Rifle corps (Soviet Union)

A rifle corps (Russian: стрелковый корпус, romanized: strelkovyy korpus) was a Soviet corps-level military formation during the mid-twentieth century. Rifle corps were made up of a varying number of rifle divisions, although the allocation of three rifle divisions to a rifle corps was common during the latter part of World War II.

Unlike army corps formed by Germany and the Western Allies, Soviet rifle corps were composed primarily of combat troops and had only a small logistical component. Because the rifle divisions themselves were also primarily made up of combat troops, the rifle corps were numerically smaller than corps of other nations. The Soviets also formed Guards rifle corps during World War II, although these were often assigned control of regular rifle divisions and sometimes controlled no Guards rifle divisions.

The Red Army as a whole had 27 rifle corps headquarters in its order of battle on 1 June 1938; this had been expanded to 62 by June 1941. When Germany invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, the Red Army initially had some 32 rifle corps headquarters as part of their order of battle in action against the Germans. Because Joseph Stalin's prewar purge of the Red Army had removed so many experienced leaders, the rifle corps echelon of command in Soviet forces engaged against the Germans dwindled in the face of massive Red Army losses of 1941. The stark shortage of experienced leaders forced the Red Army to have rifle army headquarters directly supervising rifle divisions without the assistance of intervening rifle corps headquarters. The use of rifle corps headquarters never disappeared entirely from the Red Army during World War II, as field armies in areas not fighting the Germans (such as the Far East) maintained their use of rifle corps headquarters during the entire war.

An example of wartime rifle corps organization is that of the 8th Estonian Rifle Corps in 1942:

  • 8th Rifle Corps
    • 7th Rifle Division
    • 249th Rifle Division
    • 85th Corps Artillery Regiment
    • 36th Sapper Battalion
    • 86th Medical Battalion
    • 482nd Reconnaissance Company
    • 162nd Machine Gun Battalion

Of the 8th Rifle Corps' 1942 strength of 26,466 men, only 2,599 (less than 10 per cent) made up the corps headquarters and corps assets, the remainder being assigned to the two rifle divisions.

By November 1941, the Soviet order of battle showed only one rifle corps headquarters still active among the forces fighting the German invasion. By early 1942, however, the Soviets began to reactivate rifle corps headquarters for use as an intermediate command echelon between the rifle armies and rifle divisions. Doubtlessly, the direct command of divisions by army headquarters resulted in too-large spans of control for army commanders and the Red Army desired to reintroduce the rifle corps headquarters once enough experienced commanders and staff officers were available. By the end of 1942, 21 rifle corps headquarters were in action with Soviet forces engaging the Germans. This grew to over 100 by the end of 1943, and reached a peak of 174 either in action against the Germans or as part of the strategic reserve of the Stavka by the end of the war with Germany in May 1945.

Circa September 1945, the 11, 15, 16, 21, 22, 25, 28, 36, 42, 43, 44, 47, 51, 52, 55, 61, 62, 64, 67, 68, 70, 71, 74, 77, 80, 89, 91, 93, 95, 96, 98, 100, 106, 115, 117, 118, 120, 121, 133, and 135th Rifle Corps were disbanded.

A limited number of Rifle Corps remained as part of the Ground Forces post 1945. They were converted to 'Army Corps' in 1955 though they still mostly consisted of Rifle and then Motor Rifle Divisions.

