The 1st Army Corps was an army corps of the

Soviet Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, also known as the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union, the Red Army (1918–1946) and the Soviet Army (1946–1991), were the armed forces of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republi ...

. It was formed in 1957 and finally deactivated in 1991. It draws its history from the 1st Rifle Corps, formed in 1922. Troops of the 1st Rifle 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 ...

(November 1939 - March 1940) and

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 ...

First Formation

The corps was formed in June, 1922 in Petrograd (currently Saint-Petersburg) as the 1st Army Corps (1 ak). Creation of the corps was based on a Directive of the Commander number 195060/69, of 15 May 1922, Order Petrograd VO No.1416/383, 6 June 1922. In July 1922 it was named the 1st Rifle Corps. In 1926 corps headquarters was moved to

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...

, and in 1938 to

Pskov Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=Ru-Псков.oga, p=psˈkof; see also Names of Pskov in different languages, names in other languages) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov O ...

. On May 15, 1939, the 75th Rifle Division (75th RD) was transferred from the 14th Rifle Corps ( Kharkov Military District) and arrived in the Leningrad Military District. In September 1939, the 75th Rifle Division concentrated in the 1st Rifle Corps 8th Army on the border with

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

. In November 1939 the 75th Rifle Division arrived in Schlusselburg (LenVO) where on vehicles it was transferred to Karelia, as part of the 1st Rifle Corps, 8th Army, LenVO. That same month corps headquarters was moved to

Petrozavodsk Petrozavodsk (, ; Karelian language, Karelian, Veps language, Vepsian and ) is the capital city of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, which stretches along the western shore of Lake Onega for some . The population of the city is 280,890 as of 2022. ...

(November 1939 - April 1940). Corps Headquarters was located at: *

(April - June 1940); *

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

(June - July 1940); *

Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the List of cities and towns in Poland, tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Biał ...

( from July 1940). The corps was a part of the: * Petrograd Military District (1922-1924); * Leningrad Military District (1924-1939); * 8th Army Leningrad Military District (November 1939 - July 1940 ); * 10th Army Western Special Military District (July 1940). The corps participated in the Soviet-Finnish War (1939-1940) (November 1939 - March 1940). On June 22, 1941, at the beginning of

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 ...

, the corps comprised the: * Corps Headquarters ( Bialystok) Location of Units of the Western Special Military District at 30.05.1941
/ref> (''Shtat'' ( Table of Organisation and Equipment) 4/1) * 2nd Rifle Division ( Osovets) * 8th Rifle Division ( Stavisky) * 130th Corps Artillery Regiment (

Łomża Łomża () is a city in north-eastern Poland, approximately to the north-east of Warsaw and west of Białystok. It is situated alongside the Narew river as part of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the capital of Łomża County and has been the se ...

) * 262nd Corps Artillery Regiment * 23rd Separate Communications Battalion General Major F.D. Rubtsov was the corps commander. Last mention in the Boevoi sostav Sovetskoi armii (Combat composition of the Soviet Army, BSSA) was on 1 July 1941 with the corps directly subordinated to the Western Front (Soviet Union).

Second formation

The corps reappeared in BSSA on 1 June 1942 directly subordinated to the North Caucasian Front, and made up of four rifle brigades. Thereafter, the last 1942 BSSA mention of the corps is on 1 August 1942.

Third formation and Cold War

The 1st Rifle Corps reappears in the BSSA on 1 September 1943 as part of the Northwestern Front. Final mention on 1 May 1945 subordinated to the 1st Shock Army, Leningrad Front, and in command of the 306th, 344th, and 357th Rifle Divisions. The corps headquarters, as well as the 4th Shock Army, was moved to Central Asia after the end of the war and established at Ashgabat. On 25 June 1957 it was renamed the 1st Army Corps.Holm, http://www.ww2.dk/new/army/armies/32oa.htm, 2015. In April 1970, the corps headquarters was moved to Semipalatinsk, and 78th Tank Division moved it headquarters from Ashkabad (Turkmen SSR) to Ayaguz (Kazakh SSR) at the same time. In September 1981 it was raised in status to become 32nd Army. 32nd Army was redesignated 1st Army Corps once again on 1 March 1988, but on 4 June 1991 the headquarters was again renamed to become 40th Army.

Commanders

* Vasily Blyukher (1922-1924) * Mikhail Sangursky (August 1924 -May 1926) * Vitaly Primakov (May 1926 – 1927) * Mikhail Kalmykov (July 1927) * Eduard Lepin (July 1930) * Yakov Sheko (September 1930 - July 1931) * Leonty Ugryumov (July 1931 -February 1935) * Vladimir Kurdyumov (May 1935 - March 1937), * Mikhail Khozin (March 1937-July 1937), * Vasily Malofeev (August 1937-August 1938) * Valerian A. Frolov (January -October 1939) * Roman Ivanovich Panin (October 21, 1939 -December 29, 1939), * Dmitry Timofeyevich Kozlov (December 1939 -April 1940) * Fyodor Dmitrijevich Rubtsov (April 27, 1940 -July 6, 1941) * Vasily Kotelnikov (September 3, 1943 - May 27, 1944) * Nikolai Vasilyev (May 28, 1944 - July 1945)

Notes

References

* {{Soviet Union corps 001 Military units and formations established in 1957 Military units and formations disestablished in 1991 ru:1-й стрелковый корпус (2-го формирования)