Bryansk Front

The Bryansk Front (Russian: Брянский фронт) was a major formation of the Red Army during the Second World War.

First Formation (August - November 1941)

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."¹ Two other armies from Soviet Central Front, 21st and 3rd Army, which had avoided encirclement at the Battle of Smolensk (1941), were promised but also badly worn down.

In late August along with the Western Front (Soviet Union) and the Reserve Front, the Bryansk Front launched a large but unsuccessful counteroffensive in the Smolensk, El'nia, and Roslavl regions to halt Army Group Centre's advance on Moscow. Despite some success by the Reserve Front at El'nia, the efforts by Bryansk Front were a failure.

After the failure of the Smolensk offensives, the seriously weakened front became trapped in an enormous encirclement in the lead-up to the Battle of Moscow. "Most of the troops found themselves encircled, and were fighting their way to the east," according to Zhukov. On 23 Oct., "thanks to heroic efforts they managed to break out of encirclement." On 10 Nov., the Bryansk Front was "disbanded".²