Timeline of the WWII Eastern Front
Encyclopedia
Below is the timeline of the events of the Eastern Front of World War II
, the conflict between Nazi Germany
and the Soviet Union
from 1941 to 1945.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the conflict between Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
and the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
from 1941 to 1945.
1941
- 1941-06-22 Operation BarbarossaOperation BarbarossaOperation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
launched – Axis invasion of the Soviet Union - 1941-06-22 – ? Battle of the Baltic (1941)Battle of the Baltic (1941)The Baltic Sea Campaigns were conducted by Axis and Allied naval forces in the Baltic Sea, its coastal regions, and the Gulf of Finland during World War II. After early fighting between Polish and German forces, the main combatants were Germany and Finland, opposed by the Soviet Union...
- 1941-06-22 – 1941-07-09 Battle of Western Ukraine – destruction of Soviet tank armies
- 1941-06-22 – 1941-07-09 Battle of Bialystok-MinskBattle of Bialystok-MinskThe Battle of Białystok–Minsk was a German strategic operation conducted by the Army Group Centre during penetration of the Soviet border region during the opening stage of Operation Barbarossa lasting from 22–29 June 1941. Its goal, the encirclement of the Red Army forces around Minsk, was...
– Soviet 3rd and 10th armies encircled - 1941-07-10 – 1941-09-10 Battle of SmolenskBattle of Smolensk (1941)The Battle of Smolensk was a largely successful encirclement operation by the German Army Group Centre's 2nd Panzer Group led by Heinz Guderian and the 3rd Panzer Group led by Hermann Hoth against parts of four Soviet Fronts during World War II...
– Soviet 16th and 20th armies encircled - 1941-07-10 – 1941-08-08 Battle of UmanBattle of UmanThe Battle of Uman was the German and allied encirclement of the 6th and 12th The Battle of Uman (15 July–8 August 1941) was the German and allied encirclement of the 6th (General Lieutenant I.N. Muzyrchenko) and 12th The Battle of Uman (15 July–8 August 1941) was the German and allied...
– Soviet 6th and 12th armies encircled - 1941-08-08 – 1941-09-19 Battle of KievBattle of Kiev (1941)The Battle of Kiev was the German name for the operation that resulted in a very large encirclement of Soviet troops in the vicinity of Kiev during World War II. It is considered the largest encirclement of troops in history. The operation ran from 23 August – 26 September 1941 as part of Operation...
– Soviet Southern Front encircled - 1941-08-08 – 1944-01-18 Siege of LeningradSiege of LeningradThe Siege of Leningrad, also known as the Leningrad Blockade was a prolonged military operation resulting from the failure of the German Army Group North to capture Leningrad, now known as Saint Petersburg, in the Eastern Front theatre of World War II. It started on 8 September 1941, when the last...
– the city of LeningradLeningradLeningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
and armies of the Leningrad FrontLeningrad FrontThe Leningrad Front was first formed on August 27, 1941, by dividing the Northern Front into the Leningrad Front and Karelian Front, during the German approach on Leningrad .-History:...
encircled - Operation Silver FoxOperation Silver FoxOperation Silver Fox was a joint German–Finnish military operation plan during World War II, though it was mainly operated and engaged by Germans. Its main goal was the capture of the key Soviet port at Murmansk through attacks from Finnish and Norwegian territory.The operation had to be three...
German and Finnish forces advance north of LeningradLeningradLeningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
on MurmanskMurmanskMurmansk is a city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast, Russia. It serves as a seaport and is located in the extreme northwest part of Russia, on the Kola Bay, from the Barents Sea on the northern shore of the Kola Peninsula, not far from Russia's borders with Norway and Finland...
. - Battle of Roslavl
- 1941-10-24 – 1942-01-07 Operation Typhoon – German advance on Moscow
- 1941-10-21 – 1941-10-27 Battle of RostovBattle of RostovThree battles of the Eastern Front of World War II around the city of Rostov-on-Don on the Sea of Azov are known as the Battle of Rostov:*In the Battle of Rostov , the German 1st Panzer Army captured the city but was driven out by the Soviet 37th Army...
– Germans initially occupied Rostov but were over-extended and driven back along shore of Sea of AzovSea of AzovThe Sea of Azov , known in Classical Antiquity as Lake Maeotis, is a sea on the south of Eastern Europe. It is linked by the narrow Strait of Kerch to the Black Sea to the south and is bounded on the north by Ukraine mainland, on the east by Russia, and on the west by the Ukraine's Crimean...
by the Red Army. - Battle of Vyazma-Bryansk— see Battle of MoscowBattle of MoscowThe Battle of Moscow is the name given by Soviet historians to two periods of strategically significant fighting on a sector of the Eastern Front during World War II. It took place between October 1941 and January 1942. The Soviet defensive effort frustrated Hitler's attack on Moscow, capital of...
