26th Panzer Corps (USSR)

Formed in April - July 1942 in Moscow and near Lipetsk as the 26th Panzer Corps .

Battle Path

• With the end of the battles near Voronezh, the corps was relocated to Stalingrad , took part in the operation "Uranus" .
• As part of the 5th Panzer Army, the corps, commanded by Major General Rodin, Alexei Grigoryevich , from July 1942, distinguished himself during the Stalingrad offensive operation: being introduced into the breakthrough on November 20, 1942, Rodin’s tank corps captured the Kalach-on-Don farm and contributed to the environment of the Stalingrad enemy group.

By decree No. 783 of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of February 7, 1943, for the courage and heroism shown in battles with the Nazi invaders, Alexei Grigoryevich Rodin was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union with the award of the Order of Lenin and the Golden Star medal.

On November 21, 1942, the corps was rapidly advancing towards Kalach . The timely exit of its units behind enemy lines was largely dependent on the rapid capture of crossings over the Don in this area. For their capture, an advanced detachment was formed consisting of two motorized rifle companies of the 14th motorized rifle brigade , five tanks of the 157th tank brigade and armored vehicles of the 15th separate reconnaissance battalion. The command of this detachment was assigned to the commander of the 14th motorized rifle brigade, Lieutenant Colonel G.N. Filippov . Swiftly, not hiding, with lit headlights, the detachment went to the bridge. The guard of the bridge took openly moving tanks for their own. In a short battle, our soldiers destroyed the guards and took up a circular defense . Attempts by the enemy, who sought to destroy a handful of brave warriors and return the crossing, were unsuccessful. Towards evening, tanks of the 19th Tank Brigade broke through to the bridge with battle. The success of the advance detachment was consolidated. The capture of a serviceable bridge ensured the rapid overcoming of the Don River by the formations of the 4th Panzer Corps, which then approached.

The 19th tank brigade under the command of N. Filippenko captured up to 1,500 people and released Kalach on November 23 . By decree No. 902 of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of February 14, 1943 for exemplary performance of command missions at the front of the struggle against the German invaders and courage and heroism shown to Colonel Nikolai Mikhailovich Filippenko, he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Golden Star medal , and his subordinates were awarded orders and medals. ^[one]

By order of the USSR NCO No. 380 of December 8, 1942, the 26th Panzer Corps was transformed into the 1st Guards Tank Corps .

He finished the corps war as the 1st Guards Tank Don Order of Lenin Red Banner Order of the Suvorov Corps .

In July 1945, the 1st Guards Tank Corps was transformed into the 1st Guards Tank Division , which was disbanded in 1947.

On the liberation of the city of Kalach on November 23, 1942 in the Battle of Stalingrad ..

The 26th Panzer Corps under the command of Major General A. G. Rodin inflicted a heavy defeat on the 1st Panzer Division and defeated the headquarters of the 5th Romanian Army Corps. Part of the personnel fled in panic, and most surrendered ...
The 26th Panzer Corps of A.G. Rodin and the 4th Panzer Corps of A.G. Kravchenko were rapidly advancing to the Kalach region ... .. On the night of November 23, the advance detachment of the 26th Panzer Corps, led by Lieutenant Colonel G. N. Filippov , boldly captured the bridge over the Don.
The German guards of the bridge, without suspecting anything, calmly waited for their change. At this time, the advanced parts of the detachment of G. N. Filippov broke into the bridge. The Nazis took them for their training unit, equipped with Russian captured tanks. While figured out - it was too late. A short fight - and the bridge is in our hands. The enemy several times tried to knock off a detachment of G. N. Filippov from the bridge, but he failed.
Holding the bridge, G. N. Filippov decided to capture Kalach with a detachment of tanks of Lieutenant Colonel N. M. Filippenko. There were two kilometers to Kalach. Lieutenant Colonel N. M. Filippenko, despite the small amount of forces in his detachment, decided to attack the city on the move. The battle for Kalach lasted all night. The Germans stubbornly resisted, but soon came the advanced units of the main forces of the corps, and the city was taken.
In these battles, the death of the brave communist Muscovite Grigory Guryev, the most courageous scouts Alexander Ivanov, Grigory Davidyan and other comrades. For this heroic feat, Lieutenant Colonel G.N. Filippov and Lieutenant Colonel N.M. Filippenko were awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union, and the squad was awarded orders and medals of the Soviet Union.

- Four times Hero of the Soviet Union Marshal of the Soviet Union G. Zhukov. Memoirs and Reflections. Volume 2. 3rd edition. - M.: Publishing House of the Press News Agency, 1978. S.99-100.

The commander of the 21st Army, General Chistyakov I. M., also wrote about the liberation of Kalach:

On November 21, the 26th Panzer Corps of General A. G. Rodin, having captured Perelazovsky, became part of the 21st Army, turned southeast towards the troops of the Stalingrad Front and acted to the right of the 4th Panzer Corps in the general direction of Zatovsky Farm, Yeruslanovsky Farm , Kalach. The commander of the 26th Panzer Corps, since he was operating in the Kalach direction, was ordered to take control of the crossing of the Don River near Kalach on the move and connect with units of the 4th mechanized corps of the Stalingrad Front in the Soviet area.
Corps commander A. G. Rodin ordered Lieutenant Colonel G. N. Filippov, commander of the 14th Motorized Rifle Brigade, to capture the bridge on the Don near Kalach. It was the only surviving crossing on which troops could be transferred. Filippov took five tanks, two companies of motorized infantry, one mortar and artillery battery, and at night moved with the headlights on towards the bridge. In full swing, they broke into the bridge. part of the guard was destroyed, part was captured.
When I interrogated these prisoners, I asked:
“How did you allow the tanks to the bridge?”
They have replyed:
“We could not have imagined that Russian tanks could advance with their headlights on.” We thought it was our tanks returning from the front line ....
Filippov then for this feat was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Thus, the 26th Panzer Corps, having crossed the perfectly operational bridge captured by Filippov’s detachment, was to take over the city of Kalach. However, here the tankers met with strong resistance, and only after heavy street fighting in the afternoon of November 23, Kalach was released.

- Hero of the Soviet Union, Colonel General I. Chistyakov Serving the Fatherland. - M.: Military Publishing, 1975, S.101-102.

• 19th Tank Brigade
• 157th tank brigade
• 216th tank brigade
• 14th Motorized Rifle Brigade
• 26th separate motor transport company for the supply of fuel and lubricants, from 08/08/1943
• 174th mobile tank repair base
• 146th mobile repair base
• 2139th Field Station

• As part of the army: from 09/23/1942 to 08/08/1942
• September 3, 1942 included in the 5th army ^{[2] of the} Bryansk and South - Western fronts.
• November 27, 1942 reassigned from the South-Western Front to the Don Front ^[3] .

• Rodin, Alexei Grigoryevich , major general of tank troops, corps commander.

• 5th Panzer Army (USSR)
• 1st Guards Tank Corps
• 19th Tank Brigade
• 157th tank brigade
• 216th tank brigade
• 14th Motorized Rifle Brigade
• 1st Guards Tank Division

• Panov M.F. On the direction of the main blow. Military historical essay on the combat route of the 1st Guards Tank Don Corps. - Moscow, 1995.
• N.V. Ogarkov. Soviet Military Encyclopedia = Don Tank Corps. - Moscow: Military Publishing House, 1976. - T. 3. - S. 246. - 106 000 copies.

• 1st Guards Tank Corps
• 26th tank corps
• 26th tank corps
• 19th tbr
• 157th brigade
• 216th brigade
• 14th msbr
• 26th (1st guards.)