Voronezh Front

The 1st Ukrainian Front (Russian: Пéрвый Украи́нский фронт), previously the Voronezh Front (Воронежский Фронт), was a major formation of the Red Army during World War II, being equivalent to a Western army group. They took part in the capture of Berlin, the capital of Nazi Germany.

Wartime

The Voronezh Front was established at the end of June 1942 when tanks of the 6th Army of the German Wehrmacht reached Voronezh during the early stages of Operation Blau. It was split off the earlier Bryansk Front in order to better defend the Voronezh region. The name indicated the primary geographical region in which the front first fought, based on the town of Voronezh on the Don River.

The Voronezh Front participated in the Battle of Voronezh, the defensive operations on the approaches to Stalingrad, and in the December 1942 Operation Saturn, the follow-on to the encirclement of the German 6th Army at Stalingrad where it destroyed the Hungarian Second Army. Following Operation Saturn, the front was involved in Operation Star, which included the Third Battle of Kharkov, which resulted in a long battle from 2 February to 23 March 1943, and the reversal of much of the Soviet gains by the Germans. During Operation Star the front included the 38th, 40th, 60th, and 69th Armies plus the , resulting in the reorganisation of the 3rd Tank Army as the 57th Army due to its destruction. In the in August 1943, the front operated on the southern shoulder, during which it commanded the on the Soviet side.