List of Soviet rifle corps

Formed before 22 June 1941

1–10 Corps

11–20 Corps

21–30 Corps

  • 21st Rifle Corps – Headquarters formed in the Moscow Military District in September 1939. Assigned to the WSMD with the 17th, 24th, and 37th Rifle Divisions. Disbanded summer 1945.
  • 22nd Rifle Corps – Headquarters formed in the Baltic Special Military District in August 1940. With 180th and 182nd Rifle Divisions, part of 27th Army, BSMD Estonian Territorial Rifle Corps. Second formation 1943-summer 1945.
  • 23rd Rifle Corps – in the Transcaucasus Military District comprising 136th Rifle Division and 138th Mountain Rifle Division under General Major K.F. Baranov. Disbanded in Berlin while with 3rd Combined Arms Army, 4 July 1956. (Feskov et al 2013, 133)
  • 24th Rifle Corps – After the occupation of Latvia in June 1940 the annihilation of the Latvian Army began. The army was renamed the People's Army and in September–November 1940– the Red Army's 24th Territorial Rifle Corps. In September the corps contained 24,416 men but in autumn more than 800 officers and about 10,000 instructors and soldiers were discharged. The arresting of soldiers continued in the following months. In June 1940, the entire Territorial Corps was sent to Litene camp. Before leaving the camp, Latvians drafted in 1939 were demobilised, and replaced by about 4000 Russian soldiers from area around Moscow. On June 10, the corps senior officers were sent to Russia where they were arrested and most of them- shot. On June 14 at least 430 officers were arrested and sent to Gulag camps. After the German attack to Soviet Union, from June 29 to July 1 more 2080 Latvian soldiers were demobilsed, fearing that they might turn their weapons against the Russian commissars and officers. Simultaneously, many soldiers and officers deserted and when the corps crossed the Latvian border only about 3000 Latvian soldiers remained. On June 22, 1941 it comprised the 181st and 183rd Rifle Divisions, part of 27th Army, BSMD. Latvian Territorial Rifle Corps. It finished the war in 1945 in Germany as part of 13th Army – 117th Rifle Division, 380th Rifle Division, 395th Rifle Division.
  • 25th Rifle Corps – Headquarters formed in the Kharkov Military District in September 1939. 127th, 134th and 162nd Rifle Divisions, part of 19th Army. Disbanded summer 1945. After the war, became 25th Army Corps on 25 June 1957 (Feskov et al 2013, 133)
  • 26th Rifle Corps – Comprised the 21st, 22nd, and 26th Rifle Divisions, part of First Red Banner Army, Soviet Far East Front. After the war, part of 36th Army for a time, and stationed at Dauriya. Disbanded 18 April 1956.
  • 27th Rifle Corps – Headquarters formed in the Kiev Special Military District in September 1939. Assigned to the 5th Army and composed of the 87th, 124th, and 135th Rifle Divisions.
  • 28th Rifle Corps – Headquarters formed from the headquarters of the Reserve Group of the Northwestern Front in February 1940. Comprised the 6th, 42nd, 49th, and 75th Rifle Divisions as part of 4th Army. Disbanded summer 1945.
  • 29th Rifle Corps – Headquarters formed in the Baltic Special Military District in August 1940. Assigned to the 11th Army in the Baltic Military District, including the 179th and 181st Rifle Divisions. Lithuanian Territorial Rifle Corps. Destroyed(?) September 1941 in the initial stages of Operation Barbarossa, and disbanded. 29th Rifle Corps (II), March–April 1943. Reformed on 25 June 1943 as the 29th Rifle Corps. Included 55th Rifle Division (IIIrd Formation), in September–October–November 1943 while part of 60th Army. Mid 1957 reorganised as 29th Army Corps. Mid 1969 disbanded by being upgraded and reorganised as 35th Army.
  • 30th Rifle Corps – Headquarters formed in the Orel Military District in September 1939. In the Orel Military District, including the 19th, 149th and 217th Rifle Divisions. Reformed and assigned to 18th Army, 4th Ukrainian Front in 1944 in the Mukachevo – Uzhgorod area during Carpathian-Uzhgorod Offensive Operation (9 September 1944 – 28 September 1944) Disbanded summer 1945.

