12th Mechanized Corps (Soviet Union)
Encyclopedia
The 12th Mechanized Corps
was a formation in the Soviet Red Army
during the Second World War.
Formed in March 1941 in response to the German victories in the West, it served with the 8th Army
and was held in reserve near Šiauliai
in Lithuania
75 km northwest of Kaunas
in the Special Baltic Military District
. It was under the command of Major General N.M.Shestopalov when the German Operation Barbarossa
began in June 1941. It initially consisted of the 23rd and 28th Tank Divisions and the 202nd Mechanized Division. After the invasion began the Special Baltic Military District
was renamed Northwestern Front, commanded by Colonel General Kutznetsov
. The front fielded the 8th
and 11th Armies along with the 27th Army
in its second echelon. The 12th Mechanized was heavily engaged in the first battles of Operation Barbarossa
, particularly during the Baltic Operation (1941) and at the Battle of Raseiniai
, and by early July it had virtually ceased to exist as a formation, although remnants rejoined Soviet lines later.
By the end of 22 June, the German armoured spearheads had crossed the Niemen and penetrated 80 kilometres (50 mi). The next day, Kutznetsov committed his armoured forces to battle.
Near Raseiniai
, the XLI Panzer Corps was counter-attacked by the tanks of the Soviet 3rd and12th Mechanised Corps. But this concentration of Soviet armour was detected by the Luftwaffe, which immediately directed heavy air attacks from Fliegerkorps VIII
Ju-88s against tank columns of the 12th Mechanised Corps south-west of Šiauliai
. These attacks went in unopposed by any Soviet fighters and were carried out with great success. The Soviet 23rd Tank Division sustained particularly severe losses, with 40 tanks or lorries set ablaze. On 25 June, the Germans reportedly destroyed another 30 tanks and 50 lorries. By the end of the day the Soviet 6th Cavalry Corps had sustained 50% losses, mostly due to air attacks as a result of being deprived of air support. The 28th Tank Division alone lost 84 tanks. The battle would last four days. After escaping the encirclement at Raseiniai
and making a fighting retreat through Estonia
during July, the remnants of the 12th Mechanized Corps were disbanded in August 1941.
Mechanized Corps (Soviet)
A mechanised corps was a Soviet armoured formation used prior to the beginning of World War II.- Pre-war development of Soviet mechanised forces :...
was a formation in the Soviet 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...
during the Second World War.
Formed in March 1941 in response to the German victories in the West, it served with the 8th Army
8th Army (Soviet Union)
The 8th Army was a field army of the Soviet Red Army during the Second World War.The 8th Army was formed in October 1939 from the Novgorod Army Operational Group of the Leningrad Military District with the task of providing security of the Northwestern borders of the USSR. The 8th Army was a field...
and was held in reserve near Šiauliai
Šiauliai
Šiauliai , is the fourth largest city in Lithuania, with a population of 133,900. It is the capital of Šiauliai County. Unofficially, the city is the capital of Northern Lithuania.-Names:...
in Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
75 km northwest of Kaunas
Kaunas
Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation...
in the Special Baltic Military District
Baltic Military District
The Baltic Military District was a military district of the Soviet armed forces, formed briefly before the German invasion, and then reformed after World War II and disbanded after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991....
. It was under the command of Major General N.M.Shestopalov when the German Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
began in June 1941. It initially consisted of the 23rd and 28th Tank Divisions and the 202nd Mechanized Division. After the invasion began the Special Baltic Military District
Baltic Military District
The Baltic Military District was a military district of the Soviet armed forces, formed briefly before the German invasion, and then reformed after World War II and disbanded after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991....
was renamed Northwestern Front, commanded by Colonel General Kutznetsov
Fyodor Isodorovich Kuznetsov
Fyodor Isidorovich Kuznetsov , Colonel General, was a military commander of the Soviet Union.-Biography:Born to a peasant family in present-day Mogilev Oblast of Belarus, Kuznetsov served in the Imperial Russian Army during World War I and continued his service in the Bolsheviks' Red Army...
