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Author Topic: Soviet Tank/Mech Corps In WWII  (Read 59836 times)
Mad_Russian
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« on: 6 November 2008, 03:35:20 »
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The Soviet Army started the war with the same system as the rest of the European military organizations.

The Corps was an organization to assign divisions to for command and control purposes. During the early fighting in 1941 as the Soviet Tank Divisions were destroyed the Soviets changed their armored formations from Tank Divisions to Tank and Mechanized Corps. They were roughly the same size as the original divisions but the name was changed.

 By late summer of 1941, The Red Army's armored force had suffered staggering losses, and there were few KVs or T-34's left in service. On 15 July, STAVKA (Soviet High Command), was obliged to recognize the obvious and disband the mechanized corps. Of the 22,000 tanks in existence at the beginning of 'Barbarossa', it is unlikely that more than 1,500 remained operational. In place of the huge and unwieldy mechanized corps, STAVKA created tank brigades as the largest tactical armored formation.

 These new brigades were organized around a tank regiment and a motor rifle battalion with a nominal strength of 93 tanks. The tank regiment included a company of seven KV tanks, a company of 22 T-34 tanks, and the remainder of the unit was filled out with whatever light tanks were available. By September 1941, shortages led to reduction in the paper strength of these units to 67 tanks, though most brigades didn't even have that many tanks. In September, independent tank battalions were formed which could be assigned to cavalry or infantry units for support. They consisted of one medium tank company and two light tank companies with 29 tanks. These units were not entirely well received because they lacked any of the KV heavy tanks which had proved so successful in terrorizing ill-equipped German infantry units.

As a result, in November, they were reorganized and were supposed to consist of five KV, eleven T-34 and twenty light tanks. Severe shortages of tanks in the winter of 1941-1942 from attrition and the evacuation of the factories forced the paper strength of the tank brigades even lower.

The January 1942 table of equipment was only 42 tanks, and those assigned to support cavalry units were not supposed to have the precious KV tanks. By February 1942, the official tables of equipment reached their nadir at a mere 27 tanks. By early spring, the situation began to improve as the factories resumed production and Lend-Lease tanks became available in small numbers. The April 1942 tables of equipment returned the tank brigades to the January levels of 46 tanks, but more importantly, the T-34 strength was proportionately higher at the expense of the less valuable light tanks.

The most significant change brought about by greater availability of tanks was the GKO decision to begin forming the new tank corps. The term 'tank corps' is misleading by Western standards, the corps were in fact tank divisions and weak ones at that. Each had three tank brigades and a motor rifle brigade, but possessed only twenty KV's, 40 T-34's and 40 light tanks. Never the less Soviet tank corps strength continued to grow throughout the war, while the strength of the Panzer divisions shrank. In July, the establishment of the tank corps was raised to 168 tanks, and a battalion of the potent BM-13 Katyusha multiple rocket launchers was added.

The combat debut of the tank corps was also matched by the formation of the new tank armies which, in fact, were more comparable to British or American corps. They were of varied compositions, usually being based on two tank corps and a rifle division. The new tank corps and tank armies went into action in May 1942, and were not an unqualified success. The tank corps were often used in a timid, defensive fashion with little co-ordination between sub-units. As mentioned earlier, Soviet tank tactics were usually quite poor, stemming from lack of training and inherent design flaws in the tanks. The potentially powerful tank armies were also a disappointment and could not prevent the shocking defeat at Voronezh. Several of the new tank corps were wiped out. The fighting highlighted the incompatibility of the heterogeneous tank brigades. General Pavel Rotmistrov, who would head the Soviet armored force after the war, candidly explained this to STAVKA: 'The difficulty is that while there isn't much difference in speed between the light (T -60) tank and the medium (T -34) tank on the roads, when moving across country, the light tanks are quickly left behind. The heavy (KV) tank is already behind and often crushes bridges which cuts off units behind it. Under battle- field conditions, this has meant that too often the T -34 alone arrived; the light tanks had difficulty fighting the German tanks anyway, and the KVs were delayed in the rear. It was also difficult to command these companies because occasionally they were equipped with different types of radios or none at all.'

The head of the Armored Force (GABTU), Colonel-General Ya. N. Federenko set about improving the situation in a number of ways. Crew training was increased, especially unit training. Technical improvements were suggested such as three- man turret crews, improved vision devices and provisions for more radios. To ensure closer support of infantry and tanks in the absence of armored troop carriers, hand- holds were to be welded to tanks to permit them to carry tank raiders (tank desant). In July 1942, the new tank brigade table dropped the KV; by this time, its armor was no longer invulnerable, and the increased armor of the KV-l Model 1942 had slowed it so much that it could not operate properly in combination with the fleeter T -34 and T- 70. The new tank brigades had 53 tanks. The KVs were shifted to independent tank regiments where they could be used for infantry support. The July changes also dropped the cumbersome tank regiment headquarters from the tank brigade organization in favor of a simpler configuration. In October 1943, some of the brigades began to be enlarged to 65 tanks by adding an additional company of the much prized T -34.

