3rd Ukrainian Front
Encyclopedia
3rd Ukrainian Front was a Front
of the Red Army
during World War II
.
It was founded on 20 October 1943, on the basis of a Stavka
order of October 16, 1943, by renaming the Southwestern Front. It included 1st Guards Army, 8th Guards Army, 6th
, 12th
, and 46th Armies and 17th Air Army. Later it included 5th Shock, 4th
and 9th Guards Army, 26th
, 27th
, 28th
, 37th, 57th Army, 6th Guards Tank Army
, and the Bulgarian First, Second
and Fourth
Armies. The Danube Flotilla was assigned to the Front's operational control.
was tasked with attacking the German Panther-Wotan line
, and later securing the bridgeheads on the eastern bank of the Dnieper on the Izyum - Dnipropetrovsk
axis during the Battle of the Lower Dnieper. But the first attempt to establish bridgeheads failed. Three infantry armies: 8th Guards, 3rd Guards and the 12th Army
, and two corps, 1st Guards Mechanized and 23rd Tank with 17th Air Army providing air support were assembled for the new assault.
On 10 October 1943 Chuikov's
8th Guards launched the attack, with the tank corps being inserted on the 13 October; the 12th Army
attacked from the north, and 3rd Guards from the south of Zaporizhia
. Germans retreated from Zaporizhia, destroying the railway bridge over Dnieper behind themselves.
On 23 October Malinovsky
, who wanted to take Dnipropetrovsk
, and trap the First Panzer Army in the eastern reaches of the Dnieper bend, inserted the newly arrived 46th Army into combat. Together with 8th Guards it was trying to trap German forces against the western bank of Dnieper between Dnipropetrovsk and Dniprodzerzhynsk
, the site of the huge Dnieper Hydroelectric Station
. The 46th Army units tried to get to the station in time to prevent the destruction of the dam by retreating German troops. On 25 October Dnipropetrovsk was taken, but the installations and the Dam were partly destroyed.
At the same time the Koniev's
2nd Ukrainian Front was attacking towards the Krivoi Rog from the north with the 7th Guards Army, but the 1st Panzer Army was saved for the moment as Koniev's assault on Krivoi Rog stalled at Ingulets river north of Kherson. However, Vatutin
commanding the 1st Ukrainian Front located north of Poltava
sent the 5th Guards Tank Army which penetrated north of Krivoi Rog, and was only halted by the stubborn German defence and length of its own logistic tail. On conclusion, both operations allowed the two Fronts to create a single Krementchug-Dnipropetrovsk bridgehead expanded to Zaporozhia due to the breaching of the Wotan Line by the Southern Front.
Later, units of the 6th Army seized bridgehead
s south of Zaporozhye, and by the end of December, along with 2nd Ukrainian Front held on the Dnieper major strategic stronghold.
After the liberation of right-bank Ukraine by troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, in collaboration with 4th Ukrainian Front
by making Nikopol-Krivoy Rog Operation 1944, the took to the district Ingulets, where in March–April launched an offensive at the Nikolayev-Odessa area. After carrying out the Bereznegovato-Snigirevskaya operation, the front readied itself for an attack on Odessa
.
Before the Odessa Offensive 3rd Ukrainian received substantial reinforcements. It now fielded seven Armies: 5th Shock Army, 6th Army, 8th Guards Army, 28th Army, 37th Army, 46th Army and 57th Army.Malinowsky also formed a cavalry-mechanized group consisting of 4th Guards Cavalry Corps and 4th Mechanized Corps under Lt. Gen. Pliev. The target was port Nikolayev and large Black Sea port Odessa.
The attack opened on 6 March 1944 when Soviet troops forced the Ingulets, the Visun and the Ingul rivers. They assisted the Black Sea Fleet
completing the liberation of southern Ukraine, and liberated a large part of the Moldavian SSR
and moved to Dniester
and, seizing bridgeheads on its right bank, including Kitskansky bridgehead.
declaring war on Germany.
