1st Ukrainian Front
 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (June 2018) |
| 1st Ukrainian Front | |
|---|---|
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | General Nikolai F. Vatutin (October 1943 – March 1944) Marshal Georgy K. Zhukov (March – May 1944) Marshal Ivan S. Konev (May 1944 – May 1945) |
The 1st Ukrainian Front (Russian: Пéрвый Украи́нский фронт), previously the Voronezh Front (Воронежский Фронт), was a major formation of the Red Army during World War II, being equivalent to a Western army group.
Wartime
The Voronezh front was established at the end of June 1942 when
Operation Blau. It was split off the earlier Bryansk Front in order to better defend the Voronezh region. The name indicated the primary geographical region in which the front first fought, based on the town of Voronezh
on the Don River.
The Voronezh Front participated in the
3rd Tank Army, resulting in the reorganisation of the 3rd Tank Army as the 57th Army due to its destruction. In the Battle of Kursk in August 1943, the front operated on the southern shoulder, during which it commanded the Battle of Prokhorovka
on the Soviet side.
During
1st and 5th Guards Tank Armies. During this battle both the 1st and 5th Guards Tank Armies made their main effort in the 5th Guards Army sector, and succeeded eventually in liberating both Belgorod and Kharkov. One of the divisions in the 5th Guards Army was the 13th Guards Rifle Division. The front also fought in the subsequent liberation of eastern Ukraine
.
On October 20, 1943, the
5th Guards Army, 13th, 38th, and 60th Armies and 1st Guards Cavalry Corps. It then took part in the battle for Ternopil'. The front participated or conducted battles in Ukraine, Poland, Germany, and Czechoslovakia
during 1944 and 1945. The 1st Ukrainian often spearheaded the whole Eastern front. The 1st Ukrainian and the 1st Belorussian fronts were the largest and most powerful of all Soviet fronts as they had the objective of reaching Berlin and ending the war.
In 1945, the front participated in the
Prague Offensive which became the final battle of World War II in Europe
,therefore ending the war.
Following the war, the Front headquarters formed the Central Group of Forces of the Red Army in Austria and Hungary till 1955, and re-instituted in 1968 in Czechoslovakia as a legacy of the Prague Spring events.
Commanders
- Filipp Golikov (1942)
- General Nikolai F. Vatutin (October 1943 – March 1944)
- Marshal Georgy K. Zhukov (March – May 1944)
- Marshal Ivan S. Konev (May 1944 – May 1945)
Armies
The armies that were part of the 1st Ukrainian Front included:
- 1st Guards Cavalry Corps (1943-1945)
- 27th Army (1943–44) (2nd Ukrainian Front)
- 38th Army (1943–44) (4th Ukrainian Front)
- 40th Army (1943–44) (2nd Ukrainian Front)
- 47th Army (1943-43) (2nd Belorussian Front)
- 60th Army (1943–44) (4th Ukrainian Front)
- 3rd Guards Tank Army (1943–45) (Group of Soviet Forces in Germany)
- 13th Army (1943–45) (Carpathian Military District)
- 2nd Air Army (1943–?) ?
Later composition
References
- Konev, I.S. Aufzeichnungen eines Frontbefehlshabers
- Konev, I.S. Das Jahr 1945
- Ziemke, E.F. Stalingrad to Berlin
- Tissier, Tony Slaughter at Halbe
- Duffy, Christopher Red Storm on the Reich
- Antill, P., Battle for Berlin: April – May 1945.
- Erickson, John 'Road to Stalingrad' (1983, 1999)
- Ericksson, John 'Road to Berlin' (1983, 1999)
- Glantz, David'From the Don to the Dnepr', Frank Cass (1991)
- Nemeskürty, I. 'Untergang einer Armee'
- Ziemke, E.F. 'Stalingrad to Berlin'
Further reading
- 1st Ukrainian Front on Unithistory Archived 2020-06-11 at the Wayback Machine