Kalinin Front

Kalinin Front

The Kalinin Front was a Front (i.e. a military formation of roughly Army Group size) of the Soviet Army during the Second World War. This sense of the term is not identical with the more general usage of military front which indicates a geographic area in wartime, although a Soviet Front may operate within designated boundaries.

The Kalinin Front was formally established by Stavka directive on 17 October 1941, and allocated three armies - 22nd, 29th Army and 30th. In May 1942, the Air Forces of the Kalinin Front were reorganised as the 3rd Air Army, comprising three fighter, two ground attack, and one bomber division. [Keith Bonn/David Glantz, 'Slaughterhouse: the Handbook of the Eastern Front,' Aberjona Press, Bedford, PA, 2005, p.336] The Combat Composition of the Soviet Army for 1 June 1942 however shows the 3rd Air Army with the 209th, 210th Fighter Aviation Divisions (иад), the 211th and 212th Mixed Aviation Divisions, the 684th and 695th Lighter Bomber Aviation Regiments, the 195, 708, 881, 882, 883, 884, 885, and 887th Mixed Aviation Regiments, and the 3rd Reconnaissance Aviation Squadron. [ [http://www.tashv.nm.ru/BoevojSostavSA/1942/19420601.html Combat Composition of the Soviet Army] , 1 June 1942]

In November 1942, along with the Soviet Western Front, the Kalinin Front launched Operation Mars against the German defences in the Rzhev/Vyaz'ma salient. 3rd Shock Army, now allocated to Kalinin Front, started the operation on 24 November by attacking Third Panzer Army at Velikiye Luki, and the next day the Kalinin and Western Fronts assaulted the entire perimeter of the Rzhev salient. The offensive involved the 41st, 22nd, 39th, 31st, 20th, and 29th Armies from both Fronts. The Front was then involved in the Battle of Velikiye Luki in January-March 1943. The 3rd Air Army supported both the Rzhev/Sychevka and the Velikiye Luki operations, but then appears to have been shifted to Northwestern Front briefly to cover the Demiyansk bridgehead.

During the Nevel-Gorodok operation, from 6th October - 31st December 1943, the Front (which changed names half-way through) consisted of 3rd and 4th Shock, 11th Guards and 43rd Armies, plus the 3rd Air Army. It's initial strength was 198,000 men. The losses amounted to 43,551 dead and missing and 125, 351 wounded and sick. [G. F. Krivosheev, Russia and the USSR in the wars of the 20th century: losses of the Armed Forces. A Statistical Study, (in Russian), via axishistoryforum at [http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=96688&sid=3ae7a8dd6a948c89c888658bd986edf4] .]

It was renamed the 1st Baltic Front in October-December 1943. [See also http://www.serpukhov.su/dima/war/eng/ekalin.htm.]

ources and References

*John Erickson, The Road to Stalingrad, 1975
*David Glantz, Colossus Reborn: The Red Army at War 1941-43, University Press of Kansas, 2005, p.495

Further reading

*Anishchenkov, Panteleimon Stepanovich and Vasilii Yerofeyevich Shurinov. Tret'ia vozdushnaia: Voenno-istoricheskii ocherk o boevom puti VVS Kalininskogo fronta i 3-i vozdushnoi armii v gody Velikoi Otechestvennoi voiny. [The Third Air Army: a military-historical essay of the campaign record of the Air Forces of the Kalinin Front and the Third Air Army during the Great Patriotic War] Moscow: Voenizdat, 1984. (Russian)


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Kalinin-Front — Die Kalininer Front (russisch Калининский фронт) war eine militärische Formation der Roten Armee während des Zweiten Weltkriegs. Sie wurde nach dem deutschen Überfall auf die Sowjetunion auf Weisung der Stawka am 17. Oktober 1941 aus dem rechten… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Front (Soviet Army) — A Front ( ru. фронт) was a major military organization in the Soviet Army, roughly equivalent to an army group in the military terminology of other countries with the exception of Germany during the Second World War.Fact|date=July 2008 It should… …   Wikipedia

  • Kalininer Front — Die Kalininer Front (russisch Калининский фронт) war eine militärische Formation der Roten Armee während des Zweiten Weltkriegs. Sie wurde nach dem deutschen Überfall auf die Sowjetunion auf Weisung der Stawka am 17. Oktober 1941 aus dem… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Northwestern Front — For the Imperial Russian military formation, see Northwestern Front (Russian Empire). The Northwestern Front (Russian: Северо Западный фронт) was a military formation of the Red Army during the Winter War and World War II. It was operational with …   Wikipedia

  • 1. Baltische Front — Die Kalininer Front (russisch Калининский фронт) war eine militärische Formation der Roten Armee während des Zweiten Weltkriegs. Sie wurde nach dem deutschen Überfall auf die Sowjetunion auf Weisung der Stawka am 17. Oktober 1941 aus dem rechten… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • 1st Baltic Front — Infobox Military Unit unit name=1st Baltic Front caption= dates=1943 1945 country=Soviet Union allegiance= branch= type=Army Group Command role=Co ordination and conduct of Red Army Operations in the Baltic, North Poland and East Prussian regions …   Wikipedia

  • Northern Front (Soviet Union) — The Northern Front (Russian: Северный фронт) was a front of the Red Army during the Second World War. The Northern Front was created on June 24, 1941 from the Leningrad Military District. Its primary goal was the defense of the Kola Peninsula and …   Wikipedia

  • North Caucasian Front — The North Caucasian Front or North Caucasus Front was a Front (military subdivision) of the Soviet Army during the Second World War. This sense of the term is not identical with the more general usage of military front which indicates a… …   Wikipedia

  • Don Front — The Don Front was a front (military subdivision) of the Soviet Union s Red Army during the Second World War. The name refers to Don River, Russia. It was restructured from first Stalingrad Front on 30 September, 1942; the reconstructed… …   Wikipedia

  • Northern Front — may refer to one of the following. Russian Northern Front (WWI), a unit of the Imperial Russian army during the World War I. Polish Northern Front (1920), a unit of the Polish Army during the Polish Bolshevik War Polish Northern Front (1939), a… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”