The Northern Front (russian: Северный фронт) was a

front Front may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''The Front'' (1943 film), a 1943 Soviet drama film * ''The Front'', 1976 film Music * The Front (band), an American rock band signed to Columbia Records and active in the 1980s and e ...

of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The Northern Front was created on June 24, 1941 from the

Leningrad Military District The Leningrad Military District was a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In 2010 it was merged with the Moscow Military District, the Northern Fleet and the Baltic Fleet to form the new Western Military District. Hi ...

. Its primary goal was the defense of the

Kola Peninsula sjd, Куэлнэгк нёа̄ррк , image_name= Kola peninsula.png , image_caption= Kola Peninsula as a part of Murmansk Oblast , image_size= 300px , image_alt= , map_image= Murmansk in Russia.svg , map_caption = Location of Murmansk Oblas ...

and the northern shores of the

Gulf of Finland The Gulf of Finland ( fi, Suomenlahti; et, Soome laht; rus, Фи́нский зали́в, r=Finskiy zaliv, p=ˈfʲinskʲɪj zɐˈlʲif; sv, Finska viken) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and E ...

. On August 23, 1941, the Front's forces were divided into the

Karelian Front The Karelian Front russian: Карельский фронт) was a front (a formation of Army Group size) of the Soviet Union's Red Army during World War II, and operated in Karelia. Wartime The Karelian Front was created in August 1941 when ...

and the

Leningrad Front The Leningrad Front (russian: Ленинградский фронт) was formed during the 1941 German approach on Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) by dividing the Northern Front into the Leningrad Front and Karelian Front The Karelian Front ...

. 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, 14th Army, 23rd Armies and the Leningrad People's Opolcheniye Army. Other forces included four

Rifle Corps A rifle corps (russian: стрелковый корпус, translit=strelkovyy korpus) was a Soviet corps-level military formation during the mid-twentieth century. Rifle corps were made up of a varying number of rifle divisions, although the allo ...

, two Mechanized Corps, seventeen Rifle Divisions, four

Tank Division A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engi ...

s, two

Motor Rifle Divisions An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power g ...

, eight artillery regiments of the Reserve of Highest Command, eight

Aviation Division An Aviation Division (russian: авиационная дивизия) was a type of formation of the Military Air Forces of the Red Army during the Second World War, the Soviet Air Forces, Soviet Air Defence Forces (PVO) and Aviation of th ...

s (including one objective air division), seven

Fortified Region A fortified district or fortified region (russian: Укреплённый район, Укрепрайон, ukreplyonny raion, ukrepraion) in the military terminology of the Soviet Union, is a territory within which a complex system of defense fo ...

s, one

Fortified Position A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

, and thirteen machinegun battalions.
ЗАПИСКА ПО ПРИКРЫТИЮ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОЙ ГРАНИЦЫ НА ТЕРРИТОРИИ ЛЕНИНГРАДСКОГО ВОЕННОГО ОКРУГА Soviet Northern 22 JUNE 1941

The formations of the Northern Front included the following subunits:

14th Army

* 14th Army (HQ in

Murmansk Murmansk (Russian: ''Мурманск'' lit. "Norwegian coast"; Finnish: ''Murmansk'', sometimes ''Muurmanski'', previously ''Muurmanni''; Norwegian: ''Norskekysten;'' Northern Sámi: ''Murmánska;'' Kildin Sámi: ''Мурман ланнҍ'') i ...

) with its commander, General Lieutenant

Valerian Frolov Valerian Aleksandrovich Frolov (russian: Валериан Александрович Фролов; June 7 ( O.S. May 26), 1895 – 1961) was a Soviet Colonel General (1943). Frolov participated in the First World War and the Russian Civil War. F ...

, responsible for the Defence Sector No.1 which extended from the coast of the

Barents Sea The Barents Sea ( , also ; no, Barentshavet, ; russian: Баренцево море, Barentsevo More) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia and divided between Norwegian and Russian territo ...

to include the entire

and in particular the Murmansk to

Kandalaksha Kandalaksha (russian: Кандала́кша; fi, Kantalahti, also ''Kandalax'' or ''Candalax'' in the old maps; krl, Kannanlakši; sms, Käddluhtt) is a town in Kandalakshsky District of Murmansk Oblast, Russia, located at the head of Kandal ...

railway. : 14th Rifle Division defending the

Petsamo Petsamo may refer to: * Petsamo Province, a province of Finland from 1921 to 1922 * Petsamo, Tampere, a district in Tampere, Finland * Pechengsky District, Russia, formerly known as Petsamo * Pechenga (urban-type settlement), Murmansk Oblast, Russi ...

sector :

42nd Rifle Corps The 42nd Rifle Corps was a corps of the Soviet Red Army. It was part of the 14th Army. It took part in the Great Patriotic War. Its initial commander was Major General Roman Ivanovich Panin. The corps was disbanded on 14 October 1941. The Corps ...

