The 4th Rifle Corps was a

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 ...

, active from the 1920s.

First Formation

It was formed during the

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

as part of the Western Front of the Red Army in May and June 1922. The corps headquarters was stationed in

Vitebsk Vitebsk or Vitsyebsk (, ; , ; ) is a city in northern Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Vitebsk Region and Vitebsk District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2025, it has 358,927 inhabitants, m ...

from June 1922 to August 1938. In April 1924, the corps became part of the

Western Military District The Western Military District () was a Military districts of Russia, military district of Russia, in existence from 2010 until its abolishment as a unitary military command on February 26, 2024, succeeded by the newly reconstituted Moscow Mil ...

, later known as the Belorussian, Belorussian Special, and Western Special Military Districts. In July 1938 the Vitebsk army group was established from the corps. The new corps was instructed to be created by 1 October of the same year. In September 1938 its headquarters was transferred to

Polotsk Polotsk () or Polatsk () is a town in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It is situated on the Dvina River and serves as the administrative center of Polotsk District. Polotsk is served by Polotsk Airport and Borovitsy air base. As of 2025, it has a pop ...

. In September 1939, the Corps troops took part 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 ...

as part of the 3rd Army, Belorussian Front. After fighting in the Soviet invasion of Poland, corps headquarters was at Berezino. In October 1939 it was moved to

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 ...

and then Postavy, where it was until April 1940. In April it moved back to Polotsk and in June 1940 was at

Daugavpils Daugavpils (see also other names) is a state city in southeastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city derives its name. The parts of the city to the north of the river belong to the historical Latvian region ...

. In July it moved to

Grodno Grodno, or Hrodna, is a city in western Belarus. It is one of the oldest cities in Belarus. The city is located on the Neman, Neman River, from Minsk, about from the Belarus–Poland border, border with Poland, and from the Belarus–Lithua ...

. On 22 June 1941, the 27th, 56th, and 85th Rifle Divisions were part of the corps, as part of 3rd Army.

Second Formation

The second formation of the corps was established on 4 April 1942, and placed under Major General Panteleymon Aleksandrovich Zaytsev (who commanded 4.4.42 – 27.11.43). The 114th Rifle Division was added to the corps in June 1942.Charles C. Sharp, ''"Red Legions", Soviet Rifle Divisions Formed Before 1941, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Vol. VIII'', 1995, p 57 It served with the 7th Army from its formation until November 1944, when it was resubordinated to the Belomorsky Military District in the north. On 1 July 1945 the second formation of the corps was part of the Belomorsky Military District, with 25th, 289th, and 341st Rifle Divisions. The corps was disbanded on 10 July 1946.

Commanders

* Alexander Pavlov : 1922-1924 * Konstantin Neumann : June 1924 — February 1927 * Jan Fabriciuss : 1927 — 1928 *Ivan Kuyakov : May 1928 — November 130 *

Aleksandr Loktionov Aleksandr Dmitriyevich Loktionov (; ) – 28 October 1941) was a Soviet general. In 1923 he was given command of the 2nd Infantry Division in Belarus, and the next year he became a member of the Minsk City Council. In 1925 he became a member of ...

: November 1930 — December 1933 *Danilo Srdić : 1933 — April 1935 *

Andrei Sazontov Andrei Sazontov (1894 – August 26, 1938) was a Soviet komkor (corps commander). He fought for the Imperial Russian Army during World War I before going over to the Bolsheviks. He was a recipient of the Order of the Red Banner (twice) and the O ...

: September 1935 — May 1937 * Trifon Shevaldin : July 1937 — March 1938 * Nikandr Chibisov : March — May 1938 *Ivan Davidovsky : 02/20/1939 brigade commander, from 11/04/1939 division commander - (March 1938 - 02/15/1940) *Nikolai Nikishin : May 1938 - July 1938 * Yury Novoselsky : (July 1938 - August 1938), brigade commander *Evgeny Egorov :(from 02/15/1940 to 09/01/1941), division commander, from 06/05/1940 - major general, was captured on 06/29/1941

References

{{Soviet Union corps

004 004, 0O4, O04, OO4 may refer to: * 004, fictional British 00 Agent * 0O4, Corning Municipal Airport (California) * O04, the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation * Abdul Haq Wasiq, Guantanamo detainee 004 * Junkers Jumo 004 turbojet engine * La ...

Military units and formations established in 1922 Military units and formations disestablished in 1946 Military units and formations of the Soviet invasion of Poland 1922 establishments in Russia 1946 disestablishments in the Soviet Union