The 3rd Rifle Corps was a corps of the Soviet

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

which saw service in World War II and in the 1950s. The corps was first formed in 1923 from the 3rd Army Corps in the Moscow Military District and fought in the

Soviet invasion of Poland The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military operation by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east, 16 days after Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the west. Subse ...

and the

Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...

. The corps was disbanded in the summer of 1941 and its headquarters became the 46th Army. The 3rd Mountain Rifle Corps was formed in summer 1942 and fought in the Caucasus, Crimea, Dukla Pass, Carpathia and at Prague. The corps was retained in the Soviet Army postwar and moved to

Uzhhorod Uzhhorod ( uk, У́жгород, , ; ) is a city and municipality on the river Uzh in western Ukraine, at the border with Slovakia and near the border with Hungary. The city is approximately equidistant from the Baltic, the Adriatic and the B ...

. The corps fought in the

Soviet invasion of Hungary The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hunga ...

and was disbanded there in 1957. Its headquarters was absorbed by the 38th Army.

History

First formation

In June 1941 it included the 4th Rifle, 20th Mountain Rifle and the 47th Mountain Rifle Division, as part of

Transcaucasus Military District The Transcaucasian Military District, a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces, traces its history to May 1921 and the incorporation of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia into the Soviet Union. It was disbanded by being redesignated as a Grou ...

.Leo Niehorster
Transcaucasus Military District, Red Army, 22.06.41
/ref> Upgraded to 46th Army in July 1941 with 4th Rifle, and 9th and 47th Mountain, and in 1941-42 part of

Transcaucasus Front Transcaucasian Front or Transcaucasus Front (russian: Закавказский Фронт) was a front of the Soviet Red Army—a military formation comparable to an army group, not a geographic military front—during the Second World War. Th ...

, watching the USSR border with Turkey and the Black Sea. Assigned to Steppe Front and then

2nd Ukrainian Front The 2nd Ukrainian Front (2-й Украинский фронт), was a front of the Red Army during the Second World War. History On October 20, 1943 the Steppe Front was renamed the 2nd Ukrainian Front. During the Second Jassy–Kishinev O ...

from Sept 1943.

Second formation

The 3rd Mountain Rifle Corps was ordered to form on 7 June 1942 as part of 46th Army with headquarters in

Sukhumi Sukhumi (russian: Суху́м(и), ) or Sokhumi ( ka, სოხუმი, ), also known by its Abkhaz name Aqwa ( ab, Аҟәа, ''Aqwa''), is a city in a wide bay on the Black Sea's eastern coast. It is both the capital and largest city of ...

. It included the 20th Mountain Rifle Division, 394th Rifle Division, 63rd Cavalry Division and the Sukhumi Infantry School. The corps was tasked with the defense of the Black Sea coast and the Caucasian passes. Feskov 2013 lists 3rd Mountain Rifle Corps in the

Lvov Military District The Red Banner Carpathian Military District (, ) was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces during the Cold War and subsequently of the Armed Forces of Ukraine during the early Post-Soviet period. It was established on 3 May 1946 on the ...

in July 1945 with the

128th Guards Mountain Rifle Division 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...

, 242nd, and 318th Mountain Rifle Divisions. By January 1948 242nd RD had disbanded. In 38th Army,

Carpathian Military District The Red Banner Carpathian Military District (, ) was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces during the Cold War and subsequently of the Armed Forces of Ukraine during the early Post-Soviet period. It was established on 3 May 1946 on the ...

with 128th Guards Rifle Division and 318th Rifle Division in January 1951. The same two divisions remained in the corps in 1954 (alongside

35th Guards Rifle Corps The 35th Guards Rifle Corps () was a rifle corps of the Red Army during World War II that became part of the Soviet Army during the Cold War. World War II Formation The 35th Guards Rifle Corps was formed in accordance with a Stavka directive ...

, the other corps in 38th Army, with 66th Guards and

70th Guards Rifle Division The 70th Guards Rifle Division was formed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in February, 1943, based on the 1st formation of the 138th Rifle Division in recognition of that division's actions during the battle, and served in that role ...

s). In November 1954, the 3rd Mountain Rifle Corps became the 3rd Rifle Corps. In November 1956, the corps took part in the

. Its headquarters moved to

Székesfehérvár Székesfehérvár (; german: Stuhlweißenburg ), known colloquially as Fehérvár ("white castle"), is a city in central Hungary, and the country's ninth-largest city. It is the regional capital of Central Transdanubia, and the centre of Fejér ...

during the invasion. The corps disbanded in Hungary on 21 July 1957, its headquarters being absorbed by HQ 38th Army.

References

* {{Soviet Union corps

003 003, O03, 0O3, OO3 may refer to: *003, fictional British 00 Agent *003, former emergency telephone number for the Norwegian ambulance service (until 1986) *1990 OO3, the asteroid 6131 Towen * OO3 gauge model railway *''O03 (O2)'' and other related ...

Military units and formations disestablished in 1957 Military units and formations established in 1923 Hungarian Revolution of 1956