Russian Corps
| Russian Corps | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1941–1945 |
| Country |
 Nazi Germany
|
| Allegiance |
Nazi Germany (1941–44) |
| Branch |
Wehrmacht Russian Liberation Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Role | Anti-Partisan operations |
| Size | 11,197 (maximum strength) |
| Engagements |
|
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Mikhail Skorodumov Boris Shteifon † Anatoly Rogozhin |
The Russian Corps (German: Russisches Schutzkorps Serbien, Russian: Русский корпус, Serbian: Руски корпус) was an armed force composed of anti-Communist Russian émigrés in the Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia during World War II. Commanded by Lieutenant-General Boris Shteifon, it served primarily as a guard force from the autumn of 1941 until the spring of 1944. It was incorporated into the Wehrmacht on 1 December 1942 and later clashed with both the Yugoslav Partisans and the Chetniks. In late 1944 it fought against the Red Army during the Belgrade Offensive, later withdrawing to Bosnia and Slovenia when the Germans withdrew from the Balkans. Shteifon was killed in April 1945 and was replaced by Colonel Anatoly Rogozhin, who subsequently managed to evade the Communists by surrendering to the British instead. He and his men were eventually set free and were allowed to resettle in the West.
In the Balkans before World War II there were approximately 15,000 White Russian émigrés who had fled there in the aftermath of the 1917 Russian Revolution. On 6 April 1941, Axis forces invaded the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Poorly equipped and poorly trained, the Royal Yugoslav Army was quickly defeated. The country was then dismembered, with Serbia being reduced to its pre-1912 borders and placed under a government of German military occupation.Milan Nedić, a pre-war politician who was known to have pro-Axis leanings, was then selected by the Germans to lead the collaborationist Government of National Salvation in the Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia.
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