On 8 September Soviet troops entered the territory of Bulgaria
and by the end of the month occupied the country. From 28 September - 20 October 1944 3rd Ukrainian Front in collaboration with the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia with the participation of troops of the Fatherland Front in Bulgaria carried out the Belgrade Offensive
, which resulted in the liberation of the capital of Yugoslavia, Belgrade
, and most of Serbia
.
In October 1944 - February 1945, the 3rd Ukrainian Front had forces involved in the Siege of Budapest, including 46th Army. Its troops crossed the Danube
and seized a bridgehead on its right bank. In January 1945, they repelled the enemy counter-attacks, trying to relieve surrounded in Budapest
group, and in March, during the German Operation Frühlingserwachen
, a counter-offensive broke the German troops in the area of Lake Balaton
. The successful completion of this battle made possible the beginning of the Vienna Offensive
on 16 March, in conjunction with the left wing 2nd Ukrainian Front. Thereafter the front's forces completed the liberation of Hungary, expelled the enemy from the eastern part of Austria and took its capital, Vienna
.
On 15 June 1945, the on the basis of a Stavka directive on May 29, 1945 the front was disbanded, and reorganised as the Southern Group of Forces
. 26th Army was grouped with 37th Army into the SGF.
The Front included 57th Army from October to December 1944.
Rifle Troops (Infantry):
1st Guards Army:
6th Guards Rifle Corps
20th Guards Rifle Division
152nd Rifle Division
34th Rifle Corps
6th Rifle Division
24th Rifle Division
228th Rifle Division
195th Rifle Division
3rd Guards Army:
34th Guards Rifle Corps
59th Guards Rifle Division
61st Guards Rifle Division
279th Rifle Division
32nd Rifle Corps
259th Rifle Division
266th Rifle Division
279th Rifle Division
8th Guards Army:
28th Guards Rifle Corps
39th Guard Rifle Division
79th Guards Rifle Division
88th Guard Rifle Division
29th Guards Rifle Corps
27th Guards Rifle Division
74th Guards Rifle Division
82nd Guards Rifle Division
33rd Rifle Corps
50th Rifle Division
78th Rifle Division
6th Army:
4th Guards Rifle Corps
47th Guards Rifle Division
57th Guards Rifle Division
26th Guards Rifle Corps
25th Guards Rifle Division
35th Guards Rifle Division
12th Army:
66th Rifle Corps
203rd Rifle Division
333rd Rifle Division
60th Guards Rifle Division
244th Rifle Division
Front Armour Troops:
1st Guards Mechanized Corps
1st Guards Mechanized Brigade
2nd Guards Mechanized Brigade
3rd Guards Mechanized Brigade
9th Guards Tank Brigade
23rd Tank Corps
3rd Tank Brigade
39th Tank Brigade
135th Tank Brigade
56th Motorised Rifle Brigade
Front Air Forces:
17th Air Army
1st Guards Mixed Aviation Corps
1st Mixed Aviation Corps
9th Mixed Aviation Corps
Member of the Military Council:
Chief of Staff:
Front (Soviet Army)
A front was a major military organization in the Soviet Army during many wars. It was roughly equivalent to an army group in the militaries of most other countries except Germany...
of the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
It was founded on 20 October 1943, on the basis of a Stavka
Stavka
Stavka was the term used to refer to a command element of the armed forces from the time of the Kievan Rus′, more formally during the history of Imperial Russia as administrative staff and General Headquarters during late 19th Century Imperial Russian armed forces and those of the Soviet Union...
order of October 16, 1943, by renaming the Southwestern Front. It included 1st Guards Army, 8th Guards Army, 6th
6th Army (Soviet Union)
The 6th Army was a field army of the Soviet Red Army formed four times during World War II and active with the Russian Ground Forces up until 1998...
