11th Cavalry Corps (Soviet Union)
Encyclopedia
The 11th Cavalry Corps of the Soviet Union
's Red Army
was a cavalry corps
active during the Second World War
.
It was created on 12 January 1942 at Kalinin Oblast. General Grigory Timofejev took command.
, raided the far rear of the German Army Group Centre
alongside the west of the Rzhev
-Sychevka-Vyazma
traffic line. On January 26 1942, the Cavalry Corps cut the Vyazma
-Smolensk
road on the west of Vyazma, kept contact with the 33rd Army
, the pioneering of Western Front
, on the south-west of Vyazma, completed its compaign mission to envelop the Vyazma City.
From February to June 1942, the Cavalry Corps with 39th Army insisted defending the salient in the vicinity between Bely and Kholm-Zhirkovsky
, which is nearly encircled by German troops, only a narrow corridor between Bely and Olenino
to the main forces of Kalinin Front
remained.
On July 2 1942, the 9th Army of Germany launched the Operation Seydlitz, which is called Holme-Zhirkovskaya defensive operation by the Soviet Union, to eliminate the salient in the vicinity between Bely and Kholm-Zhirkovsky
and annihilate the 39th Army and 11th Calvary Corps. Intensly fighting carried to July 17, and the last resistance extinguished on July 23. After that, the unit designation of 11th Calvary Corps was annulled in August 1942.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
's Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
was a cavalry corps
Cavalry corps (Red Army)
The cavalry corps of the Workers and Peasant Red Army was a type of military formation that existed from the early days of the Russian Civil War until 1947 when the Red Army was renamed as the Soviet Army and all cavalry corps were disbanded....
active during the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
It was created on 12 January 1942 at Kalinin Oblast. General Grigory Timofejev took command.
Second World War
On January 12, 1942, the 11th Cavalry Corps passed the breakthrough sector of 39th Army39th Army (Soviet Union)
The 39th Army was a Field Army of the Soviet Union's Red Army formed on 15 November 1941 in the Arkhangelsk Military District, in accordance with a directive issued by the Stavka on 2 November 1941...
, raided the far rear of the German Army Group Centre
Army Group Centre
Army Group Centre was the name of two distinct German strategic army groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The first Army Group Centre was created on 22 June 1941, as one of three German Army formations assigned to the invasion of the Soviet Union...
alongside the west of the Rzhev
Rzhev
Rzhev is a town in Tver Oblast, Russia, southwest of Staritsa and from Tver, on the highway and railway connecting Moscow and Riga. It is the uppermost town situated on the Volga River. Population:...
-Sychevka-Vyazma
Vyazma
Vyazma is a town and the administrative center of Vyazemsky District of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Vyazma River, about halfway between Smolensk and Mozhaysk. Throughout its turbulent history, the city defended western approaches to the city of Moscow...
traffic line. On January 26 1942, the Cavalry Corps cut the Vyazma
Vyazma
Vyazma is a town and the administrative center of Vyazemsky District of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Vyazma River, about halfway between Smolensk and Mozhaysk. Throughout its turbulent history, the city defended western approaches to the city of Moscow...
-Smolensk
Smolensk
Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River. Situated west-southwest of Moscow, this walled city was destroyed several times throughout its long history since it was on the invasion routes of both Napoleon and Hitler. Today, Smolensk...
road on the west of Vyazma, kept contact with the 33rd Army
33rd Army (Soviet Union)
The Red Army's 33rd Army was a Soviet field army during the Second World War. It was disbanded by being redesignated HQ Smolensk Military District in 1945.-Initial Operations:...
, the pioneering of Western Front
Western Front
Western Front was a term used during the First and Second World Wars to describe the contested armed frontier between lands controlled by Germany to the east and the Allies to the west...
, on the south-west of Vyazma, completed its compaign mission to envelop the Vyazma City.
From February to June 1942, the Cavalry Corps with 39th Army insisted defending the salient in the vicinity between Bely and Kholm-Zhirkovsky
Kholm-Zhirkovsky
Kholm-Zhirkovsky is an urban locality in Kholm-Zhirkovsky District of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Smolensk, about west of Moscow, and from the Moscow-Minsk highway. Population:...
, which is nearly encircled by German troops, only a narrow corridor between Bely and Olenino
Olenino
Olenino is an urban locality and the administrative center of Oleninsky District of Tver Oblast, Russia, located southwest of Tver on the federal "Baltic" highway . Population:...
to the main forces of Kalinin Front
Kalinin Front
The Kalinin Front was a Front of the Soviet Army during the Second World War. This sense of the term is not identical with the more general usage of military front which indicates a geographic area in wartime, although a Soviet Front may operate within designated boundaries.The Kalinin Front was...
remained.
On July 2 1942, the 9th Army of Germany launched the Operation Seydlitz, which is called Holme-Zhirkovskaya defensive operation by the Soviet Union, to eliminate the salient in the vicinity between Bely and Kholm-Zhirkovsky
Kholm-Zhirkovsky
Kholm-Zhirkovsky is an urban locality in Kholm-Zhirkovsky District of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Smolensk, about west of Moscow, and from the Moscow-Minsk highway. Population:...
and annihilate the 39th Army and 11th Calvary Corps. Intensly fighting carried to July 17, and the last resistance extinguished on July 23. After that, the unit designation of 11th Calvary Corps was annulled in August 1942.
Campaign history
- Kalinin FrontKalinin FrontThe Kalinin Front was a Front of the Soviet Army during the Second World War. This sense of the term is not identical with the more general usage of military front which indicates a geographic area in wartime, although a Soviet Front may operate within designated boundaries.The Kalinin Front was...
January-July 1942 - Sychevka-Vyazma offensive operation as a mobile group of Kalinin Front in 1942
- Holme-Zhirkovskaya defensive operation July 2 - July 23, 1942
Orders of Battle
- 18th Cavalry Division (Soviet Union) (1934-1942)
- 24th Cavalry Division (Soviet Union) (1935-1943)
- 36th Cavalry Division (Soviet Union) (questionable)
- 82nd Cavalry Division (Soviet Union) (1941-1942)
Commanders of the 11th Cavalry Corps
- General Grigory Timofejev (January 1942 - May 1942)
- Colonel, from July 1942, Major General Sergei Vladimirovich Sokolov (May 1942 - August 1942).
Sources
- Glants, D.M. (1), Soviet Military Deception in the Second World War, Frank Cass, London, 1989
- Glantz, D.M. (2), Companion to Colossus Reborn: key documents and statistics, University of Kansas2005
- Perecheni No.4, Command of Corps which were a part of the active Army during the years of the Great Patriotic War 1941-45, Supplement to the direction of the General Staff for year 1956 No.168780, Moscow, 1956
- Murphy, David E. "'Operation Ring': The Black Berets in Azerbaijan." The Journal of Soviet Military Studies, Vol. 5, No. 1, March 1992.