Northern Front (Soviet Union)

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The Northern Front (Russian: Северный фронт) was a front of the Red Army during the Second World War.

The Northern Front was created on June 24, 1941 from the Leningrad Military District. Its primary goal was the defense of the Kola Peninsula and the northern shores of the Gulf of Finland. On August 23, 1941, the Front's forces were divided into the Karelian Front and the Leningrad Front. Lieutenant General Markian M. Popov commanded the Front for the three months of its existence.

The Front's major force structure was based on the 7th Army, 14th Army, 23rd Armies and the Leningrad People's Opolcheniye Army. Other forces included four Rifle Corps, two Mechanized Corps, seventeen , four , two , eight , eight Aviation Divisions (including one objective air division), seven Fortified Regions, one , and thirteen machinegun battalions.[1]

Northern Front Organization as of 22 June 1941[2]

The formations of the Northern Front included the following subunits:

14th Army[]

  • 14th Army (HQ in Murmansk) with its commander, General Lieutenant Frolov Valerian Alexandrovich, responsible for the Defence Sector No.1 which extended from the coast of the Barents Sea to include the entire Kola Peninsula and in particular the Murmansk to Kandalaksha railway.[3]
Mobilisation of troops of the Leningrad Military District in the summer of 1941
14th Rifle Division defending the Petsamo sector
42nd Rifle Corps
52nd Rifle Division
1st Tank Division
104
(Russian: Мурманский укрепленный район)
35th, 100th, 82nd, 72nd and 101st
[4]

7th Army[]

  • Separate 7th Army (HQ in Suoyarvi) with its commander Lieutenant General Filip D. Gorelenko[5] responsible for the Defence Sector No.2 covering the longest sector of the Front between the Kola Peninsula and Lake Ladoga, and in particular having the responsibility at once for the gap between the Ladoga and Onega lakes, and the possible land assault to cut off Arkhangelsk. In fact the Stavka had determined the Army had four sectors in its responsibility.[1]
54th Rifle Division
541
1st, 73rd, 80th and 3rd
(Petrozadovsk)[6]
153rd Fighter Aviation Regiment
72nd Bomber Aviation Regiment

23rd Army[]

  • 23rd Army (HQ in (Kuusa or Kusa (village))[7] with its commander General Lieutenant P.S. Pshennikov responsible for the Defence Sector No.3 that included immediate approaches to Leningrad, including two major population centres of particular interest to Finland, Sortavala and Vyborg. Given the importance of the defended objectives, and previous experience in the Winter War, the Army was allocated two Rifle Corps, one Mechanised Corps, four rifle divisions, two tank and one Motor Rifle Divisions, three howitzer and one gun Regiment of the Reserve of Highest Command, two Fortified Regions, three border guard detachments, and one aviation division
19th Rifle Corps
142nd Rifle Division
50th Rifle Corps
43rd Rifle Division
10th Mechanised Corps (removed from the Army in early July)
24th Tank Division
101, 108, 519 Howitzer Artillery Regiments of the Reserve of Highest Command
573 Gun Artillery Regiment of the Reserve of Highest Command
102nd, 5th, 33rd
(Russian: Выборгский укр.район)
(Russian: Кексгольмский укр.район)
which was particularly tasked with preventing repulsing either amphibious or airborne landings in and around the Gulf of Finland coast.

Leningrad People's Opolcheniye Army[]

  • (Russian: 1-я (Кировская) дивизия народного ополчения)) named for the Kirovsky District (Кировский район) (commander Kombrig V.A. Malinnikov)
    • 76th Latvian Separate Rifle regiment on the 14 September.
  • named for the Moskovsky District (Московский район) (Russian: 2-я (Московская) дивизия народного ополчения) (commander to July, Colonel N.S. Ugrumov)
    • battalion of the (Russian: Военно-политического пограничного училища имени Ворошилова)
    • 519th
    • Tank battalion of the Armoured Course for Enhancement of Command Staff (Russian: танковый батальон бронетанковых курсов усовершенствования командного состава)
  • named for the Frunzensky District (Фрунзенский район) (Russian: 3-я (Фрунзенская) дивизия народного ополчения) (commander (Colonel А.P. Netreba, from 16 August Z.N. Alekseyev)
  • (Russian: 1-я гвардейская дивизия народного ополчения) (18 July 1941) (commander Colonel I.M. Frolov) (deployed next to the ) formed in the Kuybishev District
  • (Russian: 2-я гвардейская дивизия народного ополчения) (18 July 1941) (commander Colonel Sholev, later Colonel V.A. Trubachev) formed in the Sverdlovsk District
    • tank battalion of the Leningrad garrison
  • (Russian: 4-я (Дзержинская) дивизия народного ополчения) (19 July 1941) named for the Dzerzhinsky District (Дзержинский район) (commander Colonel P.I Radigin) [8]
    • (Russian: Отдельный батальон особого назначения) (commander Almazov)
  • (Russian: 3-я гвардейская дивизия народного ополчения) (24 July 1941) (commander Colonel V.P. Kotelnikov) formed in the Petrograd District
  • (Russian: 4-я гвардейская дивизия народного ополчения) (27 July 1941) formed in the Kalinin District (cadre)
  • 264th, 265th and 266th (Russian: отдельный пулеметно-артиллерийский батальон) (264th – 277th and 282nd, 283rd and 289th battalions were created)
  • 274th separate machinegun-artillery battalion was allocated to the
  • Four Izhorsk “Admiralty” battalions (later 72nd, 73rd, 74th, 75th Combat Red Banner separate machinegun-artillery battalion of the 55th Army)[9]
  • Several were also formed that were eventually integrated into the regular units and partisan detachments.
  • Deployed in Gatchina was the 60th (Russian: истребительный батальон)
  • 104th (Terioksky) destroyer battalion (104-й (Териокский) истребительный батальон) deployed in the area of Terioki (now Zelenogorsk)
  • Deployed around Kolpino was the 120th destroyer battalion (120-й истребительный батальон) (commander A.I. Osovsky)
  • 2nd Latvian workers regiment (commander) (Russian: 2-й Латышский рабочий полк)
  • (Russian: 5-я дивизия народного ополчения) (1 September 1941) (commander Colonel F.P. Utkin) formed early September 1941 from the former 4th People's Opolcheniye division and on the 10 September dislocated to Pulkovo.
    • 291st separate machinegun-artillery battalion (commander Captain Kaverznev)
  • (Russian: 4-я () дивизия народного ополчения) (1 September 1941)
  • (Russian: 7-я дивизия народного ополчения) (commander Colonel I.S. Kuznetsov) raised on the 17 September it was formed on the 30 September as the 56th Rifle Division.
  • 277th separate machinegun-artillery battalion around Ropsha
  • 83rd separate machinegun-artillery battalion (commander Lieutenant E.G. Grigoryev) around Ropsha and Kolpino

