Army corps

The corps, as the highest military tactical formation ( corvolant fr. Corps volant - “flying corps”), appears at the beginning of the 18th century in the Russian Armed Forces, in France in the 19th century , and later in other states. As a rule, it consisted of two divisions ^[5] and included various types of weapons and was intended for operations behind enemy lines, intercepting his communications , pursuing and destroying them.

Russia

Imperial period

Since the beginning of the 19th century, the corps has been formed into a military tactical and administrative unit , which includes all types of weapons of the state’s armed forces : infantry (infantry), artillery, cavalry and engineering. Corps were divided into divisions and brigades. He led the corps headquarters , led by the corps commander . In peacetime, the main task of the corps is to organize training and maintain the combat readiness of troops. During the war, the corps was a tactical unit that carried out independent military operations as part of the field army . The corps, acting independently during the war, was called separate. A special category was made up of cavalry corps. Being a tactical combination of cavalry and artillery, they served as a strategic reserve of the army . Therefore, the five cavalry corps formed in 1812 were called reserve, although the divisions and regiments that were part of them were active.

In the first half of the 19th century, corps organization of troops formed the basis of the military command of the armed forces. The total number of buildings varied from five in 1810 to twenty in 1825 (of which eight are separate : Guards , Grenadiers , Caucasus , Finland, Lithuania, Orenburg, Siberian, and internal guards ). In 1833, the number of buildings was reduced to fifteen. For the period of the Eastern (Crimean) war (1855-1856), three new corps were created, and after its end four corps were disbanded.

Army and cavalry corps were abolished in 1862-1864 in connection with the military-district reform ( Milyutin ). However, the advantages of the corps organization in training troops and enhancing their combat readiness led to the re-establishment of army corps in 1874-1879. Each corps included 2 or 3 infantry and 1 cavalry division with artillery.

Army Corps (AK) (1876-1918)

The formation of army corps began on November 1, 1876 . 1st - 15th corps took part in the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878 .

In the Russian army for 1890 there were army corps of the following composition ^[1] :

• 1st Army Corps - 3 infantry divisions;
• 2nd , 3rd , 4th , 5th , 6th , 7th , 8th , 9th , 10th , 11th and 12th Army Corps - 2 infantry and 2 1 cavalry division;
• 13th Army Corps - 2 infantry divisions,
• The 14th and 15th army corps - 2 infantry and 1 cavalry division each;
• 16th and 17th army corps - 2 infantry divisions each;
• The Caucasian army corps - 1 grenadier, 2 infantry and 2 Caucasian Cossack divisions, 2 foot plastun battalions and 2 batteries of the Kuban Cossack army.

The strength of the army corps of the Russian Army in 1905 was about 30,000 people ^[6] .

Since 1912, the norms for supplying army corps with communications equipment were approved. According to the standards, for each ak of two infantry divisions (8 regiments), an engineer battalion (telegraph company, three engineer companies) and a branch of the field engineering park, there were 20 telegraph, 193 telephone sets and 333 versts of cable.

By 1914, the number of corps reached 37. By the beginning of World War I, the corps organization covered almost all field troops , with the exception of serf artillery, some Cossack units and troops of the Semirechensk region .

On the eve of World War I, army corps consisted of two infantry and one cavalry (or Cossack) divisions, as well as corps artillery (120-176 guns). The composition and number of other troops included in the corps (rifle brigades, engineer, pontoon and convoy battalions, spark and aeronautical companies, food, sanitary and other rear institutions) were determined in different corps differently and depended on the needs of the armies, which included corps were part of wartime. During the First World War, the number of corps was increased to 50. After the February Revolution of 1917, national military units were created in the armed forces. In July 1917, on the basis of the 1st Polish Rifle Division , the Polish Rifle Corps was formed , operating in the area of ​​the city of Mogilev . Army corps fought on all fronts. Disbanded in 1918.

