The Northwestern Front (Russian: ''Северо-Западный фронт'') was a military 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 the

Winter War The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peac ...

and

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 ...

. It was operational with the

7th Seventh is the ordinal form of the number seven. Seventh may refer to: * Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution * A fraction (mathematics), , equal to one of seven equal parts Film and television *"The Seventh", a second-season ep ...

and 13th Armies during the Winter War. It was re-created on 22 June 1941, the first day of the Eastern Front on the basis of the Baltic Special Military District. On 22 June the Front consisted of the

8th Eighth is ordinal form of the number eight. Eighth may refer to: * One eighth, , a fraction, one of eight equal parts of a whole * Eighth note (quaver), a musical note played for half the value of a quarter note (crotchet) * Octave, an interval b ...

, 11th, and 27th Armies, as well as the 5th Airborne Corps and the headquarters of the 65th Rifle Corps.

Combat history

Winter War

The staff of the

Leningrad Military District The Order of Lenin Leningrad Military District () is a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The district was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1968. In 2010, it was merged with the Moscow Military District, the Northern ...

1941

In the summer of 1941 all elements of the front commanded by General Colonel Fyodor Isodorovich Kuznetsov were involved in heavy fighting in the

Baltic Republics The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...

and on the approaches and the outskirts of

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. During first 18 days of the war the armies retreated over 450 km into

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 ...

. On 14 July the Soviet 11th Army led a successful counter-offensive from Utogrosh and the Dno district to Sitnya and Soltsi, in which German troops (in particular

8th Panzer Division The 8th Panzer Division was a formation of the ''Wehrmacht'' German Army (Wehrmacht), ''Heer''. The division was formed by reorganising the 3rd Light Division (Wehrmacht), 3rd Light Division in October 1939. It was transferred to the west and fo ...

) suffered heavy losses and had to retreat. The Soviet forces took Soltsi on 16 July, and the German advance to Leningrad and

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...

was stopped for a while. This offensive had a strong effect for the morale of the Soviet troops. Nevertheless, the German troops were regrouped and refreshed, and on 12 August they renewed their offensive and moved to Novgorod which was taken on 19 August. At

Staraya Russa Staraya Russa (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Novgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the Polist, Polist River, south of Veliky Novgorod, the administrative center of the oblast. Its population has steadily decreased over ...

combat started in July, and in August in the streets of the city, which was taken on 9 August after the retreat of 11th Army. The Soviet forces of 34th, 27th and 11th Armies led a counter-offensive and closed to the ourskirts of Staraya Russa on 12 August but could not hold on to their success because of total exhaustion. In the autumn North-West front was on a pivotal point of the fighting activities in the Moscow and Leningrad directions, covering the vital Valdai Hills from which the northern flank of the advance of the

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 ...

Army Group Centre Army Group Centre () was the name of two distinct strategic German Army Groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The first Army Group Centre was created during the planning of Operation Barbarossa, Germany's invasion of the So ...

could be threatened. The Soviet troops took a deep defense between

Lake Ilmen Lake Ilmen (, ) is a large lake in Novgorod Oblast, Russia. A historically important lake, it formed a vital part of the medieval trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks. The city of Veliky Novgorod, which is a major trade center of the ro ...

and

Lake Seliger Seliger ( rus, Селиге́р, p=sʲɪlʲɪˈgʲer) is a lake in Ostashkovsky District of Tver Oblast and (in the extreme northern part) in Demyansky District of Novgorod Oblast of Russia, in the northwest of the Valdai Hills, a part of the V ...

. They didn't let the German pass to the

Valdai Hills The Valdai Hills, sometimes shortened to Valdai, are an upland region in the north-west of central European Russia running north–south, about midway between Saint Petersburg and Moscow, spanning Leningrad, Novgorod, Tver, Pskov, and Smolensk ...

and

Bologoye Bologoye () is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia. ;Urban localities * Bologoye, Tver Oblast, a town in Bologovsky District of Tver Oblast ;Rural localities * Bologoye, Omsk Oblast, a '' selo'' in Rozovsky Rural Okrug of Russko-P ...

railway station which connected Leningrad and Moscow. Later in 1941

Volkhov Front The Volkhov Front () was a major formation of the Red Army during the first period of the Second World War. It was formed as an expediency of an early attempt to halt the advance of the Wehrmacht Army Group North in its offensive thrust towards L ...

was created to cover the sector north of

Lake Ladoga Lake Ladoga is a freshwater lake located in the Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia, in the vicinity of Saint Petersburg. It is the largest lake located entirely in Europe, the second largest lake in Russia after Lake ...