31–40 Corps

41–50 Corps

  • 41st Rifle Corps – Headquarters formed in the Moscow Military District in March 1941. in the Moscow Military District included 118th and 235th Rifle Divisions
  • 42nd Rifle Corps – Headquarters formed in the Leningrad Military District in March 1941. Assigned to the 14th Army, Leningrad Military District with the 104th and 22nd Rifle Divisions. First Formation 22 June 1941, disbanded 14 October 1941; was used to reinforce the Kandalksha operational group.
  • 44th Rifle Corps – under HQ Western Special Military District, comprised the 64th and 108th Rifle Divisions under General Major Vasily Yushkevich.
  • 45th Rifle Corps – with the 187th, 227th and 232nd Rifle Divisions, part of the Stavka Reserve.
  • 47th Rifle Corps – under HQ Western Special Military District, comprised the 55th, 121st, and 143rd Rifle Divisions.
  • 48th Rifle Corps – 9th Army, Odessa Military District, comprising the 30th Mountain Rifle and 74th Rifle Divisions.
  • 49th Rifle Corps – composed of the 190th, 197th and 199th Rifle Divisions. On August 4, 1943, the corps, as a part of the 7th Guards Army, overcoming the enemy's stubborn resistance and deflecting frenzied counterattacks, persistently moved forward to Belgorod. Increasing the attack force, parts of the corps stormed the city and cleared it on August 5. On January 18, 1944, the units of the corps, as a part of 53rd Army, fought defensively in the Zvenigorodka–Vodyanoy area. By February 13, 1944, the corps, after being subordinated to the 5th Guards Tank Army, was transferred back to 53A along with their defensive position.
  • 50th Rifle Corps – Assigned to the 23rd Army, Leningrad Military District with the 43rd, 70th and 123rd Rifle Divisions. Used to form 42nd Army in August 41. Reformed in May–June 1943 and initially assigned to 38th Army. Disbanded in June–July 1945.

51–60 Corps

  • 51st Rifle Corps, with 98th, 112th, and 153rd Rifle Divisions, part of the 22nd Army
  • 52nd Rifle Corps, with its HQ in Novosibirsk, Siberian Military District along with the 133rd Rifle Division, additionally had the 166th Rifle Division at Barabinsk and the 178th Rifle Division at Omsk, part of 24th Army. Became 30th Army on 13 July 1941. Disbanded by Stavka VGK Order 11097 of 29.5.45, which established the Northern Group of Forces.
  • 53rd Rifle Corps at Krasnoyarsk, Siberian Military District, where the 119th Rifle Division was stationed, also included the 107th Rifle Division at Barnaul and the 91st Rifle Division at Achinsk, part of 24th Army
  • 54th Rifle Corps - Unable to stop the momentum of the 4th Panzer Army, Trofim Kolomiets was demoted in October 1942 to become commander of this corps. He participated in this position in operations on the Mious, Donbass, around Melitopol, Belarus and East Prussia.
  • 55th Rifle Corps – composed of the 130th, 169th, and 189th Rifle Divisions
  • 58th Rifle Corps – composed of the 68th, 83rd, and 194th Mountain Rifle Divisions in the Central Asia Military District. In February 1944, 68th Mountain Rifle Division, 75th Rifle Division, 89th Rifle Brigade, and 90th Rifle Brigade with 4th Army.
  • 59th Rifle Corps – composed of the 39th and 59th Rifle Divisions, part of 1st Red Banner Army, Soviet Far East Front
  • 60th Rifle Corps – Western Special Military District. 7th, 8th, and 214th Airborne Brigades. Became 4th Airborne Corps 23 June 1941.

61–70 Corps

Named corps

World War II

Almost all Soviet Rifle Corps were disbanded in the first several months of the war and reformed as the Stavka gained experience in commanding large numbers of forces.

