The 2nd Airborne Corps was a corps 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 fought in the
Battle of Kiev. In the summer of 1942, the 2nd Airborne Corps became the
32nd Guards Rifle Division.
History
The 2nd Airborne Corps was formed in April 1941 from the
2nd,
3rd and
4th Airborne Brigades based in the
Kharkov Military District.
By 1 June, the corps was fully manned, but due to the outbreak 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 could not be fully equipped. Its first commander was Major General
Fyodor Kharitonov.
When the German invasion began, the corps was initially stationed in the rear area, but as the situation deteriorated it was sent to the front. The corps fought in the
Battle of Kiev and suffered heavy losses.
On 30 August, the corps was attached to the
40th Army. Its 2nd Airborne Brigade attacked a German battalion on the outskirts of Nehaivka, and in the pursuit reached Hill 130. The corps' 3rd Airborne Brigade captured Korelsky on the same day. In conjunction with a tank battalion, the 4th Airborne Brigade covered the approaches to Atyushov. On 3 September, the corps was positioned in the area of
Putyvl and held the positions of Khiznyak, Hill 126.1, Zheldak, Gnilitsa, Huty and Novoselovka. The corps was fighting near
Konotop on 10 September. Due to its losses, the corps was disbanded in September but quickly reformed under the command of
Mikhail Tikhonov. On 14 May 1942, the corps was transferred to the
Taman Peninsula to defend the coast. On 2 August, it was converted into the
32nd Guards Rifle Division.
References
{{Soviet Union corps
Military units and formations established in 1941
Military units and formations disestablished in 1942
Corps of the Soviet Airborne Forces