. The major task of North-West front now became to recapture the communications centre of Staraya Russa, in a fight that lasted for 880 days. There were two strategic and regular military operations which were unsuccessful and very costly in terms of losses.

1942

In 1942 the Front participated in the

Demyansk Pocket The Demyansk Pocket (; ) was the name given to the pocket of German troops encircled by the Red Army around Demyansk, south of Leningrad, during World War II's Eastern Front. The pocket existed mainly from 8 February to 21 April 1942. A much ...

(; ), a name for the encirclement of German troops by the

around

Demyansk Demyansk () is an urban locality (a work settlement) and the administrative center of Demyansky District of Novgorod Oblast, Russia, located along the Yavon River. Municipally, it is incorporated as Demyanskoye Urban Settlement, the only urba ...

(Demjansk) begun as the first phase of the Demyansk Offensive Operation (7 January 1942 – 20 May 1942) by the Northwestern Front's commander's initiative, General Lieutenant

Pavel Kurochkin Pavel Alekseyevich Kurochkin (; – 28 December 1989) was a Soviet army commander. Military career Pavel Kurochkin was born in the village of Gornevo, Smolensk Governorate. He joined the Red Army in 1918. Kurochkin completed cavalry cours ...

. The intention was to sever the link between the German Demyansk positions, and the Stara Russa railway that formed the

lines of communication A line of communication (or communications) is the route that connects an operating military unit with its supply base. Supplies and reinforcements are transported along the line of communication. Therefore, a secure and open line of communicat ...

of the German 16th Army. However owing to the very difficult wooded and

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

y terrain, and heavy snow cover, the initial advance by the Front was very modest against stubborn opposition. On 8 January 1942 a new Rzhev-Vyazma Strategic Offensive Operation begun that incorporated the previous Front planning into the Toropets-Kholm Offensive Operation (9 January 1942 – 6 February 1942) which formed the southern

pincer Pincer may refer to: *Pincers (tool) *Pincer (biology), part of an animal *Pincer ligand, a terdentate, often planar molecule that tightly binds a variety of metal ions *Pincer (Go), a move in the game of Go *"Pincers!", an episode of the TV series ...

of the operation that, beginning the second phase of the northern pincer Demyansk Offensive Operation (7 January 1942 – 20 May 1942) which encircled the German 16th Army's (Generaloberst Ernst Busch) II Army Corps, and parts of the X Army Corps (General der Artillerie Christian Hansen) during winter 1941/1942. Trapped in the pocket were the

12th Twelfth can mean: *The Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution *The Twelfth, a Protestant celebration originating in Ireland In mathematics: * 12th, an ordinal number; as in the item in an order twelve places from the beginning, follo ...

, 30th, 32nd, 123rd and 290th infantry divisions, as well as the SS-Division ''Totenkopf''. There were also RAD,

Police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

, Todt organization and other auxiliary units who were trapped and assisted in the battle. In total, about 90,000 German troops and around 10,000 auxiliaries were trapped inside the pocket. Their commander was ''General der Infanterie'' Walter Graf von Brockdorff-Ahlefeldt, commander of the IInd Army Corps.

