The 1st Ukrainian Front (), previously the Voronezh Front (), was a major formation of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, being equivalent to a Western

army group An army group is a military organization consisting of several field army, field armies, which is self-sufficient for indefinite periods. It is usually responsible for a particular geographic area. An army group is the largest field organizatio ...

. They took part in the capture of Berlin, the capital of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

Wartime

The Voronezh Front was established at the end of June 1942 when tanks of the 6th Army of the German ''

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

'' reached

Voronezh Voronezh ( ; , ) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on the Southeastern Railway, which connects wes ...

during the early stages of 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 Battle of Voronezh, the defensive operations on the approaches to Stalingrad, and in the December 1942 Operation Saturn, the follow-on to the encirclement of the German 6th Army at

Stalingrad Volgograd,. geographical renaming, formerly Tsaritsyn. (1589–1925) and Stalingrad. (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area o ...

where it destroyed the Hungarian Second Army. Following Operation Saturn, the front was involved in Operation Star, which included the

Third Battle of Kharkov The Third Battle of Kharkov was a series of battles on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front of World War II, undertaken by Nazi Germany's Army Group South against the Soviet Red Army, around the city of Kharkov between 19 February ...

, which resulted in a long battle from 2 February to 23 March 1943, and the reversal of much of the Soviet gains by the Germans. During Operation Star the front included the 38th, 40th, 60th, and 69th Armies plus 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 Operation Polkovodets Rumyantsev, which began on August 3, 1943, the front included 38th, 40th, 27th Armies; the 6th and 5th Guards; and the 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 Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. On October 20, 1943, the Voronezh Front was renamed to the 1st Ukrainian Front. This name change reflected the westward advance of the Red Army in its campaign against the German ''

,'' leaving

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

behind and moving into

. During 1944, the front participated with other fronts in the battles of Korsun-Shevchenkivskyy, and the battle of Hube's Pocket in Ukraine. It conducted the Lvov-Sandomierz Offensive, during which the Front was controlling the Soviet 1st Guards Tank Army, 3rd Guards Tank Army, 4th Tank Army, 3rd Guards,

5th Guards Army The 5th Guards Army was a Soviet Guards formation which fought in many critical actions during World War II under the command of General Aleksey Semenovich Zhadov. The 5th Guards Army was formed in spring 1943 from the 66th Army in recognition o ...

, 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 Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, and

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

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 Vistula-Oder offensive, and conducted the Silesian and

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

Operations, and the siege of Breslau. It also participated in the

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

operations in Germany and Poland. The front also conducted the major part of the Halbe Encirclement, in which most of the German 9th Army was destroyed south of Berlin. By this time the Polish Second Army was operating as part of the Front. Finally 1st Ukrainian Front provided the defence against the counter-attacks by Armee Wenck which aimed to relieve Berlin and the 9th Army, later uniting with the Americans on the Elbe River. The front then completed the Prague Offensive which became the final battle of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, therefore ending the war. Following the war, the Front headquarters formed the Central Group of Forces of the Red Army in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

till 1955, and re-instituted in 1968 in

as a legacy of the

Prague Spring The Prague Spring (; ) was a period of liberalization, political liberalization and mass protest in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected Secretary (title), First Secre ...

events.

Commanders

* Filipp Golikov (1942 – 1943) * 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 The 2nd Ukrainian Front () was a front of the Red Army during the Second World War. History On October 20, 1943, the Steppe Front was renamed the 2nd Ukrainian Front. In mid-May 1944 Malinovsky took over the 2nd Ukrainian Front. During t ...

) * 38th Army (1943–44) ( 4th Ukrainian Front) * 40th Army (1943–44) (

) * 47th Army (1943-43) (

2nd Belorussian Front The 2nd Belorussian Front (, ''Vtoroi Belorusskiy front'', also romanized "Byelorussian SSR, Byelorussian"), was a Front (military formation), major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to a Western army group. I ...

) * 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 (1943–1945)

Later composition

* 2nd Polish Army * 52nd Army * 4th Guards Tank Army * 28th Army * 31st Army * 3rd Guards Army

References

* Antill, P.
Battle for Berlin: April – May 1945.
* Duffy, Christopher ''Red Storm on the Reich'' * * * Glantz, David 'From the Don to the Dnepr', Frank Cass (1991) * Konev, I.S. ''Aufzeichnungen eines Frontbefehlshabers'' * Konev, I.S. ''Das Jahr 1945'' * Nemeskürty, I. 'Untergang einer Armee' * Tissier, Tony ''Slaughter at Halbe'' * Ziemke, E.F. ''Stalingrad to Berlin''

Wartime

Commanders

Armies

Later composition

References

Further reading