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 the latter part of World War II.
Unlike army corps formed by Germany and the Western Allies, Soviet rifle corps were composed primarily of combat troops and had only a small logistical component. Because the rifle divisions themselves were also primarily made up of combat troops, the rifle corps were numerically smaller than corps of other nations. The Soviets also formed Guards rifle corps during World War II, although these were often assigned control of regular rifle divisions and sometimes controlled no Guards rifle divisions.
The Red Army as a whole had 27 rifle corps headquarters in its order of battle on 1 June 1938; this had been expanded to 62 by June 1941.Glantz, Colossus, p. 107 When Germany invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, the Red Army initially had some 32 rifle corps headquarters as part of their order of battle in action against the Germans. Because Joseph Stalin's prewar purge of the Red Army had removed so many experienced leaders, the rifle corps echelon of command in Soviet forces engaged against the Germans dwindled in the face of massive Red Army losses of 1941. The stark shortage of experienced leaders forced the Red Army to have rifle army headquarters directly supervising rifle divisions without the assistance of intervening rifle corps headquarters.Stavka Circular 01 of July 15, 1941 directed several changes to Red Army force structure, the elimination of rifle corps headquarters and subordination of rifle divisions directly to rifle army headquarters among them. Glantz and House, p. 65. The use of rifle corps headquarters never disappeared entirely from the Red Army during World War II, as field armies in areas not fighting the Germans (such as the Far East) maintained their use of rifle corps headquarters during the entire war.
An example of wartime rifle corps organization is that of the 8th Estonian Rifle Corps in 1942:
8th Rifle Corps 7th Rifle Division 249th Rifle Division 85th Corps Artillery Regiment 36th Sapper Battalion 86th Medical Battalion 482nd Reconnaissance Company 162nd Machine Gun Battalion
Of the 8th Rifle Corps' 1942 strength of 26,466 men, only 2,599 (less than 10 per cent) made up the corps headquarters and corps assets, the remainder being assigned to the two rifle divisions.
By November 1941, the Soviet order of battle showed only one rifle corps headquarters still active among the forces fighting the German invasion. By early 1942, however, the Soviets began to reactivate rifle corps headquarters for use as an intermediate command echelon between the rifle armies and rifle divisions. Doubtlessly, the direct command of divisions by army headquarters resulted in too-large spans of control for army commanders and the Red Army desired to reintroduce the rifle corps headquarters once enough experienced commanders and staff officers were available. By the end of 1942, 21 rifle corps headquarters were in action with Soviet forces engaging the Germans. This grew to over 100 by the end of 1943, and reached a peak of 174 either in action against the Germans or as part of the strategic reserve of the Stavka by the end of the war with Germany in May 1945.
Circa September 1945, the 11, 15, 16, 21, 22, 25, 28, 36, 42, 43, 44, 47, 51, 52, 55, 61, 62, 64, 67, 68, 70, 71, 74, 77, 80, 89, 91, 93, 95, 96, 98, 100, 106, 115, 117, 118, 120, 121, 133, and 135th Rifle Corps were disbanded.Feskov et al 2004, 77.
A limited number of Rifle Corps remained as part of the Ground Forces post 1945. They were converted to 'Army Corps' in 1955 though they still mostly consisted of Rifle and then Motor Rifle Divisions.
