A tank corps (russian: танковый корпус) was a type of Soviet armoured formation used during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Pre-war development of Soviet mechanized forces

Soviet Russia The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

, the so-called armored forces (броневые силы) preceded the Tank Corps. They consisted of the motorized armored units (автобронеотряды) made of

armored vehicle Military vehicles are commonly armoured (or armored; see spelling differences) to withstand the impact of shrapnel, bullets, shells, rockets, and missiles, protecting the personnel inside from enemy fire. Such vehicles include armoured ...

s and armored trains. The country did not have its own tanks during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

of 1918–1920. In January 1918, the Red Army established the Soviet of Armored Units (Совет броневых частей, or Центробронь), later renamed to Central Armored Directorate and then once again to Chief Armored Directorate (Главное броневое управление). In December 1920, the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

received its first light tanks, assembled at the Krasnoye Sormovo Factory. In 1928, it began the production of the MS-1 tanks (Малый Сопровождения -1, where M stands for "small" and S – for "convoy"). In 1929, it established the Central Directorate for Mechanization and Motorization of the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army. Tanks became a part of the mechanised corps at this point. During this time, and based on the experience of the Civil War with its sweeping movements of horse-mobile formations, Soviet military theorists such as

Vladimir Triandafillov Vladimir Kiriakovitch Triandafillov (; 14 March 189412 July 1931) was a Soviet military commander and theoretician considered by many to be the "father of Soviet operational art". Biography He was born on 14 March 1894 in Magaradzhik village in K ...

and Konstantin Kalinovsky elaborated the principles of combat use of armored units, which envisioned a large-scale use of tanks in different situations in cooperation with various army units. In the mid-1930s, these ideas found their reflection in the so-called

Deep Operation Deep operation (, ''glubokaya operatsiya''), also known as Soviet Deep Battle, was a military theory developed by the Soviet Union for its armed forces during the 1920s and 1930s. It was a tenet that emphasized destroying, suppressing or disorg ...

and deep combat theories. From the second half of the 1920s, tank warfare development took place at

Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering an ...

, where the German

Reichswehr ''Reichswehr'' () was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first years of the Third Reich. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshape ...

was allowed to participate. In 1930, the First Mechanised Brigade had its own tank regiment of 110 tanks. In 1932, the first Mechanised Corps had over 500 tanks, and it was probably the first armoured unit of operational significance anywhere in the world. That same year, the Red Army established the Military Academy of Mechanisation and Motorisation of the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army (which became the Malinovskiy Mechanised Force Academy and is today part of the Combined Arms Academy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation). In 1931–1935, the Red Army adopted light, medium, and later heavy tanks of different types. By the beginning of the 1936, it had already had four mechanised corps, six separate mechanised brigades, six separate tank regiments, fifteen mechanised regiments within cavalry divisions and considerable number of tank battalions and companies. The creation of mechanised and tank units marked the dawn of a new branch of armed forces, which would be called armored forces. In 1937, the Central Directorate of Mechanisation and Motorisation was renamed to Directorate of Automated Armored Units (Автобронетанковое управление) and then to Chief Directorate of Automated Armored Units (Главное автобронетанковое управление, Габту, ''GABTU''). Soviet armored units gained some combat experience during the

Battle of Lake Khasan The Battle of Lake Khasan (29 July – 11 August 1938), also known as the Changkufeng Incident (russian: Хасанские бои, Chinese and Japanese: ; Chinese pinyin: ; Japanese romaji: ) in China and Japan, was an attempted military incu ...

(1938),

Battle of Khalkhin Gol The Battles of Khalkhin Gol (russian: Бои на Халхин-Голе; mn, Халхын голын байлдаан) were the decisive engagements of the undeclared Soviet–Japanese border conflicts involving the Soviet Union, Mongolia, ...

