10th Army Corps (Soviet Union)
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The 10th Rifle Corps (
Military Unit Number A Military Unit Number (Russian: войсковая часть, в/ ч; Ukrainian: військова частина, в/ ч) is a numeric alternate designation for military units in the armed forces and internal troops of post-Soviet ...
16058 until June 1956) was an infantry
corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was formally introduced March 1, 1800, when Napoleon ordered Gener ...
of the
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
, which later became the 10th Army Corps after the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.


Interwar period

The corps was formed by an order dated 12 July 1922 in the
West Siberian Military District The Siberian Military District was a Military district of the Russian Ground Forces. The district was originally formed as a military district of the Russian Empire in 1864. In 1924 it was reformed in the Red Army. After the end of World War II the ...
at
Barnaul Barnaul (, ) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative centre of Altai Krai, Russia, located at the confluence of the Barnaulka and Ob (river), Ob rivers in the West Siberian Plain. As of the Russian Censu ...
. Between May and November 1923, its headquarters was at
Novonikolayevsk Novosibirsk is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and the Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the 2021 census, it had a population of 1,633,595, making it the most populous city in Siberia and the third-mo ...
. In November, under the command of October Revolution and Russian Civil War hero
Pavel Dybenko Pavel Efimovich Dybenko (; ; 16 February 1889 – 29 July 1938) was a Bolsheviks, Bolshevik revolutionary and a leading Soviet Union, Soviet officer and military commander. He was arrested, tortured and executed during the Great Purge and subseq ...
, the corps was transferred to Kozlov in the
Moscow Military District The Order of Lenin Moscow Military District () is a Military districts of Russia, military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Originally it was a district of the Imperial Russian Army until the Russian Empire's collapse in 191 ...
.'' Vasilievsky AM '' The point of all life
It was moved to
Kursk Kursk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur (Kursk Oblast), Kur, Tuskar, and Seym (river), Seym rivers. It has a population of Kursk ...
in June 1924, and in 1937 to
Voronezh Voronezh ( ; , ) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on the Southeastern Railway, which connects wes ...
. In September 1939, the corps fought in the
Soviet invasion of Poland The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military conflict by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Second Polish Republic, Poland from the east, 16 days after Nazi Germany invaded Polan ...
, occupying what is now western Belarus. From December 1939 to March 1940, the corps participated in the
Winter War The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peac ...
, fighting as part of the 7th Army in the western part of the Karelian Isthmus. After the Winter War ended, the 10th Rifle Corps was relocated back to
Krasnoye Urochishche Krasnoye may refer to: * Krasnoye, Krasnensky District, Belgorod Oblast, rural locality and the administrative center of Krasnensky District of Belgorod Oblast, Russia * Krasnoye, Krasninsky District, Smolensk Oblast, rural locality in the Krasnin ...
near
Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...
in the Belorussian Special Military District. In June, the corps participated in the
Soviet occupation of Lithuania The occupation of the Baltic states was a period of annexation of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania by the Soviet Union from 1940 until its dissolution in 1991. For a period of several years during World War II, Nazi Germany occupied the Baltic st ...
, where it was initially headquartered at
Šiauliai Šiauliai ( ; ) is a city in northern Lithuania, the List of cities in Lithuania, country's fourth largest city and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, sixth largest city in the Baltic States, with a population of 112 581 in 202 ...
as part of the
Baltic Special Military District Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...
from July, moving to
Telšiai Telšiai (; Samogitian language, Samogitian: ''Telšē'') is a city in Lithuania with about 21,499 inhabitants. It is the capital of Telšiai County and Samogitia region, and it is located on the shores of Lake Mastis. Telšiai is one of the ol ...
in August. The First Formation was part of the operational army during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
from June 22, 1941 to September 7, 1941.


Cross-border fighting in Lithuania and Latvia (1941)