1–70 Corps

  • 38th Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet Order of Battle (OOB) 1 June 1943, as part of the 50th Army, Western Front. Subordinate divisions at this date were the 17th, 326th, and 413th Rifle Divisions.
  • 43rd Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 June 1943, as part of the 2nd Shock Army, Leningrad Front. Subordinate divisions at this date were the 11th, 128th, and 314th Rifle Divisions. Disbanded. Reformed on 13 June 1955 by redesignation of 137th Rifle Corps. Became 43rd Army Corps on 25 June 1957 while at Petropavlovsk-Kamchatka, Kamchatskaya Oblast.
  • 46th Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 August 1943, as part of the 61st Army, Bryansk Front. Subordinate divisions at this time were the 356th and 415th Rifle Divisions.
  • 54th Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 June 1943, as part of the 51st Army, Southern Front. Subordinate divisions at this time were the 87th, 99th, and 302nd Rifle Divisions.
  • 56th Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 August 1943, as part of the 16th Army, Far Eastern Front. Subordinate divisions at this time were the 79th and 101st Rifle Divisions. Assignment of numeric designation to the Special Rifle Corps that disappears from the Soviet OOB on the same date.
  • 57th Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 September 1943, as part of the 37th Army, STAVKA Reserve. Subordinate divisions at this time were the 62nd Guards, 92nd Guards, 110th Guards, and 53rd Rifle Divisions. In early October 1943 the corps, forcing the Dnieper, seized and held a bridgehead on the west bank of the river. On 06.03.1944 elements of the corps, participating in the Odessa Offensive (part of the Dnieper–Carpathian Offensive), parts of the corps breached the German defenses on the western bank of the Inhulets River and moved forward. Having stormed the inhabited locality of Lozovatka and after slight regrouping, the corps began the pursuit of the enemy. On March 16, 1944, the corps deterred the counterattacks by the enemy, who was attempting to force back our units from the Ingul River and to hold the river crossings near Sofiyevka with 35–40 tanks and several infantry battalions. On March 22, the units of the corps reached the Southern Bug River. On the night of March 27, (two divisions of) the corps, having crossed the Southern Bug, moved forward under the enemy's heavy fire and captured the large inhabited locality of Akmechet. On April 1, 1944, parts of the corps, acting as a part of the 37th Army, captured the inhabited localities of Stryukovo, Shvartsevo, Korneyevka, and the Tiligul River crossing. On April 5, the divisions of the corps fought a battle for the station of Migayevo. On April 11, 1944, the corps, having been reinforced from the reserve with the 15th Guards Rifle Division and with the support of the 23rd Tank Corps, liberated Tiraspol, forced the Dniester River, and stormed into Varnitsa. Commander: Major General AI Petrakovskii (- 18/01/1944 ) Major General FA Ostashenko (01.19.1944 – military commissar, deputy political commissar Colonel IN Karasev Chief of Staff : V.I. Mineev. On 9 August 1945 the corps, now part of the Soviet Far East command, comprised 52nd and 203rd Rifle Divisions under General Major A.A. Dakonov.
  • 68th Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 August 1943, as part of the 57th Army, Southwestern Front. Subordinate divisions at this time were the 19th, 52nd, and 303rd Rifle Divisions.
  • 70th Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 August 1943, as a headquarters with no troops assigned and part of the Western Front.

71–80 Corps

  • 71st Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 August 1943, as a headquarters with no troops assigned and as part of the 31st Army, Western Front.
  • 72nd Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 August 1943, as a headquarters with no troops assigned and part of the 68th Army, Western Front. Part of 5th Army, 3rd Belorussian Front, on 1 November 1944. Part of 5th Army, 1st Far East Front, on 3 September 1945, comprising 63rd, 215th, and 277th Rifle Divisions. (BSSA)
  • 73rd Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 August 1943, as a headquarters with no troops assigned and as part of the 52nd Army, STAVKA Reserve.
  • 74th Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 August 1943, as a headquarters with no troops assigned and as part of the Moscow Military District.
  • 75th Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 August 1943, as a headquarters with no troops assigned and as part of the Moscow Military District.
  • 76th Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 August 1943, as a headquarters with no troops assigned and as part of the Moscow Military District. In Transcaucasus Military District postwar, until it became the 31st Army Corps in 1955.
  • 77th Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 August 1943, as a headquarters with no troops assigned and as part of the Moscow Military District. In July 1945 in Germany, part of 47th Army, with the 185th, 260th, 328th Rifle Divisions.
  • 78th Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 August 1943, as a headquarters with no troops assigned and part of the Ural Military District.
  • 79th Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 August 1943, as a headquarters with no troops assigned and part of the Ural Military District. This corps commanded units that stormed the Reichstag on 2 May 1945. (150th, 171st, 207th Rifle Divisions on July 9, 1945, on formation of Group of Soviet Forces in Germany). Disbanded by being redesignated 2nd Rifle Corps in 1957 in Sakhalin.
  • 80th Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 August 1943, as a headquarters with no troops assigned and part of the Trans-Volga Military District.

