3rd cavalry corps

[mwiffan]

I'm looking for more information on the 3rd cavalry corps. Here is what I know.

In the partion of Poland the 3 C.C. was part of the 5th army.
On November 26, 1941 it was designated as the 2nd Guards C.C.

[konev]

MWaffen,

3rd CC was awarded "Guards' on 21 November 1941 and renamed to 2nd Guards Cavalry Corps.

Oddly, 3rd CC does not show up in List No. 4 of the units in the Operational Army, even though the book "Deistvuyuschaya Armiya" has 3rd CC in the Operational Army from 22 June 1941 to 21 November 1941.

Here's some more about the 2nd Guards CC
Dates in Operational Army:
26 November 1941 - 16 February 1942
17 July 1942 - 23 January 1943
12 February 1943 - 30 April 1943
18 July 1943 - 9 May 1945
Non-Combat Corps Troops:
2nd Independent Guards Signal Battalion
191st Independent Auto-Transport Battalion (assigned sometime April/July 1943)
350th Field Vehicle Repair Base (assigned 28 May 1944)
42nd Signals Aviation Flight (assigned 1 August 1942)
256th Laundry Detachment (assigned sometime February/July 1942)(renamed 257th on 1 July 1944)
30th Mobile Field Bakery (assigned sometime April/July 1943)
90th Field Office of State Bank (assigned sometime February/July 1942)
18th Military-Postal Station (assigned sometim February/July 1942)

konev

[ToKu]

this is my article on breaking through Hohenstein Stellung in January 1945:

http://www.1jma.dk/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=6602

this is what I found about 3rd Cavalry in axis:

http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=111873

[ToKu]

Ooops! Sorry!

I thought that the topic is about 3rd cavalry guards.

Anyway, I'm leaving the preavious post, little off topic, but maybe someone will find it helpful.

[mwiffan]

ToKu,

your research on the 3rd Guards Cavalry is great reading!

Konev,

Do you happen to know for what action the 3rd cavalry earned "guard" status?

[Art]

In the partion of Poland the 3 C.C. was part of the 5th army.

It was an "old" pre-war Cavalry corps. In summer 1940 the corps was disbanded and the headqaurters of the corps were used to form the HQs of the 6th Mechanised Coprs.
The new 3th Cavalry Corps was the former Cavalry group of West Front or Dovator's group (named after the commander general Lev Dovator). The group consisted of 50th and 53th Cavalry Divisions raised in North Caucasus soon after beginning of the war. Since late-July (IIRC) these two divisions formed ad-hoc cavalry group which operated on West Front in the area of Beliy. During the late phase of the battle at Smolensk the group made a raid in the rear of German 9th Army and then returned to Soviet lines. the group was engaged in actions at the start of "Typhoon" offensive near the same Beliy town. It managed to esape the encirclement although with losses and joined Rokossovky's 16th Army near Volokolamsk (mid-October). At the second half of November when German forces resumed the offensive to Moscow the group was fighting in 16th Army. It was renemed as 3th Cavalry Corps but cery soon received the honorary title Guards and became 2nd GCC.
BTW may be the general topic on Soviet Cavalry corps of war-time period is needed?

[Art]

Here is a little about the Dovator's group's raid in August-September 1941

Secret.
To the chief of General Staff marshal of the Soviet Union comrade Shaposhnikov.
The report on the actions of comrade Dovator’s cavalry group (50th and 53rd Cavalry divisions) in the enemy rear in the area of Beliy, Demidov, Doukhovtschina during the period 23rd August-2nd September 1941.