(1939) and

Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...

with

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

(1939–1940). In August 1938, the four mechanised corps were converted into tank corps. Each was authorized 12,710 men, between 560 and 600 tanks, and 118 artillery pieces. The corps included two light tank brigades (equipped with BT and

T-26 The T-26 tank was a Soviet light tank used during many conflicts of the Interwar period and in World War II. It was a development of the British Vickers 6-Ton tank and was one of the most successful tank designs of the 1930s until its light ...

tanks), a motor rifle and machine gun brigade, and a communications battalion. The 5th Mechanized Corps became the 15th Tank Corps, the 7th Mechanized Corps became the

10th Tank Corps The 10th Tank Corps was a tank corps of the Red Army, formed twice. First Formation In May–June 1938, the 7th Mechanized Corps headquarters was relocated from Novy Petergof to Luga and converted into the 10th Tank Corps when the Red Army ...

, the 11th Mechanized Corps became the 20th Tank Corps, and the 45th Mechanized Corps became the 25th Tank Corps. In the summer of 1939, all three brigades of the 20th Tank Corps were detached from the corps and sent into combat during the

Battles of Khalkhin Gol The Battles of Khalkhin Gol (russian: Бои на Халхин-Голе; mn, Халхын голын байлдаан) were the decisive engagements of the undeclared Soviet–Japanese border conflicts involving the Soviet Union, Mongolia, Ja ...

. The 15th and 25th Tank Corps fought in the

Soviet invasion of Poland The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military operation by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east, 16 days after Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the west. Subs ...

in September 1939. As a result of the Soviet assessment of the tank corps as being unwieldy and difficult to control, shown by repeated traffic jams caused by the tank corps in Poland, the Main Military Council ordered their disbandment on 21 November, replacing the tank corps with 15 motorized divisions, each with two motorized rifle regiments, an artillery regiment, and a tank regiment. The tank corps were not actually disbanded until January 1940, by which time the 10th Tank Corps had seen brief service in the

in December 1939. Besides the operational armoured and mechanised formations, separate tank battalions within rifle divisions existed. These were meant to reinforce rifle units for the purpose of breaching enemy defenses. They had to act in cooperation with the infantry without breaking away from it and were called tanks for immediate infantry support (танки непосредственной поддержки пехоты). With the fall of France, the People's Commissariat for Defense authorized formation of new mechanized corps. Unlike the corps formed in the 30's (which consisted of brigades), these corps (with over 1000 tanks each on paper) would consist of two tank and one mechanized division plus support units (Red Army Handbook 1939–1945, Zaloga and Ness, pp. 65–68). These would be the armored formations which would attempt counter strikes against the German invasion. The performance of these corps was generally not good and they were officially disbanded in mid-July, 1941 (Ibid., p. 70). Additional information on these formations can also be found in Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Vol. I, by Charles C. Sharp.

Eastern Front of World War II

On 31 March 1942, orders were given for the reformation of the tank corps, as a result of the Soviet need for massed armored units so that the small tank brigades, which were now the basic armored formation, could be capable of decisive actions. The 1st,

2nd A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds or 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Second of arc, an angular measurement unit, ...

, 3rd, and 4th Tank Corps were to consist of a headquarters, two tank brigades, and a motor rifle brigade, authorized a total of 5,603 men with 20 KV heavy tanks, 40

T-34 The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank introduced in 1940. When introduced its 76.2 mm (3 in) tank gun was less powerful than its contemporaries while its 60-degree sloped armour provided good protection against anti-tank weapons. The C ...

medium tanks, and 40

T-60 The T-60 scout tank was a light tank produced by the Soviet Union from 1941 to 1942. During this period, 6,292 units were built. The tank was designed to replace the obsolete T-38 amphibious scout tank and saw action during World War II. The K ...

T-70 The T-70 was a light tank used by the Red Army during World War II, replacing both the T-60 scout tank for reconnaissance and the T-50 light infantry tank for infantry support. The T-80 light tank was a more advanced version of the T-70 with ...

light tanks. The new tank corps lacked artillery, reconnaissance and engineer units, and rear support elements, although its component brigades included such formations. They were the equivalent of small Western armored divisions. The motor rifle brigade was a new unit type intended to retain captured positions and to neutralize enemy infantry and anti-tank weapons. It was determined that this was too weak, and a third tank brigade was added to increase the offensive power. The final organisation as published in 1944 included an additional heavy tank or heavy self-propelled gun regiment, plus a medium and a light self-propelled gun regiment. A total of 31 tank corps were formed during the war, with 12 of them earning the designation of a Guards Tank Corps. Due to the destruction of the 21st Tank Corps at the Second Battle of Kharkov and the use of some tank corps to form mechanised corps, no more than 24 of them actually saw combat. The tank corps were the basic building block of the Tank Armies (see List of Soviet armies#Tank Armies). Most tank corps were converted to Tank Divisions in 1945–6. See

List of Soviet Army divisions 1989-91 A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...

