The 2nd Mechanised Corps was a formation in the Soviet

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

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

First formation (June 1940 – Aug 1941)

Initially formed in June 1940 in response the German victories of 1940 it was attached to the

Odessa Military District The Odesa Military District (russian: Одесский военный округ, ОВО; , abbreviated ) was a military administrative division of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In 1998 most of its territory was transformed into the Southern Operat ...

, & attached to the 9th Army in the Odessa Fortified Region in

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

It was under the command of Lieutenant General Iu. V. Novoselsky when the German

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named afte ...

began in June 1941. It initially comprised the 11th and 16th Tank Divisions, & the 15th Mechanized Division. On 22 June 1941 2nd Mechanized Corps comprised 32,396 men, 517 tanks, 186 armoured cars, 162 artillery pieces, 189 mortars, 3794 vehicles, 266 Tractors & 375 Motorcycles including lighter models

T-26 The T-26 tank was a Soviet light tank used during many conflicts of the Interwar period and in World War II. It was a development of the British Vickers 6-Ton tank and was one of the most successful tank designs of the 1930s until its light ...

, Bt 7, &

T-28 The T-28 was a Soviet multi-turreted medium tank. The prototype was completed in 1931, and production began in late 1932. It was an infantry support tank intended to break through fortified defences. The T-28 was designed to complement the hea ...

's & 60 of the newer

T-34 The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank introduced in 1940. When introduced its 76.2 mm (3 in) tank gun was less powerful than its contemporaries while its 60-degree sloped armour provided good protection against anti-tank weapons. The C ...

KV-1 The Kliment Voroshilov (KV) tanks are a series of Soviet heavy tanks named after the Soviet defence commissar and politician Kliment Voroshilov who operated with the Red Army during World War II. The KV tanks were known for their heavy armour pr ...

models. On 22 July 1941 2nd Mechanized Corps consisted of 11th Tank Division 181 (81 Operational) tanks, 1070 vehicles & 71 tractors. 16th Tank Division with 99 tanks, 870 vehicles & 16 tractors & 15th Mechanized Division with 188 (102 operational) tanks, no vehicles & 122 tractors. After the invasion began the

was renamed Southern Front, Commanded by Colonel General I. V. Tiulenev. The front fielded the 9th and 18th Armies. The 2nd Mechanized Corps was heavily involved in the first battles of

, helping to defend Soviet occupied

Bessarabia Bessarabia (; Gagauz: ''Besarabiya''; Romanian: ''Basarabia''; Ukrainian: ''Бессара́бія'') is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds o ...

with Colonel General A. K. Cherevichenko's 9th Army against ''Generaloberst'' Schobert's 11th Army, which had penetrated Soviet defenses, captured Iassy & reached the

Prut River The Prut (also spelled in English as Pruth; , uk, Прут) is a long river in Eastern Europe. It is a left tributary of the Danube. In part of its course it forms Romania's border with Moldova and Ukraine. Characteristics The Prut originates ...

on the first day of action in

Operation München Operation München ( ro, Operațiunea München) was the Romanian codename of a joint German-Romanian offensive during the German invasion of the Soviet Union in World War II, with the primary objective of recapturing Bessarabia, Northern Bu ...

. However, after initially withdrawing to behind the

Dniester The Dniester, ; rus, Дне́стр, links=1, Dnéstr, ˈdⁿʲestr; ro, Nistru; grc, Τύρᾱς, Tyrās, ; la, Tyrās, la, Danaster, label=none, ) ( ,) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and t ...

River on Tiulenev's orders

Stavka The ''Stavka'' (Russian and Ukrainian: Ставка) is a name of the high command of the armed forces formerly in the Russian Empire, Soviet Union and currently in Ukraine. In Imperial Russia ''Stavka'' referred to the administrative staff ...

ordered 6th Army & 2nd Mechanized Corps to recapture the

line. By 18 July Schobert's 11th Army, had crossed the

River &

finally realised that the

6th 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second ...

, 12th &

18th 18 (eighteen) is the natural number following 17 and preceding 19. In mathematics * Eighteen is a composite number, its divisors being 1, 2, 3, 6 and 9. Three of these divisors (3, 6 and 9) add up to 18, hence 18 is a semiperfect numb ...

Armies faced encirclement & ordered the 2nd Mechanized Corps to the

Uman Uman ( uk, Умань, ; pl, Humań; yi, אומאַן) is a city located in Cherkasy Oblast in central Ukraine, to the east of Vinnytsia. Located in the historical region of the eastern Podolia, the city rests on the banks of the Umanka River ...

region to halt the German advance into Southern Front's rear. Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F016221-0014, Russland, Brennender T-34

The line was already in German hands & this decision was far too late. Mikhail Kirponos commander of Southwestern Front now ordered 26th Army to wheel about & cover their withdrawal & for 6th & 12th Armies to attack eastwards to meet up. By 20 July, 2nd Mechanized Corps was holding open a narrow corridor upon to the east between

XXXVIII Panzer Corps The German XXXVIII Corps (''XXXVIII Armeekorps'') was a German army corps during World War II.'' On 8 January 1945, the XXXVIII Corps was redesignated as the XXXVIII Tank Corps (''XXXVIII Panzerkorps''). Commanders * Field Marshal (''Generalfe ...

