View source for Northern Front (Soviet Union)

{{Short description|WW2 Soviet Red Army formation}}
The '''Northern Front''' ({{langx|ru|Северный фронт}}) was a [[Front (military formation)|front]] of the [[Red Army]] during the [[World War II|Second World War]].

The Northern Front was created on June 24, 1941 from the '''[[Leningrad Military District]]'''. Its primary goal was the defense of the [[Kola Peninsula]] and the northern shores of the [[Gulf of Finland]]. On August 23, 1941, the Front's forces were divided into the [[Karelian Front]] and the [[Leningrad Front]]. [[Markian Popov|Lieutenant General Markian M. Popov]] commanded the Front for the three months of its existence.

The Front's major force structure was based on the [[7th Army (Soviet Union)|7th Army]], [[14th Army (Soviet Union)|14th Army]], [[23rd Army (Soviet Union)|23rd]] Armies and the [[Leningrad People's Opolcheniye Army]]. Other forces included four [[Rifle Corps (Soviet)|Rifle Corps]], two [[Mechanized Corps (Soviet)|Mechanized Corps]], seventeen [[Rifle Division]]s, four Tank Divisions, two Motor Rifle Divisions, eight artillery regiments of the Reserve of Highest Command, eight [[Aviation Division]]s (including one objective air division),  seven [[Fortified Region]]s, one Fortified Position, and thirteen machinegun battalions.<ref name="army.armor.kiev.ua">[http://army.armor.kiev.ua/hist/stratplan-lenvo.shtml] ЗАПИСКА ПО ПРИКРЫТИЮ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОЙ ГРАНИЦЫ НА ТЕРРИТОРИИ ЛЕНИНГРАДСКОГО ВОЕННОГО ОКРУГА</ref>
[[File:Soviet Northern 22 JUNE 1941.png|750px|thumb|Northern Front Organization as of 22 June 1941<ref>{{cite web|last1=Nafziger|first1=George|title=Soviet Army & Air Forces 22 June 1941|url=http://www.cgsc.edu/CARL/nafziger/941RFCC.PDF|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151123103038/http://www.cgsc.edu/CARL/nafziger/941RFCC.PDF|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 November 2015|website=US Army Combined Arms Research Library|access-date=12 February 2016}}</ref>]]

The formations of the Northern Front included the following subunits:

==14th Army==
*[[14th Army (Soviet Union)|14th Army]] (HQ in [[Murmansk]]) with its commander, General Lieutenant [[Valerian Frolov]], responsible for the Defence Sector No.1 which extended from the coast of the [[Barents Sea]] to include the entire [[Kola Peninsula]] and in particular the Murmansk to [[Kandalaksha]] railway.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://army.armor.kiev.ua/hist/oborona-z.shtml |title=Оборона на Севере (Defence in the North) - 22.6.41г |publisher=Army.armor.kiev.ua |access-date=2012-06-05}}</ref>
[[File:Мобилизация в Ленинграде летом 1941-го.jpg|thumb|right|Mobilisation of troops of the Leningrad Military District in the summer of 1941]]
:[[14th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)|14th Rifle Division]] defending the [[Pechengsky District|Petsamo]] sector
:[[42nd Rifle Corps (Soviet Union)|42nd Rifle Corps]]
::[[104th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)|104th Rifle Division]]
::[[122nd Rifle Division (Soviet Union)|122nd Rifle Division]]
:[[52nd Rifle Division (Soviet Union)|52nd Rifle Division]]
:[[1st Tank Division (Soviet Union)|1st Tank Division]]
:104 [[Gun Artillery Regiment of the Reserve of Highest Command]]
:[[23rd Murmansk Fortified Region]] ({{langx|ru|Мурманский укрепленный район}})
:35th, 100th, 82nd, 72nd and 101st [[Border Guard Detachment]]s
:[[1st Mixed Air Division]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://victory.mil.ru/rkka/units/03/28.html |title=14-я армия |publisher=Victory.mil.ru |access-date=2012-06-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313075541/http://victory.mil.ru/rkka/units/03/28.html |archive-date=2012-03-13 }}</ref>

*[[Northern Fleet]] commanded by Admiral [[Arseniy Golovko]] (based at [[Russian Shipyard Number 10|Polyarny]]) and its [[Coastal artillery|coast defence]] and [[naval aviation]] units.