104th Rifle Division 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

:: 122nd Rifle Division : 52nd Rifle Division : 1st Tank Division :104 Gun Artillery Regiment of the Reserve of Highest Command : 23rd Murmansk Fortified Region (russian: Мурманский укрепленный район) :35th, 100th, 82nd, 72nd and 101st Border Guard Detachments : 1st Mixed Air Division *

Northern Fleet Severnyy flot , image = Great emblem of the Northern Fleet.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Northern Fleet's great emblem , start_date = June 1, 1733; Sov ...

commanded by Admiral

Arseniy Golovko Arseny Grigoryevich Golovko (; 10 June 1906 – 17 May 1962) was a Soviet admiral, whose naval service extended from the 1920s through the early Cold War. Service He entered the Soviet Navy in 1925 and graduated in 1928 from the M.V. Frunze ...

(based at Polyarny) and its coast defence and

naval aviation Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based a ...

units.

7th Army

* Separate 7th Army (HQ in

Suoyarvi Suoyarvi (russian: Суоя́рви; krl, Suojärvi; fi, Suojärvi) is a town and the administrative center of Suoyarvsky District of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, located northwest of Petrozavodsk. Population: History It is known that ...

) with its commander Lieutenant General Filip D. Gorelenko 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 Onega lakes, and the possible land assault to cut off

Arkhangelsk Arkhangelsk (, ; rus, Арха́нгельск, p=ɐrˈxanɡʲɪlʲsk), also known in English as Archangel and Archangelsk, is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies o ...

. In fact the Stavka had determined the Army had four sectors in its responsibility. :

54th Rifle Division The 54th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Soviet Union's Red Army and Soviet Army, formed twice. The division was formed in 1936 and fought in the Winter War. The division spent most of World War II in Karelia fighting with Finnish tr ...

: 71st Rifle Division : 168th Rifle Division :

237th Rifle Division The 237th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, originally formed in the months just before the start of the German invasion, based on the ''shtat'' (table of organization and equipment A table of organization and equipment (TO ...

:541

Howitzer Artillery Regiment of the Reserve of Highest Command A howitzer () is a long- ranged weapon, falling between a cannon (also known as an artillery gun in the United States), which fires shells at flat trajectories, and a mortar, which fires at high angles of ascent and descent. Howitzers, like ot ...

: 26th Sortavala Fortified Region :1st, 73rd, 80th and 3rd Border Guard Detachments : 55th Mixed Air Division (Petrozadovsk) :: 153rd Fighter Aviation Regiment ::72nd Bomber Aviation Regiment

23rd Army

* 23rd Army (HQ in (Kuusa or Kusa (village)) with its commander General Lieutenant P.S. Pshennikov responsible for the Defence Sector No.3 that included immediate approaches to

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, including two major population centres of particular interest to Finland,

Sortavala Sortavala (russian: Сортавала; Finnish and krl, Sortavala; sv, Sordavala); till 1918 Serdobol (russian: Сердоболь) is a town in the Republic of Karelia, Russia, located at the northern tip of Lake Ladoga near the Finnish bord ...

and

Vyborg Vyborg (; rus, Вы́борг, links=1, r=Výborg, p=ˈvɨbərk; fi, Viipuri ; sv, Viborg ; german: Wiborg ) is a town in, and the administrative center of, Vyborgsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Karelian Isthmus ne ...

. Given the importance of the defended objectives, and previous experience in the

Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...

, the Army was allocated two

, one 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 :: 142nd Rifle Division :: 115th Rifle Division : 50th Rifle Corps :: 43rd Rifle Division :: 123rd Rifle Division : 10th Mechanised Corps (removed from the Army in early July) :: 21st Tank Division :: 24th Tank Division :: 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 Detachments : 27th Vyborg Fortified Region (russian: Выборгский укр.район) : 28th Keksgolm Fortified Region (russian: Кексгольмский укр.район) : 5th Mixed Air Division which was particularly tasked with preventing repulsing either amphibious or airborne landings in and around the

coast.

Leningrad People's Opolcheniye Army

* 1st (Kirov) Division of People's Opolcheniye (russian: 1-я (Кировская) дивизия народного ополчения)) named for the Kirovsky District (Кировский район) (commander

Kombrig (russian: комбриг) is an abbreviation of Commanding officer of the brigade (russian: командир бригады, komandir brigady; ), and was a military rank in the Soviet Armed Forces of the USSR from 1935 to 1940. It was also the ...