Another important change in Soviet mechanized doctrine was marked by the introduction of the new mechanized corps in September 1942.

This differed from the tank corps by reversing the composition of the brigades. A mechanized corps had three mechanized brigades and only one tank brigade. However, owing to a lack of armored infantry transporters, the mechanized brigades needed an entire tank regiment to help lift the assault infantry into action, and as a result, the mechanized corps had more tanks than the tank corps.' Each mechanized brigade had three motor rifle battalions plus a tank regiment. Besides the independent heavy tank regiments mentioned earlier, in September 1942, GABTU also introduced independent tank regiments composed of T -34s and light tanks. These were used to reinforce tank or mechanized corps, or could be attached to rifle and cavalry divisions to provide support. They replaced the earlier independent tank battalions which now began disappearing.

By the spring of 1942 it became apparent that larger groups than these diminutive tank brigades would be required if tanks were to make the decisive contribution to the Soviet war effort. On 31 March orders were issued for the activation of the 1st - 4th Tank Corps, each to consist of a headquarters, two tank brigades and a motor rifle brigade. These corps had an authorized strength of 5,603 men with 20 KV heavy tanks, 40 T-34 medium tanks (including 8 reserve tanks authorized but rarely present) and 40 T-60 orT-70 light tanks. The corps included no artillery, reconnaissance or engineer units, nor any service support elements.

The motorized rifle brigade was a new formation designed to hold captured terrain and protect the tanks from enemy infantry and anti-tank guns. Under the new TO&E's issued for this unit (Nos. 10/370-380) the maneuver elements of the brigade were it's three motorized infantry battalions.

The brigade held two indirect-fire support elements: a mortar battalion and an artillery battalion. The mortar battalion consisted of two 6 tube 82mm mortar batteries and a 4 tube 120mm mortar battery. The artillery battalion was made up of three 4-gun batteries of 76mm guns.

The brigade reconnaissance company was composed of an armored car platoon, two platoons in armored trucks a sub-machinegun platoon and a headquarters.

The tank corps was actually an armored division, a small one by Western standards. Several factors limited it's usefulness. One obvious problem was the tank mix. A third of the tanks were the light T-60/70 models, with thin armour, weak armament, an inefficient 2-man crew and no radios. The T-34 and KV tanks effective fighting machines, but the three types of tanks in each battalion had such widely differing characteristics that coordination proved almost impossible. The light tanks and T-34's leaving the KV tanks behind while they advanced. The KV's bringing up the rear destroyed roads and bridges as they moved forward. As a result, the arrival of a tank battalion at an objective in one piece was a rarity.

Changes to the authorized composition of the brigade were made almost immediately. In mid-April a third tank brigade was added to the corps, along with an independent engineer-mine company. The lack of service support, which had limited the usefulness of the tank corps for an independent role, was partially rectified by the addition in June of a fuel transport company to the corps structure.

Soviet armored organization as the new campaigning season opened was still based on the independent tank brigades. These brigades grew rapidly in number during 1942: there were about twenty available at the beginning of May, but the Germans claimed to have identified 138 by the end of the year. However, it was quicker, easier, and cheaper to make a T-34 than it was to choose and train its crew. The difficulties of swiftly acquiring a proper reserve of trained tank crews for the new brigades meant that their use would be strictly limited - and would often be confined purely to infantry support. A combat armored formation is not produced overnight: the whole command structure of the Russian armor, from the corps commander on down the men in the T-34 turret, needed to be revised and refined if it was to be used properly. The brigade was too small a formation for use in a hammer blow, and yet the Soviet command was not yet experienced enough to handle armor, offensively, in larger masses. Zhukov knew this, but Stalin did not

Stalin now intended to assuage his frustrations of the previous year by offensive operations on a grand scale. The State Defense Committee met at the end of March, and a lively dispute ensued among Russia's military leaders. Zhukov had already expressed his views: he wanted to launch a limited offensive to eliminate the dangerous German salient which threatened Moscow in the Rzhev-Vyazma area. However, Stalin, and part of the Russian general staff were interested in operations farther south. Stalin at nothing less than a great stroke to recapture Kharkov. This would require the bulk of the T-34's and KV-1's of the painfully reconstituted Russian armored force.

