Cavalry division (Soviet Union)
Encyclopedia
Regular Red Army
cavalry divisions in 1941 had four cavalry
regiment
s, a horse artillery
battalion
(eight 76mm guns and eight 122mm howitzers), a tank
regiment (64 BT-series tanks), an anti-aircraft battalion (eight 76mm anti-aircraft guns and two batteries of AA machine guns), a signals squadron, a field engineer squadron and other rear echelon support units and sections.
A cavalry regiment, in turn, consisted of four sabre squadron
s, a machine-gun squadron (16 heavy machine guns and four 82mm mortars
), a regimental artillery battery (four 76mm and four 45mm of instrument), an anti-aircraft battery (three 37mm guns and three quadrupled Maxim machine guns
).
The total authorized strength of a cavalry division included 8,968 personnel and 7,625 horses, the cavalry regiment respectively had 1,428 personnel and 1,506 horses. By 1943, a cavalry division was authorized 6,000 men and often organized into corps of three divisions that were reinforced by artillery, tank, and assault gun elements.
The cavalry corps were of two-divisional composition and approximately corresponded to a motorised division
, possessing somewhat less mobility
and lesser weight of artillery volley.
At the commencement of the Second World War there were thirteen cavalry divisions (nine regular and four mountain) in the Red Army, mostly concentrated in four cavalry corps. Their dispositions in June 1941 were:
The rapid destruction of Soviet mechanized forces in the summer and autumn of 1941 resulted in a rapid expansion of cavalry units to provide the Red Army a mobile, if not armored, force. This expansion produced some 87 new cavalry divisions by early 1942, many of which were later disbanded as the Red Army rebuilt its tank and mechanized formations. 17 of the cavalry divisions were granted Guards
status and renumbered accordingly.
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...
cavalry divisions in 1941 had four cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
s, a horse artillery
Horse artillery
Horse artillery was a type of light, fast-moving and fast-firing artillery which provided highly mobile fire support to European and American armies from the 17th to the early 20th century...
battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
(eight 76mm guns and eight 122mm howitzers), a tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
regiment (64 BT-series tanks), an anti-aircraft battalion (eight 76mm anti-aircraft guns and two batteries of AA machine guns), a signals squadron, a field engineer squadron and other rear echelon support units and sections.
A cavalry regiment, in turn, consisted of four sabre squadron
Sabre squadron
A sabre squadron in the British Army's Royal Armoured Corps and Household Cavalry is an operational squadron of tanks or other armoured fighting vehicles, as opposed to a headquarters or support squadron....
s, a machine-gun squadron (16 heavy machine guns and four 82mm mortars
Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
), a regimental artillery battery (four 76mm and four 45mm of instrument), an anti-aircraft battery (three 37mm guns and three quadrupled Maxim machine guns
Maxim gun
The Maxim gun was the first self-powered machine gun, invented by the American-born British inventor Sir Hiram Maxim in 1884. It has been called "the weapon most associated with [British] imperial conquest".-Functionality:...
).
The total authorized strength of a cavalry division included 8,968 personnel and 7,625 horses, the cavalry regiment respectively had 1,428 personnel and 1,506 horses. By 1943, a cavalry division was authorized 6,000 men and often organized into corps of three divisions that were reinforced by artillery, tank, and assault gun elements.
The cavalry corps were of two-divisional composition and approximately corresponded to a motorised division
Motorised infantry
In NATO and most other western countries, motorised infantry is infantry which is transported by trucks or other motor vehicles. It is distinguished from mechanized infantry, which is carried in armoured personnel carriers, infantry combat vehicles, or infantry fighting vehicles...
, possessing somewhat less mobility
Mobility (military)
Mobility in military terms refers to the ability of a weapon system, combat unit or armed force to move toward a military objective. Combat forces with a higher mobility are able to move more quickly, and/or across more hostile terrain, than forces with lower mobility.Mobility is regarded as a...
and lesser weight of artillery volley.
At the commencement of the Second World War there were thirteen cavalry divisions (nine regular and four mountain) in the Red Army, mostly concentrated in four cavalry corps. Their dispositions in June 1941 were:
- Kiev Special Military DistrictKiev Military DistrictThe Kiev Military District was a Russian unit of military-administrative division of the Imperial Russian Army and subsequently of the Ukrainian Army, RKKA, and Soviet Armed Forces...
- 5th Cavalry Corps
- 3rd Bessarabian cavalry division named for Kotovsky
- 14th cavalry division named for Parkhomenko
- Odessa Military DistrictOdessa Military DistrictThe Odessa Military District was a military administrative division of the Imperial Russian military, the Soviet Armed Forces and the Ukrainian Armed Forces and was known under such name from around 1862 to 1998. It was reorganized as part of the Military of Ukraine and the Military of Moldova in...
- 2nd Cavalry Corps
- Odessa Military District
- 5th cavalry division named for M.F.Blinov
- 9th Crimean cavalry division
- Formed in July 1941 at UrupUrupUrup is an uninhabited volcanic island near in the south of the Kuril Islands chain in the Sea of Okhotsk in the northwest Pacific Ocean. Its name is derived from the Ainu language word for salmon trout.-Geography and climate:...
from Kuban CossacksKuban CossacksKuban Cossacks or Kubanians are Cossacks who live in the Kuban region of Russia. Most of the Kuban Cossacks are of descendants of two major groups who were re-settled in the Western Northern Caucasus during the Caucasus War in the late 18th century...
, and at StavropolStavropol-International relations:-Twin towns/sister cities:Stavropol is twinned with: Des Moines, United States Béziers, France Pazardzhik, Bulgaria-External links:* **...
from the Terek Cossacks population were respectively the 50th and 53rd Cavalry divisions.
The rapid destruction of Soviet mechanized forces in the summer and autumn of 1941 resulted in a rapid expansion of cavalry units to provide the Red Army a mobile, if not armored, force. This expansion produced some 87 new cavalry divisions by early 1942, many of which were later disbanded as the Red Army rebuilt its tank and mechanized formations. 17 of the cavalry divisions were granted Guards
Russian Guards
Guards or Guards units were and are elite military units in Imperial Russia, Soviet Union and the Russian Federation. The tradition goes back to the retinue of a knyaz of medieval Kievan Rus' and the streltsy, the Muscovite harquebusiers formed by Ivan the Terrible by 1550...
status and renumbered accordingly.
See also
- List of Soviet Union divisions 1917–1945#Cavalry Divisions - list of all Red Army cavalry divisions