==7th Army==
*[[7th Army (Soviet Union)|Separate 7th Army]] (HQ in [[Suoyarvi]]) with its commander Lieutenant General [[Filip D. Gorelenko]]<ref>{{cite web|last=Ammentorp|first=Steen|title=The Generals|url=http://www.generals.dk/general/Gorelenko/Filipp_Danilovich/Soviet_Union.html|access-date=27 July 2013}}</ref>  responsible for the Defence Sector No.2 covering the longest sector of the Front between the Kola Peninsula and [[Lake Ladoga]], and in particular having the responsibility at once for the gap between the Ladoga and [[Lake Onega|Onega]] lakes, and the possible land assault to cut off [[Arkhangelsk]]. In fact the Stavka had determined the Army had four sectors in its responsibility.<ref name="army.armor.kiev.ua"/>
:[[54th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)|54th Rifle Division]]
:[[71st Rifle Division (Soviet Union)|71st Rifle Division]]
:[[168th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)|168th Rifle Division]]
:[[237th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)|237th Rifle Division]]
:541 [[Howitzer Artillery Regiment of the Reserve of Highest Command]]
:[[26th Sortavala Fortified Region]] 
:1st, 73rd, 80th and 3rd [[Border Guard Detachment]]s
:[[55th Mixed Air Division]] (Petrozadovsk)<ref>[http://niehorster.org/012_ussr/41_oob/leningrad/air.html Niehorster]</ref>
::[[153rd Fighter Aviation Regiment]]
::72nd Bomber Aviation Regiment

==23rd Army==
*[[23rd Army (Soviet Union)|23rd Army]] (HQ in (Kuusa or Kusa (village))<ref>Kuusa was a Finnish village in the Muolaa municipality slightly to the northwest of modern [[Klimovo, Russia|Klimovo]]</ref> with its commander General Lieutenant [[P.S. Pshennikov]] responsible for the Defence Sector No.3 that included immediate approaches to [[Leningrad]], including two major population centres of particular interest to Finland, [[Sortavala]] and [[Vyborg]]. Given the importance of the defended objectives, and previous experience in the [[Winter War]], the Army was allocated two [[Rifle Corps]], one [[Mechanised corps (Soviet Union)|Mechanised Corps]], four rifle divisions, two tank and one Motor Rifle Divisions, three howitzer and one gun Regiment of the Reserve of Highest Command, two Fortified Regions, three border guard detachments, and one aviation division

:[[19th Rifle Corps (Soviet Union)|19th Rifle Corps]]
::[[142nd Rifle Division (Soviet Union)|142nd Rifle Division]]
::[[115th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)|115th Rifle Division]]
:[[50th Rifle Corps (Soviet Union)|50th Rifle Corps]]
::[[43rd Rifle Division (Soviet Union)|43rd Rifle Division]]
::[[123rd Rifle Division (Soviet Union)|123rd Rifle Division]]
:[[10th Mechanised Corps (Soviet Union)|10th Mechanised Corps]] (removed from the Army in early July)
::[[21st Tank Division (Soviet Union)|21st Tank Division]]
::[[24th Tank Division (Soviet Union)|24th Tank Division]]
::[[198th Motor Rifle Division (Soviet Union)|198th Motor Rifle Division]]
:101, 108, 519 Howitzer Artillery Regiments of the Reserve of Highest Command
:573 Gun Artillery Regiment of the Reserve of Highest Command
:102nd, 5th, 33rd [[Border Guard Detachment]]s
:[[27th Vyborg Fortified Region]] ({{langx|ru|Выборгский укр.район}})
:[[28th Keksgolm Fortified Region]] ({{langx|ru|Кексгольмский укр.район}})
:[[5th Mixed Air Division]] which was particularly tasked with preventing repulsing either amphibious  or airborne landings in and around the [[Gulf of Finland]] coast.