, 12th
12th Army (Soviet Union)
The Soviet Union's 12th Army was a field army formed multiple times during the Russian Civil War and World War II.-Civil War & Polish-Soviet War:...
, and 46th Armies and 17th Air Army. Later it included 5th Shock, 4th
4th Guards Army (Soviet Union)
The Fourth Guards Army was an elite army headquarters of the Soviet Union during World War II and the postwar era.Formed on the basis of the 24th Army on April 16, 1943, the Fourth Guards Army fought in decisive actions such as the Battle of Kursk, the Iassy-Kishinev Offensive, the struggle for...
and 9th Guards Army, 26th
26th Army (Soviet Union)
The 26th Army was a field army of the Soviet Union's Red Army, active from 1941.- Operational history :...
, 27th
27th Army (Soviet Union)
The 27th Army was a field army of the Soviet Union's Red Army, which fought in World War II. First formed in May 1941. Initial commander was H. E. Berzarin. Took part in battles in the Baltic. On 22 June 1941 it consisted of the 22nd and 24th Rifle Corps, 16th and 67th Rifle Divisions, 3rd Separate...
, 28th
28th Army (Soviet Union)
The 28th Army was a field army of the Red Army and the Soviet Ground Forces, formed three times in 1941-42 and postwar active for many years in the Belorussian Military District.- First Formation :...
, 37th, 57th Army, 6th Guards Tank Army
6th Guards Tank Army
The 6th Guards Order of Red Banner Tank Army was a tank army of the Soviet Union's Red Army, first formed during World War II and disbanded in Ukraine in the 1990s after the dissolution of the Soviet Union....
, and the Bulgarian First, Second
Second Army (Bulgaria)
The Bulgarian Second Army was a Bulgarian field army during the Balkan Wars, World War I, and World War II.-History:After 1907, during times of peace, the territory of Bulgaria was divided in three army inspectorates , each one comprising three divisional district. During war they formed three...
and Fourth
Fourth Army (Bulgaria)
The Bulgarian Fourth Army was a Bulgarian field army during the Balkan Wars, World War I, and World War II....
Armies. The Danube Flotilla was assigned to the Front's operational control.
Zaporozhe and Dnepropetrovsk offensive operations
In the first half of October 1943, Southwestern Front (3rd Ukrainian Front from 20 October) commanded by Army General Rodion MalinovskyRodion Malinovsky
Rodion Yakovlevich Malinovsky was a Soviet military commander in World War II and Defense Minister of the Soviet Union in the late 1950s and 1960s. He contributed to the major defeat of Nazi Germany at the Battle of Stalingrad and the Battle of Budapest...
was tasked with attacking the German Panther-Wotan line
Panther-Wotan line
The Panther-Wotan Line was a defensive line partially built by the German Wehrmacht in 1943 on the Eastern Front. The first part of the name refers to the short northern section between Lake Peipus and the Baltic Sea at Narva.-Purpose :...
, and later securing the bridgeheads on the eastern bank of the Dnieper on the Izyum - Dnipropetrovsk
Dnipropetrovsk
Dnipropetrovsk or Dnepropetrovsk formerly Yekaterinoslav is Ukraine's third largest city with one million inhabitants. It is located southeast of Ukraine's capital Kiev on the Dnieper River, in the south-central region of the country...
axis during the Battle of the Lower Dnieper. But the first attempt to establish bridgeheads failed. Three infantry armies: 8th Guards, 3rd Guards and the 12th Army
12th Army (Soviet Union)
The Soviet Union's 12th Army was a field army formed multiple times during the Russian Civil War and World War II.-Civil War & Polish-Soviet War:...
, and two corps, 1st Guards Mechanized and 23rd Tank with 17th Air Army providing air support were assembled for the new assault.
On 10 October 1943 Chuikov's
Vasily Chuikov
Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov was a Russian lieutenant general in the Red Army during World War II, twice Hero of the Soviet Union , who after the war became a Marshal of the Soviet Union.-Early life and career:Born into a peasant family in the village of Serebryanye Prudy, he joined the Red Army during...
