The Northern Front () 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

Russian Civil War , date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...

which was formed on 15 September 1918 to fight the troops of the interventionists and White Guards in the Northwest, North and Northeast of the Soviet Republic. The Northern Front covered the area between

Pskov Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=pskov-ru.ogg, p=pskof; see also names in other languages) is a city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, located about east of the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population ...

and Vyatka. It bordered the Eastern Front of the Red Army along the

Balakhna Balakhna (russian: Балахна́) is a town and the administrative center of Balakhninsky District in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Volga River, north of Nizhny Novgorod, the administrative center of the obl ...

Yarensk Yarensk (russian: Я́ренск) is a rural locality (a '' selo'') and the administrative center of Lensky District of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located on the bank of the Vychegda River near its confluence with the Yarenga. Population: ...

Glazov Glazov ( rus, Глазов, p=ˈɡlazəf; udm, Глаз, ''Glaz'') is a town in the Udmurt Republic, Russia, located along the Trans-Siberian Railway, on the Cheptsa River. Population: History It was first mentioned in the 17th century chr ...

- Cherdyn, Cherdyn line. The Front headquarters were located in

Yaroslavl Yaroslavl ( rus, Ярослáвль, p=jɪrɐˈsɫavlʲ) is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historic part of the city is a World Heritage Site, and is located at the confluence ...

. The Northern Front was replaced by the Western Front on 19 February 1919.

Operations

The North-eastern and Northern area of the Northern Front, had no continuous line of defense, as natural conditions made combat operations impossible in most areas. Operations were mainly conducted along main transport communication lines (rivers and roads). The 6th Army conducted an active defense along the

Vologda Vologda ( rus, Вологда, p=ˈvoləɡdə) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the river Vologda (river), Vologda within the watershed of the Northern Dvina. ...

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 ...

Kotlas Kotlas (russian: Ко́тлас) is a town in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Northern Dvina and Vychegda Rivers. Population: Kotlas is the third largest town of Arkhangelsk Oblast in terms of population (after A ...

Northern Dvina , image = dvina.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = Northern Dvina starts as the confluence of Yug River (on left) and Sukhona River (on top) near Veliky Ustyug (photo 2001) , source1 = Confluence of ...

line. The strategic task of the army was to prevent the joining of the armed forces of the White Movement in the North and the East of Russia.
The 7th Army conducted defensive battles on the outskirts of

Petrograd 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 ...

in the Inter-District area, on 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 ...

and the

Narva Narva, russian: Нарва is a municipality and city in Estonia. It is located in Ida-Viru County, Ida-Viru county, at the Extreme points of Estonia, eastern extreme point of Estonia, on the west bank of the Narva (river), Narva river which ...

line. In January 1919, during the

Battle of Shenkursk The Battle of Shenkursk, in January 1919, was a major battle of the Russian Civil War. Following the Bolshevik loss at the Battle of Tulgas, the Red Army's next offensive action was against the Allied garrison of Shenkursk; located on the Vaga ...

, the 6th Army stopped the advance of the enemy and created favorable conditions for a counter-offensive against Arkhangelsk.
In the winter of 1918 and 1919, the 7th Army conducted an offensive on the

line, but as a result of counterattacks by the

Estonian Army The Estonian Land Forces ( et, Maavägi), unofficially referred to as the Estonian Army, is the name of the unified ground forces among the Estonian Defense Forces where it has an offensive military formation role. It is currently the largest ...

with the support of the Entente and the participation of Finnish and Swedish volunteers, they were forced to withdraw behind the

Narva River The river Narva ( et, Narva jõgi; russian: Нарва), formerly also Narova flows north into the Baltic Sea and is the largest Estonian river by discharge. A similar length of land far to the south, together with it and a much longer interm ...

. In view of the increasing danger to Petrograd and the need for closer cooperation between the 7th Army, the Army of Soviet Latvia and the Western Army, on February 12, 1919, the Commander-in-Chief formed a new Western Front on the basis of the Northern Front Administration. The Northern Front itself was abolished on February 19, 1919.

Composition

* 6th Army * 7th Army * Army of Soviet Latvia * Ladoga Military Flotilla * Onega Military Flotilla * North-Dvinskaya Military Flotilla *

Kronstadt Fortress The Kronstadt Fortress is an Landmark, architectural and historical monument of the 18th–19th centuries in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Only the Northern Wall of the fortress, located in the center of Kronstadt along Vosstaniya Street, which was bu ...

(from 8 December)

Commanders

Commanders : *

Dmitri Parsky Dmitri Pavlovich Parsky (russian: Дми́трий Па́влович Па́рский) ( in Tula – 20 December 1921) was a Russian general of the Imperial Russian Army during World War I, who fought on the Eastern Front. In 1893 he attended t ...

(15 September 1918 - 26 November 1918) *

Dmitry Nikolayevich Nadyozhny Dmitry Nikolayevich Nadyozhny (russian: Дмитрий Николаевич Надёжный; , Nizhny Novgorod - 22 February 1945, Moscow) was a commander in the Russian Imperial Army who later joined the Red Army. He rose to lieutenant general ...

(26 November 1918 - 19 February 1919) Chiefs of Staff : * Fyodor Kostyayev (20 September 1918 - 21 October 1918) * Nikolai Domozhirov (21 October 1918 - 19 February 1919)

Source

* {{Soviet fronts of the Russian Civil War Soviet units and formations of the Russian Civil War Military units and formations established in 1918 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919 Soviet fronts