The Southwestern Front () was an

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 ...

of the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

as part of the Eastern Front war theater. During the conflict it was responsible for managing operations along a front line that stretched 615 kilometers across Ukraine, starting from what is now southern

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

to northern

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. To its left side (south), there was located Romanian Front which was a joint formation of the Russian Empire and the

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania () was a constitutional monarchy that existed from with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King of Romania, King Carol I of Romania, Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian royal family), until 1947 wit ...

. To its right side (north), there was located Northwestern Front which in 1915 split and Western Front was one that covered right flank of the Southwestern Front. The front was facing primarily against

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army, also known as the Imperial and Royal Army,; was the principal ground force of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. It consisted of three organisations: the Common Army (, recruited from all parts of Austria-Hungary), ...

and in few operations against

Imperial German Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the leadership of Kingdom o ...

. In 1917 the headquarters of the Front was located in Berdychiv and later moved west to

Rivne Rivne ( ; , ) is a city in western Ukraine. The city is the administrative center of Rivne Oblast (province), as well as the Rivne Raion (district) within the oblast.

. It was established in August 1914 based on units of the

Kiev Military District The Kiev Military District (; , abbreviated ) was a military district of the Imperial Russian Army and subsequently of the Red Army and Soviet Armed Forces. It was first formed in 1862, and was headquartered in Kiev (Kyiv) for most of its exist ...

and the

Odessa Military District The Odessa Military District (; , abbreviated ) was a military administrative division of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This district consisted of Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic, Moldavia and five Oblasts of Ukraine, Ukrainian oblasts of Odesa ...

and lasted throughout the war until the unrest caused by the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

, at which point it was demobilized along with the rest of the Russian Army in early 1918. In total some two million troops had been under its command.Оськин М.В. Проблема резерва для генерального наступления русской армии в 1917 г.
. History Studies. Retrieved 11 November 2017.

Operations

* Battle of Galicia (23 August – 11 September 1914) → Russian occupation of Eastern Galicia * Siege of Przemyśl (16 September 1914 – 22 March 1915) *

Battle of the Vistula River The Battle of the Vistula, Vistula River, also known as the Battle of Warsaw and Ivangorod, was a major Russian Empire, Russian victory against German Empire, Germany and Austria-Hungary on the Eastern Front (World War I), Eastern Front during ...

(29 September – 31 October 1914) * Battle of Krzywopłoty (17 – 18 November 1914) * Battle of Limanowa (1 – 13 December 1914) * Battle of Łowczówek (22 – 25 December 1914) * Carpathian Front (7 January – 20 April 1915) * Gorlice–Tarnów offensive (2 May – 13 July 1915) *

Great Retreat The Great Retreat (), also known as the retreat from Mons, was the long withdrawal to the River Marne in August and September 1914 by the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and the French Fifth Army. The Franco-British forces on the Western F ...

(13 July – 19 September 1915) * Rovno offensive (27 August – 15 October 1915) * Brusilov offensive (4 June – 20 September 1916) * Kerensky offensive (1 – 19 July 1917) * Battle of Krechowce (24 July 1917) ---- * Operation Faustschlag (18 February – 3 March 1918) →

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a separate peace treaty signed on 3 March 1918 between Soviet Russia and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria), by which Russia withdrew from World War I. The treaty, whi ...

* Battle of Bakhmach (8 – 13 March 1918) * Crimea Operation (13 – 25 April 1918)

Key events

* Arrest of Generals in Berdychiv (29 August – 27 September 1917) * Kornilov affair (10 – 13 September 1917) → Bolshevik coup-d'etat * Assassination of Nikolay Dukhonin in

Mogilev Mogilev (; , ), also transliterated as Mahilyow (, ), is a city in eastern Belarus. It is located on the Dnieper, Dnieper River, about from the Belarus–Russia border, border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and from Bryansk Oblast. As of 2024, ...

