TheTransbaikal Front (Russian:Забайкальский фронт) was a front formed on September 15, 1941, on the basis of theTransbaikal Military District. Initially, it included the17th and36th armies, but in August 1942 the12th Air Army was added to the front, and, finally, in June–July 1945 the 39th and the 53rd armies, the6th Guards Tank Army, and the Soviet MongolianCavalry Mechanized Group underIssa Pliyev were added.
From September 1941 to January 1945, the Transbaikal Front sent to the Soviet fronts inEurope about 300,000personnel, 1,440 tanks, and 2,230 guns.
On November 1, 1941, the Front included the17th Army with the36th and57th Motor Rifle Divisions and the 61st Tank Division, and four air divisions (two fighter, one bomber, and the 84th Mixed Aviation Division), the 36th Army with the94th Rifle Division, the210th Rifle Division, the51st Cavalry Division, and the 31st and 32ndFortified Regions, the111th Tank Division, two independent tank battalions, and the 89th Assault Aviation Division. Front troops included the209th Rifle Division.[1]
On May 1, 1945, the Front included the 17th Army with the85th Rifle Corps (36th and 57th Motor Rifle Divisions), the284th Rifle Division, another rifle unit, significant numbers of artillery units, the61st Tank Division, the 36th Army with the86th Rifle Corps (94th and298th Rifle Divisions), the209th,210th,278th Rifle Divisions, and 31st Fortified Region, and the2nd Rifle Corps (103rd,275th,292nd Rifle Divisions) plus at front level the293rd Rifle Division,59th Cavalry Division, and other units.[2]
The armies and corps of the front underRodion Malinovsky participated in theSoviet invasion of Manchuria during August 1945 defeating theKwantung Army of theImperial Japanese Army. The fighting had lasted for only about a week when Japan's EmperorHirohito read theGyokuon-hōsō on August 15 and declared a ceasefire in the region on August 16. Soviet forces were already penetrating deep into Manchukuo by that time. They continued their largely unopposed advance into Manchukuo's territory, reachingMukden,Changchun, andQiqihar by August 20. At the same time,Mengjiang was invaded by the Red Army and its Mongol allies, withGuihua quickly taken. The Emperor of Manchukuo (and the former Emperor of China),Puyi, was captured by the Soviet Red Army and sent toChita.[3]
After the operation on October 9, 1945, the Transbaikal Front was disbanded and reorganized into theTransbaikal-Amur Military District.