81–90 Corps

91–100 Corps

  • 91st Rifle Corps
  • 92nd Rifle Corps
  • 93rd Rifle Corps
  • 94th Rifle Corps (124th, 221st, 358th Rifle Divisions) and 113th Rifle Corps (192, 262, 338th Rifle Divisions) with 39th Army, RVGK on 1 May 1945),
  • 95th Rifle Corps – disbanded by Stavka VGK Order 11097 of 29.5.45, which established the Northern Group of Forces.
  • 96th Rifle Corps
  • 97th Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 November 1943, as a headquarters with no troops assigned and part of the Moscow Military District.
  • 98th Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 November 1943, as a headquarters with no troops assigned and part of the Moscow Military District. Disbanded by Stavka VGK Order 11097 of 29.5.45, which established the Northern Group of Forces.
  • 99th Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 November 1943, as a headquarters with no troops assigned and part of the Moscow Military District. Later part of 14th Army, and 19th Army.
  • 100th Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 November 1943, as a headquarters with no troops assigned and part of the Moscow Military District.

101–110 Corps

  • 101st Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 September 1943, as a headquarters with no troops assigned and part of the Trans-Volga Military District.
  • 102nd Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 November 1943, as a headquarters with no troops assigned and part of the Trans-Volga Military District.
  • 103rd Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 November 1943, as a headquarters with no troops assigned and part of the Volga Military District. Disbanded by Stavka VGK Order 11097 of 29.5.45, which established the Northern Group of Forces.
  • 104th Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 November 1943, as a headquarters with no troops assigned and part of the North Caucasus Military District. Included 58th Mountain Rifle Division. In June–July 1945 V.I. Feskov et al 2013 lists the corps, as part of 57th Army, Southern Group of Forces, it comprised the 21st, 74th, 93rd, and 151st Rifle Divisions. By November 1945 the 21st Rifle Division had become the 20th Mechanised Division, and the 151st Rifle Division had either been disbanded or transferred elsewhere. The corps appears to have disbanded on 11 June 1946.
  • 105th Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 November 1943, as a headquarters with no troops assigned and part of the North Caucasus Military District. The 193rd Rifle Division was joined with the 354th Rifle Division in April to form the 105th Rifle Corps, commanded by General D. F. Alekseev, where it would remain for the duration of the war.
  • 106th Rifle Corps – first appears in Soviet OOB 1 November 1943, as a headquarters with no troops assigned and part of the North Caucasus Military District. 100th and 306th Rifle Divisions during the battle for Lvov in July 1944. Disbanded by Stavka VGK Order 11097 of 29.5.45, which established the Northern Group of Forces.
  • 107th Rifle Corps
  • 108th Rifle Corps – 372nd Rifle Division assigned to this corps from 1 September 1944 to 1 May 1945.
  • 109th Rifle Corps – on 9 July 1945 on the formation of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, this corps with 46th, 90th, 372nd Rifle Divisions) was part of 2nd Shock Army.
  • 110th Rifle Corps

111–120 Corps

121–130 Corps

131–140 Corps

  • 132nd Rifle Corps – formed part of 19th Army
  • 133rd Rifle Corps – may have disbanded at Stanislav (Ivano-Frankovsk) in September 1945, along with its 104th and 122nd Rifle Divisions.
  • 134th Rifle Corps – formed part of 19th Army. Disbanded by Stavka VGK Order 11097 of 29.5.45, which established the Northern Group of Forces.
  • 135th Rifle Corps
  • 136th Rifle Corps
  • 137th Rifle Corps – established 5 December 1945 at Petropavlovsk-Kamchatka, Kamchatskaya Oblast. See also [1]. On 13 June 1955 redesignated 43rd Rifle Corps.

Guards Rifle Corps

1st–40th Guards Rifle Corps formed after June 22, 1941:

1–10 Guards Rifle Corps

11–20 Guards Rifle Corps

21–30 Guards Rifle Corps

31–41 Guards Rifle Corps

See also