1st Guards Army divisional strength in Uranus 1942

[Kelvin]

Hello, I am looking for number of manpower in each division of 1st Guard Army on the eve of Operation Uranus, anyone have data on that ? Thank

[Art]

From the after-action report of the 4 Guards Rifle Corps (as of 12 December)
35 Guards Rifle Division - 13 101 men
41 Guards Rifle Division - 13 341 men
194 Guards Rifle Division - 10 623 men
Total with corps units - 41 637 men

Several hundred men were lost until 16.12.42 (especially in the 195 Division)

[Kelvin]

From the after-action report of the 4 Guards Rifle Corps (as of 12 December)
35 Guards Rifle Division - 13 101 men
41 Guards Rifle Division - 13 341 men
194 Guards Rifle Division - 10 623 men
Total with corps units - 41 637 men

Several hundred men were lost until 16.12.42 (especially in the 195 Division)

Hi, Art, thank so much for your help. May I ask if you have data for other units in 1st Guards Army like 38th and 44th Guards Rifle Divisions, 266th Rifle division and 1st Guards Mechanized Corps or some thing like you post on another post about 2nd Guards Army (complete manpower and equipment list) ? Thank

And did status report on 10th or 20th Nov 1942 of old 1st Guards Army ( before redesignation to 3rd Guards Army ) prior to Uranus was not existed ? Thank

[Art]

Exist somewhere, but I haven't seen any. Considering that divisions of the 4 Reserve/1 Guards Army came after reorganization and replenishment they must had nearly full strength.

[Kelvin]

Exist somewhere, but I haven't seen any. Considering that divisions of the 4 Reserve/1 Guards Army came after reorganization and replenishment they must had nearly full strength.

Hi, Art, thank for your help.

By the way, did 1st Guards Army (old one) was only as general reserve during Operation Uranus , not taking part in offensive ? Thank

[Art]

No units of the former 4 Reserve Army took part in the operation 'Uranus", as far as I know.

3 Guards Army as of 15 December 1942:
https://pamyat-naroda.ru/documents/view/?id=136884263

50 Guards Rifle Division - 5553 men
197 Rifle Division - 8641
203 Rifle Division - 5396
278 Rifle Division - 5063
14 Guards Rifle Division - 5824
159 Rifle Division - 3919
266 Rifle Division - 7755
22 Motorized Rifle Division - 2239
90 Rifle Brigade - 4633
94 Rifle Brigade - 4701
1 Guards Mechanized Corps - 17 334 men, 285 horses, 8019, 168 heavy, 371 light and 27 anti-aircraft machine guns, 4170 SMGs, 242 various mortars, 48 field guns, 54 anti-tank guns, 4 anti-aircraft guns, 291 anti-tank rifles, 1561 automobiles, 160 tanks, 61 armored cars.

[Art]

Correction: elements of the 1 Guards Mechanized Corps (16 Guards Tank Regiment) took part in action east of Bokovskaya beginning from 26 November. However, the bulk of the corps was committed to action only with the start of operation Uranus.

Also form the corps war diary:
Status as of 9 December 1942:
1 Guards Mechanized Brigade - 23 total/18 operational T-34, 16/13 T-70, 12/11 BA-64, 167/153 GAZ-AA trucks, 41/40 ZIS-5 trucks
2 Guards Mechanized Brigade - 23/18 T-34, 10/9 T-70, 12/12 BA-64, 229/205 trucks
3 Guards Mechanized Brigade - 23/23 T-34, 10/10 T-70, 12/12 BA-64, 230/213 trucks

The entire corps as of 17 December 1942:
1754 officers, 4330 NCOs, 11 181 privates, total 17 265 men
1559 trucks, 9 tractors, 105 T-34, 52 T-70, 61 armored cars, 8919 rifles, 4170 SMGs, 371 light, 178 heavy and 27 DShK machine guns, 291 anti-tank rifles, 12 122-mm howitzers, 36 76-mm guns, 54 45-mm guns, 4 37-mm anti-aircraft guns, 18 120-mm, 112 82-mm and 112 50-mm mortars, 8 M-13 rocket launchers.

[Kelvin]

No units of the former 4 Reserve Army took part in the operation 'Uranus", as far as I know.