List of Soviet rifle corps
Formed before 22 June 1941
1–10 Corps 1st Rifle Corps – 10th Army, Western Special MD, under General Major F.D. Rubtsov with 2nd and 8th Rifle Divisions. Last mention in the Soviet Order of Battle (OOB) on 1 July 1941 with corps directly subordinated to the Western Front. The corps reappeared in the OOB on 1 June 1942 directly subordinated to the North Caucasus Front, and made up of four rifle brigades. Thereafter, the last 1942 OOB mention of the corps is on 1 August 1942. The 1st Rifle Corps reappears in the Soviet OOB on 1 September 1943 as part of the Northwestern Front. Final mention on 1 May 1945 subordinated to the 1st Shock Army and in command of the 306th, 344th, and 357th Rifle Divisions. Feskov et al. 2004 says 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.V.I. Feskov et al 2004, 45 In 1969, the corps headquarters was moved to Semipalatinsk, where it was raised in status to become 32nd Army. A tank division may have moved to Semipalatinsk alongside the corps headquarters. 2nd Rifle Corps – formed in September 1922 as the 2nd Army Corps. As part of 13th Army Western Front participated in the Battle of Bialystok-Minsk near the Minsk and Slutsky Fortified Regions.Minsk Minsk fortified region – general information in late June – early July, 1941.Battle of Minsk Reformed and fought against Japan in 1945. On 1 July 1945, was part of the Transbaikal Front and comprised 103rd, 275th, and 292nd Rifle Divisions.Feskov et al 2013, 49 3rd Rifle Corps- 4th Rifle Division, 20th Mountain Rifle, 47th Mtn Rifle, as part of Transcaucasus Military District.Leo Niehorster, Transcaucasus Military District, Red Army, 22.06.41 4th Rifle Corps – 27th, 56th, and 85th Rifle Divisions, as part of 3rd Army.3rd Army, Western Special Military District, Red Army, 22.06.41 (See :ru:4-й стрелковый корпус (1-го формирования)). On 1 July 1945 the second formation of the corps was part of the Belomorsky Military District in the north, with 25th, 289th, and 341st Rifle Divisions.Feskov et al 2013 5th Rifle Corps – 13th, 86th, and 113th Rifle Divisions, part of 10th Army, WSMD. Reactivated 27 June 1942, often known as 5th independent Rifle Corps. On 1 July 1945 consisted of 35th Rifle Division (Soviet Union) and 390th Rifle Division (Soviet Union). With 2nd Far East Front during the Soviet invasion of Manchuria in 1945, then transferred to 15th Army (Soviet Union) (August–October 1945) and then the Far Eastern Military District. On 1 January 1946 it consisted of the 34th Rifle Division (Vyazemskiy, Khabarovsk Kray), and the 35th Rifle Division (Bikin, Khabarovsk Kray), and was part of the Far Eastern Military District. It was disbanded in July 1946. 6th Rifle Corps – The 6th Rifle Corps HQ was formed in Kiev in May 1922. The Corps was formed on the orders of the Commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and Crimea number 627/162 from May 23, 1922 in Kiev, part of Kiev and Kharkov Military District. 7th Rifle Corps – in the Odessa Military District, under General Major K.L. Dobroserdov included 116th, 196th, and 206th Rifle Divisions.Odessa Military District, Red Army, 22.06.41 Finished war as part of 3rd Shock Army. 8th Rifle Corps – 26th Army, Kiev Special Military District, under General Major M.G. Snegov with 99th, 173rd Rifle Divisions and 72nd Mountain Rifle DivisionGlantz, Stumbling Colossus, pg. 265 Became 41st Guards Rifle Corps 1945, spent last of its war service in the 42nd Army, Courland Group, Leningrad Front. 9th Rifle Corps – In June, 1941, General Lieutenant Pavel Batov was in command of the 9th Separate Rifle Corps, which comprised the 106th and 156th Rifle Divisions and the 32nd Cavalry Division, with a total strength of about 35,000 men. This corps was the only major Red Army formation in the Crimea, Odessa Military District at the outbreak of Operation Barbarossa, and Batov had arrived at its headquarters in Simferopol just two days earlier.Robert Forczyk, Where The Iron Crosses Grow, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, UK, 2014, p 34, and Glantz, Stalin's Generals, Phoenix Press, 2001, p 37 In 1945 during the final Battle of Berlin the corps was part of 5th Shock Army and comprised the 230th, 248th, and 301st Rifle Divisions.Marchand, Vol. 23, p.19-20. Full reference at 5th Shock Army article Served with the 3rd Shock Army, later 3rd Combined Arms Army, from 1947– 56. From 1947 consisted of 94th Guards Rifle Division (Schwerin) and 18th Mechanised Division (Perleberg). Disbanded 4 July 1956.Holm, 9th Rifle Corps 10th Rifle Corps -assigned to the 8th Army in the Baltic Military District (BSMD). Included the 10th, 48th, and 90th Rifle Divisions.Glantz, Stumbling Colossus, pg. 261 The corps arrived in the Urals Military District comprising the 91st, 279th, and 347th Rifle Divisions. Active in 1948 with three rifle brigades (12th, 14th and 40th (Kirov, Kirov Oblast)). 12th Brigade was disbanded, 14th Rifle Brigade became 91st Rifle Division in October 1953, and 40th Brigade was briefly 194th Rifle Division (1951–53) before becoming 65th Mechanised Division. Corps HQ moved to Vilnius in June 1956, becoming part of 11th Guards Army, and took over 26th Guards Rifle and 71st Mechanised Divisions. Became 10th Army Corps on 4 June 1957 but disbanded in June 1960.Holm/Feskov 2013, 10th Rifle Corps.
