Soviet order of battle for invasion of Poland in 1939

The Soviet order of battle for the invasion of Poland in 1939 details the major combat units arrayed for Soviet invasion of Poland on 7 September, 1939. The Invasion of Poland is best remembered for the German-Polish fighting, but the Soviets contributed a large force to occupation of Belarusian and Ukrainian lands. Joining battle after the Germans had already launched their attacks, the Soviets met little resistance, but were prepared for battle.

Several instances of combat between German and Soviet forces did occur, but neither government was prepared for starting a larger conflict, and these were soon referred to as "misunderstandings".

Like the Germans, the Soviets employed two primary offensive axes, each managed by a Front (similar to the structure of German Army Groups). Each Front commander had at his disposal a mobile group of forces created from cavalry and mechanised troops; a precursor of the cavalry-mechanised groups of the Second World War that were outlined in the doctrinal development of Marshal Tukhachevsky shortly before the purge of the Soviet officer Corps. The effects of the purge are visible in the ranks of the commanders in the order of battle, with only one Army commander serving in the appropriate rank of the Army General, in this case 2nd Class (Komandarm 2nd rank, _ru. командарм 2 ранга), the rest serving in being Corps (Komcor) and Divisional (Komdiv) Commander rank _ru. комкор, комдив)

Belorussian front

The Belorussian Front included four Armies and was the northern of the two fronts invading. Its commander was Komandarm 2nd rank Mikhail Kovalyov.

As of 17 September 1939 the Front included:

3rd Army

The 3rd Army (Komkor Kuznetsov) included one Corps and one operational group.
* "4th Rifle Corps"
** 27th Rifle Division
** 50th Rifle Division
* "Lepelska Group" (staging area in and around the city of Lepiel)
** 5th Rifle Division
** 24th Cavalry Division
** 22nd Tank Brigade
** 25th Tank Brigade
*according to narod.ru, the 3rd Army also included the 150th Rifle Division (in Odessa Military District as third echelon)

11th Army

The 11th Army (Komdiv Medvedev)
* "16th Corps"
** 2nd Rifle Division
** 100th Rifle Division
* "3rd Cavalry Corps"
** 7th Cavalry Division
** 36th Cavalry Division
** 3rd Light Tank Brigade

Cavalry-mechanised Group (Komkor Boldin)
* "5th Corps"
** 4th Cavalry Division
** 13th Cavalry Division
** 33rd Cavalry Division
** 16th Light Tank Brigade
* "6th Cavalry Corps"
** 4th Cavalry Division
** 6th Cavalry Division
** 11th Cavalry Division
* "15th Tank Corps"
** 2nd Tank Brigade
** 21st Tank Brigade
** 27th Tank Brigade
** 20th Motorised Rifle Brigade

10th Army

The 10th Army [Transferred from the Kalinin Military District] (Komkor Zakharkin) comprised one corps.
* "11th Corps"
** 6th Rifle Division
** 33rd Rifle Division
** 121st Rifle Division

4th Army

The 4th Army (Komdiv Vasily Chuikov)
** 8th Corps
** 29th Tank Brigade
** 32nd Tank Brigade

24th Corps

* "24th Corps"
** 52nd Rifle Division
** Dnieper military flotilla

Ukrainian front

The Ukrainian Front covered the southern sector of the Polish front in 1939, and included three Armies, commanded by Komandarm 1st rank Semyon Timoshenko.

As of 17 September 1939 the Front included:

5th Army

The 5th Army (Komdiv Ivan Sovetnikov) comprised two corps.
* "15th Corps"
** 45th Rifle Division
** 60th Rifle Division
* "8th Corps"
** 44th Rifle Division
** 81st Rifle Division
** 36th Tank Brigade

6th Army

The 6th Army (Komcor Filipp Golikov) comprised two corps.
* "2nd Cavalry Corps"
** 3rd Cavalry Division
** 5th Cavalry Division
** 14th Cavalry Division
** 24th Light Tank Brigade
* "17th Corps"
** 96th Rifle Division
** 97th Rifle Division
** 10th Tank Brigade
** 38th Tank Brigade

12th Army

The 12th Army (Komandarm Tulenev) comprised four corps.
* "13th Corps"
** 72nd Rifle Division
** 99th Rifle Division

Front Cavalry Group (from 28 September)
* "4th Cavalry Corps"
** 32nd Cavalry Division
** 34th Cavalry Division
** 26th Independent Tank Brigade
* "5th Cavalry Corps"
** 9th Cavalry Division
** 16th Cavalry Division
** 23rd Independent Tank Brigade

* "25th Tank Corps" (subordinated to 12th Army)
** 4th Light Tank Brigade
** 5th Tank Brigade
** 1st Motor Rifle Brigade

Notes

ources

*Meltukhov M.I., Soviet-Polish wars: Military-political confrontation 1918-1939, Moscow, Veche, 2001 ( _ru. Мельтюхов М.И. Советско-польские войны. Военно-политическое противостояние 1918-1939 гг. — М.: Вече, 2001.) [http://militera.lib.ru/research/meltyukhov2/03.html]

See also

* War and campaign articles
** World War II
** Invasion of Poland
* Other forces in the Polish Campaign
** German order of battle for Operation Fall Weiss
** Polish army order of battle in 1939