Stalin, in a flash strangely reminiscent of Churchill, turned on them all. 'We cannot remain on the defensive and sit on our hands until the Germans strike first. We must launch preventive strikes...'
This was also the thinking of Timoshenko, who was now to command the South West Front of operations. He announced that his troops were ready for an offensive, and that such an offensive should be undertaken as a preventive measure, to disrupt German plans for an attack of their own.

The die was cast.

n April, Timoshenko received his orders. He was to attack the Germans in the vicinity of Kharkov, and recapture the city. Timoshenko himself now had the bit between his teeth and he was eager to expand this not inconsiderable operation into one of even wider scope, aimed at driving the Germans back to the Dniepr River. He believed that the most effective blow he could strike would be to launch his armor into the German concentrations preparing for their own offensive. For this purpose, he had under his command several of the newly formed tank brigades.

Rigid and clumsy though it was, Timoshenko's attack at first succeeded under its sheer weight of numbers. He broke into the positions of Paulus' Army to a depth reaching twenty miles. However, Kleist's First Panzer Army, which had been concentrating, ready for a German offensive, at Kramatorsk, was at the base of the salient that Timoshenko was then driving into the German lines. Timoshenko seemed resolutely to turn his eyes away from this threat, although, according to Zhukov, even Stalin was concerned about it. Timoshenko told Stalin, in effect, that Kleist at Kramatorsk was something of a paper tiger. His views were supported by General Nikita Khrushev, who at the time was Timoshenko's political commissar. Within a few days Kleist's well trained tank crews would prove them wrong.

On 17th May, Kleist struck with 2 Panzer Divisions, a Panzer Grenadier Division and 8 Infantry Divisions. As part of Timoshenko's forces - Gorodniansky's Sixth Army and Kharitonov's Ninth - swung north towards Kharkov, Kleist's tanks hit the long extended flank. Meanwhile, following its orders, the Soviet armor was actually driving out of the battle area, further into a worsening situation.

The Ninth Army was surrounded and destroyed piecemeal. There were not adequate reserves and with his armor strung out there was nothing that Timoshenko could do to set the situation right.

On 18th May, his staff telephoned STAVKA asking if he could break off the battle, but received a dusty answer from Stalin. He was told to go on attacking 'to the end.' It was another day before STAVKA gave permission to go on the defensive. By then the damage had been done.

Encircled and chopped up one by one, the Soviet armies were defeated. Two army commanders were dead - - Gorodniansky of Sixth Army and Kharitonov of the Ninth. More than 250,000 Russians were captured, and - just as important - the precious tank brigades were largely destroyed.

The Soviets had committed the 3, 6, 7, 10, 12, 13, 15, 36, 37, 38, 48, 51, 57, 64, 84, 90, 121, 130, 131, 133 and 198, 199 Tank Brigades either in whole or in part. The Germans committed the 3, 23, 14 and 16th Panzer Divisions in either in whole or in part. Russian tank losses from the 10-31 May amounted to 652 tanks.

One clear military deduction could be drawn from the whole bloody mess; the Soviet armor, though building up in numbers, still had a very, very great deal to learn. For the failure was not wholly at the level of Timoshenko. Much lower down the chain of command, essential qualities were still lacking. German opinion of the lower and middle levels of command, in Soviet armored formations, was that, they were poor in the summer of 1942. That they lacked the ability to make quick decisions and had little tactical insight even at battalion or company level.

Two larger elements were added to the tank corps in July. The first was a rocket launcher battalion consisting of two batteries each of four BM-13 rocket launcher systems. An extremely useful weapon, the effectiveness of the rocket launchers was limited by the small number deployed. Although the problem of divergent tank types would be solved very quickly, that of indirect fire support would continue to plague Soviet mechanized forces until the end of the war and would cost them dearly in tank losses. The second addition in July 1942 was a motorcycle reconnaissance battalion. This was divided into a motorcycle company and an armored car company, the latter with twenty armored cars.

At the same time the 120mm mortar company of the rifle brigade was expanded to six mortars. A machinegun company with 9 machineguns was added to each of the rifle battalions as well.

The tank brigades were still being organized on three different TO&E's, and in addition an NKO order of 29 May had authorized the formation of corps in which one of the tank brigades was equipped primarily with heavy KV tanks. As a result, the number of tanks authorized for the different tank corps varied from 150 to 180 depending on which TO&E their tank brigades were formed from. To remedy this a new standard tank brigade organization table was published 31 July 1942, to which all tank brigades were directed to conform. As with all cases of new orders this took time to implement.

