1st Guards Cavalry Corp

The 1st Guards Cavalry Corps was a cavalry unit of the Red Army in the armed forces of the USSR during World War II. It was converted from the 2nd Cavalry Corps on November 26, 1941, becoming the first Guards Cavalry unit in Soviet history. It was led by the legendary Major General Belov until 1942, then command transferred to Major General Baranov who led the 2nd Guards Division within the Corps.

Formation

Periods of service within the Active army:

From November 26, 1941, to January 23, 1943. From February 5, 1943, to May 11, 1945, it was greatly expanded.

The composition of the Corps: (as of May 1, 1945)

1st Guards Cavalry Division; Orders of Lenin, Red Banner, Orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov

61st Tank Zhytomyr Red Banner regiment (from September 26, 1943);

2nd Guards Cavalry Division; Order of Lenin, 2 Orders of the Red Banner, Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky

230th Tank regiment (from October 8, 1943 to December 30, 1943);

58th Panzer Katowice order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky regiment (from May 22, 1944);

7th Guards Cavalry Division:

87th Tank Zhytomyr Red Banner regiment (from September 29, 1943);

1244th Self-propelled artillery Przemysl [1] order of Alexander Nevsky regiment (from March 1944 to May 1945)

1461st Self-propelled artillery Zhytomyr Red Banner regiment (October 1943 — January 1944)

143rd Guards Fighter-anti-tank artillery Zhytomyr [2] Red Banner regiment;

1st Separate Guards Fighter-anti-tank order of the Red Star[3] division;

49th Separate Guards Mortar Division;

1st Guards Mortar Zhytomyr Red Banner Rocket Artillery regiment;

319th Anti-aircraft artillery Katowice [4] order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky regiment;

1st Separate Guards Anti-aircraft battery.

Part of the body of the submission:

1st Separate Guards Order of the Red Star[3] communications division (until May 1, 1942 - 10th separate communications division);

187th Separate Motor Transport battalion;

349th Field Auto Repair base;

256th Laundry Squadron;

27th Field Car Factory;

1561st Military Post Station.

List of No. 4 Departments of the corps that were part of the active army during the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945 /

Under the operational control:

• 436th fighter aviation regiment[6] in the period from January 18, 1942 to February 4, 1942 on I-16 aircraft

• 28th mixed aviation division[7] between December 25, 1941, and January 25, 1942

Commanders

Lieutenant General Belov, Pavel Alekseevich (November 26, 1941 – June 28, 1942) Hero of the Soviet Union

Lieutenant General Baranov, Victor Kirillovich (June 29, 1942 – May 11, 1945) Hero of the Soviet Union

Organization

The smallest unit in the Soviet cavalry was the squad. There were two types of squads: light machine gun and grenadier, each with eight men. A platoon was commanded by a lieutenant, and at full strength had one officer and thirty-six soldiers. A captain commanded a squadron ("sotina," meaning one hundred). The saber squadron was often reinforced with a machine gun platoon and artillery battery, bringing the strength to 250 men. The cavalry regiment consisted of four saber squadrons, one machine gun squadron, and an artillery battalion. Each regiment consisted of about 1200 men. However, for a mobile force, the cavalry regiment surprisingly had limited communications. (Harrel, 2019) The cavalry fought primarily as dismounted forces for the duration of the war, but if not forced to dismount during an approach, the cavalry dismounted inside enemy positions and rarely attacked while mounted, mostly in favorable conditions.

Battle of Moscow

The 1st Guards Cavalry Corps became the first Soviet cavalry unit to be granted Guards status. From the beginning of the war, the Corps acted successfully, never retreating without orders. This success led to the expansion of the cavalry, giving them often harder assignments than other units, such as rescuing troops from encirclements and holding the most difficult lines. The Corps, upon becoming the 1st Guards Corps, was chosen for one of the most important challenges in stopping Guderian's panzers. The Corps was stationed near Kashira, where it played a leading role in stopping the Germans, along with the 50th army to its right flank in Tula and the 10th Army on the left flank. The German advance was halted at Kashira after repeated unsuccessful assaults. The final attack was on the 18th. This marked a turning point in the southern sector of the battle, as Kashira was logistically important to Moscow with its network system. The 1st Guards Cavalry Corps was the first to counterattack on November 28 against the 2nd Panzer army, which was encircling Moscow from the south, while the general counterattack began on December 5. The Corps, along with the 50th and 10th armies, drove the Germans further than any other unit during the Battle of Moscow, approximately 250 km.

Battle of Vyazma, Rzhev, and the Six-Month Raid

After Operation Typhoon, Belov's forces were in a good position to continue attacking and pushing to encircle the enemy. Some 1st and 2nd Guards cavalry divisions penetrated so deep into the rear that they left behind all heavy equipment, but it was too late as the Germans closed the gap. The 1st Guards Cavalry Corps and remnants of the 33rd Army remained in the pocket. During the raid, the Soviet Union performed its largest airborne operation of the war to aid the trapped soldiers near Vyazma. This was done to assist the encircled Corps along with the 329th Infantry Division and elements of the 338th Infantry Division. Most became scattered, and only a few connected with Belov and partisans. Those that successfully linked up maintained contact with Moscow and continued operations. For the next five months, they created a Soviet zone between Smolensk and Moscow, penetrating deeply behind the German 9th Army. It was only in July that up to seven German divisions persuaded Belov to link up with the army, but in the process, the Corps suffered up to 80–90% casualties. After the 1st Guards Cavalry Corps escaped the raid, it was rested and refitted for less than two months. Then it actively participated in the battles of Rzhev, until it was transferred to the Kharkiv area in early February.

Liberation of Ukraine

The Corps further distinguished itself, earning the title “Zhytomyr,” in the Battle of Kyiv, as the unit was one of the first to capture and cross the bridgehead leading to the crossing of the Dnieper. This was followed by hard fighting in the Lviv–Sandomir and other cities.

Berlin Offensive and the Elbe Meeting

Carpathian–Dukla, Sandomir–Silesian, Lower Silesian, Berlin offensive, before crossing the Elbe River. The 1st Guards Cavalry Corps finished the war with the Prague offensive in May 1945.

Awards

• Guards status – November 26, 1941.
• Order of the Red Banner – for exemplary fulfillment of combat missions and valor. Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, November 13, 1943.
• Honorary name "Zhytomyr" – commemorating victory in the battles for the liberation of Zhytomyr. Order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, November 13, 1943.
• Red Banner of the Mongolian People's Republic (December 18, 1942)

Sources

• Pokrovsky A. P.-M.: Ministry of Defense, 1956. – 151 p.
• Sverdlov F. D. Errors of G.K. Zhukov. – M.: Monolith, 2002. – ISBN 5-85868-114-X Search this book on ..
• Team of authors. World War II: Divisional Commanders. Military Dictionary / V.P. Goremykin. – M.: Kuchkovo field, 2014 .– Vol. 2 .– pp. 690–692. – 1000 copies. – ISBN 978-5-9950-0341-0 Search this book on ..
• Soviet Cavalry Operations During the Second World War – John S Harrel. Pen & Swords Books limited
• 1-й гвардейский кавалерийский корпус им. Совнаркома Украинской ССР на tankfront.ru
• 1 гвардейский кавалерийский Житомирский ордена Ленина, Краснознамённый, орденов Суворова и Кутузова корпус им. СНК УССР на сайте Кавалерийские корпуса РККА
• John S Harrel, Soviet cavalry During The Second World War,Pen & Sword Military Publishing 2019,

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