* Kerensky–Krasnov uprising * Ukrainian–Soviet War (8 November 1917 – 17 November 1921)

Armies deployed on the Southwestern Front

The following field armies were part of the Southwestern Front.Юго-Западный фронт
. Ria1914.info. Retrieved 11 November 2017. * 3rd Army (July 1914 – June 1915 and June 1916 – July 1916) ** 19.07.1914 – 03.09.1914 — General of Infantry Nikolai Ruzsky ** 03.09.1914 – 20.05.1915 — General of Infantry Radko Dimitriev ** 03.06.1915 – 03.08.1917 — General of Infantry Leonid Lesh * 5th Army (July 1914 – September 1914) ** General of Cavalry Pavel Plehve * 8th Army (July 1914 – August 1917) ** 28.07.1914 – 17.03.1916 — General of Cavalry Aleksei Brusilov ** 23.03.1916 – 29.04.1917 — General of Cavalry Alexey Kaledin ** 29.04.1917 – 10.07.1917 — General of Infantry Lavr Kornilov ** 11.07.1917 – 25.07.1917 — Lieutenant-General Vladimir Cheremisov ** 30.07.1917 – 17.10.1917 — Lieutenant-General Michai Sokownin * 4th Army (August 1914 – June 1915) ** General of Infantry Alexei Evert * 9th Army (August 1914 – December 1916 ) ** General of Infantry Platon Lechitsky * 7th Army (October 1914 – early 1918) ** 19 July 1914 – 19 October 1915 — General of Artillery Vladimir Nikolayevich Nikitin ** 19 October 1915 – 11 April 1917 — General of Infantry Dmitry Shcherbachev ** 13 April 1917 – 20 June 1917 — Lieutenant-General Leonid Bielkowicz ** 26 June 1917 – 9 September 1917 — Lieutenant-General Vladimir Selivachyov ** 9 September 1917 – 3 December 1917 — Lieutenant-General Januariusz Cichowicz * 11th Army (October 1914 – early 1918), created during the Siege of Przemyśl as "Siege Army" ** 21.10.1914 – 05.04.1915 — General of Infantry Andrey Selivanov ** 05.04.1915 – 19.10.1915 — General of Infantry Dmitry Shcherbachev ** 19.10. 1915 – 25.10.1916 — General of Infantry Vladimir Viktorovich Sakharov ** 25.10.1916 – 20.12.1916 — General of Infantry Vladislav Klembovsky ** 20.12.1916 – 05.04.1917 — General of Infantry Dimitri Bałanin ** 15.04.1917 – 21.05.1917 — Lieutenant-General Aleksei Gutor ** 25.05.1917 – 04.06.1917 — General of Infantry Ivan Fiedotov ** 04.06.1917 – 09.07.1917 — General of Cavalry Ivan Erdélyi ** 29.04.1917 – 09.09.1917 — General of Infantry Pyotr Baluyev ** 19.07.1917 – 29.08.1917 — Lieutenant-General Fiodor Rerberg ** 09.09.1917 – 01.12.1917 — Lieutenant-General Mikhail Promtov * Special Army (September 1916 – November 1916 and July 1917 – early 1918) ** 14.08.1916 – 10.11.1916 - General of Cavalry Vasily Gurko ** 10.11.1916 – 17.02.1917 - General of Infantry Pyotr Baluyev ** 17.02.1917 – 31.03.1917 - General of Cavalry Vasily Gurko ** 02.04.1917 – 09.07.1917 - General of Infantry Pyotr Baluyev ** 12.07.1917 – 29.08.1917 - General of Cavalry Ivan Erdélyi ** 29.08.1917 – 14.09.1917 - Acting Major General Vasily Sarychev ** 14.09.1917 – 20.11.1917 - General of Infantry Stepan Stelnitsky ** 11.1917 - Acting Colonel Alexander Ilyich Yegorov ** 20.11.1917 – 13.12.1917 - Lieutenant General Theodore Rerberg ** 13.12.1917 – 19.12.1917 - Lieutenant General Alex Kushakevich ** 12.19.1917 – 03.1918 - Colonel Vladimir Yegoryev * 1st Army (July 1917 – September 1917) ** Lieutenant General Gleb Vannovsky * Separate Danube Army * Separate Czechoslovak Corps

Operations

Key events

Armies deployed on the Southwestern Front

Command

Commander of the armies of the Southwestern Front

Bolshevik leaders

Chiefs of Staff

References

Notes

See also