The new tank brigade TO&E's (Nos 10/270-277) was very similar to the earlier ones except for the tank component and the replacement of the anti-aircraft battery with an anti-tank battery of four 76mm guns. The tank component of the new brigade was made up of two battalions: one light and one medium. This new composition gave the tank brigade a force of twenty-one light and thirty two medium tanks from July 1942.

A total of twenty-five tank corps were activated between April and September 1942, largely from existing assets. All of the tank brigades involved had already been fielded and the process simply involved gathering them together. The motorized rifle brigades were new units but they may have been simply redesignated from an old rifle brigades and re-equipped along the new TO&E's.

Few of the tank corps actually had their specified combat support units during 1942. Only five motorcycle reconnaissance battalions were activated, and these only survived for a few months. No rocket launcher or anti-aircraft battalions were formed in 1942 for the tank corps either. The tank corps thus contained only the headquarters, the combat brigades themselves and a small base of service elements.

Soviet tank losses in 1942 were staggering. In the early and middle months the losses reached between 2,000 and 3,000. Only later in the year did they drop to around 1,000 tanks per month. In light of these losses only three more tank corps were formed during the last quarter of 1942. Another reason for the slow down in tank corps activation was the diversion of tanks into a new Russian armored formation, the mechanized corps.

The mortar regiment brought thirty-six 120mm mortars to the tank corps. The assault gun regiment brought a direct fire capability to help relieve the lack of artillery support for the fluid combat often engaged in by the tank corps. The assault gun regiment contained seventeen Su-76's and eight SU-122's.
« Last Edit: 23 December 2009, 06:35:45 by Mad Russian » Logged
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« Reply #1 on: 6 November 2008, 03:36:31 »
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(CONTINUED...)

The first half of 1943 saw a flurry of activity. On 10 January, NKO ordered that a mortar regiment and an assault gun be added to the tank corps TO&E. In March, the AA batteries of the brigades were consolidated in a corps AA battalion of sixteen 37mm guns. The Tank brigades were then given an AA machinegun company consisting of nine DShK weapons. In April, a tank destroyer artillery regiment was added with twenty 45mm ATG's. In May yet another tank destroyer regiment was added this time with either twelve 76mm or 85mm guns. Also in May the assault gun regiment was reorganized into a heavy SP regiment that included twelve SU-152's. In August, The two towed anti-tank battalions were replaced with two SP regiments. One of these was assigned twenty-one SU-76's, while the other had sixteen SU-122's assigned.

The last change to the organization of the tank brigades came in November of 1943. With the TO&E (Nos 10/500-506) completely eliminating light tanks from the organization. The tank brigades motorized rifle battalion was reconfigured as a sub-machinegun battalion. This unit kept it's crew served machineguns for long range fire.
In February 1944, all the assault gun regiments were organized on a uniform TO&E that gave each twenty-one assault guns. This raised the number of assault guns in the corps to sixty-three. In August, a light artillery regiment of twenty-four 76mm guns was added. When the need and mission called for it a heavy tank regiment with IS-2 heavy tanks replaced the heavy assault gun regiment with it's SU-152's.

These organizations remained in effect to the end of the war.

At Kursk the Soviets stopped a German operational drive for the very first time. They then went on to show the Germans what they had learned in their own counter offensives. Stalin continued to try to reach out for objectives that were beyond the capabilities of his armored forces but they were learning and getting better.

The year 1944 is known as the 'Year of 10 Victories' to the Soviets. Leningrad was relieved, Sevastopol and the Crimea were recaptured, the Finns were pushed back and accepted a negotiated peace, the Vistula was reached in Poland, the Germans were pushed out of the Baltic states or contained in a pocket on the coast, the Red Army entered Hungary and Yugoslavia, Romania surrendered, Bulgaria which had never declared war on the Soviet Union was invaded.

This was the year that the Germans were driven from Soviet soil. This was the year that they destroyed Army Group Center and achieved the largest victory gained against the Germans in World War II. This was the year that they showed how much they had learned and how far they had come. It is true that the Soviet armored forces were never as dashing and sophisticated as their German opponents. The simple fact is that they didn't have to be. The sledgehammer could win battles as easily as the rapier and was capable of taking considerably more damage while doing it.

In 1945 the Red Army continued it's unstoppable advance to Berlin and the end of the war. Capturing Budapest, Warsaw and Vienna along the way.