List of tank corps (19411945)

1st Tank Corps First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

2nd Tank Corps The 2nd Tank Corps was a Red Army armoured formation that saw service during World War II on the Eastern Front. The unit had approximately the same size and combat power as a Wehrmacht Panzer Division, and less than a British Armoured Division ...

3rd Tank Corps Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * Hig ...

– renamed 9th Guards Tank Corps after Battle of Radzymin (1944). * 4th Tank Corps – March 1942 – February 1943 – converted to

5th Guards Tank Corps Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a contagious rash that ...

* 5th Tank Corps – formed April 1942. Equipped largely with British-built

Valentine tank The Tank, Infantry, Mk III, Valentine was an infantry tank produced in the United Kingdom during World War II. More than 8,000 of the type were produced in eleven marks, plus various specialised variants, accounting for approximately a quarter ...

s, 5 TC was badly handled in the early stages of the 1943 Smolensk operation, being mauled both from the air and from the ground. However the deflection of German units necessitated by the sacrifice of 5 TC meant that Spas Demensk fell on 13 August 1943. * 6th Tank Corps – see 11th Guards Tank Corps * 7th Tank Corps - by a Prikaz of the NKO USSR No. 413 of 29 December 1942 the 7th Tank Corps became the

3rd Guards Tank Corps Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * Hig ...

. * 8th Tank Corps – Formed May 1942 in the Moscow Military District. Assigned to Western Front for virtually its entire career. After being nearly destroyed the brigades were reassigned and the Corps HQs used to form 3rd Mechanized Corps in September 1943.Sharp Charles C., Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Volume II * 9th Tank Corps – the 9th Tank Division can trace its history back to 12 May 1942 when the 9th Tank Corps ( :ru:9-й танковый корпус (СССР)) was formed in the Moscow Military District.Craig Crofoot, Group of Soviet Forces Germany, V3.0.0, 2007, manuscript available via www.microarmormayhem.com It took part in the Battle of Kursk, then across Ukraine with the Central, Belorussian, and 1st Belorussian Fronts. It ended the war in Berlin. As part of the occupation forces, it was assigned to the

1st Guards Tank Army The 1st Guards Tank Army () is a tank army of the Russian Ground Forces. The army traces its heritage back to the 1st Tank Army, formed twice in July 1942 and in January 1943 and converted into the 1st Guards Tank Army in January 1944. The arm ...

(also 1st Guards Mechanised Army). In 1957, it was reorganized into a Heavy Tank Division and re-designated the 13th Heavy Tank Division. This lasted until 1965, when it was returned to its original 9th Tank Division designation. This it retained until its withdrawal from the GDR in 1991 when it was disbanded. Its divisional headquarters was at

Riesa Riesa is a town in the district of Meißen in Saxony, Germany. It is located on the river Elbe, approximately northwest of Dresden. History The name ''Riesa'' is derived from Slavic ''Riezowe''. This name, romanised as "Rezoa", appears first i ...

. * 10th Tank Corps (Soviet Union) *

11th Tank Corps 11 (eleven) is the natural number following 10 and preceding 12. It is the first repdigit. In English, it is the smallest positive integer whose name has three syllables. Name "Eleven" derives from the Old English ', which is first attested i ...