- 1941-10-10 – Battle of Vyazma – occupied by Germans
- 1941-10-06 – Battle of Bryansk – occupied by Germans
- 1941-10-02 – 1942-01-07 Battle of MoscowBattle of MoscowThe Battle of Moscow is the name given by Soviet historians to two periods of strategically significant fighting on a sector of the Eastern Front during World War II. It took place between October 1941 and January 1942. The Soviet defensive effort frustrated Hitler's attack on Moscow, capital of...
– Operation Typhoon stalls. Soviet Winter counter-offensive. - Battle of the Crimea
- First Battle of KharkovFirst Battle of KharkovThe 1st Battle of Kharkov so named by Wilhelm Keitel was the 1941 tactical Wehrmacht battle for the city of Kharkiv during the final phase of Operation Barbarossa by the German 6th Army of the Army Group South on 20 October 1941...
— Germans occupy Kharkov - 1941-11-16 – 1942-07-04 Siege of Sevastopol – Germans are claimed by some to have used poison gas to flush Soviet defenders from bunkers and caves
- Demyansk PocketDemyansk PocketThe Demyansk Pocket was the name given for the encirclement of German troops by the Red Army around Demyansk , south of Leningrad, during World War II on the Eastern Front. The pocket existed mainly from 8 February-21 April 1942. A much smaller pocket was simultaneously surrounded in Kholm, about ...
– trapped German troops supplied by air drop
1942
- January–April Rzhev-Vyazma Offensive (1942) – disastrous Soviet attempt to cut off the Rzhev salient
- 1942-05-12 – 1942-05-30 Second Battle of KharkovSecond Battle of KharkovThe Second Battle of Kharkov, so named by Wilhelm Keitel, was an Axis counter-offensive against the Red Army Izium bridgehead offensive conducted from 12 May to 28 May 1942, on the Eastern Front during World War II. Its objective was to eliminate the Izium bridgehead over Seversky Donets, or the...
– Red Army take city but are cut off by 1st Panzer Army - July Battle of Voronezh (1942)Battle of Voronezh (1942)The Battle of Voronezh was a battle on the Eastern Front of World War II, fought in and around the strategically important city of Voronezh on the Don river, south of Moscow, from 28 June-24 July 1942, as opening move of the German summer offensive in 1942....
- 1942-06-28 Operation BlueOperation BlueCase Blue , later renamed Operation Braunschweig, was the German Armed Forces name for its plan for a 1942 strategic summer offensive in southern Russia between 28 June and November 1942....
launched from the Don to the Volga - July First Rzhev-Sychevka Offensive
- 1942-07-23 – 1943-02-01 Battle of the CaucasusBattle of the CaucasusThe Battle of Caucasus is a name given to a series of German and Soviet operations in the Caucasus area during the Soviet-German War.-1941 operations:...
– Austrian troops climb Mount Elbrus but Axis cannot fight their way through to the Caspian SeaCaspian SeaThe Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...
oilfields - 1942-09-01 – 1943-02-02 Battle of StalingradBattle of StalingradThe Battle of Stalingrad was a major battle of World War II in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in southwestern Russia. The battle took place between 23 August 1942 and 2 February 1943...
– Bloodiest battle in history - 1942-11-19 Operation UranusOperation UranusOperation Uranus was the codename of the Soviet strategic operation in World War II which led to the encirclement of the German Sixth Army, the Third and Fourth Romanian armies, and portions of the German Fourth Panzer Army. The operation formed part of the ongoing Battle of Stalingrad, and was...
launched – Romanian and Hungarian armies destroyed; 300,000 Axis troops trapped at Stalingrad - November–December Second Rzhev-Sychevka Offensive – another disastrous Soviet attempt to cut off Rzhev salient; Georgy ZhukovGeorgy ZhukovMarshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov , was a Russian career officer in the Red Army who, in the course of World War II, played a pivotal role in leading the Red Army through much of Eastern Europe to liberate the Soviet Union and other nations from the Axis Powers' occupation...
's worst defeat - 1942-12-12 – 1942-12-29 Operation Winter StormOperation WintergewitterOperation Winter Storm was a German offensive in World War II, undertaken between 12–23 December 1942, in which the German 4th Panzer-Armee failed to break the encirclement of Axis forces during the Battle of Stalingrad....
– fails to relieve Stalingrad - 1942-12-16 – 1943-02-25 Operation SaturnOperation SaturnOperation Saturn, revised as Operation Little Saturn, was a Red Army operation on the Eastern Front of World War II that led to battles in the northern Caucasus and Donets Basin regions of the Soviet Union from December 1942 to February 1943....
