Editing 3rd Belorussian Front (section)

{{Short description|WW2 Soviet Red Army formation}}
{{infobox military unit
| unit_name = 3rd Belorussian Front
| native_name = 3-й Белорусский фронт
| image = Terzo Bielorusso.jpg
| caption = Standard of the 3rd Belorussian Front
| dates = 24 April 1944 – 15 August 1945
| country = {{flag|Soviet Union|1936}}
| allegiance = 
| branch = [[File:Red Army flag.svg|23px]] [[Red Army]]
| type = [[Front (military formation)|Front]]
| role = 
| size = 708,600 (January 1945)<ref>G. F. Krivosheev, ''Soviet casualties and combat losses in the twentieth century'', p. 155, London: Greenhill Books, 1997.</ref>
| command_structure = 
| garrison = 
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| mascot = 
| equipment = 
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| battles = [[World War II]]
* [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]]
** [[Operation Bagration]]
** [[Baltic Offensive]]
** [[East Prussian Offensive]]
| anniversaries = 
| decorations = 
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| disbanded = <!-- Commanders -->
| commander1 = 
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}}
[[File:Stamps of Belarus, 2015-09.jpg|thumb|Warriors of the 3rd Belorussian Front salute near the city of [[Baltiysk|Pillau]]. 70 years of Victory. Stamp of Belarus, 2015]]

The '''3rd Belorussian Front''' ({{Langx|ru|3-й Белорусский фронт}}) was a [[Front (military formation)|Front]] of the [[Red Army]] during the [[World War II|Second World War]].

The 3rd Belorussian Front was created on 24 April 1944 from forces previously assigned to the [[Soviet Western Front|Western Front]]. Over 381 days in combat, the 3rd Belorussian Front suffered 166,838 killed, 9,292 missing, and 667,297 wounded, sick, and frostbitten personnel<ref>G. F. Krivosheev, ''Soviet casualties and combat losses in the twentieth century'', p. 168, London: Greenhill Books, 1997.</ref> while advancing from the region some 50 kilometers southeast of [[Vitebsk]] in [[Russia]] to [[Königsberg]] in [[East Prussia]].

Operations the 3rd Belorussian Front took part in include the [[Operation Bagration|Belorussian Offensive Operation]], the [[Baltic Offensive|Baltic Offensive Operation]], and the [[East Prussian Offensive|East Prussian Offensive Operation]].<ref>G. F. Krivosheev, ''Soviet casualties and combat losses in the twentieth century'', pp. 145, 149, and 155, London: Greenhill Books, 1997.</ref> Although costly, the advance of the 3rd Belorussian Front was in great part victorious, with one of the few defeats occurring during the [[Gumbinnen Operation]] in October 1944.

3rd Belorussian Front was formally disbanded on 15 August  1945.<ref>[[David Glantz]], ''Companion to Colossus Reborn'', p. 36, Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2005</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+ 3rd Belorussian Front composition, July 1944<ref>[[Combat composition of the Soviet Army]], 1 July 1944</ref>
|-
! Army
! Number and type<br>of divisions
! Independent brigades
|-
| [[5th Army (Soviet Union)|5th]]
| 9 rifle divisions<br>1 artillery division<br>1 anti-aircraft division
| 1 gun-artillery brigade<br>1 antitank brigade<br>2 tank brigades<br>1 assault sapper brigade<br>1 sapper brigade
|-
| [[11th Guards Army|11th Guards]]
| 9 rifle divisions<br>2 anti-aircraft divisions<br>1 tank corps
| 1 gun-artillery brigade<br>1 "BM" howitzer artillery brigade<br>1 antitank brigade<br>2 rocket launcher brigades<br>1 tank brigade<br>1 assault sapper brigade<br>1 sapper brigade
|-
| [[31st Army (Soviet Union)|31st]]
| 8 rifle divisions<br>1 anti-aircraft division
| 1 gun-artillery brigade<br>1 antitank brigade<br>1 tank brigade<br>1 sapper brigade
|-
| [[5th Guards Tank Army|5th Guards Tank]]
| 2 tank corps<br>1 anti-aircraft division
| -
|-
| [[1st Air Army|1st Air]]
| 6 bomber divisions<br>8 fighter divisions<br>4 close support divisions<br>1 night bomber division
| -
|-
| Front HQ
| 3 cavalry divisions<br>3 artillery divisions<br>1 anti-aircraft division<br>1 mechanized corps
| 1 "BM" howitzer artillery brigade<br>1 rocket launcher brigade<br>1 assault sapper brigade<br>1 motorized sapper brigade<br>1 engineer bridging brigade
|}