15th Tank Corps

It first saw combat in the unsuccessful Kozelsk Offensive of late August and early September, a relatively small operation to encircle a German salient, which resulted in the corps taking heavy losses in proportion to the territory gained.

After spending the rest of the year in reserve, receiving new supplies and equipment, the corps was transferred to the southern front in southwestern Russia to fight in the Ostrogozhsk–Rossosh Offensive during January 1943, in which it played a major role by forming part of the forces that encircled thousands of Axis troops on the middle reaches of the Don River.

As the Soviet advance outran its supply lines, the corps was slowly worn down and was virtually destroyed after being surrounded by a German counteroffensive in the Third Battle of Kharkov during late February and early March.

The corps was rebuilt in the following months and became part of the newly created 3rd Guards Tank Army, fighting in Operation Kutuzov, the Soviet counteroffensive during the Battle of Kursk, in late July.

On 19 September, the brigade reached Vawkavysk, and the corps was ordered to take Grodno and Sokółka by the end of the day, in conjunction with the motorcycle units of the 4th and 13th Rifle Divisions.

Meanwhile, the 101st Regiment and a tank company from the 27th Brigade, which crossed the river behind the 119th, destroyed a group of about 250 officers defending the wooded hills 1.5 kilometers (0.93 mi) east of the city, then advanced northeast and captured the railway station by the end of the day.

The 20th Brigade captured the southwestern part of the city, but was unable to advance northward because of strong Polish resistance in the houses and trenches near the bridge and the tobacco factory.

The Soviet advances on 21 September resulted in the suppression of large pockets of resistance, and during the night, remnants of the Polish defenders retreated in the direction of Sapotskin and Suwałki.

The 27th Brigade lost two burned and 12 damaged BT-7 light tanks in the battle, some to Molotov cocktails thrown by the defenders from attics and trenches, and its casualties totaled 19 killed and 26 wounded.

[3][7] Two days later, 15 armored cars were detached from the brigade to relieve German troops garrisoning the Osowiec Fortress, which fell in the Soviet sphere of influence under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact.

Between 23 and 26 September, a detachment of 20 tanks and armored cars from the 27th Brigade and a rifle battalion moved along the road from Grodno to Augustów, and back again, capturing 300 prisoners along the way.

The relocation was completed by 9 July, and the 15th Tank Corps was positioned in the area of the Agnichnoye State Farm, Dupny, Bolshoy Kon, Gremyachevo, Yasnyy Lug, and Korotky, where it engaged in combat training and created a defensive line in readiness to repulse a German attack.

[18] On 14 August, the order was given to relocate to the Kozelsk area in preparation for the attack; the army began moving the following night, the tanks being transported by rail.

The group's immediate objective was to advance towards Meshalkino, Myzin, Marino, and Belyi Verkh, then cross the Vytebet River and establish a bridgehead on its west bank.

Considering that the main advance was halted by German resistance, Western Front commander Georgy Zhukov ordered the relocation of the 15th Tank Corps to that sector.

The corps was to advance towards Slobodka and Belyi Verkh, but the report of Smetskiye Vyselkami's capture proved to be false, and the 15th's vanguard suffered heavy losses approaching the village.

[18][24] The delays in the advance caused the armor to lag behind the infantry, and the tank columns came under heavy German air attack before reaching the fight on 23 August.

The attack was cancelled due to the heavy losses suffered by both the 12th Tank Corps and 154th Rifle Division in the previous fighting, and the 15th also required time to reorganize.

[26] During the day the corps' 195th Tank Brigade conducted the only combat action, a successful operation to relieve two encircled battalions of the 61st Army's 156th Rifle Division.

[28] On 4 September, after the 3rd Tank Corps was pulled out of the line due to losses and the main forces of the 264th arrived to hold Ozhigovo, the 15th's 17th and 113th Brigades were moved to the Volosovo area, having received orders to advance on Trostyanka alongside the 342nd Rifle Division.

[18][30] The corps was relocated to the forests west of Kaluga beginning on 20 September 1942 after the 3rd Tank Army became part of the Reserve of the Supreme High Command.

On 22 December, the corps and the army began relocation to the Kalach and then the Kantemirovka areas, part of the Voronezh Front, to participate in the upcoming Ostrogozhsk–Rossosh Offensive, which was aimed to defeat Axis forces on the Upper Don.

This single brigade constituted the entirety of the corps' armored troops involved in the first day's attack,[34] as the 113th and 195th were placed in army reserve until their tanks arrived.

Operating in conjunction with the 12th Tank Corps, the 15th broke through German defenses and on 17 January closed the encirclement ring, linking up with troops from the 40th Army's 305th Rifle Division at Alexeyevka.

[39] The 15th went into action on 3 February, a day earlier than planned, without its refitting completed, as army commander Lieutenant General Pavel Rybalko quickened the pace of the offensive to prevent German reinforcements establishing a defensive line on the Donets.

[44] Two days later, front commander Colonel General Filipp Golikov ordered a final assault, and the corps together with the 160th renewed the attack from the east.

[51] Koptsov was severely wounded during the fighting on 28 February, and corps chief of staff Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Lozovsky became acting commander.

Koptsov ordered a breakout, and a small number of troops with light weapons escaped the encirclement, all of the corps' 25 remaining tanks being lost.

The 12th and 15th Tank Corps crossed the Oleshen River in the first echelon of the assault[62] and advanced 12 kilometers (7.5 mi) by the end of the day, aided by artillery and air support.

[70] The actions of the offensive had still failed to produce a decisive breakthrough for the army, and on 23 July the attack was shifted south, the 15th being ordered to march to concentration points at Zarya and in the Petrovo area.