Red Army strategic operations in World War II


Red Army strategic operations were major military events carried out between 1941 and 1945 on the Eastern Front or in 1945 in the Far East during the Second World War. Such operations typically involved at least one front: the largest military formation of the Soviet Armed Forces. The operations could be defensive, offensive, a withdrawal, an encirclement, or a siege, always conducted by at least two services of the armed forces, and often included the navy. In most cases, the Stavka divided strategic operations into operational phases. In a few cases the phases were tactical, such as amphibious landings.

Introduction

In Soviet historiography, the Great Patriotic War is divided into three periods:
  1. First
  2. Second
  3. Third
The war with Japan, the Campaign in the Far East – including the offensive operation, – is seen as a separate theater of operations from the Great Patriotic War. During the Second World War, the Red Army carried out a number of military operations. The scope of these operations, usually known by the major cities around which they took place, was usually termed "operational-strategic" or "strategic" depending on scale. An operational-strategic operation was usually undertaken by at least a group of armies or a single front. A strategic operation usually required the cooperation of several fronts to achieve its objectives. In both cases, the operations could last from a week to several months. Strategic operations were combined into seasonal campaigns, because weather and ground conditions affected planning.
Soviet historians disagreed on which operations to classify as strategic or front-level, and operational names often differed in early military studies and later official histories. During the 1960s, 40 strategic operations were discussed; in the 1970s, this had expanded to 55. The six-volume History of the Great Patriotic War and the twelve-volume History of the Second World War 1939–1945, published between 1973 and 1982, did not specify the number of strategic operations. The Military-Historical Journal of the Ministry of Defense published discussions during 1985 and 1986 between military historians and military leaders about strategic operations. As a result of these discussions, a list of strategic operations was developed and the number of troops involved and duration of the operations were specified. This issue was not fully resolved, however, as the work of the Grigory Krivosheyev commission on Soviet casualties contained a slightly different list of strategic operations.

First period (22 June 1941 – 18 November 1942)

campaign of 1941 (22 June – 4 December)">Summer–autumn 1941 campaign (22 June – 4 December)

Axis
  • Baltic operation: 22 June – 9 July
  • *Baltic border defensive battles: 22–24 June
  • **Battle of Raseiniai
  • *Šiauliai counter-offensive operation: 24–27 June
  • *Riga defense : 28–30 June
  • *Pskov defense : 4–9 July
  • *Battle of Hanbko 22 June – 2 DecemberGermany Battle of Białystok-Minsk/Offensive Campaign in Belorussia: 22–29 June
  • Belorussian strategic defensive : 22 June – 9 July
  • Belorussian border defensive battles: 22–25 June
  • *Defense of Brest Fortress: 22–30 June
  • *Battle of Vitebsk : 6–16 July
  • *Borisov counterattack: 6–9 July
  • *: 6–11 July 1941
  • *Lvov-Chernovitsy strategic defensive operation : 22 June – 9 July
  • *Ukrainian border defensive battles: 22–27 June
  • **Battle of Brody: 26–30 June
  • *Lvov-Lutsk defense: 27 June – 2 July
  • *Stanislav-Proskurov defense: 3–6 JulyGermany and Finland : 29 June – mid-July
  • *Arctic-Karelia strategic defense: 29 June – 10 October
  • *Operation Silver Fox 29 June – 19 September
  • *Finnish invasion of the Karelian Isthmus 29 June – 23 September
  • *Kestenga defense: 1 July – 10 October
  • *Finnish invasion of East Karelia 1 July – 10 October
  • *Moldavian defense: 1–26 July
  • *Battle of Kiev: 7 July – 26 September
  • *Korosten defense: 11 July – 20 August
  • *Timoshenko counteroffensive: 13 – 17 July
  • *Bobruysk offensive: 13 July – 7 August
  • *Novohrad-Volynskyi defense: 10 July – 20 August
  • *Uman defense: 15 July – 4 August
  • *Tiraspol-Melitopol defense: 27 July – 28 September
  • *Kiev-Pryluky defense: 20 August – 26 September
  • *Malyn offensive: 5–8 August
  • Leningrad strategic defensive: 10 July – 30 September
  • *Tallinn defense: 10 July – 10 August
  • **Evacuation of Tallinn
  • *Kingisepp–Luga defense: 10 July – 23 September
  • *Soltsy-Dno offensive: 14 – 18 July
  • *Staraya-Russa offensive: 12–23 August
  • *Demyansk defense: 6–26 September
  • *First Sinyavino offensive: 10–26 September
  • *Second Sinyavino offensive: 20–28 October
  • Battle of Smolensk: 10 July – 10 September
  • *Polotsk defense: 2–16 July
  • *Smolensk defense: 10 July – 10 August
  • *Smolensk offensive: 21 July – 7 August
  • *Siege of Mogilev: 3–26 July
  • *Rogachev–Zhlobin offensive: 13–24 July
  • *Gomel–Trubchevsk defense: 24 July – 30 August
  • *Dukhovschina offensive: 17 August – 8 September
  • *Yelnya offensive: 30 August – 8 September
  • *Roslavl–Novozybkov offensive: 30 August – 12 September
  • Odessa defense: 5 August – 16 OctoberGermany : 9 September
  • Donbas–Rostov strategic defensive operation: 29 September – 16 November
  • *Battle of the Sea of Azov: 26 September – 11 October
  • *Sumy–Kharkov defense: 30 September – 30 November
  • *Defence of Kharkov: 20–24 October
  • *Germany: First Battle of KharkovAxis Crimean campaign: 26 September 1941 – 15 May 1942
  • *Donbas defensive operation: 29 September – 4 November
  • *Rostov defense: 5–16 November
  • Moscow defense: 30 September – 5 December
  • *Orel-Bryansk defense: 30 September – 23 October
  • *Vyazma defense: 2–13 October
  • *Kalinin defense: 10 October – 4 December
  • *Mozhaisk-Maloyaroslavets defense: 10–30 October
  • *Defense of Tula: 24 October – 5 December
  • *Klin-Solnechnogorsk defense: 15 November – 5 December
  • *Naro-Fominsk defense: 1–5 December
  • *Tikhvin defense: 16 October – 18 November
  • Crimean defense 18 October – 16 November
  • Defense of Sevastopol 30 October 1941 – 4 July 1942
  • Tikhvin offensive: 10 November – 30 December
  • *Tikhvin-Kirishsk offensive: 12 November – 30 December
  • *Malo-Vishersk offensive: 10 November – 30 December
  • Rostov offensive 17 November – 2 December
  • *Bolshekrepinsk offensive 17–27 November

