The Bryansk Front was a Front (i.e. a military formation of roughly Army Group size) of the Soviet Army during the Second World War.
General Andrei Yeremenko was designated commander of the Front when it first formed in mid-late August 1941, comprising, in Erickson's words, 'on paper two armies, 50th and 13th, with eight rifle divisions each, three cavalry divisions, and one tank division but many of these formations were badly whittled down by battle losses'. Two other armies from Soviet Central Front, 21st and 3rd Army, that had avoided encirclement, were promised but also badly worn down.
In late August along with the Western Front and Reserve Fronts it launched a large but failed counteroffensive in the Smolensk, El'nia, and Roslavl regions to halt Army Group Centre's advance on Moscow. Despite some success by Reserve Front at El'nia, the efforts by Bryansk Front were a failure.
On its second formation in mid-late 1941 under Cherevichenko, it was only active for about six months, being redesignated Voronezh Front on 7 July 1942. By the time of Operation Blau, the German summer offensive of 1942, the Front comprised the 3rd, 13th, 40th, 48th Armies, the 5th Tank Army, and the 2nd Air Army. It was then reformed, then disbanded on 11–12 March 1943 and its headquarters became HQ Kursk Front after a short time expecting to be the headquarters and the basis of the new Reserve Front.
It was later reformed, and by the time of the Battle of Kursk the Front consisted of the 11th, 3rd, 4th Tank, 61st, and 63rd Armies. Colonel General Markian Popov led it to liberate its namesake town in August and September 1943. Reformed from Orel Front 28 March 1943. On 10 October 1943 the STAVKA incorporated most of the Front's forces into the 1st Belorussian Front (former Central) and used Bryansk Front's HQ to form HQ Baltic Front, which then became 2nd Baltic Front.
On 1 October 1944 the 2nd Baltic Front consisted of:
- 3rd Shock Army
- 79th Rifle Corps (150th, 171st, 207th RD), 100th RC (21G, 28th, 200RD)
- 10th Guards Army
- 7th Guards Rifle Corps (7, 8, 119GRD), 15GRC (29, 30, 85GRD), 19GRC (22, 56, 65GRD), 78TB
- 22nd Army
- 93RC (219, 379, 391RD), 130RC (43G, 308RD), 37RD, 155FR, 118TB
- 42nd Army
- 110RC (2, 168, 268RD), 124RC (48, 123, 256RD), 118FR, 29GTB
- 15th Air Army
- 14th Fighter Aviation Corps (4, 148, 293 FigAvR), 188th Bomber AvD, 214, 225 Assault AvD, 284, 313 Fighter-Bomber AvD
- Front Reserve
- 5TC (24, 41, 70TB, 5MotRB)
Read more about Bryansk Front: Commanders
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“This is not a jungle war, but a struggle for freedom on every front of human activity.”
—Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973)