 2004, 57.
- ^ "126th Motorised Rifle Division".
- ^ Feskov et al.
- ^ Michael Holm, 40th independent Landing-Assault Brigade
- ^ Jane's Intelligence Review March 1992 for HQ location.
- ^ "86th Guards Motorised Rifle Division".
- ^ Lisitsa, Nikifor (2002). Шестидесятилетний юбилей отметил 5-й авиационный корпус [Diamond Jubilee of the 5th Aviation Corps]. Narodnaya Armiya (in Russian). Archived from the original on 10 May 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
- 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 0-8160-3122-3.
Further reading
- Lenskii, A. G. (2000). Sukhoputnye sily RKKA v predvoennye gody Сухопутные силы РККА в предвоенные годы [Land forces of the Red Army in the pre-war years]. St. Petersburg: B&K.
- Military Encyclopedic Dictionary. Moscow. 2002.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
External links
- (in Russian) Ultimatum of the Soviet government to Romanian government on June 26, 1940
- (in Russian) Odesa Soviet Military District
- (in Russian) Odesa Russian Military District
- (in Russian and Ukrainian) Южному ОК - 70 лет. 2009 год. Фильм.