8th Guards launched the attack, with the tank corps being inserted on the 13 October; the 12th Army
12th Army (Soviet Union)
The Soviet Union's 12th Army was a field army formed multiple times during the Russian Civil War and World War II.-Civil War & Polish-Soviet War:...
attacked from the north, and 3rd Guards from the south of Zaporizhia
Zaporizhia
Zaporizhia or Zaporozhye [formerly Alexandrovsk ] is a city in southeastern Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper River. It is the administrative center of the Zaporizhia Oblast...
. Germans retreated from Zaporizhia, destroying the railway bridge over Dnieper behind themselves.
On 23 October Malinovsky
Rodion Malinovsky
Rodion Yakovlevich Malinovsky was a Soviet military commander in World War II and Defense Minister of the Soviet Union in the late 1950s and 1960s. He contributed to the major defeat of Nazi Germany at the Battle of Stalingrad and the Battle of Budapest...
, who wanted to take Dnipropetrovsk
Dnipropetrovsk
Dnipropetrovsk or Dnepropetrovsk formerly Yekaterinoslav is Ukraine's third largest city with one million inhabitants. It is located southeast of Ukraine's capital Kiev on the Dnieper River, in the south-central region of the country...
, and trap the First Panzer Army in the eastern reaches of the Dnieper bend, inserted the newly arrived 46th Army into combat. Together with 8th Guards it was trying to trap German forces against the western bank of Dnieper between Dnipropetrovsk and Dniprodzerzhynsk
Dniprodzerzhynsk
Dniprodzerzhynsk is an industrial city in the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast of Ukraine, and a port on the Dnieper River.-History:The first written evidence of settlement in the territory of Dniprodzerzhynsk appeared in 1750. At that time the villages of Romankovo and Kamianske, which make the modern city,...
, the site of the huge Dnieper Hydroelectric Station
Dnieper Hydroelectric Station
The Dnieper Hydroelectric Station is the largest hydroelectric power station on the Dnieper River, placed in Zaporizhia, Ukraine.- Early Plans :In the lower current of the Dnieper River there were almost 100 km long part of the river filled with rapids...
. The 46th Army units tried to get to the station in time to prevent the destruction of the dam by retreating German troops. On 25 October Dnipropetrovsk was taken, but the installations and the Dam were partly destroyed.
At the same time the Koniev's
Ivan Konev
Ivan Stepanovich Konev , was a Soviet military commander, who led Red Army forces on the Eastern Front during World War II, retook much of Eastern Europe from occupation by the Axis Powers, and helped in the capture of Germany's capital, Berlin....
2nd Ukrainian Front was attacking towards the Krivoi Rog from the north with the 7th Guards Army, but the 1st Panzer Army was saved for the moment as Koniev's assault on Krivoi Rog stalled at Ingulets river north of Kherson. However, Vatutin
Nikolai Fyodorovich Vatutin
Nikolai Fyodorovich Vatutin was a Soviet military commander during World War II.-Before World War II:Vatutin was born in Chepuhino village near Valuiky in Voronezh Governorate , into a Russian peasant family. Commissioned in 1920 to the Red Army, he fought against the Ukrainian peasant partisans...
commanding the 1st Ukrainian Front located north of Poltava
Poltava
Poltava is a city in located on the Vorskla River in central Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Poltava Oblast , as well as the surrounding Poltava Raion of the oblast. Poltava's estimated population is 298,652 ....
sent the 5th Guards Tank Army which penetrated north of Krivoi Rog, and was only halted by the stubborn German defence and length of its own logistic tail. On conclusion, both operations allowed the two Fronts to create a single Krementchug-Dnipropetrovsk bridgehead expanded to Zaporozhia due to the breaching of the Wotan Line by the Southern Front.