. The front fielded the 8th
8th Army (Soviet Union)
The 8th Army was a field army of the Soviet Red Army during the Second World War.The 8th Army was formed in October 1939 from the Novgorod Army Operational Group of the Leningrad Military District with the task of providing security of the Northwestern borders of the USSR. The 8th Army was a field...
and 11th Armies along with the 27th Army
27th Army (Soviet Union)
The 27th Army was a field army of the Soviet Union's Red Army, which fought in World War II. First formed in May 1941. Initial commander was H. E. Berzarin. Took part in battles in the Baltic. On 22 June 1941 it consisted of the 22nd and 24th Rifle Corps, 16th and 67th Rifle Divisions, 3rd Separate...
in its second echelon. The 12th Mechanized was heavily engaged in the first battles of Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
, particularly during the Baltic Operation (1941) and at the Battle of Raseiniai
Battle of Raseiniai
The Battle of Raseiniai was a tank battle fought between the elements of the 4th Panzer Group commanded by Gen. Erich Hoepner and the 3rd Mechanized Corps commanded by Major General Kurkin & 12th Mechanised Corps commanded by Major General Shestapolov in Lithuania 75 km northwest of Kaunas...
, and by early July it had virtually ceased to exist as a formation, although remnants rejoined Soviet lines later.
By the end of 22 June, the German armoured spearheads had crossed the Niemen and penetrated 80 kilometres (50 mi). The next day, Kutznetsov committed his armoured forces to battle.
Raseiniai
Raseiniai is a city in Lithuania. It is located on the south eastern foothills of the Samogitians highland, some north from the Kaunas–Klaipėda highway.- Grand Duchy of Lithuania :...
, the XLI Panzer Corps was counter-attacked by the tanks of the Soviet 3rd and12th Mechanised Corps. But this concentration of Soviet armour was detected by the Luftwaffe, which immediately directed heavy air attacks from Fliegerkorps VIII
8th Air Corps (Germany)
VIII. FliegerkorpsFor more details see Luftwaffe Organization was formed 19 July 1939 in Oppeln as Fliegerführer z.b.V. The abbreviation z.b.V. is German and stands for zur besonderen Verwendung . Fliegerführer z.b.V was renamed to VIII. Fliegerkorps on 10 November 1939...
Ju-88s against tank columns of the 12th Mechanised Corps south-west of Šiauliai
Šiauliai
Šiauliai , is the fourth largest city in Lithuania, with a population of 133,900. It is the capital of Šiauliai County. Unofficially, the city is the capital of Northern Lithuania.-Names:...
. These attacks went in unopposed by any Soviet fighters and were carried out with great success. The Soviet 23rd Tank Division sustained particularly severe losses, with 40 tanks or lorries set ablaze. On 25 June, the Germans reportedly destroyed another 30 tanks and 50 lorries. By the end of the day the Soviet 6th Cavalry Corps had sustained 50% losses, mostly due to air attacks as a result of being deprived of air support. The 28th Tank Division alone lost 84 tanks. The battle would last four days. After escaping the encirclement at Raseiniai
Raseiniai
Raseiniai is a city in Lithuania. It is located on the south eastern foothills of the Samogitians highland, some north from the Kaunas–Klaipėda highway.- Grand Duchy of Lithuania :...
and making a fighting retreat through Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
during July, the remnants of the 12th Mechanized Corps were disbanded in August 1941.
Footnotes
On 22 June 1941 the 12th Mechanized Corps consisted of 28,832 soldiers, 749 tanks including only lighter Soviet T-26, Bt Series models, plus 23 armoured cars, 92 artillery guns, 221 mortars, 2531 vehicles, 194 tractors and 39 motorcycles.Colonel Grinberg, who was the temporary commander of the 12th Mechanized Corps after the death of his corps' original commander Major General Shestopalov, reported on 29 July that the strength of his corps had fallen to under 17,000 men after the first two weeks of combat.On 11 July 1941 Colonel P Poluboiarov, from the Northwestern Front armoured directorate, reported that the12th Mechanized Corps had been in combat for 12 days and had been committed initially in large formations without infantry support or cooperation from artillery and air support. Subsequently, committed in local counter attacks, it had only '80 worn out tanks and 15 to 17 armoured cars in total in both tank divisions'.Further reading
- Bergstrom, Christer. (2007). Barbarossa – The Air Battle: July – December 1941. Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 1-85780-270-5.
- Glantz, DavidDavid GlantzDavid M. Glantz is an American military historian and the editor of the Journal of Slavic Military Studies....
. (1998). Stumbling Colossus – The Red Army On The Eve of World War. Kansas. ISBN 0-7006-0879-6. - Glantz, DavidDavid GlantzDavid M. Glantz is an American military historian and the editor of the Journal of Slavic Military Studies....
. (2002). The Battle for Leningrad 1941–1944. Kansas. ISBN 0-7006-1208-4. - Newton, Steven H . (2003). Panzer Operations on the Eastern Front – The Memoirs of General Raus 1941–1945. Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-81247-9.