• Expeditionary Force of the Russian Army in France
• Czechoslovak Corps
• 1st Army Corps (VSYUR)

Soviet period

In the Red Army there were no army corps, there were rifle corps - a compound consisting of several formations, units and subunits.

In 1922, changes were made to the organizational structure of the rifle forces of the Red Army. The brigade, as an independent unit, has been abolished. The corps consisting of two or three divisions became the highest military unit. In divisions, the number of regiments was reduced from nine to three. The new organization, while reducing the army in that period, allowed to maintain the maximum number of divisions, (1).

In the second half of 1922, the formation of the rifle corps began on the 6th, 7th, 8th, and 14th in the Kiev military district. (1)

Primorsky sk was formed by order of the commander of the People’s Republican Army of the Far Eastern Republic No. 653 of November 2, 1922 in the city of Chita. By order of the commander of the 5th Red Banner Army Uborevich No. 213 dated December 25, 1922, the corps received the name of the 17th Primorsky sk. (1s) (TsGASA. F.900; 851 days; 1922-1940)

For 1923:

• 2nd sk
  • 14th Moscow Rifle Division ;
  • 18th Yaroslavl Rifle Division ;
  • 48th Tver Rifle Division ;
• 3rd sk (commander - experienced and military commander V.F. Grushetsky )
  • 6th Oryol Rifle Division ;
  • 17th Nizhny Novgorod Rifle Division ;
  • 19th Voronezh Rifle Division ;
• 6th sk
  • 15th Sivash Rifle Division ;
  • 51st Perekop Rifle Division ;
• 7th sk
  • 25th Rifle Division named after V.I. Chapaev ;
  • 30th Irkutsk Rifle Division named after the All-Russian Central Executive Committee ;
• 8th sk
  • 44th Kiev Rifle Division ;
  • 100th Infantry Division ;
• 14th sk
  • 7th Chernihiv Rifle Division ;
  • 45th Volyn Rifle Division ;
• 17th Seaside sk
• 10th sk , under the command of the hero of the October Revolution and Civil War P.E. Dybenko ; ^[7]

36. ... Several infantry divisions (from 2 to 4) make up the infantry corps .

The rifle corps has its own standard means of amplification and is the highest tactical unit capable of acting independently for a long time.

- The second chapter "Organization of the Red Army troops" 1. The military branch and their combat employment, Field Charter of the Red Army (PU-39)

^[eight]

Later, the rifle corps consisted of 2 rifle divisions , an artillery regiment, an anti-aircraft artillery battalion, a communications battalion, an engineer battalion and an air squadron. The staff of the infantry corps as of August 17, 1940 was about 15,000 people. Rifle corps as a rule were part of the armies (combined arms).

By the beginning of World War II, the Red Army had 62 sk . ^[9]

SK on the eve of World War II was the highest tactical formation of the ground forces (infantry). According to The Theory of Deep Operations, he was able to solve tactical tasks independently and in full: on the offensive — to break through the enemy’s tactical defense zone to the full depth, on the defensive — to firmly hold both lines of the tactical defense zone. Organizationally, it consisted of a command, two or three rifle divisions, two corps artillery regiments, a separate anti-aircraft artillery battalion, an engineer battalion, a communications battalion and rear units. In total, there were over 50,000 men, 516 guns (including 162 anti-tank and 48 anti-aircraft), 450 mortars in the state in three divisional personnel . ^[9]

The highly maneuverable nature of the military operations of the initial period of the war, the large losses of weapons, military equipment, stocks of materiel in warehouses, personnel and command personnel, the formation of reserve units and formations that began, led to a review of the structure of the army and the need for significant changes to the organization of rifle and other formations . According to the directive of the Supreme Command of the Supreme Command of July 15, 1941, the corps management link was disbanded. The corps for the most part were disbanded, by the end of 1941 only 6 out of the 62 corps administrations remained ^[9] , the division became the main tactical unit of the infantry, and the brigade of the mobile troops and cavalry. However, during the preparation of the counterattack near Moscow, the cavalry formation was again established in the form of a corps. Rifle corps are again being established. In 1942, a new type of connection of mobile troops took part in the offensive against Kharkov - the tank corps (April 1942), which in composition, however, was similar to a mechanized one. Tank corps usually made up the front reserve. Since 1943, with the beginning of the formation of large mobile formations - tank armies - tank corps were introduced into their composition and constituted their main striking force.