==Leningrad People's Opolcheniye Army==
*[[1st (Kirov) Division of People's Opolcheniye]] ({{langx|ru|1-я (Кировская) дивизия народного ополчения)}}) named for the [[Kirovsky District, Russia|Kirovsky District]] (Кировский район) (commander [[Kombrig]] V.A. Malinnikov)
**76th Latvian Separate Rifle regiment on the 14 September.
*[[2nd (Moscow) Division of People's Opolcheniye]] named for the [[Moskovsky District, Russia|Moskovsky District]] (Московский район) ({{langx|ru|2-я (Московская) дивизия народного ополчения}}) (commander to July, Colonel N.S. Ugrumov)
**battalion of the [[Military-Political Border Guard School named for Voroshilov]] ({{langx|ru|Военно-политического пограничного училища имени Ворошилова}})
**519th [[Corps (Howitzer) Artillery Regiment of Reserve of Highest Command]]
**Tank battalion of the Armoured Course for Enhancement of Command Staff ({{langx|ru|танковый батальон бронетанковых курсов усовершенствования командного состава}})
*[[3rd (Frunze) Division of People's Opolcheniye]] named for the [[Frunzensky District, Saint Petersburg|Frunzensky District]] (Фрунзенский район) ({{langx|ru|3-я (Фрунзенская) дивизия народного ополчения}}) (commander (Colonel А.P. Netreba, from 16 August Z.N. Alekseyev)
*[[1st Guards Division of People's Opolcheniye]] ({{langx|ru|1-я гвардейская дивизия народного ополчения}}) (18 July 1941) (commander Colonel I.M. Frolov) (deployed next to the [[237th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)|237th Rifle Division]])  formed in the Kuybishev District
*[[2nd Guards Division of People's Opolcheniye]] ({{langx|ru|2-я гвардейская дивизия народного ополчения}}) (18 July 1941) (commander Colonel Sholev, later Colonel V.A. Trubachev) formed in the Sverdlovsk District
**tank battalion of the Leningrad garrison
*[[4th (Dzerzhinsky) Light Division of People's Opolcheniye]] ({{langx|ru|4-я (Дзержинская) дивизия народного ополчения}}) (19 July 1941) named for the [[Dzerzhinsky District, Russia|Dzerzhinsky District]] (Дзержинский район) (commander Colonel P.I Radigin) <ref>{{cite web|url=http://centralsector.narod.ru/form/lano.htm |title=Центральный сектор Красногвардейского укрепленного района (Гатчина) |publisher=Centralsector.narod.ru |access-date=2012-06-05}}</ref>
**[[Separate battalion of Special Purpose]] ({{langx|ru|Отдельный батальон особого назначения}}) (commander Almazov)
*[[3rd Guards Division of People's Opolcheniye]] ({{langx|ru|3-я гвардейская дивизия народного ополчения}}) (24 July 1941) (commander Colonel V.P. Kotelnikov) formed in the Petrograd District
*[[4th Guards Division of People's Opolcheniye]] ({{langx|ru|4-я гвардейская дивизия народного ополчения}}) (27 July 1941) formed in the Kalinin District (cadre)
*264th, 265th and 266th [[separate machinegun-artillery battalion]]s ({{langx|ru|отдельный пулеметно-артиллерийский батальон}}) (264th – 277th and 282nd, 283rd and 289th battalions were created)
*274th separate machinegun-artillery battalion was allocated to the [[177th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)|177th Rifle Division]]
*Four Izhorsk “Admiralty” battalions (later 72nd, 73rd, 74th, 75th Combat Red Banner separate machinegun-artillery battalion of the [[55th Army (Soviet Union)|55th Army]])<ref>[http://www.encspb.ru/article.php?kod=2804001188 history of the Izhorsk Factories (in Russian)] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080103221232/http://www.encspb.ru/article.php?kod=2804001188 |date=January 3, 2008 }}</ref>
*Several [[Destroyer regiment of special purpose|Destroyer regiments of special purpose]] were also formed that were eventually integrated into the regular units  and partisan detachments.
*Deployed in [[Gatchina]] was the 60th [[destroyer battalion]] ({{langx|ru|истребительный батальон}})
*104th (Terioksky) destroyer battalion (104-й (Териокский) истребительный батальон) deployed in the area of Terioki (now [[Zelenogorsk]])
*Deployed around [[Kolpino]] was the 120th destroyer battalion (120-й истребительный батальон) (commander A.I. Osovsky)
*2nd Latvian workers regiment (commander) ({{langx|ru|2-й Латышский рабочий полк}})
*[[5th (Kuybishevskaya) Division of People's Opolcheniye]] ({{langx|ru|5-я дивизия народного ополчения}}) (1 September 1941) (commander Colonel F.P. Utkin) formed early September 1941 from the former 4th People's Opolcheniye division and on the 10 September dislocated to [[Pulkovo Heights|Pulkovo]].
**291st separate machinegun-artillery battalion (commander Captain Kaverznev)
*[[6th Division of People's Opolcheniye]] ({{langx|ru|4-я () дивизия народного ополчения}}) (1 September 1941)
*[[7th Division of People's Opolcheniye]] ({{langx|ru|7-я дивизия народного ополчения}})  (commander Colonel I.S. Kuznetsov) raised on the 17 September it was formed on the 30 September as the [[56th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)|56th Rifle Division]].
*277th separate machinegun-artillery battalion around [[Ropsha]]
*83rd separate machinegun-artillery battalion (commander Lieutenant E.G. Grigoryev) around [[Ropsha]] and [[Kolpino]]