– Soviet offensive destroys the Axis position in the Caucasus and Donbass
1943
- March Rzhev-Vyazma Offensive (1943)
- 1943-02-16 – 1943-03-15 Third Battle of KharkovThird Battle of KharkovThe Third Battle of Kharkov was a series of offensive operations on the Eastern Front of World War II, undertaken by the German Army Group South against the Red Army, around the city of Kharkov , between 19 February and 15 March 1943...
– Erich von MansteinErich von MansteinErich von Manstein was a field marshal in World War II. He became one of the most prominent commanders of Germany's World War II armed forces...
traps over-extended Red Army - 1943-07-05 – 1943-08-01 Battle of KurskBattle of KurskThe Battle of Kursk took place when German and Soviet forces confronted each other on the Eastern Front during World War II in the vicinity of the city of Kursk, in the Soviet Union in July and August 1943. It remains both the largest series of armored clashes, including the Battle of Prokhorovka,...
– largest tank battle in history; Germans defeated by defense in depth - 1943-07-30 Battle of the Mius
- August Battle of BelgorodBattle of BelgorodThe Belgorod-Bogodukhov Offensive Operation was a combat operation executed as part of Operation Polkovodets Rumyantsev by the Red Army against the Wehrmacht forces...
- August Fourth Battle of Kharkov
- Battle of Smolensk (1943)Battle of Smolensk (1943)The second Battle of Smolensk was a Soviet strategic offensive operation conducted by the Red Army as part of the Summer-Autumn Campaign of 1943...
- September–November Battle of the Dniepr
- October Battle of LeninoBattle of LeninoThe Battle of Lenino was a tactical World War II engagement that took place between October 12 and October 13th, 1943, north of the village of Lenino in the Mogilev region of Byelorussia...
- November Battle of KievBattle of Kiev (1943)The 1943 Battle of Kiev describes three strategic operations by the Soviet Red Army, and one operational counterattack by the Wehrmacht which took place in the wake of the failed German offensive at Kursk during World War II...
- December–August 1944 Battle of the Ukraine
1944
- January – Korsun Pocket
- 1944-01-18 – Siege of LeningradSiege of LeningradThe Siege of Leningrad, also known as the Leningrad Blockade was a prolonged military operation resulting from the failure of the German Army Group North to capture Leningrad, now known as Saint Petersburg, in the Eastern Front theatre of World War II. It started on 8 September 1941, when the last...
raised - February–July – Battle of NarvaBattle of Narva (1944)The Battle of Narva was a military campaign between the German Army Detachment "Narwa" and the Soviet Leningrad Front fought for possession of the strategically important Narva Isthmus on 2 February – 10 August 1944 during World War II....
– Soviet Leningrad-Novgorod Strategic Offensive brought to a halt by German forces including Estonian conscript formations - June–August – Operation Bagration – destruction of German Army Group CentreArmy Group CentreArmy Group Centre was the name of two distinct German strategic army groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The first Army Group Centre was created on 22 June 1941, as one of three German Army formations assigned to the invasion of the Soviet Union...
- July–August – Lvov-Sandomir Offensive – destruction of German Army Group SouthArmy Group SouthArmy Group South was the name of a number of German Army Groups during World War II.- Poland campaign :Germany used two army groups to invade Poland in 1939: Army Group North and Army Group South...
- July – Soviet Narva Operation – Soviet capture of NarvaNarvaNarva is the third largest city in Estonia. It is located at the eastern extreme point of Estonia, by the Russian border, on the Narva River which drains Lake Peipus.-Early history:...
town - 1944-07-26 – 1944-08-12 – Battle of Tannenberg Line – Soviet advance to TallinnTallinnTallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...
harbour brought to a halt by German forces - August – Operation Iassy-KishinevBattle of Romania (1944)The Jassy–Kishinev Operation, named after the two major cities, Iaşi and Chişinău, in the staging area, was a Soviet offensive against Axis forces, which took place in Eastern Romania from 20–29 August 1944...
(German "Operation Jassy-Kischinew") – defeat of German forces in RomaniaRomaniaRomania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
and switching of sides of Romania - 1944-08-23 – RomaniaRomaniaRomania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
switches sides - August–September – Warsaw UprisingWarsaw UprisingThe Warsaw Uprising was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance Home Army , to liberate Warsaw from Nazi Germany. The rebellion was timed to coincide with the Soviet Union's Red Army approaching the eastern suburbs of the city and the retreat of German forces...
– failed due to lack of outside supportLack of outside support in the Warsaw UprisingThe Warsaw Uprising, in 1944 ended in the capitulation of the city and its near total destruction by the German forces. According to many historians, a major cause of this was the almost complete lack of outside support and the late arrival of the support which did arrive... - 1944-08-29 – 1944-10-28 – Slovak National UprisingSlovak National UprisingThe Slovak National Uprising or 1944 Uprising was an armed insurrection organized by the Slovak resistance movement during World War II. It was launched on August 29 1944 from Banská Bystrica in an attempt to overthrow the collaborationist Slovak State of Jozef Tiso...