I. On 10.08.41 the group received the following task from the military council of the West Front
a) To get in the enemy rear in the area of Demidov, Doukhovtschina
b) To paralyze enemy communications, destroying transports, dumps, staffs and means of signal communications.
c) To find out an attitude toward Red Army of the population of occupied territories.
II. During 12th and 13h August the group was preparing to carry out the posed task and on 14th August after 50-km marsh on marshy and forested terrain the group concentrated its forces in the area of Nizh. Karakovo, Budnitza, Shveikin having 3000 sabers with 30 heavy machine-guns.
The recon group discovered the presence of enemy forces in Filino, Boyartschino, Rozhino, Kotovo.
By actions of the forward detachments the enemy was thrown back to the line Krestovaya, Podvyazie, Ustie (north).
On the line Shihtovo, Krestovaya, Podvyazie, Ustie the enemy was offering stubborn resistance and cavalry group from 15th to 23rd August was engaged in unsuccessful combat striving to break the enemy defense in order to get in his rear.
On 22.08 the group conducted the regrouping and concentrating its main forces in the area of Mit’kovo at 4.00 a.m. 23.08 deafeated 9th Battalion of 430th Regiment, enemy 9th Infantry Division in the area of Ustie, broke enemy defense east of Podvyazie and reached the region of Turnaev with 5 cavalry regiments and 1 mixed regiment. From 23rd to 30th August the group was operating in the region of Zhemohov, Rybshev, Zaborie: destroyed enemy transports, dumps, staffs and means of signals on the communications Demidov, Beliy; Demidov, Doukhovtschina.
III. After fulfilment of the posed task, on 2.09 the group joined friendly forces in the area of Chichata.
At the present time the group is concentrated in the area of Smorodovka, Sholohovka, Vas’kovka, where it is refitted.
IV. In the result of the energetic actions of Dovator’s cavalry in the enemy rear from 23.08 to 2.09 the cavalry destroyed:
-up to 3000 German soldiers, 19 officers, 150 various motor vehicles, 4 armored cars, 2 tanks, 4 guns, 6 mortars, 3 heavy machine-guns.
-captured: 65 light machine-guns, 67 horses, many rifles and submachine-guns.
-burned down: 3 ammunition dumps and several fuel tanks.
-defeated: two battalion staffs and one regimental staff.
400 soldiers and commanders are brought out from enemy rear.
During the period of the group’s stay in enemy rear it was found out that:
a) The population of the territories occupied by the enemy in the vast majority has a positive attitude to RKKA and looks forward for the return of the Red Army.
b) The absence of enemy reserves in the area of Demidov and Doukhovtschina.
c) The great attention of the enemy to taking the crop.
The experience have shown that when organizing the raids in enemy rear of similar cavalry groups it is needed to include in these groups small-caliber artillery, AT-rifles, mortars, small number of light tanks, and high-power radio-sets.
V. The more detailed report on the action of the cavalry group will be presented by the military council of West Front directly to the Supreme Commander in Chief on 5.9.41.

The chief of West Front’s staff lieutenant-general Sokolovsky
The military commissar of the West Front’s staff brigade commissar Kazbintzev
The chief of operational department lieutenant-general Malandin.

Quoted and translated from "The collection of combat documents" ["Сборник боевых документов"] Vol. 41.

[Art]

As some remark: German 9th ID was acting in HG Sud that time. The enemy's losses in men are without doubt exaggerated as it's usual in all the combat reports.

[mwiffan]

BTW may be the general topic on Soviet Cavalry corps of war-time period is needed?

Would be interesting. Most of what I know has been culled from the net.

In the pre-war years the cavalry force was being downsized with the cavalry units in effect being converted into the mechcorps, correct? From 1938 to June 1941 the number of Cav Corps went from 7 to 4 (32 divisions to 13). The active corps being the 2nd, 4th and ??

During the first part of the war the Cavalry proved to be the most reliable mobile force in the Soviet arsenal and the Cavalry had a revival. 17 corps active in February 1942.

from a altavista translated document. unfortunatly I do not seem to have kept the original

[Art]

Would be interesting. Most of what I know has been culled from the net.
:

Ok. I'll open a thread later.

[Michael Power]

From the book "The Red Army Order of Battle in the Great Patriotic War" by Robert G. Poirier and Albert Z. Conner copyright 1985, published by Presido Press, ISBN 0-89141-237-9.

*Quote*
3 Cavalry Corps
—Belorussian Maneuvers, Sep. 1936.
—Apparently had all elite formations, May 1937.
—Minsk, Oct 1938.
—Became 2 Guards Cavalry Corps, 26 Nov, 1941.
—Second formation is Stalingrad offensive; had 45% casualties, Nov. 1942.
—Steppe Front, Apr. 1943.
—In cavalry-mechanized group of 3 Belorussian Front, June 1944.

Key commanders:
G.K. Zukov, 1937
Gen-Maj L.M. Dovator, Nov. 1941.

Units:
Sep 1936: 4, 7 Cavalry Divisions, 10 Motor-Mechanized Brigade; 21 Mechanized Brigade (B.T. Tanks).
May 1937: 7, 11 Cavalry Divisions.
Nov. 1941: 50, 53 Cavalry Divisions.
*Unquote*

I came upon your thread while trying to find out where this unit was June 22, 1941. So far, according to the above, they may have been in Minsk when Operation Barbarossa started but unsure about this.

[Art]

In short HQ of the 3 Cavalry Corps was reformed as HQ of the 6 Mechanized Corps in the summer of 1941. 2 Guards Cavalry Corps aka former 3 Calvary corps aka Dovator cavalry group was a completely new unit which didn't have anything common with the 3 CC (I). Moreover it never saw any actions at Stalingrad or anywhere near.

[John Hilly]

Wasn't Devator KIA in 1941 serving under Group Rokossovski?

[Art]

Dovator was mortally wounded on 19.12.41 as commander of the 2 Guards Cavalry Corps.