The Steppe Military District () was a
military district of the
Soviet Union, formed twice. It was first formed in April 1943 during
World War II near
Voronezh as a strategic reserve, and after the beginning of the
Battle of Kursk in July it became the
Steppe Front
The Steppe Front (russian: Степной фронт) was a front of the Red Army during the Second World War which existed from July to October 1943.
History
On 9 July 1943, Stavka designated a new Reserve Front in the Voronezh region, that had ...
. Postwar, the district was formed for a second time in Kazakhstan in July 1945 and demobilized troops among other duties before being disbanded in May 1946.
First formation
The Steppe Military District was first formed during
World War II on 15 April 1943 in accordance with a
Stavka
The ''Stavka'' (Russian and Ukrainian: Ставка) is a name of the high command of the armed forces formerly in the Russian Empire, Soviet Union and currently in Ukraine.
In Imperial Russia ''Stavka'' referred to the administrative staff, a ...
directive of 13 April by the renaming of the
Reserve Front, which had been formed from the
41st Army headquarters shortly before. The district served as a strategic reserve for Stavka, and its headquarters was organized on tables of organization and equipment for a field
front command. It was initially commanded and organized by Lieutenant General (later Colonel General)
Markian Popov. The district headquarters was located near
Voronezh in the villages of Somovo,
Novaya Usman
Novaya Usman (russian: Новая Усмань) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, rural locality (a Village#Russia, selo) and the administrative center of Novousmansky District of Voronezh Oblast, Russia. Population:
References Note ...
,
Babilovo, Rykan, Khrenovoye, and others at various points in time. It initially included the
24th (redesignated the
4th Guards Army
The 4th Guards Army was an elite Guards field army of the Soviet Union during World War II and the early postwar era.
History
On April 16, 1943, the Supreme Command ordered the army to be established. On May 5, 1943, the army was formed on t ...
on 16 April),
46th,
47th,
53rd,
66th (redesignated the
5th Guards Army
The 5th Guards Army was a Soviet Guards formation which fought in many critical actions during World War II under the command of General Aleksey Semenovich Zhadov. The 5th Guards Army was formed in spring 1943 from the 66th Army in recognition o ...
on 5 May),
5th Guards Tank, and
5th Air Armies, as well as separate units completing their formation.
Its troops were stationed in
Voronezh,
Kursk
Kursk ( rus, Курск, p=ˈkursk) is a city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur, Tuskar, and Seym rivers. The area around Kursk was the site of a turning point in the Soviet–German stru ...
,
Tambov, and
Rostov Oblast
Rostov Oblast ( rus, Росто́вская о́бласть, r=Rostovskaya oblast, p=rɐˈstofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the Southern Federal District. The oblast has an area of and a populati ...
s. The district was tasked with preventing a German breakthrough from
Orel and
Belgorod towards Kursk and Voronezh, and to this end a 250-kilometer defensive line along the
Kshen River from
Rossoshnoye to
Bely Kholodez was established and preparations made for counterattacking and going on the offensive towards
Maloarkhangelsk, Kursk, and
Oboyan. On 25 May the
27th Army joined the district. The movement of the 27th and 53rd Armies to the district from the
Northwestern Front to the area east of
Kursk
Kursk ( rus, Курск, p=ˈkursk) is a city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur, Tuskar, and Seym rivers. The area around Kursk was the site of a turning point in the Soviet–German stru ...
and the movement of the 46th and 47th Armies from the
North Caucasian Front to the area east of
Kharkov went undetected by German intelligence. The district's troops strengthened defenses and received reinforcements and equipment. In June Colonel General
Ivan Konev took command of the district, on the recommendation of Stavka representative
Georgy Zhukov.
When the German
attack
Attack may refer to:
Warfare and combat
* Offensive (military)
* Charge (warfare)
* Attack (fencing)
* Strike (attack)
* Attack (computing)
* Attack aircraft
Books and publishing
* ''The Attack'' (novel), a book
* '' Attack No. 1'', comic an ...
in the
Battle of Kursk began on 5 July, the 27th Army defended the Kshen line on the left from Rossoshnoye to Nikolskoye, the 53rd Army in the center to Bezlepkino, and the 5th Guards Army on the right to Belyi Kolodez. 47th Army was concentrated in the area of Olkhovatka, Krivonosovka, and Kamenka, while the
4th Guards Tank Corps
Fourth or the fourth may refer to:
* the ordinal form of the number 4
* ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971
* Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision
* Fourth (music), a musical interval
* ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...
was in the area of Beduga Station and the
10th Tank Corps
The 10th Tank Corps was a tank corps of the Red Army, formed twice.
