Karelian Front
The Soviets were less prepared. While they anticipated a German invasion, with possible Finnish support, Stalin did not expect an attack along the entire border so early. The border was heavily fortified, but Soviet leadership was unprepared for the German attack. The formation opposing "Silver Fox" was the Northern Front, consisting of the 7th and 14th Armies. They were commanded by Lieutenant-General Markian Popov. On 23 August 1941, the Northern Front was split up into the Karelian Front and the Leningrad Front, commanded by Valerian Frolov and Popov. Frolov remained in command of the Karelian Front until 1 September, when he was promoted and replaced by Roman Panin. During the first weeks the Axis would have a numerical superiority, as the Soviets only had 150,000 men north of Lake Ladoga along the border.