Later, units of the 6th Army seized bridgehead
Bridgehead
A bridgehead is a High Middle Ages military term, which antedating the invention of cannons was in the original meaning expressly a referent term to the military fortification that protects the end of a bridge...
s south of Zaporozhye, and by the end of December, along with 2nd Ukrainian Front held on the Dnieper major strategic stronghold.
After the liberation of right-bank Ukraine by troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, in collaboration with 4th Ukrainian Front
4th Ukrainian Front
The 4th Ukrainian Front was a front of the Red Army during World War II...
by making Nikopol-Krivoy Rog Operation 1944, the took to the district Ingulets, where in March–April launched an offensive at the Nikolayev-Odessa area. After carrying out the Bereznegovato-Snigirevskaya operation, the front readied itself for an attack on Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
.
Before the Odessa Offensive 3rd Ukrainian received substantial reinforcements. It now fielded seven Armies: 5th Shock Army, 6th Army, 8th Guards Army, 28th Army, 37th Army, 46th Army and 57th Army.Malinowsky also formed a cavalry-mechanized group consisting of 4th Guards Cavalry Corps and 4th Mechanized Corps under Lt. Gen. Pliev. The target was port Nikolayev and large Black Sea port Odessa.
The attack opened on 6 March 1944 when Soviet troops forced the Ingulets, the Visun and the Ingul rivers. They assisted the Black Sea Fleet
Black Sea Fleet
The Black Sea Fleet is a large operational-strategic sub-unit of the Russian Navy, operating in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea since the late 18th century. It is based in various harbors of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov....
completing the liberation of southern Ukraine, and liberated a large part of the Moldavian SSR
Moldavian SSR
The Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic , commonly abbreviated to Moldavian SSR or MSSR, was one of the 15 republics of the Soviet Union...
and moved to Dniester
Dniester
The Dniester is a river in Eastern Europe. It runs through Ukraine and Moldova and separates most of Moldova's territory from the breakaway de facto state of Transnistria.-Names:...
and, seizing bridgeheads on its right bank, including Kitskansky bridgehead.
Romania and Bulgaria
In August 1944 the 3rd Ukrainian Front engaged in the Iassy-Kishinev Offensive, which resulted in the release of all the Moldavian SSR, and RomaniaRomania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
declaring war on Germany.
On 8 September Soviet troops entered the territory of Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
and by the end of the month occupied the country. From 28 September - 20 October 1944 3rd Ukrainian Front in collaboration with the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia with the participation of troops of the Fatherland Front in Bulgaria carried out the Belgrade Offensive
Belgrade Offensive
The Belgrade Offensive or the Belgrade Strategic Offensive Operation was an offensive military operation in which Belgrade was conquered from the German Wehrmacht by the joint efforts of the Yugoslav Partisans and the Soviet Red Army...
, which resulted in the liberation of the capital of Yugoslavia, Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, and most of Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
.
In October 1944 - February 1945, the 3rd Ukrainian Front had forces involved in the Siege of Budapest, including 46th Army. Its troops crossed the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
and seized a bridgehead on its right bank. In January 1945, they repelled the enemy counter-attacks, trying to relieve surrounded in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
group, and in March, during the German Operation Frühlingserwachen
Operation Frühlingserwachen
Operation Frühlingserwachen was the last major German offensive launched during World War II. The offensive was launched in Hungary on the Eastern Front...
, a counter-offensive broke the German troops in the area of Lake Balaton
Lake Balaton
Lake Balaton is a freshwater lake in the Transdanubian region of Hungary. It is the largest lake in Central Europe, and one of its foremost tourist destinations. As Hungary is landlocked , Lake Balaton is often affectionately called the "Hungarian Sea"...
. The successful completion of this battle made possible the beginning of the Vienna Offensive
Vienna Offensive
The Vienna Offensive was launched by the Soviet 3rd Ukrainian Front in order to capture Vienna, Austria. The offensive lasted from 2–13 April 1945...
on 16 March, in conjunction with the left wing 2nd Ukrainian Front. Thereafter the front's forces completed the liberation of Hungary, expelled the enemy from the eastern part of Austria and took its capital, Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
.
