Front (military formation)


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a friendly front

a hostile front

A front is a type of military formation that originates in the Russian Empire, and has been used by the Polish Army, the Red Army, the Soviet Army, and Turkey. It is roughly equivalent to an army group in the military of most other countries. It varies in size but in general contains three to five armies. It should not be confused with the more general usage of military front, describing a geographic area in wartime.

Russian Empire

After the outbreak of the First World War, the Russian General Headquarters set up two Fronts: Northwestern Front, uniting forces deployed against German Empire, and Southwestern Front, uniting forces deployed against Austria-Hungary.
In August 1915, Northwestern Front was split into Northern Front and Western Front.
At the end of 1916 Romanian Front was established, which also included remnants of the Romanian army.
In April 1917, Caucasus Front was established by the reorganization of the Caucasus Army.

Soviet fronts in the Russian Civil War

The Soviet fronts were first raised during the Russian Civil War. They were wartime organizations only, in the peacetime the fronts were normally disbanded and their armies organized back into military districts.
Usually a single district formed a single front at the start of the hostilities, or when hostilities were anticipated. Some military districts could not form a front. Fronts were also formed during the Polish-Soviet War of 1920.
The main fronts during the Russian Civil War and Polish-Soviet War were :
  • Northern Front
  • Western Front
  • Southwestern Front
  • Southern Front
  • Southeastern Front.
  • Eastern Front
  • Turkestan Front
  • Ukrainian Front
  • Caspian-Caucasian Front
  • Caucasian Front