PRIMARY SOURCES:

"Kharkov 1942: Anatomy of a Military Disaster" by David M. Glantz (pages 72-73, 272-275)

"KV-1&2 Heavy Tanks 1941-1945" by Steven J. Zaloga, Jim Kinnear and Peter Sarson (page 33)

"Red Army Handbook 1939-1945" by Steven J. Zaloga and Leland S. Ness
(pages 75 - 76, 78 - 79, 80 - 82)

Soviet Tanks and Combat Vehicles of World War Two by Steven J. Zaloga and James Grandsen (pages 147 - 149)

"T-34 Russian Armor" by Douglas Orgill (pages 81-85)

"The Battle of Kursk" by David M. Glantz and Jonathan M. House ( pages 264-267)

"The Eastern Front" by J.N. Westwood (pages 164-190)
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« Reply #2 on: 6 November 2008, 03:38:09 »
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Tank Corps - Late 1942

Corps HQ (3 T-34)
3 Tank Brigades, each with 21 x T-60/70, 32 x T-34, 18 x LMG, 4 x MMG,
6 x ATR, 6 x 82mm Mortars and 4 x 76mm ATG

Motorized Rifle Brigade with 110 x LMG, 18 x MMG, 3 x HMG, 54 x ATR,
30 x 82mm Mortar, 12 x 45mm ATG,
12 x 37mm AA, 12 x 76mm guns

Reconnaissance Battalion with 20 Armored Cars.
Rocket Launcher Battalion with 8 BM-13 Katyusha Rocket Launchers.
Pioneer Mine Company
Fuel Transport Company
Two Maintenance Companies
NKVD Section


Tank Corps 1942 - 1945

April 1942: 40 x T-60, 40 x T-34, 20 x KV-1, 42 x 82mm Mortars, 4 x 120mm Mortars,
12 x 45mm ATG, 20 x 37mm AA, 20 x 76mm Guns

January 1943: 70 x T-70, 98 x T-34, 48 x 82mm Mortars, 4 x 120mm Mortars,
12 x 45mm ATG, 2 x 37mm AA, 24 x 76mm Guns, 8 x BM-13 Katyusha

January 1944: 208 x T-34, 1 x KV-1, 21 x SU-76, 16 x SU-85, 12 x SU-152/JSU-152,
52 x 82mm Mortars, 42 x 120mm Mortars, 12 x 45mm ATG,
16 x 57mm ATG, 18 x 37mm AA, 12 x 76mm Guns, 8 x BM-13 Katyusha

May 1945: 207 x T-34, 21 x SU-76, 21 x SU-85, 21 x SU-152/JSU-152
52 x 82mm Mortars, 42 x 120mm Mortars, 12 x 45mm ATG,
16 x 57mm ATG, 16 x 37mm AA, 36 x 76mm Guns, 8 x BM-13 Katyusha

Notes: The JSU-122 was the tank destroyer version of the JSU-152 assault gun and they were used interchangeably during the war. The SU-85 and SU-100 were both fairly rare. There were about 2000 of each model manufactured. To give an idea of scale there were about 12,700 SU-76's made, more than 1100 SU-122's, over 700
SU-152's and about 4,000 JSU-122/152's produced.

The JS-2 was used in Guards Heavy Tank Brigades composed of 65 JS-2's.

Guards Tank Corps got the pick of new equipment when it was available. Such as the SU-100 tank destroyers.

Several Soviet tank corps were equipped with Lend Lease M4A2 Sherman tanks. One such tank corps was the 3rd Guards Tank Corps during the destruction of Army Group Center in June and July of 1944. There were 4,252 Shermans sent to the Soviets. These were equally divided between the 75mm and 76mm armed versions.

Note: That since the end of the war there has been a pair of nomenclatures for Soviet equipment starting with the J. The JS you see stands for Joseph Stalin. You will see these in the JS series tanks and the JSU series heavy assault guns. The J in Russian is an I. So when you see JS-1, JS-2, JS-3, JSU-122 and JSU-152 those nomenclatures are completely interchangeable with IS-1, IS-2, IS-3, ISU-122 and ISU-152. (MR)


PRIMARY SOURCES:

"Soviet Tanks and Combat Vehicles of World War Two" by Steven J. Zaloga and James Grandsen

"Red Army Handbook 1939-1945" by Steven J. Zaloga and Leland S. Ness

"Bagration 1944: The Destruction of Army Group Centre" by Steven Zaloga

"IS-2 Heavy Tank, 1944-1973" by Steven Zaloga and Peter Sarson
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« Reply #3 on: 6 November 2008, 03:39:58 »
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1st Tank Corps

19 November 1942
89th Tank Brigade
117th Tank Brigade
159th Tank Brigade
44th Motorized Rifle Brigade

1 July 1943
89th Tank Brigade
117th Tank Brigade
159th Tank Brigade
44th Motorized Rifle Brigade
1437th Self-propelled Artillery Regiment