* 12th Tank Corps * 13th Tank Corps – began in April 1942 with 65th, 85th, and 88th Tank Brigades and 20th Motor Rifle(?) Brigade. In July 1942 brigades assigned were the 85th, 158th, and 167th Tank and 20th Motor Rifle(?) Brigade. It was "an oddball in the Soviet Army. 13th Tank Corps had been so shot up that most of its tank brigades were removed in September–October 1942, and when Mechanised Brigades were substituted at the beginning of November, it should have been redesignated as a Mechanised Corps with a new number, as had happened to other tank corps in similar situations. Instead, the corps retained the number '13' and even the Soviet sources get confused on what to call it: a tank corps or a mechanised corps. It had the subordinate units of a mechanised corps when it went into battle in late November and December 1942. It fought as a mechanised corps with 57th, 51st and 2nd Guards Armies during December in the mobile battles against German Panzers south of Stalingrad, and in recognition of its actions there on 9 January 1943 the 13th Mechanised Corps was redesignated as the 4th Guards Mechanised Corps." See . Later 4th Guards Mechanised Division, and 4th Guards Motor Rifle Division. * 14th Tank Corps * 15th Tank Corps – Formed May 1942, became 7th Guards Tank Corps July 1943. * 16th Tank Corps – was part of

2nd Tank Army The 2nd Guards Tank Army () was a large military formation of the Red Army and later the Soviet Army, now part of the Russian Ground Forces of the Russian Federation. The army was originally formed in early 1943 as the 2nd Tank Army. It was the ...

on formation. Became 12th Guards Tank Corps (1943) and 12th Guards Tank Division (1946). *

17th Tank Corps 17 (seventeen) is the natural number following 16 and preceding 18. It is a prime number. Seventeen is the sum of the first four prime numbers. In mathematics 17 is the seventh prime number, which makes seventeen the fourth super-prime, as s ...

– became 4th Guards Tank Corps after

Operation Little Saturn Operation Little Saturn was a Red Army offensive on the Eastern Front of World War II that led to battles in Don and Chir rivers region in German-occupied Soviet Union territory in 16–30 December 1942. The success of Operation Uranus, launc ...

. *

18th Tank Corps 18 (eighteen) is the natural number following 17 and preceding 19. In mathematics * Eighteen is a composite number, its divisors being 1, 2, 3, 6 and 9. Three of these divisors (3, 6 and 9) add up to 18, hence 18 is a semiperfect number. ...

* 19th Tank Corps * 20th Tank Corps – the 20th Tank Division can trace its history back to 12 December 1942 when the 20th Tank Corps was formed in the Moscow Defense Zone. It took part in the counter-offensives in the winter of 1942/43 and the summer 1943 offensives in the southern Ukraine. After taking part in the offensives in 1944 and early 1945, it was in Stavke Reserves when the war ended. It was allocated to the Northern Group of Forces by Directive No. 11096, where it remained through the Cold War. In later 1945, it was reorganized into the 20th Tank Division. Between 1949 and 1955, it was known as the 7th Tank Division, although as a cadre unit. IN 1955, it was restored to full strength and renamed the 20th Tank Division. It would remain in southern Poland until 1991 when it was disbanded. *

21st Tank Corps First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number 1 (number), one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, D ...

* 22nd Tank Corps * 23rd Tank Corps *

24th Tank Corps The 2nd Guards Tatsinskaya Tank Corps was a tank corps of the Soviet Union's Red Army that saw service during World War II on the Eastern Front of Europe. The unit's most notable moment was in the raid on Tatsinskaya during Operation Little S ...

* 25th Tank Corps – formed June 1942 in the Moscow Defence Zone. Originally formed previously as 25th Mechanised Corps in Kiev MD, 1941. Participated in the 'Liberation of Western Ukraine” and fought at Stalingrad, Kursk, Belgorod-Kharkov, Zhitimir-Berdichev, Rovno-Lutsk, Lvov, Vistula-Oder, Czestochowa, Berlin, Prague and other operations and actions.Graham H. Turbiville, 'Restructuring the Soviet Ground Forces: Reduction, Mobilization, Force Generation,' Military Review, December 1989 Converted to 25th Tank Division after the end of the war. Postwar assignment to 4th Guards Mechanised Army in the 1940s and 1950s; Withdrawn From Group of Soviet Forces, Germany/ Western Group of Forces, 20th Guards Army. Regiments (formerly brigades) designated “Novgorod.” Deactivation site: Kiev MD. * 26th Tank Corps * 27th Tank Corps – formed in the Moscow Defense Zone. The 27th was never committed to combat, but instead on 8 September 1942 it was reorganized into the 1st Mechanised Corps. * 28th Tank Corps *

29th Tank Corps The 29th Tank Corps was a tank corps of the Soviet Union's Red Army. Formed in February 1943, the corps served through the entire war, fighting in the Battle of Prokhorovka, the Belgorod-Kharkov Offensive, the Battle of the Dnieper, the Dnie ...