On 15 June 1945, the on the basis of a Stavka directive on May 29, 1945 the front was disbanded, and reorganised as the Southern Group of Forces
Southern Group of Forces
The Southern Group of Forces was a Soviet Armed Forces formation formed twice following the Second World War, most notably around the time of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956....
. 26th Army was grouped with 37th Army into the SGF.
The Front included 57th Army from October to December 1944.
3rd Ukrainian Front in October 1943 during Zaporozhe-Dniepropetrovsk operation
Front Commander: General of Army Rodion MalinovskyRodion Malinovsky
Rodion Yakovlevich Malinovsky was a Soviet military commander in World War II and Defense Minister of the Soviet Union in the late 1950s and 1960s. He contributed to the major defeat of Nazi Germany at the Battle of Stalingrad and the Battle of Budapest...
Rifle Troops (Infantry):
1st Guards Army:
6th Guards Rifle Corps
20th Guards Rifle Division
152nd Rifle Division
34th Rifle Corps
6th Rifle Division
24th Rifle Division
228th Rifle Division
195th Rifle Division
3rd Guards Army:
34th Guards Rifle Corps
59th Guards Rifle Division
61st Guards Rifle Division
279th Rifle Division
32nd Rifle Corps
259th Rifle Division
266th Rifle Division
279th Rifle Division
8th Guards Army:
28th Guards Rifle Corps
39th Guard Rifle Division
79th Guards Rifle Division
88th Guard Rifle Division
29th Guards Rifle Corps
27th Guards Rifle Division
74th Guards Rifle Division
82nd Guards Rifle Division
33rd Rifle Corps
50th Rifle Division
78th Rifle Division
6th Army:
4th Guards Rifle Corps
47th Guards Rifle Division
57th Guards Rifle Division
26th Guards Rifle Corps
25th Guards Rifle Division
35th Guards Rifle Division
12th Army:
66th Rifle Corps
203rd Rifle Division
333rd Rifle Division
60th Guards Rifle Division
244th Rifle Division
Front Armour Troops:
1st Guards Mechanized Corps
1st Guards Mechanized Brigade
2nd Guards Mechanized Brigade
3rd Guards Mechanized Brigade
9th Guards Tank Brigade
23rd Tank Corps
3rd Tank Brigade
39th Tank Brigade
135th Tank Brigade
56th Motorised Rifle Brigade
Front Air Forces:
17th Air Army
1st Guards Mixed Aviation Corps
1st Mixed Aviation Corps
9th Mixed Aviation Corps
Command
Commanders:- General of the Army Rodion MalinovskyRodion MalinovskyRodion Yakovlevich Malinovsky was a Soviet military commander in World War II and Defense Minister of the Soviet Union in the late 1950s and 1960s. He contributed to the major defeat of Nazi Germany at the Battle of Stalingrad and the Battle of Budapest...
(Oct. 1943 - May 1944); - General of the Army, in September 1944, Marshal of the Soviet Union Fyodor TolbukhinFyodor TolbukhinFyodor Ivanovich Tolbukhin was a Soviet military commander.-Biography:Tolbukhin was born into a peasant family in the province of Yaroslavl, north-east of Moscow. He volunteered for the Imperial Army in 1914 at the outbreak of World War I. He was steadily promoted, advancing from private to...
(May 1944 - end of the war).
Member of the Military Council:
- Lieutenant-General in September 1944, Colonel-General A. Zheltov (whole period).
Chief of Staff:
- Lieutenant-General Theodosius K. Korzhenevich (Oct. 1943 - May 1944);
- Lieutenant-General in May 1944, Colonel-General Sergey Biryuzov (May–October 1944);
- Lieutenant-General in April 1945, Colonel-General Simon P. Ivanov (October 1944 - end of the war).