– Failed coup of Slovak-Soviet irregular forces in Slovakia - August–October – Battle of the Baltic (1944)Battle of the Baltic (1944)The Baltic Offensive, also known as the Baltic Strategic Offensive, denotes the campaign between the German Army Group North and the northern Fronts of the Red Army in the Baltic States during the autumn of 1944. Commander - General Hovhannes Bagramyan...
– German Army Group NorthArmy Group NorthArmy Group North was a German strategic echelon formation commanding a grouping of Field Armies subordinated to the OKH during World War II. The army group coordinated the operations of attached separate army corps, reserve formations, rear services and logistics.- Formation :The Army Group North...
trapped in CourlandCourlandCourland is one of the historical and cultural regions of Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland.- Geography and climate :... - 1944-10-06 – 1944-10-28 – Battle of DebrecenBattle of DebrecenThe Battle of Debrecen, called by the Red Army the Debrecen Offensive Operation, was conducted by the 2nd Ukrainian Front on the Eastern Front of World War II...
– German Army Group Fretter-Pico surrounded and destroyed Soviet Mobile Group Pliyev of the 2nd Ukrainian Front - 1944-09-04 – Soviet Union agrees armistice with FinlandFinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
- October – Battle of BelgradeBelgrade OffensiveThe Belgrade Offensive or the Belgrade Strategic Offensive Operation was an offensive military operation in which Belgrade was conquered from the German Wehrmacht by the joint efforts of the Yugoslav Partisans and the Soviet Red Army...
- 1944-12-29 – 1945-02-13 – Battle of BudapestBattle of BudapestThe Siege of Budapest centered on the Hungarian capital city of Budapest. It was fought towards the end of World War II in Europe, during the Soviet Budapest Offensive. The siege started when Budapest, defended by Hungarian and German troops, was first encircled on 29 December 1944 by the Red Army...
1945
- 1945-01-12 – 1945-02-02 – Vistula-Oder OffensiveVistula-Oder OffensiveThe Vistula–Oder Offensive was a successful Red Army operation on the Eastern Front in the European Theatre of World War II; it took place between 12 January and 2 February 1945...
– Soviet advance from PolandPolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
to deep within the borders of Germany (seen from the location of the borders then) - 1945-03-06 – 1945-03-17 – Lake Balaton Offensive – Last German offensive of the war
- 1945-04-02 – 1945-04-13 – Vienna OffensiveVienna OffensiveThe Vienna Offensive was launched by the Soviet 3rd Ukrainian Front in order to capture Vienna, Austria. The offensive lasted from 2–13 April 1945...
- 1945-04-16 – 1945-04-19 – Battle of the Seelow HeightsBattle of the Seelow HeightsThe Battle of the Seelow Heights , was a part of the Seelow-Berlin Offensive Operation ; one of the last assaults on large entrenched defensive positions of World War II. It was fought over three days, from 16–19 April 1945...
– Zhukov's costly frontal assault on Berlin - 1945-04-16 – 1945-05-02 – Battle of BerlinBattle of BerlinThe Battle of Berlin, designated the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, was the final major offensive of the European Theatre of World War II....
– One month of street-by-street fighting - 1945-04-24 – 1945-05-01 – Battle of HalbeBattle of HalbeThe Battle of Halbe lasted from April 24 - May 1, 1945 was a battle in which the German Ninth Army, under the command of Colonel General Theodor Busse was destroyed as a fighting force by the Red Army during the Battle for Berlin....
– Elements of German 9th Army escape to the west - 1945-04-30 – Death of Adolf HitlerAdolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
- 1945-05-07 – Unconditional surrender of Germany in Rheims
- 1945-05-08 – Unconditional surrender of Germany in Berlin
- 1945-05-08 – End of World War II in EuropeEnd of World War II in EuropeThe final battles of the European Theatre of World War II as well as the German surrender to the Western Allies and the Soviet Union took place in late April and early May 1945.-Timeline of surrenders and deaths:...
- 1945-05-06 – 1945-05-11 – Prague OffensivePrague OffensiveThe Prague Offensive was the last major Soviet operation of World War II in Europe. The offensive, and the battle for Prague, was fought on the Eastern Front from 6 May to 11 May 1945. This battle for the city is particularly noteworthy in that it ended after the Third Reich capitulated on 8 May...
See also
- List of Military operations on the Eastern Front European Theater during WW2
- Strategic operations of the Red Army in World War IIStrategic operations of the Red Army in World War IIThe Strategic operations of the Red Army in World War II were major military events on the Eastern Front during the Second World War, commonly conducted by at least one Front or major part of its forces...
- Timeline of the Second World War