==65th Rifle Corps==
*[[65th Rifle Corps]] (less its Corps artillery regiments)<ref name="army.armor.kiev.ua"/> was a separate Corps which covered the No.4 Defence Sector of the Front which covered the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland with its HQ in Nimma 9&nbsp;km south of [[Tallinn]] and included two divisions
::[[11th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)|11th Rifle Division]]
::[[16th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)|16th Rifle Division]] (1st formation; 22 June 1941 - 27 December 1941)<ref>pp.13-14, Perechen No.5 - rifle, mountain rifle, motor-rifle and mechanised rifle divisions of the Red Army 1941–145, Soviet General Staff, Moscow, 1970</ref>
:[[4th Air Division (Soviet Union)|4th Air Division]] (from the Leningrad Military District)

==Hanko Peninsula naval base==
*The [[Hanko Peninsula naval base]] (commander General S.I. Kobanov)<ref name="spbumag.nw.ru">{{cite web |url=http://www.spbumag.nw.ru/2004/01/17.shtml |title=Журнал Санкт-Петербургский университет ISSN 1681-1941 / № 1-2 (3657-3658), 19 января 2004 года |publisher=Spbumag.nw.ru |access-date=2012-06-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211181306/http://www.spbumag.nw.ru/2004/01/17.shtml |archive-date=2012-02-11 |url-status=dead }}</ref> on the [[Hanko Peninsula]] was responsible for the No.5 Defence Sector and included

:[[29th Hanko Peninsula naval base Fortified Region]] ({{langx|ru|Укреплённый район военно-морской базы Ханко}}) (General Major Shore Duty [[Aleksei Borisovish Yeliseyev]])
::[[8th Separate Rifle Brigade]] (Colonel Nikolai Pavlovich Simonyak)<ref name="spbumag.nw.ru"/>
:[[Hanko Peninsula Border Guard detachment]]
:[[13th Fighter Aviation Regiment]] [[Separate Reconnaissance Air Squadron]]
:[[Submarine Divizion]]
:[[Torpedo Boat Brigade]]