3 Guards Army as of 15 December 1942:
https://pamyat-naroda.ru/documents/view/?id=136884263

50 Guards Rifle Division - 5553 men
197 Rifle Division - 8641
203 Rifle Division - 5396
278 Rifle Division - 5063
14 Guards Rifle Division - 5824
159 Rifle Division - 3919
266 Rifle Division - 7755
22 Motorized Rifle Division - 2239
90 Rifle Brigade - 4633
94 Rifle Brigade - 4701
1 Guards Mechanized Corps - 17 334 men, 285 horses, 8019, 168 heavy, 371 light and 27 anti-aircraft machine guns, 4170 SMGs, 242 various mortars, 48 field guns, 54 anti-tank guns, 4 anti-aircraft guns, 291 anti-tank rifles, 1561 automobiles, 160 tanks, 61 armored cars.

Hi, Art, thank so much for your help and very much appreciated. But I have some question on your report : on Page 3 start from fourth units : 60, 812, 109 and 103, and the last unit : 50, what kind of units ?
And 62, 93, 94 and 95 is mean antitank rifle battalion ? Thank

[Art]

60 Separate Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion
812 Separate Artillery Observation Battalion
109 Air Warning Battalion (or company, I really don't know)
103 and 101 Mortar Regiments
62, 93, 94, and 95 Anti-Tank Rifle Battalions
50 Separate Motorcycle Battalion

[Kelvin]

60 Separate Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion
812 Separate Artillery Observation Battalion
109 Air Warning Battalion (or company, I really don't know)
103 and 101 Mortar Regiments
62, 93, 94, and 95 Anti-Tank Rifle Battalions
50 Separate Motorcycle Battalion

Hi, Art, thank so much for your translation, very helpful. And in 50th Separate Motorcycle battalion columm , the figure in last column is mean 72 x motorcycles ? Thank

And did Soviet separate AA battalion was equipped with 85mm AA Guns ? Thank

[Art]

Yes, 72 motorcycles

And did Soviet separate AA battalion was equipped with 85mm AA Guns ? Thank

I don't know, probably they were.

[Kelvin]

Yes, 72 motorcycles

And did Soviet separate AA battalion was equipped with 85mm AA Guns ? Thank

I don't know, probably they were.

Hi, Art, thank so much for your help.

[Art]

Availability and technical status of armored vehicles in the 1st Guards Mechanized Corps, 17 December:

16 Guards Tank Regiment - 19 total/8 operational T-34, 3/2 BA-64
17 Guards Tank Regiment - 23/19 T-34, 12/11 T-70, 3/3 BA-64
1 Guards Mechanized Brigade - 23/20 T-34, 16/15 T-70, 15/14 BA-64
2 Guards Mechanized Brigade - 23/23 T-34, 10/10 T-70, 12/12 BA-64
3 Guards Mechanized Brigade - 23/20 T-34, 15/14 T-34, 12/10 BA-64
49 Reconnaissance Company - 5/4 T-70, 19/18 BA-64
10 [?50] Motorcycle Battalion - 10/10 BA-64
Total corps: 111/90 T-34, 58/53 T-70, 74/69 BA-64
https://pamyat-naroda.ru/documents/view/?id=455018072

[Art]

Also report by major general Russiyanov on equipment and personnel situation of the 1 Guards Mechanized Corps after formation.
https://pamyat-naroda.ru/documents/view/?id=134906797

Personnel
1796 officers authorized/1756 on strength
4307 NCOs authorized/4658 on strength
11 334 privates authorized/11 096 on strength
More than 11,000 men younger than 30, more than 16,000 younger then 40. The bulk (15,200) are Russians, Ukrainians and Belorussians. 9349 men had previous battle experience, 5239 had been wounded in previous actions.
"The corps is fully supplied with personnel, except single specialties of officers and a shortfall of drivers". "About 70% of drivers have very weak practical training. Drivers of T-70 tanks had only 30% of practical training. Drivers of the 20 Guards Tank Regiment look the worst"..."Truck drivers are poorly trained and expend excessive amount of fuel on marches. There were cases of technical accidents due to lack of driving skills." "Absence of battalion and brigade technical officers in mechanized brigades hinder familiarization with vehicles received by the corps"