V.A. Malinnikov) **76th Latvian Separate Rifle regiment on the 14 September. * 2nd (Moscow) Division of People's Opolcheniye named for the Moskovsky District (Московский район) (russian: 2-я (Московская) дивизия народного ополчения) (commander to July, Colonel N.S. Ugrumov) **battalion of the Military-Political Border Guard School named for Voroshilov (russian: Военно-политического пограничного училища имени Ворошилова) **519th

Corps (Howitzer) Artillery Regiment of Reserve of Highest Command Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...

**Tank battalion of the Armoured Course for Enhancement of Command Staff (russian: танковый батальон бронетанковых курсов усовершенствования командного состава) * 3rd (Frunze) Division of People's Opolcheniye named for the Frunzensky District (Фрунзенский район) (russian: 3-я (Фрунзенская) дивизия народного ополчения) (commander (Colonel А.P. Netreba, from 16 August Z.N. Alekseyev) * 1st Guards Division of People's Opolcheniye (russian: 1-я гвардейская дивизия народного ополчения) (18 July 1941) (commander Colonel I.M. Frolov) (deployed next to the

) formed in the Kuybishev District * 2nd Guards Division of People's Opolcheniye (russian: 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 (russian: 4-я (Дзержинская) дивизия народного ополчения) (19 July 1941) named for the Dzerzhinsky District (Дзержинский район) (commander Colonel P.I Radigin) **

Separate battalion of Special Purpose Separate or separates may refer to: *Soil separates, three kinds of soil mineral particles: sand, silt, and clay *Separate (song), 2016 song by South African songstress Amanda Black *Separates (clothing), Mix-and-match separates, clothing * ''Sep ...

(russian: Отдельный батальон особого назначения) (commander Almazov) * 3rd Guards Division of People's Opolcheniye (russian: 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 (russian: 4-я гвардейская дивизия народного ополчения) (27 July 1941) formed in the Kalinin District (cadre) *264th, 265th and 266th

separate machinegun-artillery battalion Separate or separates may refer to: *Soil separates, three kinds of soil mineral particles: sand, silt, and clay *Separate (song), 2016 song by South African songstress Amanda Black *Separates (clothing), Mix-and-match separates, clothing * ''Sep ...

s (russian: 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 *Four Izhorsk “Admiralty” battalions (later 72nd, 73rd, 74th, 75th Combat Red Banner separate machinegun-artillery battalion of the 55th Army) *Several Destroyer regiments of special purpose were also formed that were eventually integrated into the regular units and partisan detachments. *Deployed in

Gatchina The town of Gatchina ( rus, Га́тчина, , ˈɡatːɕɪnə, links=y) serves as the administrative center of the Gatchinsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies south-south-west of St. Petersburg, along the E95 highway which ...

was the 60th

destroyer battalion In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in 1 ...

(russian: истребительный батальон) *104th (Terioksky) destroyer battalion (104-й (Териокский) истребительный батальон) deployed in the area of Terioki (now

Zelenogorsk Zelenogorsk (russian: Зеленогорск) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia. ;Urban localities *Zelenogorsk, Krasnoyarsk Krai, a closed town in Krasnoyarsk Krai *Zelenogorsk, Saint Petersburg, a municipal town in Kurortny ...

) *Deployed around

Kolpino Kolpino (russian: Ко́лпино; fi, Kolpina, ') is a administrative divisions of Saint Petersburg, municipal city in Kolpinsky District of the federal cities of Russia, federal city of Saint Petersburg, St. Petersburg, Russia, loc ...

was the 120th destroyer battalion (120-й истребительный батальон) (commander A.I. Osovsky) *2nd Latvian workers regiment (commander) (russian: 2-й Латышский рабочий полк) * 5th (Kuybishevskaya) Division of People's Opolcheniye (russian: 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 Pulkovo may refer to: *Pulkovo Heights marking the southern limit of Saint Petersburg, Russia *Pulkovo Airport serving Saint Petersburg, Russia *Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise Pulkovo Federal State Unified Aviation Service Company (ФГУАП “� ...

. **291st separate machinegun-artillery battalion (commander Captain Kaverznev) * 6th Division of People's Opolcheniye (russian: 4-я () дивизия народного ополчения) (1 September 1941) * 7th Division of People's Opolcheniye (russian: 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. *277th separate machinegun-artillery battalion around

Ropsha Ropsha ( rus, Ропша, p=ˈropʂə) is a settlement in Lomonosovsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, situated about south of Peterhof and south-west of central Saint Petersburg, at an elevation of to . The palace and park ensemble ...

