Leningrad Front

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The Leningrad Front ( Russian Ленинградский фронт ) was formed by decree of the Soviet High Command of the Red Army on August 23, 1941 by dividing the Northern Front into the Leningrad and Karelian Fronts . From June 1942 until the dissolution of the front on July 24, 1945, Lieutenant General, from June 1944 Marshal of the Soviet Union Leonid Alexandrovich Goworow, led the high command.

history

When the front was set up on August 24, 1941, the 8th, 23rd and 48th Army , as well as the operational groups Koporje , Sluzk and Kolpino were subordinate to them. On August 30, 1941, the Baltic fleet , which had been cut off by the Germans, was placed under Admiral WF Tributz 's command of the front.

The front had the task of covering the access to Leningrad and preventing the removal of the city by the German 18th Army of Army Group North . Active defense by the armies of the front inflicted heavy losses on the German troops advancing from the south and the Finnish armies advancing from the northwest on Leningrad until early September 1941. Parts of the front were cut off at the Oranienbaum bridgehead , where they held until January 1944, when the Leningrad blockade was lifted. Within the siege ring, during the blockade at the end of December 1941, the front had the 42nd Army under Major General IF Nikolayev, the 55th Army under Major General IG Lasarew , later General WP Sviridow , the 23rd Army (against the Finns) under Lieutenant General AI Tscherepanov , the Coastal Operational Group under Major General AN Astanin; and the Neva Operational Group under Major General IF Nikitin . The Oranienbaum bridgehead was held by the 8th Army under Major General AL Bondarjew (General AW Suchomlin from January 1942).

From September 8, 1941, the armies of the Leningrad Front continued to fight under the extremely difficult conditions of the German blockade. The stubborn defense of the front, combined with counter-strikes, led, in conjunction with the Volkhov Front and the Baltic Fleet, to force the enemy to switch to defense, thus undoing Hitler's plans to conquer Leningrad. From April 23 to June 8, 1942, the front consisted of the Leningrad and Volkhov army groups. The Volkhov Group included the armies of the temporarily disbanded Volkhov Front . On June 9, 1942, Lieutenant General LA Govorov became commander of the Leningrad Front. On November 25, 1942, the 13th Air Army provided the front flying units.

The following major units were subordinate to the Leningrad Front in the course of the war: 4th, 8th, 22nd, 23rd, 42nd, 52nd, 54th, 55th, 59th and 67th Army as well as 1st , 2nd and 3rd armies 4th thrust , 6th and 10th Guards Army, 3rd, 13th and 15th Air Army, as well as the operational groups Neva and “Coast”.

In January 1943, succeeded the armies of the Leningrad and Volkhov Front during the Second Battle of Ladoga the blockade Lenin degree south Schlüsselburg to break and restore the land connection with the city.

In the Leningrad-Novgorod Strategic Offensive Operation in January and February 1944, the Leningrad Front, in cooperation with the Volkhov Front , the 2nd Baltic Front and the Baltic Fleet, attacked the German Army Group north south of Leningrad and Novgorod and thus finally freed Leningrad from its grip the blockage. During this operation all of Leningrad and part of the Kalinin area were liberated and Soviet troops advanced as far as Estonia .

On April 24, 1944, the south wing of the Leningrad Front was created into the 3rd Baltic Front . In June 1944 the Leningrad Front carried out the Vyborg-Petrozavodsk offensive operation in cooperation with the Baltic Fleet, the Ladoga and Onega flotilla . The successful enterprise, in which the Volkhov Front also participated, resulted in Finland leaving the war on Germany's side.

A part of the forces of the front took part in the Baltic operation and advanced at Narva with a general direction Dorpat - Reval . By November 24, they drove the Germans and their allies from Estonia. This ended the offensive operations on the Leningrad Front. Their armies occupied positions along the Soviet-Finnish border and the Baltic coast from Leningrad to Riga. On April 1, 1945, part of the armies belonging to the Leningrad Front were disbanded and the troops were transferred to the 2nd Baltic Front to ensure the continuation of the blockade of the German Army Group Kurland . In connection with the unconditional surrender of the Wehrmacht , the Leningrad Front accepted the surrender of this group.

On July 24, 1945, by order of the National Defense Committee of the USSR of July 9 , 1945, the front was disbanded and returned to the Leningrad Military District .

Front command

Front commander

Member of the Military Council

  • Corps Commissioner PA Dibrowa (August 1941)
  • Corps Commissioner NN Klementew (August and September 1941)
  • Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU Andrei Alexandrovich Zhdanov (September 1941 to July 1945; from June 1944 Colonel General)

Chief of Staff

  • Colonel NW Gorodetsky (August – September 1941)
  • Lieutenant General MS Chosin (September – October 1941)
  • Major General DN Gussew (October 1941 to April 1944; Lieutenant General from May 1942)
  • Colonel General MM Popov (April 1944 to July 1945)

literature

  • Nikolai G. Kislizyn / Vasili J. Subakow: Leningrad does not surrender , Progress Verlag, Moscow 1984

Remarks

  1. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original dated February 26, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Russian Боевой состав Советской Армии на 1 сентября 1941 г. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / tashv.nm.ru
  2. ↑ Glantz, When Titans clashed. Lawrence 1995, pp. 192/193.
  3. ↑ Glantz, When Titans clashed. Lawrence 1995, pp. 192/193, 202.
  4. ↑ Glantz, When Titans clashed. Lawrence 1995, pp. 226/227.