First Formation
In May–June 1938, the 7th Mechanized Corps headquarters was relocated from Novy Petergof to Luga and converted into the 10th Tank Corps when the Red Army m ...
near
Stary Oskol. The district's main armored striking force, the 5th Guards Tank Army, included the
29th Tank Corps
The 29th Tank Corps was a tank corps of the Soviet Union's Red Army. Formed in February 1943, the corps served through the entire war, fighting in the Battle of Prokhorovka, the Belgorod-Kharkov Offensive, the Battle of the Dnieper, the Dniepe ...
in the forests west of
Ostrogozhsk, the
5th Guards Mechanized Corps
The 5th Guards ''Zimovnikovskaya'' order Kutuzov II degree Motor Rifle Division, (Military Unit Number (V/Ch) 51852 from 1979) named on the 60th anniversary of the USSR, was a military formation of the Soviet Ground Forces. It was formed from the ...
in the Kamenka area, and the
3rd Guards Mechanized Corps in the area of Kuzmenkov. The Steppe Military District also included three cavalry corps: the
7th Guards in the area of Belogorye and
Pavlovsk, the
3rd Guards in the area of Staraya Kalitva and Novaya Kalitva, and the
5th Guards in the area of Novo-Markovka, Kirovo, and Nikolskoye.
On the morning of 7 July, the 5th Guards Tank Army began its march to the front to fight at Kursk. On the same day the 10th Tank Corps transferred to the
Voronezh Front and began moving to the front. On the night of 8 July, the 47th Army was shifted forward to the area of Khmelevoye and
Korocha, closer to the action. On 9 July, the district became the
Steppe Front
The Steppe Front (russian: Степной фронт) was a front of the Red Army during the Second World War which existed from July to October 1943.
History
On 9 July 1943, Stavka designated a new Reserve Front in the Voronezh region, that had ...
.
Second formation
The Steppe Military District was formed for a second time postwar when the territory of the
Central Asian Military District was divided between the Steppe and
Turkestan Military Districts on 9 July 1945. The district headquarters was formed from the
4th Shock Army
The 4th Shock Army was a combined arms army of the Soviet Armed Forces during World War II.
The Army was formed from the 27th Army on 25 December 1941 (1st formation) within the Northwestern Front. On 1 October 1942 it included the 249th, 332 ...
headquarters at
Alma-Ata, and its only commander was former Central Asian Military District commander Lieutenant General
Pavel Kurbatkin
Pavel (Bulgarian, Russian, Serbian and Macedonian: Павел, Czech, Slovene, Romanian: Pavel, Polish: Paweł, Ukrainian: Павло, Pavlo) is a male given name. It is a Slavic cognate of the name Paul (derived from the Greek Pavlos). Pa ...
. It controlled troops on the territory of the
Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, excluding
Aktobe,
Guryev Guryev (russian: Гурьев) is a Russian-language surname. The feminine form is Guryeva (russian: Гурьева). It can refer to:
People Guryev
* Andrey Guryev (b. 1960), Russian businessman
* Andrey Guryev Jr., Russian businessman
* Dmitry Gu ...
, and
West Kazakhstan Oblasts. The district disbanded reserve and training units and demobilized combat units withdrawn to the district. On 4 February 1946 it became a territorial military district and was subordinated to the Turkestan Military District. Its headquarters was disbanded on 3 May.
Commanders
The following officers commanded the district's first formation:
* Lieutenant General (promoted to Colonel General in April)
Markian Popov (April – June 1943)
* Colonel General
Max Reyter (June 1943)
* Colonel General
Ivan Konev (June – July 1943)
The following officer commanded the district's second formation:
* Lieutenant General
Pavel Kurbatkin
Pavel (Bulgarian, Russian, Serbian and Macedonian: Павел, Czech, Slovene, Romanian: Pavel, Polish: Paweł, Ukrainian: Павло, Pavlo) is a male given name. It is a Slavic cognate of the name Paul (derived from the Greek Pavlos). Pa ...
(July 1945 – May 1946)
References
Citations
Bibliography
* 411n133
* — This report, commissioned by the Soviet General Staff in 1944, was designed to educate the Red Army on how to conduct war operations. It was classified secret until its declassification in 1964, and was later edited and translated to English by Orenstein and Glantz. Its original title was ''Collection of materials for the study of war experience, no. 11'' (russian: Сборник материалов по изучению опыта Великой Отечественной войны № 11, italic=yes, link=no, translit=Sbornik materialov po izucheniiu opyta Velikoi Otechestvennoi voiny № 11)
* {{Cite encyclopedia, title=Степно́й вое́нный о́круг, encyclopedia=Военная энциклопедия в 8 томах
ilitary Encyclopedia in 8 volumespublisher=Voenizdat, location=Moscow, date=2003, editor-last=Ivanov, editor-first=Sergei, volume=7, language=ru, trans-title=Steppe Military District, isbn=5-203-01874-X
Military districts of the Soviet Union
Military units and formations established in 1943
Military units and formations disestablished in 1946
Red Army units and formations of World War II