Northwestern Front offensives

The Northwestern Front offensive was planned to encircle the entire northern flank of the 16th Army's forces, of which the IInd Army Corps was only a small part, and the Soviet command was desperate to keep the Front moving even after this success. The first thrust was made by the 11th Army,

1st Shock Army The 1st Shock Army () was a field army established by the Soviet Union's Red Army during World War II. The 1st Shock Army was created in late 1941 and fought in the northern areas of Russia and the Baltic States until the surrender of Germany i ...

and the 1st and

2nd Guards Rifle Corps The 2nd Guards Rifle Corps () was a rifle corps of the Red Army during World War II. World War II The 2nd Guards Rifle Corps headquarters was formed by a Stavka order of 31 December 1941. The corps headquarters was formed in the area of Nakhab ...

released for the operation from the

Reserve of the Supreme High Command The Reserve of the Supreme High Command (Russian: Резерв Верховного Главнокомандования; also known as the '' Stavka'' Reserve or RVGK () or RGK ( comprises reserve military formations and units; the ''Stavka'' ...

(''

Stavka The ''Stavka'' ( Russian and Ukrainian: Ставка, ) is a name of the high command of the armed forces used formerly in the Russian Empire and Soviet Union and currently in Ukraine. In Imperial Russia ''Stavka'' referred to the administrat ...

'' Reserve). A second thrust was executed on 12 February by the 3rd and 4th Shock Armies of the

Kalinin Front The Kalinin Front was a major formation of the Red Army active in the Eastern Front of 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 ...

, with the additional plan of directly attacking the encircled German forces by inserting two airborne brigades to support the advance of the 34th Army (Soviet Union). The front soon settled as the Soviet offensive petered out due to difficult terrain and bad weather. The Northwestern Front grew increasingly desperate to wipe out the pocket, and over the winter and spring launched a number of assaults on the "Ramushevo corridor" that formed the tenuous link between Demyans and Srara Russa through the Ramushevo village that were repeatedly repulsed. In total five Soviet Armies composed of 18 infantry divisions and three

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military unit, military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute ...

s were tied up for 4 months. However, by the end of May the Stavka reconsidered the overall situation on the Front sector and decided to shift its attention to the Moscow sector where a new German offensive was expected in the summer.

1943

One of the more successful attempts to regain ground in the Staraya Russa region was the Toropets-Kholm Operation led by General

. Only after the disaster 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 ...

did it become possible for the Red Army to conduct Operation Polar Star from 12–26 February 1943, taking back 302 settlements in the region. On 19 November 1943 Northwestern front was renamed

2nd Baltic Front The 2nd Baltic Front () was a Front (military formation), major formation of the Red Army during the World War II, Second World War. History The 2nd Baltic Front was formed on October 20, 1943 as a result of the renaming of the Baltic Front, it ...

. Total casualties suffered by North-Western Front were more than 2,000,000 fallen and wounded.

Commanders

* Colonel general Fyodor Kuznetsov (June–July 1941) * Major General Pyotr Sobennikov (July–August 1941) * Lieutenant general

(August 1941 - October 1942) * Marshal of the Soviet Union

Semyon Timoshenko Semyon Konstantinovich Timoshenko (; ; – 31 March 1970) was a Soviet military commander, Marshal of the Soviet Union, and one of the most prominent Red Army commanders during the Second World War. Born to a Ukrainian family in Bessarabia, ...

(October 1942 - March 1943) * Colonel general

Ivan Konev Ivan Stepanovich Konev ( rus, Ива́н Степа́нович Ко́нев, p=ɪˈvan sʲtʲɪˈpanəvʲɪtɕ ˈkonʲɪf, links=no; 28 December 1897 – 21 May 1973) was a Soviet general and Marshal of the Soviet Union who led Red Army forc ...

(March–June 1943) * Lieutenant general

(June–November 1943)

References Sources

David Glantz David M. Glantz (born January 11, 1942) is an American military historian known for his books on the Red Army during World War II and as the chief editor of '' The Journal of Slavic Military Studies''. Born in Port Chester, New York, Glantz ...

, Stumbling Colossus: The Red Army on the Eve of World War, University Press of Kansas, 1996, Appendix A: Red Army Order of Battle
Португальский Ричард Михайлович, Доманк Альберт Степанович, Коваленко Александр Петрович Маршал С. К. Тимошенко Marshal S.K. Timoshenko, chapter on his command of the Northwestern Front (in Russian)

{{Fronts of the Red Army in World War II Soviet fronts