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| Southwestern Front | |
|---|---|
| Active | 22 June 1941 – 12 July 1942 22 October 1942 – 20 October 1943 |
| Country |  Soviet Union |
| Branch | .svg) Red Army |
| Type | Army Group Command |
| Size | SeveralArmies |
| Engagements | |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Semyon Timoshenko Rodion Malinovsky |
TheSouthwestern Front was afront of theRed Army during theSecond World War, formed thrice.
It was first created on June 22, 1941 from theKiev Special Military District. The western boundary of the front in June 1941 was 865 km long, from thePripyat River and the town ofWlodawa to thePrut River and the town ofLipkany at the border with Romania. It connected to the north with theWestern Front, which extended to the Lithuanian border, and to the south with theSouthern Front, which extended to the city ofOdessa on the Black Sea.
The Southwestern Front was on the main axis of attack by the GermanArmy Group South duringOperation Barbarossa. At the outbreak of war with Germany, the Front was commanded byMikhail Kirponos and contained the Soviet5th,6th,26th, and12th Armies along the frontier.16th and19th Armies were in reserve behind the forward forces. These forces took part in the tank battles in westernUkraine and were surrounded and destroyed at theBattle of Uman and theBattle of Kiev (1941) in August and September 1941. Kirponos himself was killed during theBattle of Kiev.
The Front was immediately re-established with new forces. During the period of theBattle of Moscow it was under the command of Marshal Timoshenko, and included from north to south the40th,21st,38th and6thArmies. It was formally disbanded on July 12, 1942 and the forces transferred to theStalingrad Front andSouthern Front.
The Front was reformed from reserve armies on October 22, 1942. It was renamed the3rd Ukrainian Front on October 20, 1943. 3rd Ukrainian Front's first operations were theBattle of the Dnieper and theBattle of Kiev (1943).
Composition Subordinate Front units directly under Commander of the Front:[1]