    Soviet fronts in World War II

s differ from fronts in that a Soviet front typically had its own army-sized tactical fixed-wing aviation organization. According to Soviet military doctrine, the air army was directly subordinated to the front commander. The reform of 1935 established that in case of a war the peacetime military districts on the border would split upon mobilisation each into a Front Command and a Military District Command. In that sense the Air Armies were under Air Force command in peacetime, but under the command of the Front HQs in wartime; and the Fronts were commanded by ground-forces generals. An entire Front might report either to the Stavka or to a theatre of military operations. A Front was mobilised for a specific operation, after which it could be reformed and tasked with another operation or it could be disbanded - with its formations dispersed among the other active Fronts and its HQ reintegrated into its original Military District HQ.
Soviet and Russian military doctrine calls the different levels in the command chain "Organs of Military Control".
LevelPeacetimePeacetime and wartimeFunctionExamples
Highest political controlMain Military Council Stavka of the Supreme Main Command
  • General Staff
Exercises supreme party control over the armed forces. It could best be considered as the office for military matters of the head of state. During World War I this was the Stavka of the Supreme Commander aiding Tsar Nicholas II. During World War II this was the Stavka of the Supreme Main Command aiding Joseph Stalin, who took precedence over it after the launch of the German invasion into the Soviet Union.
Highest military controlGeneral Staff Stavka of the Supreme Main Command
  • General Staff
    		• In wartime the General Staff became a department of the Stavka.
    StrategicalMain Command of the Troops of a Strategic Direction The Main Command of the Troops of a Strategic Direction were organised in wartime in 1941 – 42, each to take control over several Fronts, Fleets, Separate Armies and / or Flotillas.In 1979 in the years of high confrontation between the countries of the Western liberal democracies and those of the Socialist Bloc the Main Commands of the Troops of a Strategic Directions were reinstated covertly:
    • Main Command of the Troops of the Western Direction in Legnica
    • Main Command of the Troops of the South-Western Direction in Chișinău
    • Main Command of the Troops of the Southern Direction in Baku and the
    • Main Command of the Troops in the Far East in Ulan-Ude.
    		Main Command of the Troops of the North-Western Direction. Existed between 10 July and 27 August 1941 under the command of Marshal of the Soviet Union Kliment Voroshilov. It commanded the:
    • Northern and Northwestern Fronts and the Northern and the Baltic Fleets.
    Main Command of the Troops of the Western Direction
    . Existed between 10 July and 10 September 1941 under the command of Marshal of the Soviet Union Semyon Timoshenko. It commanded the:
    • Western, Central and Reserve Fronts and the Pinsk Flotilla.
    Main Command of the Troops of the South-Western Direction
    . Existed between 10 July 1941 and 21 June 1942 under the command of initially Marshal of the Soviet Union Semyon Budyonny, since September 1941 of Marshal of the Soviet Union Semyon Timoshenko. It commanded the:
    Main Command of the Troops of the North Caucasus Direction
    . Existed between 21 April and 19 May 1942 under the command of Marshal of the Soviet Union Semyon Budyonny. It commanded the:
    Main Command of the Soviet Troops in the Far East
    . Existed between 30 July and 17 December 1945 under the command of Marshal of the Soviet Union Aleksandr Vasilevsky. It commanded the:
    Operational-StrategicalMilitary district FRONT The Military Districts were high military commands in charge of the combat readiness of troops, of training centers and schools, of support to the security services in cases of insurrections and of support to the population in case of disasters. Initially a distinction was made between border and internal MDs. With a decree of the People's Commissariat for Defence dated 17 May 1935 the border districts were further divided between first-line and second-line MDs. A provision was put in force, grouping a first-line district with two second-line districts, according to which in wartime the first-line MD would form a Frontal HQ and the rear districts would prepare replacements for it. This grouping was called a "Strategic Direction". Another decree of the PCD from 13 August 1940 introduced further changes in the war plans. The distinction between first- and second-line border districts was abolished. The 16 Military Districts were divided between 8 districts bordering potential enemy states, which would in case of a war form Frontal HQs and 8 internal MDs, which would form Separate Army commands.
    Operational-StrategicalNone in peacetimeSeparate Army
    OperationalNone in peacetimeArmy
    Operational-TacticalNone in peacetimeSeparate Corps
    Operational-TacticalCorpsCorps
    TacticalSeparate DivisionSeparate Division
    TacticalDivisionDivision
    Tactical Brigade Brigade
    The degree of change in the structure and performance of individual fronts can only be understood when seen in the context of the strategic operations of the Red Army in World War II.
    Soviet fronts in the European Theatre during the Second World War from 1941 to 1945:
    • Baltic Fronts
    • *1st Baltic Front: Formed from Kalinin Front late 1943.
    • *2nd Baltic Front: Formed from Bryansk Front on 10 October 1943.
    • *3rd Baltic Front
    • Bryansk Front – Created 18 December 1941, to take sector between the Western and Southwestern Fronts. Disbanded 11/12 March 1943. Reformed from Orel Front 28 March 1943.
    • Belorussian Fronts
    • *1st Belorussian Front
    • *2nd Belorussian Front
    • *3rd Belorussian Front
    • Caucasus Front
    • Central Front
    • Crimean Front – formed January 1942 to reconquer the Crimea, incorporating 44th, 47th, and 51st Armies
    • Don Front
    • Far East Front
    • *1st Far East Front
    • *2nd Far East Front
    • Kalinin Front – the Kalinin Front was formally established by Stavka directive on 17 October 1941, and allocated three armies – 22nd, 29th and 30th. Renamed 1st Baltic Front Oct–Dec 1943.
    • Karelian Front – formed from Northern Front, along with Leningrad Front, on 23 August 1941.
    • Kursk Front
    • Leningrad Front – formed from Northern Front, along with Karelian Front, on 23 August 1941.
    • Moscow Defence Zone
    • Moscow Reserve Front
    • Mozhaysk Line of Defense
    • North Caucasus Front – redesignated TC Front's Black Sea Group of Forces, 1 September 1942
    • Northern Front – formed from Leningrad Military District on 24 June 1941
    • Northwestern Front – formed from Baltic Special Military District on 22 June 1941
    • Orel Front – created 24 March 1943 to defend opposite the tip of the German salient east of Orel. Composed of Western Front's 61st Army, Central Front's 3rd Army, and 15th Air Army. Redesignated Bryansk Front 28 March 1943.
    • Primorsky Group of Forces
    • Reserve Front – Front of Reserve Armies formed 14 July 1941
    • Southeastern Front – formed from armies on Stalingrad Front's left wing, 7 August 1942. Redesignated Stalingrad Front 28 September 1942.
    • Southern Front – renamed 4th Ukrainian Front 20 October 1943.
    • Southwestern Front – Formed initially on 22 June 1941. Reestablished 22 October 1942 between Don and Voronezh Fronts. Renamed 3rd Ukrainian Front 20 October 1943.
    • Stalingrad Front – Along with Voronezh Front, formed from remnants of Southwestern Front July 1942. Became Don Front 28 September 1942.
    • Steppe Front – renamed 2nd Ukrainian Front 20 October 1943.
    • Transbaikal Front
    • Transcaucasian Front – formed 23 August 1941
    • Ukrainian Fronts
    • *1st Ukrainian Front
    • *2nd Ukrainian Front
    • *3rd Ukrainian Front
    • *4th Ukrainian Front
    • Volkhov Front – formed 17 December 1941
    • Voronezh Front – renamed 1st Ukrainian Front 20 October 1943.
    • Western Front – formed from Western Special Military District on 22 June 1941
    For constituent armies see List of Soviet armies.