11–20 Corps 11th Rifle Corps – assigned to the 8th Army in the Baltic Special Military District, with the 11th, and 125th Rifle Divisions.Glantz, Stumbling Colossus, pg. 262 Disbanded circa September 1945, by Stavka VGK Order 11097 of 29.5.45, which established the Northern Group of Forces.Feskov 2013, 407. 12th Rifle Corps – Transbaikal Military District, with 65th and 94th Rifle Divisions on 22 June 1941.niehorster.orbat.com Disbanded July 1941. Reformed October 1942. 1 November 1942 listed with reserves, Black Sea Group of Forces, with the 77th, 261st, 349th, and 351st Rifle Divisions by BSSA. A month later it consisted of the 261, 349, 351, and 406th Rifle Divisions. January 1943 was with Transcaucasus Front, 45th Army, with 261, 349, 392, and 406th Rifle Divisions. 12th Mountain Rifle Corps for a period., and Feskov V.I., Golikov V.I., Калашников К.А., В.И. Слугин С.А. Вооруженные силы СССР после Второй Мировой войны: от Красной Армии к Советской (часть 1: Сухопутные войска) Томск, 2013, 522 onwards. 1946 to 1957 in North Caucasus Military District before becoming 12th Army Corps. 13th Rifle Corps – First formed 1922 and disbanded 1935. Reformed 1936, in 12th Army, Kiev Special Military District, under General Major N.K. Kirillov, with 44th, 58th, and 192nd Mountain Rifle Divisions on 22 June 1941. Appears to have spent much of 1945 within the Front Troops of Transcaucasus Front, consisting of 392nd Rifle Division and 94th Rifle Brigade.Combat composition of the Soviet Army, 1945, via Soldat.ru. On 1 January 1948, still with Transcaucasus Military District, comprising 10th Guards Rifle Division and 414th Rifle Division.Feskov et al 2013, 51. By January 1951 it had become 13th Mountain Rifle Corps, with 10th Guards Mountain Rifle Division, and 145th Mountain Rifle Division. (Feskov et al 2013, 53), and was still in that configuration in 1954 (Feskov et al 2013, 55). Disbanded by being redesignated 31st Special Rifle Corps on 1 July 1956, and then successively 31st Special Army Corps (1 October 1957) and 31st Army Corps (9 May 1961).Holm, http://www.ww2.dk/new/army/corps/31ak.htm 14th Rifle Corps – 9th Army, Odessa Military District, under General Major D.G. Egorov comprising the 25th and 51st Rifle Divisions. By the end of the war, 14th Rifle Corps was a direct-reporting formation of 2nd Belorussian Front, including 90th Guards Rifle Division. Disbanded by Stavka VGK Order 11097 of 29.5.45, which established the Northern Group of Forces.Feskov 2013, 132, 407. 15th Rifle Corps – Kiev Special Military District assigned to the 5th Army with the 45th, and 62nd Rifle Divisions.Glantz, Stumbling Colossus, pg. 264 Disbanded summer 1945.Feskov et al 2013, 132.