The 28th Guards Rifle Corps () was an elite Guards

rifle corps A rifle corps () 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 th ...

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 ...

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 ...

. It existed from 1943 to 1956.

History

The corps headquarters was renamed from that of the

15th Rifle Corps The 15th Rifle Corps () was a rifle corps of the Red Army, formed five times; each formation was a distinct unit unrelated to the others. It was part of the 5th Army. It took part in the Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939. History 1922–1924 ...

(2nd formation) on 16 April 1943 and became part of the

8th Guards Army The 8th Guards Order of Lenin Combined Arms Army (abbreviated 8th GCAA) was an army of the Soviet Army, as a successor to the 62nd Army of the Soviet Union's Red Army, which was formed during World War II and was disbanded in 1998 after being do ...

, which it served with for the rest of its existence. Its previous divisions were replaced with the 39th, 79th, and 88th Guards Rifle Divisions. The corps entered combat on the Southwestern Front on 19 July 1943 on the right bank of the

Seversky Donets The Seversky Donets () or Siverskyi Donets (), usually simply called the Donets (), is a river on the south of the East European Plain. It originates in the Central Russian Upland, north of Belgorod, flows south-east through Ukraine (Kharkiv ...

in the

Izyum Izium or Izyum (, ; ) is a city on the Donets River in Kharkiv Oblast, eastern Ukraine that serves as the administrative center of Izium Raion and Izium urban hromada. It is about southeast of the city of Kharkiv, the oblast's administrative c ...

bridgehead. It fought in the Donbass Strategic Offensives in August and September, and in October fought in the elimination of the German bridgehead on the left bank of the

Dnieper The Dnieper or Dnepr ( ), also called Dnipro ( ), is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. Approximately long, with ...

at the city of

Zaporozhye Zaporizhzhia, formerly known as Aleksandrovsk or Oleksandrivsk until 1921, is a city in southeast Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper River. It is the administrative centre of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Zaporizhzhia has a population of ...

, during the Zaporozhye Offensive. For its actions in the latter, the corps' 88th Guards Rifle Division received the name of the city as an honorific. On 24 October the corps crossed the Dnieper and on the next day the 39th Guards and the 152nd Rifle Division of the 46th Army captured

Dnepropetrovsk Dnipro is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper River, Dnipro River, from which it takes its name. Dnipro is t ...

. 15 soldiers of the corps were made

Heroes of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union () was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society. The title was awarded both t ...

for their actions in the fighting, among them Lieutenant Colonel Yu.M. Mazny, Captain V.A. Belyayev, Senior Sergeant V.S. Kashcheyev, and Sergeant A.I. Paradovich. In the spring of 1944, the corps fought in the

Bereznegovatoye–Snigirevka Offensive The Bereznegovatoye–Snigirevka offensive (Russian: Березнеговато-Снигирёвская Наступательная Операция, Bereznegovato-Snigirovskaya Nastupatel'naya Operatsiya) was an offensive operation conducted i ...

and the

Odessa Offensive The Odessa Offensive Operation (Russian language, Russian: Одесская Наступательная Операция, Odesskaya Nastupatel'naya Operatsiya), known on the German side as the Defensive battle of the 6th Army between Bug and Dni ...

. For their actions in the breakthrough of Axis defenses on the

Inhulets River The Inhulets () or Ingulets () is a river, a right tributary of the Dnieper, that flows through Ukraine. It has a length of and a drainage basin of . The Inhulets has its source in the Dnieper Upland in a ravine (balka) to the west of Topylo ...

, divisions of the corps were decorated. In April the corps defended the east bank of the

Dniester Estuary Dniester Estuary, or Dniester Liman (; ) is a liman, formed at the point where the river Dniester flows into the Black Sea. It is located in Ukraine, in Odesa Oblast, and connects Budjak to the Ukrainian mainland. The city of Bilhorod-Dnistrovsky ...

, and in May replaced elements of the

5th Guards Army The 5th Guards Army was a Soviet Guards formation which fought in many critical actions during World War II under the command of General Aleksey Semenovich Zhadov. The 5th Guards Army was formed in spring 1943 from the 66th Army in recognition o ...

in the bridgehead on the right bank of the Dniester in the area of

Grigoriopol Grigoriopol (, , , ) is a town in the Administrative-Territorial Units of the Left Bank of the Dniester, Moldova. It is the seat of the Grigoriopol District of Transnistria. The city is located on the left (eastern) bank of the river Dniester, ...

