Strategic operations of the Red Army in World War II
The strategic operations of the Red Army in World War II were major military events carried out between 1941 and 1945 on the Eastern Front or in 1945 in the Far East during the Second World War. Such operations typically involved at least one Front – the largest military formation of the Soviet Armed Forces. The operations could be defensive, offensive, a withdrawal, an encirclement, or a siege – always conducted by at least two Services of the armed forces (the ground forces and the air forces) and often included the naval  forces. In most cases the Stavka divided the strategic operations into operational phases which were large operations in their own right. In very few cases the phases were tactical, such as those requiring amphibious landings. Introduction. In Soviet historiography, the Great Patriotic War is divided into periods: The war with Japan, the Campaign in the Far East including the Manchurian strategic offensive operation, (9 August 1945–2 September 1945) is seen as a separate theater of operations from the Great Patriotic War. During the course of the Second World War the Red Army carried out a number of different military operations . The scope of these operations, usually known by the major cities around which they took place, was usually termed "operational-strategic" or "strategic", depending on the scale. An "operational-strategic" operation was usually undertaken by at least a group of Armies or a single Front. A "strategic" operation usually demanded cooperation of several Fronts to achieve its objectives. In both cases the operations could last from a week to several months. strategic operations were combined into seasonal campaigns, because weather and ground conditions affected planning.