23 June 1944
89th Tank Brigade
117th Tank Brigade
159th Tank Brigade


1st Guards Tank Corps

1 July 1943
15th Guards Tank Brigade
16th Guards Tank Brigade
17th Guards Tank Brigade
1st Guards Mechanized Brigade
34th Guards Tank Regiment
65th Motorcycle Battalion
1001st Antitank Artillery Regiment
732nd Separate Antitank Artillery Battalion
455th Mortar Regiment
80th Guards Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment

23 June 1944
15th Guards Tank Brigade
16th Guards Tank Brigade
17th Guards Tank Brigade
1st Guards Mechanized Brigade


1st Mechanized Corps

25 November 1942
19th Mechanized Brigade
35th Mechanized Brigade
37th Mechanized Brigade
65th Tank Brigade
219th Tank Brigade

23 June 1944
19th Mechanized Brigade
35th Mechanized Brigade
37th Mechanized Brigade
219th Tank Brigade


1st Guards Mechanized Corps

12 December 1942

1st Guards Mechanized Brigade
2nd Guards Mechanized Brigade
3rd Guards Mechanized Brigade
16th Guards Tank Regiment
17th Guards Tank Regiment
22nd Motorized Rifle Brigade


2nd Tank Corps

23 June 1944
25th Guards Tank Brigade
26th Guards Tank Brigade
4th Tank Brigade


2nd Guards Tank Corps

1 July 1943
4th Guards Tank Brigade
25th Guards Tank Brigade
26th Guards Tank Brigade
4th Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade
47th Guards Tank Regiment


2nd Mechanized Corps

19 November 1942
18th Mechanized Brigade
34th Mechanized Brigade
43rd Mechanized Brigade
33rd Tank Brigade
36th Tank Brigade


2nd Guards Mechanized Corps

19 November 1942
4th Guards Mechanized Brigade
5th Guards Mechanized Brigade
6th Guards Mechanized Brigade
22nd Guards Separate Tank Regiment
1500th Antitank Artillery Regiment
755th Separate Antitank Artillery Battalion
273rd Mortar Regiment
1695th Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment
19th Separate Armored Car (Recon) Battalion
79th Separate Motorcycle Battalion


3rd Tank Corps

25 November 1942
50th Tank Brigade
51st Tank Brigade
103rd Tank Brigade

1 July 1943
50th Tank Brigade
51st Tank Brigade
103rd Tank Brigade
57th Motorized Rifle Brigade
74th Motorcycle Battalion
881st Antitank Artillery Regiment
728th Separate Antitank Artillery Battalion
234th Mortar Regiment
121st Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment


3rd Guards Tank Corps

23 June 1944
3rd Guards Tank Brigade
18th Guards Tank Brigade
19th Guards Tank Brigade


3rd Mechanized Corps

25 November 1942
1st Mechanized Brigade
3rd Mechanized Brigade
10th Mechanized Brigade
1st Guards Tank Brigade
49th Tank Brigade

1 July 1943
1st Mechanized Brigade
3rd Mechanized Brigade
10th Mechanized Brigade
1st Guards Tank Brigade
58th Motorcycle Battalion
35th Antitank Artillery Regiment
265th Mortar Regiment
405th Separate Guards Mortar Battalion
34th Separate Armored Car (Recon) Battalion


3rd Guards Mechanized Corps

23 June 1944
7th Guards Mechanized Brigade
8th Guards Mechanized Brigade
35th Guards Mechanized Brigade


4th Tank Corps

19 November 1942
45th Tank Brigade
69th Tank Brigade
102nd Tank Brigade
4th Motor Rifle Brigade


4th Guards Tank Corps

1942 - 1945
12th Guards Tank Brigade
13th Guards Tank Brigade
14th Guards Tank Brigade
3rd Guards Motor Rifle Brigade


4th Mechanized Corps

19 November 1942
36th Mechanized Brigade
59th Mechanized Brigade
60th Mechanized Brigade
62nd Mechanized Brigade
55th Separate Tank Regiment
158th Separate Tank Regiment
61st Separate Motorcycle Battalion


4th Guards Mechanized Corps

1942 - 1945
1st Guards Mechanized Brigade
2nd Guards Mechanized Brigade
3rd Guards Mechanized Brigade
9th Guards Tank Brigade


5th Tank Corps

25 November 1942
24th Tank Brigade
41st Tank Brigade
70th Tank Brigade
5th Motorized Rifle Brigade

1 July 1943
24th Tank Brigade
41st Tank Brigade
70th Tank Brigade
5th Motorized Rifle Brigade
1435th Self-propelled Artillery Regiment
731st Separate Anitank Artillery Battalion
277th  Mortar Regiment