1941–1942 winter campaign (5 December 1941 – 30 April 1942)

Summer–autumn 1942 campaign (1 May – 18 November)

Second period (19 November 1942 – 31 December 1943)

1942–1943 winter campaign (19 November 1942 – 3 March 1943)

Summer–autumn 1943 campaign (1 July – 31 December)

  • Germany Operation Citadel
  • Kursk defense: 5–23 July
  • *Orel–Kursk defense: 5–11 July
  • *Belgorod–Kursk defensive: 5–23 July
  • Orel offensive : 12 July – 18 August
  • *Volkhov–Orel offensive: 12 July – 18 August
  • *Kromyv–Orel offensive: 15 July – 18 August
  • Donbas offensive: 17 July – 2 August
  • *Izyum-Barvenkovo offensive: 17–27 July
  • *Mius offensive: 17 July – 2 August
  • Mga offensive : 22 July – 22 August
  • Belgorod–Kharkov offensive operation : 3–23 August
  • *Belgorod–Bogodukhov offensive: 3–23 August
  • *Zmiev offensive: 12–23 August
  • *Mirgorod direction offensive: 3–25 August
  • Smolensk strategic offensive : 7 August – 2 October
  • *Spas–Demensk offensive: 7–20 August
  • *Dukhovshchina–Demidov offensive : 13–18 August
  • *Yelnia–Dorogobuzh offensive: 28 August – 6 September
  • *Dukhovshchina–Demidov offensive : 14 September – 2 October
  • *Smolensk–Roslavl offensive: 15 September – 2 October
  • *Bryansk offensive: 17 August – 3 October
  • Donbas strategic offensive (August 1943): 13 August – 22 September
  • *Barvenkov-Pavlograd offensive: 13 August – 22 September
  • *Mius–Mariupol offensive: 18 August – 22 September
  • Chernigov-Poltava offensive: 26 August – 30 September
  • *Chernigov-Pripyat offensive: 26 August – 30 September
  • *Sumy–Priluky offensive: 26 August – 30 September
  • *Poltava-Kremenchug offensive: 26 August – 30 September
  • Novorossiysk-Taman operation: 10 September – 9 October
  • *Novorossiysk amphibious operation: 10–16 September
  • *Taman offensive: 10 September – 9 October
  • Second Mga offensive: 15–18 September
  • Operation Concert : 19 September
  • Lower Dnieper offensive: 26 September – 20 December
  • *Axis Defence of the Panther–Wotan line
  • *Kremenchug offensive 26 September – 10 October
  • *Melitopol offensive: 26 September – 5 November
  • *Zaporizhia offensive: 10–14 October
  • *Kremenchug-Pyatikhatki offensive: 15 October – 3 November
  • *Dnepropetrovsk offensive: 23 October – 23 December
  • *Krivoi Rog offensive: 14–21 November
  • *Apostolovo offensive: 14 November – 23 December
  • *Nikopol offensive: 14 November – 31 December
  • *Aleksandriia–Znamenka offensive: 22 November – 9 December
  • *Krivoi Rog offensive: 10–19 December
  • Battle of Kiev: 1–24 October
  • *Chernobyl–Radomysl offensive: 1–4 October
  • *Chernobyl–Gornostaipol defense: 3–8 October
  • *Lyutezh offensive: 11–24 October
  • *First Bukrin offensive: 12–15 October
  • *Second Bukrin offensive: 21–24 October
  • Byelorussian offensive: 3–31 December
  • *First Gomel–Rechitsa offensive: 30 September – 30 October
  • *Nevel offensive: 3–12 October
  • *First Orsha offensive: 3–26 October
  • *Battle of Lenino: 12–13 October
  • *Vitebsk (Riga) offensive: 18–30 October
  • *Idritsa offensive: 18–30 October
  • *Pskov offensive: 18–30 October
  • *Polotsk–Vitebsk offensive: 2–21 November
  • *Pustoshka-Idritsa offensive: 2–21 November
  • *Second Gomel-Rechitsa offensive: 10–30 November
  • *Second Orsha offensive: 14 November – 5 December
  • *Novyi Bykhov–Propoisk offensive: 22–30 November
  • *Kalinkovichi offensive: 8–11 December
  • *Gorodok offensive: 13–31 December
  • *Idritsa-Opochka offensive: 16 December 1943 – 15 January 1944
  • *Kalinkovichi defensive: 20–27 December
  • Kerch–Eltigen operation: 31 October – 11 December
  • Second Battle of Kiev : 3–13 November
  • *Defense: 13 November – 22 December

Third period (1 January 1944 – 9 May 1945)

Winter-spring 1944 campaign (1 January – 31 May)

Summer–autumn 1944 campaign (1 June – 31 December)

Campaign in Europe 1945 (1 January – 9 May)