View source for Steppe Military District

{{Short description|Military district of the Soviet Union}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox military unit
| unit_name = Steppe Military District
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| dates = {{plainlist|
*April–July 1943
*July 1945 – May 1946
}}
| country = [[Soviet Union]]
| type = [[Military district (Soviet Union)|Military district]]
| command_structure =
| garrison = {{plainlist|
*[[Voronezh]] (1st formation)
*[[Alma-Ata]] (2nd formation)
}}
| garrison_label = Headquarters
| motto =
| battles =
| battles_label =
| anniversaries =
| notable_commanders = {{plainlist|
*[[Ivan Konev]]
*[[Markian Popov]]
}}
}}
The '''Steppe Military District''' ({{langx|ru|Степной военный округ (СВО)|translit=Stepnoy voyennyy okrug (SVO)}}) was a [[Military districts of the Soviet Union|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]]. Postwar, the district was formed for a second time in Kazakhstan in July 1945 and demobilised 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]]'' directive of 13 April by the renaming of the [[Reserve Front]], which had been formed from the [[41st Army (Soviet Union)|41st Army]] headquarters shortly before. The district served as a strategic reserve for ''Stavka'', and its headquarters was organised on tables of organisation and equipment for a field [[front (military formation)|front]] command. It was initially commanded and organised by Lieutenant General (later Colonel General) [[Markian Popov]].{{sfn|Glantz|House|2004|pp=43–44}} The district headquarters was located near [[Voronezh]] in the villages of [[Somovo]], [[Novaya Usman]], [[Babilovo]], Rykan, Khrenovoye, and others at various points in time. It initially included the [[24th Army (Soviet Union)|24th]] (redesignated the [[4th Guards Army]] on 16 April), [[46th Army (Soviet Union)|46th]], [[47th Army|47th]], [[53rd Army (Soviet Union)|53rd]], [[66th Army (Soviet Union)|66th]] (redesignated the [[5th Guards Army]] on 5 May), [[5th Guards Tank Army|5th Guards Tank]], and [[5th Air Army|5th Air Armies]], as well as separate units completing their formation.{{sfn|Ivanov|2003|p=660}}{{sfn|Glantz|House|2004|p=390n14}}
Its troops were stationed in [[Voronezh Oblast|Voronezh]], [[Kursk Oblast|Kursk]], [[Tambov Oblast|Tambov]], and [[Rostov Oblast]]s. The district was tasked with preventing a German breakthrough from [[Oryol]] and [[Belgorod]] towards [[Kursk]] and Voronezh, and to this end a {{convert|250|km|adj=on}} 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, Oryol Oblast|Maloarkhangelsk]], Kursk, and [[Oboyan]].{{sfn|Glantz|Orenstein|1999|pp=23–24}} On 25 May the [[27th Army (Soviet Union)|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 and the movement of the 46th and 47th Armies from the [[North Caucasus Front]] to the area east of [[Kharkov]] went undetected by German intelligence.{{sfn|Glantz|House|2004|p=74}} The district's troops strengthened defences and received reinforcements and equipment. In June Colonel General [[Ivan Konev]] took command of the district,{{sfn|Ivanov|2003|p=660}} on the recommendation of ''Stavka'' representative [[Georgy Zhukov]].{{sfn|Glantz|House|2004|p=48}}
When the German offensive [[Operation Citadel]] 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 Bely Kolodez. The 47th Army was concentrated in the area of Olkhovatka, Krivonosovka, and Kamenka, while the [[4th Guards Tank Corps]] was in the area of Beduga Station and the [[10th Tank Corps]] near [[Stary Oskol]]. The district's main armored striking force, the 5th Guards Tank Army, included the [[29th Tank Corps]] in the forests west of [[Ostrogozhsk]], the [[5th Guards Mechanised Corps]] in the Kamenka area, and the [[3rd Guards Mechanised Corps]] in the area of Kuzmenkov. The Steppe Military District also included three cavalry corps: the [[7th Guards Cavalry Corps|7th Guards]] in the area of Belogorye and [[Pavlovsk, Voronezh Oblast|Pavlovsk]], the [[3rd Guards Cavalry Corps|3rd Guards]] in the area of [[Staraya Kalitva]] and [[Novaya Kalitva]], and the [[5th Guards Cavalry Corps|5th Guards]] in the area of Novo-Markovka, Kirovo, and Nikolskoye.{{sfn|Glantz|Orenstein|1999|pp=23–24}}
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.{{sfn|Glantz|Orenstein|1999|pp=83–88}} On 9 July, the district became the [[Steppe Front]].{{sfn|Ivanov|2003|p=660}}
== 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 District]]s on 9 July 1945. The district headquarters was formed from the [[4th Shock Army]] headquarters at [[Alma-Ata]], and its only commander was former Central Asian Military District commander Lieutenant General [[Pavel Kurbatkin]]. It controlled troops on the territory of the [[Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic]], excluding [[Aktobe Region|Aktobe]], [[Atyrau Region|Guryev]], and [[West Kazakhstan Region|West Kazakhstan Oblasts]]. The district disbanded reserve and training units and demobilised 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.{{sfn|Ivanov|2003|p=660}}
== Commanders ==
The following officers commanded the district's first formation:{{sfn|Ivanov|2003|p=660}}
* 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:{{Sfn|Ivanov|2003|p=660}}
* Lieutenant General [[Pavel Kurbatkin]] (July 1945 – May 1946)
== References ==
=== Citations ===
<references />
=== Bibliography ===
*{{cite book|last1=Glantz|first1=David M.|author-link1=David M. Glantz|last2=House|first2=Jonathan M.|author-link2=Jonathan House|year=2004|orig-year=1999|title=The Battle of Kursk|location=Lawrence, Kansas|publisher=University Press of Kansas|isbn=978-0-7006-1335-9}} 411n133
*{{cite book|last1=Glantz|first1=David M.|last2=Orenstein|first2=Harold S.|year=1999|title=The Battle for Kursk 1943: The Soviet General Staff Study|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8staRARZsvsC&q=%2275th+guards%22|location=London, UK|publisher=Taylor & Francis (Frank Cass)|isbn=0-7146-4933-3}}&nbsp;— 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 ({{langx|ru|Сборник материалов по изучению опыта войны № 11|translit=Sbornik materialov po izucheniyu opyta voyny № 11|link=no}})
* {{cite encyclopedia|editor-last=Ivanov|editor-first=Sergei|editor-link=Sergei Ivanov|year=2003|title=Степно́й вое́нный о́круг|trans-title=Steppe Military District|encyclopedia=Военная энциклопедия в 8 томах [Military Encyclopedia in 8 Volumes]|language=ru|volume=7|location=Moscow|publisher=Voenizdat|isbn=5-203-01874-X}}
[[Category:Military districts of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1943]]
[[Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1946]]
[[Category:Red Army units and formations of World War II]]