3rd Mechanised Corps (Soviet Union)

The 3rd Mechanised Corps was a formation of the Red Army, now a part of the Russian Ground Forces as the 20th Motor Rifle Division.

The Corps was first formed before World War II, and on 22 June 1941 was stationed at Vilnius in the Baltic Military District under MG A.V. Kurkin. It consisted of 2 Tank Division, 5 Tank Division, 84 Motorised Division, 15 Motorcycle Regiment, an Artillery Regiment, and engineer and signals battalions. [www.orbat.com/Niehorster] On June 22 the 2nd Tank Division was located in the forest in Gajzhuny, in the Ionava area, the 5th Tank Division was positioned to defend the Neman bridge near Alitus, and the 84th Motorised Division - was in forest in the Kajshadoris area. [Boyevoye Doneseniye No.1, HQ North-western Front, July 2, 1941, 24:00// Sbornik boyevykh dokumentov vol. 34, Moscow, Voyennoye Izdatelstvo Ministerstva Oborony, 1958, via http://rkkaww2.armchairgeneral.com/formation/mechcorps/3mk.htm]

It was heavily engaged in the first battles of Operation Barbarossa, particularly at the Battle of Raseiniai, and by early July had virtually ceased to exist as a formation, though remnants rejoined Soviet lines later. For example, the 5th Tank Division was at Yelnya by July 4, 1941 and consisted of 2,552 men and a total of 2 BT-7 tanks and four armoured cars. [E. Drig, "Mekhanizirovannye korpusa RKKA v boyu", AST, Moscow, 2005 cited in http://rkkaww2.armchairgeneral.com/formation/mechcorps/3mk.htm]

The Corps was formed for the second time on 18 September 1942 at Kalinin in the Moscow Military District. General Lieutenant M.E. Katukov took command. It was initially assigned to the 22nd Army of the Kalinin Front. It took part in Operation Mars alongside the 22nd Army. Hamazasp Babadzhanian, who commanded the 3rd Mechanised Brigade of the corps, mentioned this operation briefly in his memoirs, quoting a conversation with 22nd Army commander, V. A. Iushkevich, who said, “We will conduct a rather serious offensive together with Western Front forces—we must liquidate the enemy Rzhev grouping.” [David Glantz in Keith E. Bonn, Slaughterhouse: the Handbook of the Eastern Front, Aberjona Press, Bedford, PA, 2005]

The Corps then fought in the Battle of Kursk, then fought across the Ukraine with the Central, Belorussian, and 1st Belorussian Fronts. On 23 October 1943 it was awarded ‘Guards’ status and re-designated the 8th Guards Mechanised Corps. In 1944 it took part in the Zhitomir-Berdichev, Korsun-Shevchenkovsky, Proskurov-Chernovits, and Lvov-Sandomir battles, in April gaining the 'Carpathian' honorific. It ended the war in Berlin after participating in the Warsaw-Poznan and East Pomeranian offensives. As part of the occupation forces, it was assigned to the 1st Guards Tank Army (later 1st Guards Mechanised Army).

In the immediate post-war period, the Corps was reorganised as the 8th Guards Mechanised Division. In 1957, it was reorganised as the 20th Guards Carpathia-Berlin, Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Motor Rifle Division. In 1959 the division was transferred to the 18th Guards Army, which had been up to 1957 the 3rd Guards Mechanised Army. In 1968, it took part in the invasion of Czechoslovakia as part of the 1st Guards Tank Army, though when it returned to East Germany, it reverted back to the control of the 18th Guards Army. When 18th Guards Army was disbanded in 1979, the division was transferred to the 1st Guards Tank Army, where it remained until it was withdrawn from Germany in 1991.

The division was withdrawn from Germany in 1991, and moved to Volgograd in the North Caucasus Military District. It currently is garrisoned in Volgograd, with parts of the division having taken part in the First and Second Chechen Wars.

Order of Battle in 1989-90, Germany

:a. Division Headquarters – Grimma 51° 13’ 50” North, 12° 06’ 10” East:b. 29th Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment (BMP) – Plauen 50° 29’ 30” North, 12° 06’ 10” East:c. 67th Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment (BMP) – Grimma 51° 13’ 40” North, 12° 42’ 20” East:d. 242nd Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment (BTR) – Würzen 51° 22’ 50” North, 12° 43’ 40” East:e. 95th Tank Regiment – Glauchou 50° 48’ 40” North, 12° 33’ 10” East (in 1989, the 95th Tank Regiment was reorganized as the 576th Motorized Rifle Regiment):f. 944th Guards Self-Artillery Regiment - Leisnig 52° 09’ 30” North, 12° 54’ 50” East:g. 358th Guards Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment – Leisnig 51° 09’ 10” North, 12° 55’ 10” East:h. 20th Independent Tank Battalion – Pommsen 51° 13’ 30” North, 12° 36’ 10” East:i. 487th Independent Anti-Tank Artillery Battalion – Oshatz 51° 17’ 40” North, 13° 07’ 40” East:j. 320th Independent Missile Battalion (SS-21):k. 68th Independent Reconnaissance & Radio EW Battalion – Plauen 50° 29’ 30” North, 12° 06’ 10” East:l. 454th Independent Signals Battalion – Grimma 51° 13’ 50” North, 12° 42’ 20” East:m. 133rd Independent Guards Engineer-Sapper Battalion – Leisnig 51° 21’ 40” North, 12° 27’ 00” East:n. 153rd Independent Chemical Defense Battalion:o. 39th Independent Repair-Reconstruction Battalion 51° 21’ 40” North, 12° 27’ 00” East:p. 347th Independent Medical-Sanitation Battalion:q. 1124th Independent Material Support Battalion

ources and References

*Keith E. Bonn, Slaughterhouse: the Handbook of the Eastern Front, Aberjona Press, Bedford, PA, 2005, p.351
*Craig Crofoot, document on Group of Soviet Forces Germany accessible at www.microarmormayhem.com, including Conventional Forces in Europe data exchange material