The Group of Soviet Forces in Iran (Persia) ( Persian ارتش شوروی در ایران ) is an operational - strategic association of the USSR Armed Forces , which was introduced (simultaneously with the British troops as part of Operation Consent ) in August - September 1941 to Iranian territory with the 6th article of the Soviet-Persian treaty, in order to ensure the military security of both countries, in the face of the German threat.
| Group of Soviet military specialists in Iran | |
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 Major General V.V. Novikov and Brigadier General W.R. Tirks inspect the troops in front of the joint Soviet-British military parade in Tehran , in September 1941. | |
| Years of existence | May 18, 1920 - September 8, 1921 August 25, 1941 - May 1946 1967 - 1991 |
| A country |  Persian SSR Mehabad Republic  Iranian Azerbaijan  South Azerbaijan  Iran |
| Subordination |  the USSR |
| Type of | Flotilla (1920–1921) Group of Forces (1941–1946) Group of Military Specialists (1967–1991) |
| Participation in | Anselian operation (1920), Iranian operation (1941), Iran Crisis (1946), Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988) |
The Soviet Union , fearing possible aggression from Turkey, kept its troops in northern Iran until May 1946 . On the territory occupied by Soviet troops, until their withdrawal, there were unrecognized state entities - the Mehabad Republic ( Kurdish ) and South Azerbaijan . It may seem that the introduction of Soviet troops in 1941 was an attempt to expand Soviet influence, in fact it was a logical continuation of Stalin's policy [1] , which was aimed at preventing German approval in the region [2] . Soviet politics was exclusively objectively focused on preventing the strengthening of German influence in the region [3] . After the withdrawal of troops in 1946, the country hosted the Group of Soviet military specialists in Iran ( Persian مشاور نظامر شوروی به ایران ) - the combined military formation of the Armed Forces of the USSR , consisting mainly of specialists in the repair and operation of various weapons and military technicians. Their stay in Iran was carried out at the invitation of the country's government, and the task was to assist in the technical training of Iranian military personnel and the operation of advanced Soviet military equipment.
Content
- 1 Enzelia operation of the Volga-Caspian naval flotilla
- 2 Group of Soviet troops in Iran during the Great Patriotic War
- 2.1 Composition
- 3 See also
- 4 Literature
- 5 Sources
Enzelia Operation of the Volga-Caspian Naval Flotilla
Both High Contracting Parties agree that if third parties try to carry out an invasive policy on the territory of Persia by armed intervention or turn Persian territory into a base for military actions against Russia, if this threatens the Russian borders Of the Soviet Federative Socialist Republic or its allied powers and if the Persian Government after warning from the Russian Soviet Government itself does not render I power to avert this danger, the Russian Soviet Government will have the right to send troops into the territory of Persia, so that, in the interests of self-defense, to take the necessary military measures [4] .
On May 17-18, 1920, the Soviet military command carried out a naval landing operation by the forces of the Volga-Caspian military flotilla with the aim of returning White Fleet ships withdrawn by the White Guards and interventionists in April of that year to the Iranian port of Anzeli . The fleet’s task was to return to the Soviet Republic ships and ships with military equipment (10 auxiliary cruisers, 1 air transport, 4 torpedo boats and others, 23 boats in total), which were under the protection of units of the British 36th Infantry Division. S. M. Kirov and G. K. Ordzhonikidze took part in the development of the plan of operation. On the night of May 17, the ships of the Volga-Caspian naval flotilla (2 auxiliary cruisers, 4 destroyers, 2 gunboats, 2 patrol boats, 1 minesweeper, 3 vehicles with two thousand troops on board) under the command of F. F. Raskolnikov and Commissioner F. S. Averichkina left Baku and in the morning of May 18 approached Enzeli. The ultimatum was transmitted to the English command by radio with the demand to withdraw troops from the port, transfer the port to the command of Soviet troops, and return the captured ships and military equipment to Soviet Russia . There was no response to the ultimatum. Landed east of Anzely, under the cover of naval artillery fire, an airborne squad under the command of I.K. Kozhanov repulsed the attacks of the English infantry and cut off the British retreat, and the patrol boat “Daring” repelled the attack of the British torpedo boat. By the end of May 18, the British command was forced to accept an ultimatum and withdraw troops to Rasht . Meanwhile, the White Guards fled deep into Iran. As a result of the operation, even more than planned was returned - 29 ships, boats and auxiliary vessels , 50 artillery pieces, 20 thousand shells and other military equipment. Along the way, Soviet power was established and the Persian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed with its capital in Rasht, as soon as the British left. The republic did not last long: on September 8, 1921, Soviet troops were withdrawn, and already on November 2, the republic fell under the blows of Iranian government troops [5] . The Soviet government declared the Caspian Sea free for Iranian shipping and donated Russian trading establishments in Anzeli to Iran, as it linked its hopes with Rez Shah who came to power [6] .
Group of Soviet Forces in Iran during World War II
During the war years, a significant part of Lend-Lease supplies to the USSR was carried out through Iranian ports . In addition, Iran has traditionally been in the orbit of German interests, therefore, before and even after the Soviet troops were brought in, A. Rosenberg, in the strictest secrecy, planned a military operation to prepare an armed uprising of Iranian and Afghan nationalist elements against the Soviet military presence, followed by the seizure of power in the country. We can say that the presence of a sufficient number of Soviet troops and Soviet counterintelligence successfully thwarted the implementation of these plans [7] .
Composition
63rd Mountain Division
| 76th Mountain Division
| 236th Infantry Division
1st Cavalry Division
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23rd Cavalry Division
| 24th Cavalry Division
| 6th Panzer Division
| 54th Panzer Division
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20th Mountain Division
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| 77th Mountain Division
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| 17th Mountain Cavalry Division
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68th Mountain Division
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| 83rd Mountain Division
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| 39th Mountain Division
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18th Mountain Cavalry Division
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| 44th Mountain Cavalry Division
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See also
- Iranian operation
- Big game
- Iranian crisis
Literature
- Rezun, Miron. The Soviet Union and Iran: Soviet Policy in Iran from the Beginnings of the Pahlavi Dynasty Until the Soviet Invasion in 1941 . - Leiden: Sijthoff & Noordhoof International Publishers BV, 1981.- 425 p. - (Institut Universiatire des Hautes Études Series). - ISBN 90-286-2621-2 .
Sources
- ↑ Rezun, 1981 , p. II.
- ↑ Rezun, 1981 , p. III.
- ↑ Rezun, 1981 , p. Xi.
- ↑ Agreement between the RSFSR and Persia // Documents of the USSR Foreign Policy / G. Fokina - M .: Gospolitizdat , 1959. - T. 3: July 1, 1920 - March 18, 1921 - P. 535-539. - 702 s. - 33,000 copies.
- ↑ Rezun, 1981 , p. 17.
- ↑ Rezun, 1981 , p. eighteen.
- ↑ Rezun, 1981 , p. 351.