The 37th Guards Airborne Corps was a

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 ...

airborne corps. The corps was established as the 37th Guards Rifle Corps on 19 January 1944. In August, it was converted into an airborne corps. On 18 December, it became an infantry corps again. The corps was converted to an airborne corps on 10 June 1946 and disbanded in June 1956.

History

The 37th Guards Rifle Corps was created 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 ...

from airborne divisions converted into infantry on 19 January 1944. In June 1944, the corps was transferred to the line of the

Svir River The Svir (; ; Karelian and Finnish: ) is a river in Podporozhsky, Lodeynopolsky, and Volkhovsky districts in the north-east of Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It flows westwards from Lake Onega to Lake Ladoga, thus connecting the two largest l ...

to fight in the Svir-Petrozavodsk Operation. Between 11 and 15 June, the corps detrained at Pasha and Oyat stations in

Leningrad Oblast Leningrad Oblast (, ; ; ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). The oblast has an area of and a population of 2,000,997 (2021 Russian census, 2021 Census); up from 1,716,868 recorded in the 2010 Russian census ...

and concentrated 40 kilometers south of

Lodeynoye Pole Lodeynoye Pole (, lit. ''the field of boats'') is a town and the administrative center of Lodeynopolsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the left bank of the Svir River (Lake Ladoga's basin) northeast of St. Petersburg. ...

. The corps was sent into battle on 21 June with the shock group of the 7th Army. It crossed the

, with its 98th Guards Rifle Division and

99th Guards Rifle Division The 99th Guards Rifle Division was a Red Army division of World War II. It was formed from the 14th Guards Airborne Division in January 1944. It fought in the Svir-Petrozavodsk Offensive between June and August 1944. It became the 99th Guards Airb ...

in the first line and its

100th Guards Rifle Division The 100th Guards Rifle Division was an elite Red Army airborne infantry division during World War II. The division fought in the Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive and the Vienna Offensive. Postwar, it was designated as an airborne division and disb ...

in the second line. on the first day of the offensive, the corps reportedly advanced 8 kilometers into the Finnish rear. Elements of the corps cut the

Olonets Olonets (; , ; ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Olonetsky District of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, located on the Olonka River to the east of Lake Ladoga. Geography Olonets is located ...

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. ...

road on 25 June and captured Olonets on the same day. By 4 July, the corps was on the Tulemajoki River, but was only able to advance 15 to 20 kilometers from it due to strong Finnish opposition. On 11 July, the corps attempted to resume the attack, but was not able to make any progress. On 13 July, the corps shifted to defensive operations. In August, it became an airborne corps as part of an attempt to form a Separate Airborne Army and was transferred to the reserve at

Mogilev Mogilev (; , ), also transliterated as Mahilyow (, ), is a city in eastern Belarus. It is located on the Dnieper, Dnieper River, about from the Belarus–Russia border, border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and from Bryansk Oblast. As of 2024, ...

, where it remained until January 1945. On 18 December 1944, it was reconverted to a rifle corps. On 18 January 1945, the corps was transferred to

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. In February, the corps arrived in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, where its elements were sent into battle on 21 February. It helped repulse

Operation Spring Awakening Operation Spring Awakening () was the last major German offensive of World War II. The operation was referred to in Germany as the Plattensee Offensive and in the Soviet Union as the Balaton Defensive Operation. It took place in Western Hungary ...

and then advanced in the direction of

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. After the capture of Vienna on 1 April, the corps helped capture

Gloggnitz Gloggnitz is a mountain town in the Neunkirchen (Austrian district), Neunkirchen district of Lower Austria, Austria. Gloggnitz is situated in the south-western part of the Viennese Basin, Vienna Basin in Lower Austria. It is surrounded by the hi ...

Wiener Neustadt Wiener Neustadt (; Lower_Austria.html" ;"title=".e. Lower Austria">.e. Lower Austria , ) is a city located south of Vienna, in the state of Lower Austria, in northeast Austria. It is a self-governed city and the seat of the district administr ...

and Neuenkirchen. After 8 May, it attacked the Schörner Group during the Prague Offensive. On 10 June 1946, the corps again became airborne. The corps transferred to Monastyrische in

Primorsky Krai Primorsky Krai, informally known as Primorye, is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (a krais of Russia, krai) of Russia, part of the Far Eastern Federal District in the Russian Far East. The types of inhabited localities in Russia, ...

during October 1945. The

13th Guards Airborne Division The 13th Guards Airborne Division was a division of the Soviet Airborne Troops. Its first formation was formed in December 1943 from airborne brigades and was quickly redesignated the 98th Guards Rifle Division without seeing combat in World War ...

was activated from the 98th Guards Airborne Division's 296th Guards Air Landing Regiment in October 1948. The 13th Guards Airborne Division was disbanded in 1955. It was disbanded in April 1956.

Composition

In February 1944, the corps was composed of the following divisions: * 98th Guards Rifle Division *

In February 1945, the corps was composed of the following divisions: * 98th Guards Rifle Division *

* 103rd Guards Rifle Division In 1955, the corps was composed of the following divisions: *

* 98th Guards Airborne Division * 99th Guards Airborne Division

Commanders

Lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

Pavel Mironov Pavel Vasilyevich Mironov (Russian: Павел Васильевич Миронов; 21 September 1900 – 29 October 1969) was a Red Army lieutenant general and Hero of the Soviet Union. Mironov led the 37th Guards Rifle Corps during World War I ...

(19 January 1944 – May 1946) * Lieutenant general Andrei Bondarev (May 1946 – 15 April 1950) * Lieutenant general

Vasily Margelov Vasily Filippovich Margelov (; ; – 4 March 1990) was a Red Army General of the army (USSR), General who was the commander of the Soviet Airborne Forces (VDV) from 1954 to 1959 and from 1961 to 1979. Margelov modernized the VDV and was a Hero o ...

(15 April 1950 – May 1952) *

Chief Marshal of Aviation Chief marshal of the branch () was a senior military rank of the Soviet Armed Forces. It was immediately above the rank of Marshal of the branch. Both ranks were equal to general of the army. History The ranks of chief marshal of aviation, arti ...

Alexander Golovanov Alexander Yevgeniyevich Golovanov (; 7 August 1904 – 22 September 1975) was a Soviet pilot. On 3 August 1943, he became a Marshal of Aviation (the youngest person in the history of the USSR to hold that rank) and on 19 August 1944 he was pr ...

(May 1952 – April 1953) * Lieutenant general Vasily Margelov (April 1953 – 31 May 1954)

References

{{Soviet Union corps Military units and formations established in 1944 Military units and formations disestablished in 1956 Corps of the Soviet Airborne Forces Military units and formations awarded the Order of the Red Banner