==8th Army==
*[[8th Army (Soviet Union)|8th Army]] (from North Western Front after 19 August 1941)

==48th Army==
*[[48th Army (Soviet Union)|48th Army]] (from North Western Front after 19 August 1941)

==Military aviation of the Leningrad Military District==
[[7th PVO Fighter Aviation Corps]] (later the [[2nd PVO Guards Fighter Aviation Corps]])<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.allaces.ru/cgi-bin/s2.cgi/sssr/struct/k/iakpvo7.dat
|title = 7-й истребительный авиационный корпус ПВО; 2-й гвардейский истребительный Ленинградский авиационный корпус ПВО
|website = Allaces.ru
|access-date=2012-06-05}}</ref> commanded by Colonel Stepan Pavlovich Danilov<ref>Operationally was subordinated to the 2nd Fighter Aviation Corps of PVO commander General Major M.M. Protsvetkin - Kusnetsov http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/kuznetsov_nf/02.html</ref> was responsible for air cover over Leningrad, using basing on 10 primary and 15 reserve air fields,<ref>Note that as a result of the blockade the Corps was severely reduced in its basing allocation to only four air fields.[http://www.allaces.ru/cgi-bin/s2.cgi/sssr/struct/k/iakpvo7.dat]</ref> and included
* [[3rd Air Division (Soviet Union)|3rd Air Division]] equipped with [[Polikarpov I-16|I-16]] fighters
* [[54th Air Division (Soviet Union)|54th Air Division]] equipped with [[Yak-1]] fighters
** 191st, 192nd, 193rd, 194th and 195th Fighter Regiments (IAPs)<ref>Kusnetsov http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/kuznetsov_nf/02.html</ref>

==Leningrad Military District forces==
*The [[Leningrad Military District]] also included forces directly subordinated to its commander (Popov).
:[[1st Mechanised Corps (Soviet Union)|1st Mechanised Corps]] less [[1st Tank Division (Soviet Union)|1st Tank Division]] which was concentrated around [[Sluttsk]] and [[Pushkino, Russia|Pushkino]]
:[[70th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)|70th Rifle Division]] in the [[Karelian Isthmus]] half way between Leningrad and Vyborg (Muola).
:[[191st Rifle Division (Soviet Union)|191st]] and [[177th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)|177th]] Rifle Divisions that remained at cadre strength awaiting mobilisation.
:[[4th Air Division (Soviet Union)|4th]], [[41st Air Division (Soviet Union)|41st]] and [[39th Air Division (Soviet Union)|39th]] Air Divisions

*The [[Baltic Fleet]] (from 28 June 1941)
:Vessels of the Baltic Fleet were severely restricted by the geography and lack of air superiority in  conducting offensive operations, however their [[ship's battery|ships batteries]] included guns in the 305mm, 180mm and 130mm calibres, and the [[Scientific-research naval artillery range]] also located in Leningrad possessed 406mm pieces that were being developed for future Soviet [[battleship]] designs, and these were without opposition until Germans were able to move the heavy [[railway gun]]s to the area.

==NKVD troops==
[[File:Легкая бронедрезина.jpg|thumb|Soviet light armoured drezine (armoured car on rails) MBV D-1 as used by the NKVD security detachments]]
*The [[2nd Division of the NKVD troops]] ({{langx|ru|2-я дивизия войск НКВД}}) was responsible for security of specific high-value objectives throughout the Leningrad Military District territory, particularly the railways, and its 11,200 troops were equipped with armoured trains and motorised armoured rail-cars.<ref>p.189, Lenski, Ground forces of RKKA in the pre-war years: a reference (Сухопутные силы РККА в предвоенные годы. Справочник.) — St Petersburg, B & K, 2000</ref>
{{Clear}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Sources==
*Glantz, Stumbling Colossus, 1998, Appendix A
{{Fronts of the Red Army in World War II}}

[[Category:Soviet fronts|Northern Front]]