Equipment and materials

Shortfall of weapons:
331 pistols and revolvers, 16 DP, 30 DT, 30 twin, 2 twin heavy antiaircraft machine guns, 16 37-mm anti-aircraft guns, 6 45-mm guns, 258 binoculars, 6 50-mm mortars
Issue of weapons was finished on 22.11 and companies haven't received them yet.
"The corps is mostly equipped with weapons except single types which won't affect its combat readiness. The corps doesn't have anti-aircraft weapons"

The corps is not fully equipped with communication equipment. Shortfall:
6 RSB radios, 32 RB with large antenna, 44 RB, 97 tank and armored cars radios, 36 RSS, 250 telephones, 358 km of telephone cable, 556 reels.
Chemical equipment - lack of 4474 gas masks
Engineer equipment - only those authorized for the 1 Guards Rifle Division is available
The corps experiences troubles with supply of bread, since only one bakery oven is available with output of 6 tons per day, whereas the corps needs 16 tons. The lacking broad is supplied by the stationary bakery at Uryupinsk. After march to another area supply of broad will become problematic.

Motor vehicles:
M-1 personal cars - 40 authorized/37 available
Willys jeeps - 37/15
Trucks - 1602/1494
BA-64 - 71/61
T-34 - 118/113
T-70 - 85/52
T-60 - -/3
Motorcycles - 60/45
Staff buses - 11/11
Ambulances - 36/29
RSB radio trucks9/2
Mobile recharging stations - 7/4
Water tankers - 11/4
"A" mobile workshops - 14/8
"B" mobile workshops - 10/5
Mobile workshops of the repair battalion - 22/12
Mobile ordnance workshops - 2/-
Fuel tankers - 34/31
Club and printing office vehicles - 4/4
Tractors - 32/13
Tractor trailers -12/2
Of trucks received 57 have no drivers and 20 have no accumulator batteries, 13 have engines incapacitated by frost.
Combat vehicles are supplied with company spare part kits, no spare engines. Automobiles have 3% of requisite spare parts, spare parts for foreign automobiles are completely absent.
Repair Battalion has no foreign kit and spare parts.
The corps has no acid for batteries, winter lubricants and anti-freeze.
No containers for fuel.
"The corps is not fully equipped with motor transport", part of trains hasn't arrived yet. Late arrival of trains with automobiles delayed their issue to units, and absence of fuel and especially fuel containers jeopardized delivery of automobiles to units".
"Absence of evacuation company jeopardizes combat employment of tanks and motor transport, since there are no means to evacuate them from the battlefield."
"The corps experiences a strong need in fuel containers. Available containers can only accommodate 3/4 of the fuel load."
"Due to a lack of motor transport the corps can make motor marches only in two shifts. Inexperience of drivers led to large scattering of motor transport on routes to units' staging areas and transport that arrived to unloading stations hasn't been fully concentrated in units' areas."

"There is a large shortfall of winter clothing. Most of available footgear needs repair and 20% - replacement."

General conclusion:
"The corps needs not less than 10 days for full combat readiness, building units, supply of motor transport, ammunition and fuel.
Transport without experienced drivers will only hinder its actions."

[Kelvin]

Availability and technical status of armored vehicles in the 1st Guards Mechanized Corps, 17 December:

16 Guards Tank Regiment - 19 total/8 operational T-34, 3/2 BA-64
17 Guards Tank Regiment - 23/19 T-34, 12/11 T-70, 3/3 BA-64
1 Guards Mechanized Brigade - 23/20 T-34, 16/15 T-70, 15/14 BA-64
2 Guards Mechanized Brigade - 23/23 T-34, 10/10 T-70, 12/12 BA-64
3 Guards Mechanized Brigade - 23/20 T-34, 15/14 T-34, 12/10 BA-64
49 Reconnaissance Company - 5/4 T-70, 19/18 BA-64
10 [?50] Motorcycle Battalion - 10/10 BA-64
Total corps: 111/90 T-34, 58/53 T-70, 74/69 BA-64
https://pamyat-naroda.ru/documents/view/?id=455018072

Hi, Art, thank so much for your further information, very helpful.