On June 22, 1941, when the German invasion of the Soviet Union,
Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...
, began, the corps and its headquarters was stationed in
Varniai Varniai (; Samogitian language, Samogitian: ''Varnē'') is a city in the Telšiai County, western Lithuania. In the Middle Ages the city was known as Medininkai (Samogitian language, Samogitian: ''Medėninkā''). Etymology ''Medininkai'' or ''M ...
(
Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
). It comprised the 10th, 48th and
90th Rifle Division 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Hindu–Arabic digit Circa 300 BC, as part of the Brahmi numerals, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bot ...
s,
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 ...
(1998), 'Stumbling Colossus – The Red Army on the Eve of World War', Kansas. (pg. 261)
under Major General
Ivan Nikolaev Ivan Sergeyevich Nikolaev (; 19 July 1901 – 22 September 1979) was a Soviet architect and educator, notable for his late 1920s constructivist architecture and later work in industrial architecture. Life and career Born in Voronezh, Nikolaev tra ...
. On the right-flank of the corps, the 10th Rifle Division held positions on the border from
Palanga Palanga (; ; ) is a resort town, resort city in western Lithuania, on the shore of the Baltic Sea. Palanga is the busiest and the largest summer resort in Lithuania and has sand, sandy beaches (18 km, 11 miles long and up to 300 metres, 10 ...
to Shvekshny to the right of the
67th Rifle Division The 67th Rifle Division () was an infantry division of the Red Army. The 20th Rifle Division (territorial defence) was formed from militia brigades in the Leningrad Military District in 1923. On May 21, 1936, it was named the 67th Rifle Divisi ...
of the 27th Army. On its left, the 90th Rifle Division defended a line 30 kilometers wide, extending south to a junction with troops of the
125th Rifle Division 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
of the
11th Rifle Corps The 11th Rifle Corps () was a corps of the Soviet Red Army, Red Army, formed twice. The 11th was first formed in 1922 in the Petrograd area but soon moved to the Belorussian Military District. After fighting in the Soviet invasion of Poland, the c ...
. The 48th Rifle Division was still moving up and had not yet reached the border. The corps numbered 25,480 men, 453 guns and
mortars Mortar may refer to: * Mortar (weapon), an indirect-fire infantry weapon * Mortar (masonry), a material used to fill the gaps between blocks and bind them together * Mortar and pestle, a tool pair used to crush or grind * Mortar, Bihar, a village i ...
and 12 light
tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...
s. Opposing the corps and larger Soviet forces were the German I Army Corps, XXVI Army Corps and XXXVIII Army Corps, and on the left
wing A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...
– the tanks of the XXXXI Motorized Corps. When the invasion began, German troops struck two major blows to the 10th's flanks: the first by the 291st Infantry Division, advancing from Memel to
Kretinga Kretinga (Yiddish: קרעטינגע) is a List of cities in Lithuania, city in Klaipėda County, in north-western Lithuania. It is the capital of the Kretinga District Municipality. It is located east of the popular Baltic Sea resort town of Pala ...
and
Palanga Palanga (; ; ) is a resort town, resort city in western Lithuania, on the shore of the Baltic Sea. Palanga is the busiest and the largest summer resort in Lithuania and has sand, sandy beaches (18 km, 11 miles long and up to 300 metres, 10 ...
, and the second – by the XXXXI Motorized Corps on its junction with the 125th Rifle Division of the 11th Rifle Corps. The Soviet forces holding the attack's point of impact were quickly broken and part of the body in the early hours of the war was cut off from the north of the 67th Rifle Division, and the south of the 125th Rifle Division, and under the pressure of German troops began to retreat in the direction of
Jelgava Jelgava () is a state city in central Latvia. It is located about southwest of Riga. It is the largest town in the Semigallia region of Latvia. Jelgava was the capital of the united Duchy of Courland and Semigallia (1578–1795) and was the ad ...
. On June 23, 1941 the gap between the 10th and 90th Rifle Division reached 20 kilometers. South of the 90th Division the enemy troops rushed to the
Šiauliai Šiauliai ( ; ) is a city in northern Lithuania, the List of cities in Lithuania, country's fourth largest city and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, sixth largest city in the Baltic States, with a population of 112 581 in 202 ...
. Since the band steps troops shell pressure slightly decreased, part of the body, or rather what was left of them, to June 26, 1941 a relatively orderly moved to line
Mažeikiai Mažeikiai (; Samogitian: ''Mažeikē''; ; ) is a city in northwestern Lithuania, on the Venta River. It has a population of around 32,000, making it the eighth largest city in Lithuania and eighteenth largest city in the Baltic States. Th ...
Kurtuvėnai Kurtuvėnai is a small town in Šiauliai County in northern-central Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore ...
and then on Riga. By that time, the 90th Rifle Division had virtually ceased to exist and in Riga the 22nd Motor Rifle Division NKVD was added to the corps. Within three days of the case were fighting for Riga, but July 1, 1941 finally left the city. Its next major engagement was the Tallinn frontline defensive operation (1941). The corps' headquarters was disbanded on September 14. The corps was destroyed in the early fighting of Operation Barbarossa but reformed twice. It was reformed in October 1942, but disbanded in December, then reformed in February 1943, serving until the war ended in May 1945.


Later formations and postwar

After the war, the corps arrived in the Urals Military District comprising the 91st, 279th, and 347th Rifle Divisions. Active in 1948 with three rifle brigades (12th, 14th and 28th), but in June 1957 became 10th Army Corps. In the early 1950s, it may have included the 2552nd Artillery Regiment. In 1956, the corps moved from the Urals to the Baltic. In July 1957, as part of
11th Guards Army The 11th Guards Army () was a field army of the Red Army, the Soviet Ground Forces, and the Russian Ground Forces, active from 1943 to 1997. History World War II For its prowess in battle, the second formation of the 16th Army was redesignat ...
, the corps comprised 26th Guards Motor Rifle Division and 119th Motor Rifle Division, but was disbanded in (June) 1960.Feskov et al 2013, p. 442. It had its headquarters at
Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...
.


References


Citations


Bibliography

* * {{Soviet Union corps Rifle corps of the Soviet Union Military units and formations established in 1922