The following corps were later formed:

• Special Rifle Corps ;
• 1st Rifle Corps - 135th Rifle Corps ;
• 1st Guards Rifle Corps - 41st Guards Rifle Corps ;
• 73rd Rifle Silesian Corps ;
• Czechoslovak Army Corps

In the 1980s, the army corps of the USSR Ground Forces was directly part of the military district ( group of forces ) or the combined arms army , consisted of 1-3 motorized rifle divisions , and could also include a tank division .

The list of army corps of the Soviet army in the 1980s:

• 12th Army Corps ( SKVO )
• 13th Guards Army Corps ( MBO )
• 17th Army Corps ( SAVO )
• 25th Army Corps ( Far East Military District )
• 26th Army Corps ( LenVO )
• 28th Army Corps ( TsGV )
• 30th Guards Army Corps (LenVO)
• 32nd Army Corps ( OdVO )
• 33rd Army Corps ( Siberian Military District )
• 34th Army Corps (SKVO)
• 36th Army Corps ( KTurkVO )
• 42nd Army Corps (SKVO)
• 43rd Army Corps (Far East Military District)

Federal Period

• 8th Guards Army Corps (8th Guards AK AKVO , Volgograd Corps), Volgograd headquarters, commander since June 1993 L. Ya. Rokhlin ;
• 11th Army Corps (11th AK ), Kaliningrad Headquarters;
• 12th Army Corps (12th AK ) North Caucasian Military District Military Headquarters Krasnodar for 1990 commander Major General N. Krutko, chief of staff Major General Lufy, Jan Kicho
• 42nd Army Corps (42nd AK ) North Caucasian Military District , headquarters of Vladikavkaz
• 55th Army Corps (55th AK ), Borzya Headquarters (formed in 1989 on the basis of the 36th Army of the ZabVO . In March 1998, it was again reorganized into the 36th Army of the Siberian Military District );
• 57th Army Corps (57th AK ), Ulan-Ude Headquarters;
• 68th Army Corps (68th AK ), headquarters of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk ;

Army Corps in the Armed Forces of Other States

By January 1, 1889, there were no corps in Great Britain in peacetime, but in the military there were 8; in Turkey - 7; in Romania - 4; in Belgium, only 3 are formed during wartime; in Spain, the corps was supposed to be formed only during the war; in other European states there are no corps either in peacetime or in wartime ^[1] .

Armenia

• 1st Army Corps (1st AK ) of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Armenia;
• 2nd Army Corps (2nd AK ) of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Armenia;
• 3rd Army Corps (3rd AK ) of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Armenia;
• 4th Army Corps (4th AK ) of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Armenia;
• 5th Army Corps (5th AK ) of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Armenia;

Afghanistan

• Helmand Headquarters 215th Army Corps of the Armed Forces of Afghanistan

Ukraine

• 6th Army Corps (6th AK ) of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, headquarters Dnepropetrovsk - in 2006 was transformed into the Operational Command "South" ;
• 8th Army Corps (8th AK ) of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, headquarters Zhytomyr - disbanded in March 2015;
• 13th Army Corps (13th AK ) of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, headquarters of Rivne - in 2013 was transformed into the Operational Command "North";

Germany

By January 1, 1889, there were 18 corps in the Kaiser army (armed forces);

• 1st Army Corps (I. Armeekorps) - 18th Army Corps (XVIII. Armeekorps);

Wehrmacht Compounds:

Австро-Венгрия

К 1 января 1889 года корпусов имелось — 15. В мирное время их количество соответствовало количеству военных округов. Корпус обычно включал в себя 2 пехотные дивизии, кавалерийскую дивизию/бригаду и 2 артиллерийских полка