30th Tank Corps 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many soci ...

31st Tank Corps 31 (thirty-one) is the natural number following 30 and preceding 32. It is a prime number. In mathematics 31 is the 11th prime number. It is a superprime and a self prime (after 3, 5, and 7), as no integer added up to its base 10 digits ...

– eventually became 31st Tank Division. Raised in the

Moscow Military District The Order of Lenin Moscow Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The district was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1968. In 2010 it was merged with the Leningrad Military D ...

, 1943. Associated with 1st Tank Army. Participated in fighting at

Kursk Kursk ( rus, Курск, p=ˈkursk) is a city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur, Tuskar, and Seym rivers. The area around Kursk was the site of a turning point in the Soviet–German stru ...

, Belgorod-Kharkov, Lvov-Sandomir, Carpathian-Dukla, Sandomir bridgehead, Vistula-Oder, Prague and other operations and actions. Withdrawn From

Central Group of Forces The Central Group of Forces (Russian: Центральная группа войск) was a formation of the Soviet Armed Forces used to incorporate Soviet troops in Central Europe on two occasions: in Austria and Hungary from 1945 to 1955 and tr ...

, Czechoslovakia. Eventually amalgamated with 47th Guards Tank Division at Mulino to become

3rd Motor Rifle Division The 3rd Vislenskaya Red Banner Motor Rifle Division is a motorized infantry division of the Russian Ground Forces. The 3rd Motor Rifle Division was formed in 1997 from the amalgamation of the 31st and 47th Guards Tank Divisions of the Moscow ...

after the fall of the Soviet Union.

Guards tank corps

* 1st Guards Tank Corps *

2nd Guards Tank Corps The 2nd Guards Tatsinskaya Tank Corps was a tank corps of the Soviet Union's Red Army that saw service during World War II on the Eastern Front of Europe. The unit's most notable moment was in the raid on Tatsinskaya during Operation Little ...

* 4th Guards Tank Corps – now 4th Guards Tank Division *

*6th Guards Tank Corps – Raised in the Baltic MD, 1941, re-formed in Moscow MD, 1942. Formed as 12th Tank Corps and successively redesignated as 6th Guards Tank Corps (1943) and 6th Guards Tank Division (1946). Participated in fighting at Ostrogozhsk, Rossosh, Kharkov, Krasnograd, Orel and other operations and actions. Past-war assignment to 3rd Guards Mechanized Army in the 1940s and 1950s. Honorifics and Awards included "Kiev" and “Berlin.” Orders of Lenin, Red Banner, Suvorov and Bogdan Khmelnitsky. Withdrawn from

Group of Soviet Forces in Germany The Western Group of Forces (WGF),. previously known as the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (GSOFG). and the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSFG),. were the troops of the Soviet Army in East Germany. The Group of Soviet Occupat ...

in 1982. Now 6th Guards Kiev-Berlin Mechanised Brigade of the Armed Forces of Belarus. * 7th Guards Tank Corps – Withdrawn from

Western Group of Forces,

. Formed in Moscow MD, 1942. Initially designated as 15th Tank Corps, becoming successively the 7th Guards Tank Corps (1943) and 7th Guards Tank Division (1946). Participated in "Liberation of Western Ukraine" and fighting at Ostrogozhsk, Rossosh, Kharkov, Orel and other operations and actions. Postwar assignment to 3rd Guards Mechanised Army in the 1940s and 1950s. Honorifics and Awards: "Kiev." "Berlin," Order of Lenin, Twice Red Banner, Suvurov and Kutuzov. Deactivated in the Moscow MD. * 8th Guards Tank Corps * 9th Guards Tank Corps – 3rd Tank Corps was formed at Tula in the Moscow Military District. It took part in the winter counter-offensives in 1942/1943, the Battle of Kursk, then across Ukraine and then the summer offensive in 1944,

Operation Bagration Operation Bagration (; russian: Операция Багратио́н, Operatsiya Bagration) was the codename for the 1944 Soviet Byelorussian strategic offensive operation (russian: Белорусская наступательная оп ...