5th Guards Tank Corps

1942 - 1945
20th Guards Tank Brigade
21st Guards Tank Brigade
22nd Guards Tank Brigade
6th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade


5th Mechanized Corps

19 November 1942
45th Mechanized Brigade
49th Mechanized Brigade
50th Mechanized Brigade
168th Separate Tank Regiment
188th Separate Tank Regiment


5th Guards Mechanized Corps

1942 - 1945
10th Guards Mechanized Brigade
11th Guards Mechanized Brigade
12th Guards Mechanized Brigade
24th Guards Tank Brigade


6th Tank Corps

25 November 1942
22nd Tank Brigade
100th Tank Brigade
200th Tank Brigade
6th Motorized Rifle Brigade

1 July 1943
22nd Tank Brigade
112th Tank Brigade
200th Tank Brigade
6th Motorized Rifle Brigade
85th Motorcycle Battalion
1461st Self-propelled Artillery Regiment
538th Antitank Artillery Regiment
1008th Antitank Artillery Regiment
270th Mortar Regiment
40th Separate Armored Car (Recon) Battalion


6th Guards Tank Corps

1942 - 1945
51st Guards Tank Brigade
52nd Guards Tank Brigade
53rd Guards Tank Brigade
22nd Guards Motor Rifle Brigade


6th Mechanized Corps

1942 - 1945
49th Mechanized Brigade
50th Mechanized Brigade
54th Mechanized Brigade


6th Guards Mechanized Corps

1942 - 1945
16th Guards Mechanized Brigade
17th Guards Mechanized Brigade
49th Mechanized Brigade
29th Tank Regiment
56th Tank Regiment


7th Tank Corps

1942 - 1945
3rd Guards Tank Brigade
62nd Tank Brigade
87th Tank Brigade
7th Motorized Rifle Brigade


7th Guards Tank Corps

1942 - 1945
54th Guards Tank Brigade
55th Guards Tank Brigade
56th Guards Tank Brigade
23rd Guards Motor Rifle Brigade


7th Mechanized Corps

1942 - 1945
16th Mechanized Brigade
63rd Mechanized Brigade
64th Mechanized Brigade
41st Guards Tank Brigade


7th Guards Mechanized Corps

1942 - 1945
24th Guards Mechanized Brigade
25th Guards Mechanized Brigade
26th Guards Mechanized Brigade
57th Guards Tank Brigade


8th Tank Corps

1942 - 1945
25th Tank Brigade
34th Tank Brigade
93rd Tank Brigade


8th Guards Tank Corps

1942 - 1945
58th Guards Tank Brigade
59th Guards Tank Brigade
60th Guards Tank Brigade
28th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade


8th Mechanized Corps

1942 - 1945
66th Mechanized Brigade
67th Mechanized Brigade
68th Mechanized Brigade
116th Tank Brigade


8th Guards Mechanized Corps

1942 - 1945
19th Guards Mechanized Brigade
20th Guards Mechanized Brigade
21st Guards Mechanized Brigade
1st Guards Tank Brigade


9th Tank Corps

25 November 1942
23rd Tank Brigade
95th Tank Brigade
187th Tank Brigade
6th Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade

1 July 1943
23rd Tank Brigade
95th Tank Brigade
108th Tank Brigade
8th Motorized Rifle Brigade
730th Separate Antitank Artillery Battalion

23 June 1944
23rd Tank Brigade
95th Tank Brigade
108th Tank Brigade
8th Motorized Rifle Brigade


9th Guards Tank Corps

1942 - 1945
47th Guards Tank Brigade
50th Guards Tank Brigade
65th Guards Tank Brigade
33rd Guards Motor Rifle Brigade


9th Mechanized Corps

1942 - 1945
69th Mechanized Brigade
70th Mechanized Brigade
71st Mechanized Brigade
116th Tank Regiment
116th Tank Regiment


9th Guards Mechanized Corps

1942 - 1945
18th Guards Mechanized Brigade
30th Guards Mechanized Brigade
31st Guards Mechanized Brigade
46th Guards Tank Brigade


10th Tank Corps

25 November 1942
178th Tank Brigade
183rd Tank Brigade
11th  Motorized Rifle Brigade


10th Guards Tank Corps

1942 - 1945
61st Guards Tank Brigade
62nd Guards Tank Brigade
63rd Guards Tank Brigade
29th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade


11th Tank Corps

1942 - 1945
20thTank Brigade
36th Tank Brigade
65th Tank Brigade
12th Motorized Rifle Brigade


11th Guards Tank Corps

1942 - 1945
40th Guards Tank Brigade
44th Guards Tank Brigade
45th Guards Tank Brigade
27th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade


12th Tank Corps

25 November 1942
30th Tank Brigade
97th Tank Brigade
106th Tank Brigade
13th  Motorized Rifle Brigade

1 January 1943
30th Tank Brigade
97th Tank Brigade
106th Tank Brigade
13th  Motorized Rifle Brigade


12th Guards Tank Corps

1942 - 1945
48th Guards Tank Brigade
49th Guards Tank Brigade
66th Guards Tank Brigade
34th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade


13th Tank Corps

19 November 1942
13th Tank Brigade
17th Mechanized Brigade
61st Mechanized Brigade
62nd Mechanized Brigade


13th Mechanized Corps

1942 - 1945
17th Mechanized Brigade
61st Mechanized Brigade
62nd Mechanized Brigade
13thTank Brigade


14th Tank Corps

1942 - 1945
136thTank Brigade
138th Tank Brigade
139th Tank Brigade
21st Motorized Rifle Brigade


15th Tank Corps

25 November 1942
88th Tank Brigade
113th Tank Brigade
195th Tank Brigade

1 January 1943
88th Tank Brigade
113th Tank Brigade
195th Tank Brigade


16th Tank Corps

19 November 1942
107th Tank Brigade
109th Tank Brigade
164nd Tank Brigade
15th Motorized Rifle Brigade

1 July 1943
107th Tank Brigade
109th Tank Brigade
164nd Tank Brigade
15th Motorized Rifle Brigade
51st Motorcycle Battalion
1441st Self-propelled Artillery Regiment
614th Antitank Artillery Regiment
729th Separate Antitank Artillery Battalion
226th Mortar Regiment


17th Tank Corps

12 December 1942
27th Tank Brigade
28th Tank Brigade
33rd Tank Brigade
31st Motorized Rifle Brigade


18th Tank Corps

1942 - 1945
110th Tank Brigade
170th Tank Brigade
181st Tank Brigade
32nd Motorized Rifle Brigade


19th Tank Corps

1 July 1943
79th Tank Brigade
101st Tank Brigade
202nd Tank Brigade
26th Motorized Rifle Brigade


20th Tank Corps

1942 - 1945
8th Guards Tank Brigade
80th Tank Brigade
156th Tank Brigade
7th Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade


21st Tank Corps

1942 - 1945
64th Tank Brigade
198th Tank Brigade
199th Tank Brigade


22nd Tank Corps

1942 - 1945
173rd Tank Brigade
176th Tank Brigade
182nd Tank Brigade
22nd Motorized Rifle Brigade


23rd Tank Corps

1942 - 1945
3rd Tank Brigade
39th Tank Brigade
135th Tank Brigade
56th Motorized Rifle Brigade


24th Tank Corps

12 December 1942
4th Guards Tank Brigade
54th Tank Brigade
130th Tank Brigade
24th Motorized Rifle Brigade


25th Tank Corps

12 December 1942
111th Tank Brigade
162nd Tank Brigade
175th Tank Brigade
16th Motorized Rifle Brigade


26th Tank Corps

19 November 1942
19th Tank Brigade
157th Tank Brigade
216th Tank Brigade
14th Motorized Rifle Brigade


27th Tank Corps

1942 - 1945
55th Tank Brigade
158th Tank Brigade


28th Tank Corps

1942 - 1945
39th Tank Brigade
55th Tank Brigade
56th Tank Brigade
32nd Motorized Rifle Brigade


29th Tank Corps

1942 - 1945
25th Tank Brigade
31st Tank Brigade
32nd Tank Brigade
53rd Motorized Rifle Brigade


30th Tank Corps

1942 - 1945
197th Tank Brigade
243rd Tank Brigade
244th Tank Brigade
30th Motorized Rifle Brigade


31st Tank Corps

1 July 1943
100th Tank Brigade
237th Tank Brigade
242nd Tank Brigade
31st Separate Armored Car (Recon) Battalion
210th Antitank Rifle Battalion


PRIMARY SOURCES:

"Soviet Tanks and Combat Vehicles of World War Two" by Steven J. Zaloga and James Grandsen

"Russian Tanks of World War II: Stalin's Armored Might" by Tim Bean and Will Fowler

"Bagration 1944: The Destruction of Army Group Centre" by Steven Zaloga

"The Battle of Kursk" by David M. Glantz and David M. House

"Zhukov's Greatest Defeat: The Red Army's Epic Defeat in Operation Mars, 1942" by David M. Glantz

"From the Don to the Dnepr: Soviet Offensive Operations, December 1942-August 1943" by David M. Glantz
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