& 17th Army. Two days later the trap was shut, and although the 2nd Mechanized Corps tried to free the surrounded armies on 8 August the fighting was over: 107,000 officers & men, including Generals Pavel Ponedelin & Ivan Muzychenko, four corps commanders & 11 division commanders, 286 tanks & 953 guns were captured. Another two corps commanders & six division commanders perished in the fighting. 2nd Mechanized Corps was largely destroyed. Rkkaww2 states: The residual men of the 11th Tank Division joined the 12th Army. The division's remnants were reorganised into the 132nd Tank Brigade (21 August 1941), later the 4th Guards Tank Brigade. The entire headquarters of the 15th Motorised Division was captured. However, later, the divisional commander, Colonel Laskin, managed to escape from captivity. The residual personnel of the 14th Tank Regiment eventually formed the 71st Separate Tank Battalion, which joined the 12th Rifle Corps of the Southern Front.

Second formation (September 1942 – July 1943)

A new 2nd Mechanized corps started to be formed in September 1942 on the basis of the directive of NPO No. 1104308ss of 8 September 1942. The corps entered into battle on the

Kalinin Front The Kalinin Front was a major formation of the Red Army active in the Eastern Front of World War II, named for the city of Kalinin. It was formally established by Stavka directive on 17 October 1941 and allocated three armies: 22nd, 29th Army a ...

as part of the 43rd Army, after which it was almost immediately included in the

3rd Shock Army The 3rd Shock Army (russian: Третья ударная армия) was a field army of the Red Army formed during the Second World War. The "Shock" armies were created with the specific structure to engage and destroy significant enemy forces ...

. In April 1943, the corps was withdrawn to the reserve and in May of that year it was included in the 3rd Guards Army, and in September of that year - in the 2nd Tank Army. The Corps fought in the

Battle for Velikiye Luki The Battle of Velikiye Luki, also named Velikiye Luki offensive operation (russian: Великолукская наступательная операция), started with the attack by the forces of the Red Army's Kalinin Front against the We ...

and

Operation Kutuzov Operation Kutuzov was the first of the two counteroffensives launched by the Red Army as part of the Kursk Strategic Offensive Operation. It commenced on 12 July 1943, in the Central Russian Upland, against Army Group Center of the German '' He ...

. Commander of the Corps was Major General of the Tank Forces, later Lieutenant General of the Tank Forces, Ivan Korchagin.

7th Guards Mechanized Corps (July 1943 – September 1945)

By the order of NCO No. 0404 July 26, 1943, the 2nd Mechanized Corps was transformed into the 7th Guards Mechanized Corps for heroism and courage, stamina and courage of personnel in battles against Nazi invaders, as well as for exemplary performance of combat missions shown during the Oryol offensive operation (Operation Kutuzov). Lieutenant General of the Tank Forces Ivan Korchagin remained commander of the Corps for the rest of the War.
The 7th Guards Mechanized Corps fought in the Battle of the Dnieper (Autumn 1943) until December 1943, when the corps was withdrawn to the Headquarters reserve. Only in September 1944, it was transferred to the 3rd Belorussian Front, and from January 1945 to the

1st Ukrainian Front The 1st Ukrainian Front (Russian: Пéрвый Украи́нский фронт), previously the Voronezh Front (Russian: Воронежский Фронт) was a major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to a ...

, in which it ended the war. The Corps fought in the Vistula–Oder Offensive, Lower Silesian Offensive and

Battle of Berlin The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II. After the Vistula– ...

. It suffered a major setback in late April 1945 on the southern flank of the front during a counterattack of German troops, when part of the Corps was surrounded and destroyed.7-й гвардейский механизированный корпус
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Post War

By a directive of 7 September 1945, the corps was curtailed into the 7th Guards Mechanised Division. This division was part of the 4th Mechanized Army of the GSVG. It was stationed in Olympisches Dorf (Berlin). In November 1947, the division was reduced to the 7th Guards Personnel Mechanized Regiment. By a directive of 17 May 1957, the 11th Guards Motor Rifle Division was created on the base of the regiment. In the summer of 1958, she was moved to Smolensk. In the spring of 1968, it was relocated to the Bezrechnaya station in the Chita Region. On 1 December 1989, the 11th Division was curtailed into the 5890th Guards Base for the storage of military equipment. 5890th Guards BHVT was disbanded in September 1992.

First formation (June 1940 – Aug 1941)

Second formation (September 1942 – July 1943)

7th Guards Mechanized Corps (July 1943 – September 1945)

Post War

References

Further reading