Kalinin Front
Encyclopedia
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. 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.
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 6 October - 31 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. Its initial strength was 198,000 men. The losses amounted to 43,551 dead and missing and 125, 351 wounded and sick.
It was renamed the 1st Baltic Front
on 12 October 1943.
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...
(i.e. a military formation of roughly Army Group
Army group
An army group is a military organization consisting of several field armies, which is self-sufficient for indefinite periods. It is usually responsible for a particular geographic area...
size) of the Soviet Army
Soviet Army
The Soviet Army is the name given to the main part of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union between 1946 and 1992. Previously, it had been known as the Red Army. Informally, Армия referred to all the MOD armed forces, except, in some cases, the Soviet Navy.This article covers the Soviet Ground...
during the Second World War
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...
. This sense of the term is not identical with the more general usage of military front
Front (military)
A military front or battlefront is a contested armed frontier between opposing forces. This can be a local or tactical front, or it can range to a theater...
which indicates a geographic area in wartime, although a Soviet Front may operate within designated boundaries.
The Kalinin Front was formally established by 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...
directive on 17 October 1941, and allocated three armies - 22nd, 29th Army
29th Army (Soviet Union)
The Soviet Red Army's 29th Army was a field army of the Red Army and later the Russian Ground Forces.- History :It was first formed in July 1941 in the Moscow Military District on the basis of 30th Rifle Corps. The 245th, 252nd, 254th and 256th Rifle Divisions, and a number of smaller units made up...
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. 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.
In November 1942, along with the Soviet Western Front
Soviet Western Front
The Western Front was a Front of the Red Army, one of the Red Army Fronts during the Second World War. This sense of the term is different from the more general usage of military front which indicates a geographic area in wartime, although a Soviet Front usually operates within designated...
, the Kalinin Front launched Operation Mars
Operation Mars
Operation Mars was the codename for the Rzhev offensive operation part of the Rzhev-Vyazma strategic offensive operation launched by Soviet forces against German forces during World War II. It took place between 25 November and 20 December 1942 in a salient in the vicinity of Moscow...
against the German defences in the Rzhev/Vyaz'ma salient
Battles of Rzhev
Rzhev Battles is a general term for a series of World War II offensives launched during January 8, 1942—March 31, 1943 by the Soviet Red Army in the general directions of Rzhev, Sychevka and Vyazma against a German salient in the vicinity of Moscow, known as the "Rzhev meat grinder" for...
. 3rd Shock Army, now allocated to Kalinin Front, started the operation on 24 November by attacking Third Panzer Army at Velikiye Luki
Velikiye Luki
Velikiye Luki is a town on the meandering Lovat River in the southern part of Pskov Oblast, Russia. It is the second largest town in Pskov Oblast; population: The town is served by the Velikiye Luki Airport....
, and the next day the Kalinin and Western Fronts assaulted the entire perimeter of the Rzhev salient. The offensive involved the 41st, 22nd
22nd Army (Soviet Union)
The 22nd Army was a field army of the Russian Ground Forces, part of the Moscow Military District. It was active from 1941 to 2010. The order for the formation's dissolution was signed by the Minister of Defence on 1 July 2009....
, 39th, 31st, 20th, and 29th
29th Army (Soviet Union)
The Soviet Red Army's 29th Army was a field army of the Red Army and later the Russian Ground Forces.- History :It was first formed in July 1941 in the Moscow Military District on the basis of 30th Rifle Corps. The 245th, 252nd, 254th and 256th Rifle Divisions, and a number of smaller units made up...
Armies from both Fronts. The Front was then involved in the Battle of Velikiye Luki
Battle of Velikiye Luki
The Velikiye Luki offensive operation was executed by the forces of the Red Army's Kalinin Front against the Wehrmacht's 3rd Panzer Army during the Winter Campaign of 1942-1943 with the objective of liberating the Russian city of Velikiye Luki as part of the northern pincer of the Rzhev-Sychevka...
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
Nevel
Nevel is a town and the administrative center of Nevelsky District of Pskov Oblast, Russia, located on Lake Nevel southeast of Pskov. Population:...
-Gorodok
Gorodok
Gorodok may refer to:*Gorodok, alternative name of Haradok, Belarus*Gorodok, Russia, name of several inhabited localities in Russia-See also:*Horodok *Bely Gorodok, an urban-type settlement in Tver Oblast...
operation, from 6 October - 31 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. Its initial strength was 198,000 men. The losses amounted to 43,551 dead and missing and 125, 351 wounded and sick.
It was renamed the 1st Baltic Front
1st Baltic Front
The First Baltic Front was a Front of the Soviet Army during the Second World War. The commanders of it were Army General Andrey Yeryomenko and succeeded by Army General Bagramyan. It was formed by re-naming the Kalinin Front in October 12, 1943 and took part in several important military...
on 12 October 1943.
Sources and references
- John EricksonJohn Erickson (historian)John Erickson was a British historian who wrote extensively on the Second World War...
, The Road to Stalingrad, 1975 - David GlantzDavid GlantzDavid M. Glantz is an American military historian and the editor of the Journal of Slavic Military Studies....
, 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)