, with the Central, Belorussian, and 1st Belorussian Fronts. On 20 November 1944, after the Battle of Radzymin, it was awarded ‘Guards’ status and re-designated the 9th Guards Tank Corps. * 10th Guards Tank Corps: ex 30th Tank Corps. Now

10th Guards Uralsko-Lvovskaya Tank Division The 10th Guards ''Uralsko-Lvovskaya'' Volunteer Tank Division, also known as the Ural-Lvov Tank Division, is a tank division of the Russian Ground Forces and part of the Moscow Military District's 20th Guards Army. The division traces its herit ...

. *

11th Guards Tank Corps 11 (eleven) is the natural number following 10 and preceding 12. It is the first repdigit. In English, it is the smallest positive integer whose name has three syllables. Name "Eleven" derives from the Old English ', which is first attested i ...

– The 11th Guards Tank Division can trace its history back to 10 April 1942 when the 6th Tank Corps was formed in the Moscow Defense Zone. It took part in the

Battle of Kursk The Battle of Kursk was a major World War II Eastern Front engagement between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in the southwestern USSR during late summer 1943; it ultimately became the largest tank battle in history ...

, then across Ukraine with the Central, Belorussian, and 1st Belorussian Fronts. On 23 October 1943, it was awarded ‘Guards’ status and redesignated the 11th Guards Tank Corps. It ended the war in the Berlin area. As part of the occupation forces, it was reorganized as the 11th Guards Tank Division and assigned to the 1st Guards Tank Army (also called 1st Guards Mechanised Army during 1946–1957). For the occupation period and post-war era, it was mainly uneventful until 1968 when it took part in the invasion of Czechoslovakia. In 1992 it was withdrawn from Germany and landed in Slonim the newly independent Belarus. It would eventually be reorganized into the 11th Guards Mechanised Brigade. Division Headquarters was at

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

in the 1980s. * 12th Guards Tank Corps – former 16th Tank Corps. 16 TC was formed on 1 June 1942 in the Moscow Defense Zone. On 20 November 1944, it was awarded ‘Guards’ status and re-designated the 12th Guards Tank Corps. In later 1945, it was reorganized into the 12th Guards Tank Division.

Composition of a tank corps

* 29 May 1942 ** Corps HQ *** Signal Company *** AAMG (anti-aircraft machine gun) Section ** Heavy Tank Brigade with KV-1 or

KV-2 The Kliment Voroshilov (KV) tanks are a series of Soviet heavy tanks named after the Soviet defence commissar and politician Kliment Voroshilov who operated with the Red Army during World War II. The KV tanks were known for their heavy armour pro ...

tanks (Replaced by a third 'medium' tank brigade in July 1942) ** 2 (Medium) Tank Brigades with two battalions of

and one of

tanks each. ** Motorized Rifle Brigade ** Anti-aircraft Battalion ** Guards Mortar Battalion with Katyusha rocket launchers ** Motorcycle Battalion (for reconnaissance) ** Engineer-Mine Company ** Truck Company ** Motorized Vehicle Repair Battalion ** Armored Vehicle Repair Battalion **

Snipers A sniper is a military/paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with high-precision ri ...

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * *
Through the Furnace of War – Article on the development of Red Army armoured formations

Books

David Glantz David M. Glantz (born January 11, 1942) is an American military historian known for his books on the Red Army during World War II and as the chief editor of '' The Journal of Slavic Military Studies''. Born in Port Chester, New York, Glantz re ...

, The Initial Period of War on the Eastern Front, 22 June – August 1941, 19 * Page, J. and Bean, Tim 'Russian Tanks of World War II', Zenith Press * Charles Sharp, Soviet Order of Battle in World War II Vol 1: The Deadly Beginning: Soviet Tank, Mechanized, Motorized Divisions and Tank Brigades of 1940–1942,

Internet sites

Charles Sharp Book on Soviet armoured tactics

(in Russian)
Graphic showing OOB of a 1943 Tank Corps
{{Soviet Union corps