. In June, the corps and the 8th Guards Army were shifted to the left wing of the

1st Belorussian Front The 1st Belorussian Front (, ''Pervyy Belorusskiy front'', also romanized " Byelorussian"), known without a numeral as the Belorussian Front between October 1943 and February 1944, was a major formation of the Red Army during World War II, bein ...

. During the Lublin–Brest Offensive, the corps broke through German defenses west of

Kovel Kovel (, ; ; ) is a city in Volyn Oblast, northwestern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Kovel Raion within the oblast. Population: Kovel gives its name to one of the oldest runic inscriptions which were lost during World War I ...

, crossed the

Western Bug The Bug or Western Bug is a major river in Central Europe that flows through Belarus (border), Poland, and Ukraine, with a total length of .Lublin Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...

on 24 July. For its "courage in these battles," the corps received the name of Lublin as an honorific on 9 August. On 1 August the forces of the corps crossed the

Vistula The Vistula (; ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest in Europe, at in length. Its drainage basin, extending into three other countries apart from Poland, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra i ...

and captured the

Magnuszew bridgehead Magnuszew is a town in Kozienice County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Magnuszew. It located near the Vistula river and lies approximately north-west of Kozienice ...

. In the Warsaw–Poznan Offensive of January 1945, the corps attacked from the bridgehead on 14 January and advanced on

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

. On 2 February, its units crossed the

Oder The Oder ( ; Czech and ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and its largest tributary the Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows through wes ...

near

Reitwein Reitwein is a municipality in the district Märkisch-Oderland, in Brandenburg, Germany.Mapa Polski 1:500 000 Wojskowy Instytut Geograficzny Sztabu Generalnego W.P., Warszawa 1947 It is located near the border with Poland Poland, officially ...

, 10 km south of Kustrin, and in February and March fought to retain their bridgehead. For its "courage and heroism" in these operations the 28th Guards Corps was awarded the

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner () was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. It was the highest award of S ...

on 19 February 1945 and corps commander Lieutenant General Alexander Ryzhov and corps artillery commander Colonel A.G. Timoshenko were made Heroes of the Soviet Union. The corps subsequently fought in the

Berlin Offensive The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II. After the Vistula–Od ...

, during which they captured 11,000 German soldiers. For its actions the corps was awarded the

Order of Suvorov The Order of Suvorov () is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named in honor of Russian Generalissimo Prince Alexander Suvorov (1729–1800). History The Order of Suvorov was originally a Soviet Union, Soviet award established on ...

, 2nd class, on 11 June, and all of its divisions received the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

on 28 May.

Commanders

* Gryaznov, Afanasy Sergeevich (1943), Guard major general; * Guriev, Stepan Savelyevich (April 17, 1943 - December 29, 1943), Guard major general; *Zalizyuk, Pyotr Iosifovich (December 30, 1943 - January 18, 1944), Guard Colonel, (temporary position); * Monakhov, Dmitry Petrovich (January 19 - February 18, 1944), Guard major-general (mortally wounded in battle on February 18, 1944); * Morozov, Stepan Ilyich (February 18 - July 1944), Major General, from March 1944, Lieutenant-General; * Ryzhov, Alexander Ivanovich (July 10, 1944 - April 11, 1949), Guard major-general, from November 2, 1944 Guard-lieutenant general, Hero of the Soviet Union; * Vedenin, Andrei Yakovlevich (April 11, 1949 - November 1, 1951), Guard general-major; * Komarov, Vladimir Nikolaevich (November 1, 1951 - May 11, 1953), Guard major-general; * Frolenkov, Andrei Grigorievich (July 1953 - June 1954), Guard general-major, from 31.05.1954 the Guard lieutenant-general;

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links

Movements of the 28th Guards Corps
{{Soviet Union corps G28 Military units and formations awarded the Order of the Red Banner Military units and formations established in 1943 Military units and formations disestablished in 1956