65th Rifle Corps[]

  • (less its Corps artillery regiments)[1] was a separate Corps which covered the No.4 Defence Sector of the Front which covered the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland with its HQ in Nimma 9 km south of Tallinn and included two divisions
11th Rifle Division
16th Rifle Division (1st formation; 22 June 1941 - 27 December 1941)[10]
(from the Leningrad Military District)

Hanko Peninsula naval base[]

  • The (commander General S.I. Kobanov)[11] on the Hanko Peninsula was responsible for the No.5 Defence Sector and included
(Russian: Укреплённый район военно-морской базы Ханко) (General Major Shore Duty )
(Colonel Nikolai Pavlovich Simonyak)[11]

8th Army[]

  • 8th Army (from North Western Front after 19 August 1941)

48th Army[]

  • 48th Army (from North Western Front after 19 August 1941)

Military aviation of the Leningrad Military District[]

(later the )[12] commanded by Colonel Stepan Pavlovich Danilov[13] was responsible for air cover over Leningrad, using basing on 10 primary and 15 reserve air fields,[14] and included

  • equipped with I-16 fighters
  • equipped with Yak-1 fighters
    • 191st, 192nd, 193rd, 194th and 195th Fighter Regiments (IAPs)[15]

Leningrad Military District forces[]

1st Mechanised Corps less 1st Tank Division which was concentrated around and Pushkino
70th Rifle Division in the Karelian Isthmus half way between Leningrad and Vyborg (Muola).
and Rifle Divisions that remained at cadre strength awaiting mobilisation.
, and Air Divisions
Vessels of the Baltic Fleet were severely restricted by the geography and lack of air superiority in conducting offensive operations, however their included guns in the 305mm, 180mm and 130mm calibres, and the also located in Leningrad possessed 406mm pieces that were being developed for future Soviet battleship designs, and these were without opposition until Germans were able to move the heavy railway guns to the area.

NKVD troops[]

Soviet light armoured drezine (armoured car on rails) MBV D-1 as used by the NKVD security detachments
  • The (Russian: 2-я дивизия войск НКВД) was responsible for security of specific high-value objectives throughout the Leningrad Military District territory, particularly the railways, and its 11,200 troops were equipped with armoured trains and motorised armoured rail-cars.[16]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c [1] ЗАПИСКА ПО ПРИКРЫТИЮ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОЙ ГРАНИЦЫ НА ТЕРРИТОРИИ ЛЕНИНГРАДСКОГО ВОЕННОГО ОКРУГА
  2. ^ Nafziger, George. "Soviet Army & Air Forces 22 June 1941" (PDF). US Army Combined Arms Research Library. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 November 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  3. ^ "Оборона на Севере (Defence in the North) - 22.6.41г". Army.armor.kiev.ua. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  4. ^ "14-я армия". Victory.mil.ru. Archived from the original on 2012-03-13. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  5. ^ Ammentorp, Steen. "The Generals". Retrieved 27 July 2013.
  6. ^ Niehorster
  7. ^ Kuusa was a Finnish village in the Muolaa municipality slightly to the northwest of modern Klimovo
  8. ^ "Центральный сектор Красногвардейского укрепленного района (Гатчина)". Centralsector.narod.ru. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  9. ^ history of the Izhorsk Factories (in Russian) Archived January 3, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ pp.13-14, Perechen No.5 - rifle, mountain rifle, motor-rifle and mechanised rifle divisions of the Red Army 1941-145, Soviet General Staff, Moskow, 1970
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b "Журнал Санкт-Петербургский университет ISSN 1681-1941 / № 1-2 (3657-3658), 19 января 2004 года". Spbumag.nw.ru. Archived from the original on 2012-02-11. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  12. ^ "7-й истребительный авиационный корпус ПВО; 2-й гвардейский истребительный Ленинградский авиационный корпус ПВО". Allaces.ru. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  13. ^ Operationally was subordinated to the 2nd Fighter Aviation Corps of PVO commander General Major M.M. Protsvetkin - Kusnetsov http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/kuznetsov_nf/02.html
  14. ^ Note that as a result of the blockade the Corps was severely reduced in its basing allocation to only four air fields.[2]
  15. ^ Kusnetsov http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/kuznetsov_nf/02.html
  16. ^ p.189, Lenski, Ground forces of RKKA in the pre-war years: a reference (Сухопутные силы РККА в предвоенные годы. Справочник.) — St Petersburg, B & K, 2000

Sources[]

  • Glantz, Stumbling Colossus, 1998, Appendix A
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