*83rd separate machinegun-artillery battalion (commander Lieutenant E.G. Grigoryev) around

and

65th Rifle Corps

* 65th Rifle Corps (less its Corps artillery regiments) 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 km south of

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

and included two divisions :: 11th Rifle Division ::

16th Rifle Division The 16th Rifle Division (russian: 16-я стрелковая Литовская Клайпедская Краснознамённая дивизия, translit=16-ya strelkovaya Litovskaya Klaypedskaya Krasnoznamonnaya diviziya; ; lt, 16-oji 'Lie ...

(1st formation; 22 June 1941 - 27 December 1941) : 4th Air Division (from the Leningrad Military District)

Hanko Peninsula naval base

*The Hanko Peninsula naval base (commander General S.I. Kobanov) on the

Hanko Peninsula The Hanko Peninsula ( fi, Hankoniemi; ), also spelled Hango, is the southernmost point of mainland Finland. The soil is a sandy moraine, the last tip of the Salpausselkä ridge, and vegetation consists mainly of pine and low shrubs. The peninsu ...

was responsible for the No.5 Defence Sector and included : 29th Hanko Peninsula naval base Fortified Region (russian: Укреплённый район военно-морской базы Ханко) (General Major Shore Duty Aleksei Borisovish Yeliseyev) ::

8th Separate Rifle Brigade 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...

(Colonel Nikolai Pavlovich Simonyak) :

Hanko Peninsula Border Guard detachment Hanko may refer to People * August Hanko, German First World War flying ace Places *Hanko, Finland, town and municipality * Hanko Peninsula, Finland * Hankø, an island in the Oslo Fjord in Norway *The asteroid 2299 Hanko *Hanko, a misspelli ...

: 13th Fighter Aviation Regiment Separate Reconnaissance Air Squadron : Submarine Divizion :

Torpedo Boat Brigade A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

8th Army

* 8th Army (from North Western Front after 19 August 1941)

48th Army

* 48th Army (from North Western Front after 19 August 1941)

Military aviation of the Leningrad Military District

7th PVO Fighter Aviation Corps 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion, mythology, s ...

(later the 2nd PVO Guards Fighter Aviation Corps) commanded by Colonel Stepan Pavlovich Danilov was responsible for air cover over Leningrad, using basing on 10 primary and 15 reserve air fields, and included *

3rd Air Division The 3rd Air Division (3d AD) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Strategic Air Command, assigned to Fifteenth Air Force, being stationed at Hickam AFB, Hawaii. It was inactivated on 1 April 1992. ...

equipped with I-16 fighters * 54th Air Division equipped with

Yak-1 The Yakovlev Yak-1 (russian: Яковлев Як-1) was a Soviet fighter aircraft of World War II. The Yak-1 was a single-seat monoplane with a composite structure and wooden wings; production began in early 1940.Angelucci and Matricardi 1978, ...

fighters ** 191st, 192nd, 193rd, 194th and 195th Fighter Regiments (IAPs)

Leningrad Military District forces

*The

also included forces directly subordinated to its commander (Popov). : 1st Mechanised Corps less 1st Tank Division which was concentrated around Sluttsk and Pushkino :

70th Rifle Division The 70th Rifle Division () was an infantry division of the Red Army and briefly of the Soviet Army, formed twice. Formed in 1934 at Samara, the division was transferred to the Leningrad Military District in the late 1930s and fought in the Wint ...

in the

Karelian Isthmus The Karelian Isthmus (russian: Карельский перешеек, Karelsky peresheyek; fi, Karjalankannas; sv, Karelska näset) is the approximately stretch of land, situated between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga in northwestern ...

half way between Leningrad and Vyborg (Muola). : 191st and 177th Rifle Divisions that remained at cadre strength awaiting mobilisation. : 4th, 41st and 39th Air Divisions *The

Baltic Fleet , image = Great emblem of the Baltic fleet.svg , image_size = 150 , caption = Baltic Fleet Great ensign , dates = 18 May 1703 – present , country = , allegiance = (1703–1721) (1721–1917) (1917–1922) (1922–1991)(1991–present) ...

(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 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 A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...

designs, and these were without opposition until Germans were able to move the heavy

railway gun A railway gun, also called a railroad gun, is a large artillery piece, often surplus naval artillery, mounted on, transported by, and fired from a specially designed railroad car, railway wagon. Many countries have built railway guns, but the ...

s to the area.

NKVD troops

*The 2nd Division of the NKVD troops (russian: 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.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

References

Sources

*Glantz, Stumbling Colossus, 1998, Appendix A {{Fronts of the Red Army in World War II Northern Front