France

В составе Великой Армии к 1806 года было организовано семь армейских корпусов, каждый из которых вначале содержал 2—4 пехотные дивизии, бригаду или дивизию лёгкой кавалерии, 36—40 артиллерийских орудий и подразделения сапёров и тыловых обозов . Состав сил предполагал возможности для корпуса вести боевые действия в отрыве от основных сил, таким образом корпус представлял собой базовую оперативную единицу. Командир корпуса имел ранг маршала ( генерал от инфантерии в русской армии) или дивизионного генерала ( генерал-лейтенант в русской армии). Численность корпуса определялась возможностями и людскими ресурсами местности (от 20 до 70 000 солдат ), где он формировался, но состав сил ( пехота , кавалерия , артиллерия , обеспечение) был сбалансирован. Корпусная система позволяла вести военные действия широким фронтом на обширной территории.

К 1 января 1889 года корпусов имелось — 19. В дальнейшем их количество примерно соответствовало количеству военных округов . В корпус обычно входило 2 и более дивизии.

Italy

К 1 января 1889 года корпусов имелось — 12. На данный момент существует 5 объединений корпусного уровня, из которых функционирует 1.

USA

The army corps of the Ground Forces consists of a headquarters, corps units and divisions, various services, two or more divisions. When conducting military operations, he is part of the field army (army group) or acts independently. For 2018, the US Army deployed three corps: 1st AK , 3rd AK and 18th airborne forces ^[10] .

UK

Army Air Corps (AAC ) is a branch of the British Army that corresponds to ground forces aviation . It has five active regiments , two training regiments, one reserve regiment, as well as several separate squadrons and air squads .

• Army Corps // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
• Siberian Army Corps // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : 86 tons (82 tons and 4 extra). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
• Army Corps // Small Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron : in 4 volumes - St. Petersburg. 1907-1909.
• Army Corps // Military Encyclopedia : [in 18 vol.] / Ed. V.F. Novitsky [et al.]. - SPb. ; [ M. ]: Type. t-va I. D. Sytin , 1911-1915.
• Army Corps // Great Soviet Encyclopedia : in 66 volumes (65 volumes and 1 additional) / Ch. ed. O. Yu. Schmidt . - M .: Soviet Encyclopedia , 1926-1947.
• The corps is an article from the Great Soviet Encyclopedia .
• Great Soviet Encyclopedia (TSB), Third Edition, issued by the Soviet Encyclopedia Publishing House in 1969-1978 in 30 volumes;
• A - Bureau of Military Commissars / [under the total. ed. A. A. Grechko ]. - M .: Military Publishing House of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR , 1976. - 637 p. - ( Soviet military encyclopedia : [in 8 vols.]; 1976-1980, vol. 1). ;
• Military Encyclopedic Dictionary (WEC), Moscow , VI, 1984 , 863 pages with illustrations (ill.), 30 sheets (ill.);
• Red Banner Kiev. Essays on the history of the Red Banner Kiev Military District (1919-1979). Second edition, revised and supplemented. Kiev, publishing house of political literature of Ukraine. 1979. (1)

• Field charter of the Red Army (PU-39), 1939
• Lists of joining formations and units of the Red Army in the army in 1939-45
• sk , Guards.sk and airborne forces of the red army of the USSR.
• 215th Army Corps, Ground Forces, Afghan Armed Forces.
• B. A. Vvedensky, World War II. Comcor. Military Biographical Dictionary. In 2 volumes
• https://web.archive.org/web/20131017005209/http://guides.rusarchives.ru/browse/guidebook.html?bid=121&sid=91911 , “Archives of Russia”, Central State Archive of the Soviet Army. SECTION VIII. CONTROLS AND HEADS OF RIVER COMPOUNDS AND PARTS. MANAGEMENT OF SHOOT BODIES. (1с)