Soviet order of battle for invasion of Poland in 1939

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The Soviet order of battle for the invasion of Poland in 1939 details the major combat units arrayed for the Soviet surprise attack on Poland on September 17, 1939. As a result of joining battle after the Germans had already launched their invasion, the Soviets, prepared for battle in secrecy, met comparatively limited resistance. Several skirmishes between the German and Soviet forces did occur, but neither government was prepared for starting a larger conflict, and these were soon referred to as "misunderstandings".<ref name="militera.lib.ru"/>

Before the invasion there were created two "fronts" as a form of the Army Group based on Byelorussian Special Military District (BOVO) into the Byelorussian Front and Kiev Special Military District (KOVO) into the Ukrainian Front.

Like the Germans, the Soviets employed two primary offensive axes, each managed by a Front. Each Front commander had at his disposal a mobile group of forces created from cavalry and mechanised troops; a precursor of the cavalry-mechanised groups of the Second World War.

The effects of the purge are visible in the ranks of the commanders in the order of battle, with only one Army commander serving in the appropriate rank of Komandarm, in this case 2nd Class (Komandarm 2nd rank, Template:Langx), the rest serving in being Corps (Komcor) and Divisional (Komdiv) Commander rank (Template:Langx)

Belorussian Front

Covered north-eastern sector of Polish front from Byelorussian Special Military District
Komandarm 2nd rank Mikhail Kovalyov
Chief of Staff Komkor Maksim Purkayev

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Polotsk Army GroupTemplate:Efn
Komkor Vasily Kuznetsov

4th Rifle Corps

27th Rifle Division

50th Rifle Division

Lepelska GroupTemplate:Efn

5th Rifle Division

24th Cavalry Division

22nd Tank Brigade

25th Tank Brigade

Minsk Army Group
Komdiv Template:Ill

16th Rifle Corps

2nd Rifle Division

100th Rifle Division

3rd Cavalry Corps

7th Cavalry Division

36th Cavalry Division

6th Tank Brigade

BSSR Border Troops
Kombrig Ivan Bogdanov

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Dzerzhinsk Cavalry-mechanised Group
Komkor Ivan Boldin<ref>Bochka i obruchi ili Kogda nachalas' Velikaya Otechestvennaya voyna? (Chasti 1,2) Template:Webarchive Электронная библиотека echitalka.ru</ref>

5th Rifle Corps<ref name="militera.lib.ru">Table 27 in Сентябрь 1939 года. Война с запада Template:In lang</ref>

4th Rifle Division

13th Rifle Division

6th Cavalry Corps

4th Cavalry Division

6th Cavalry Division

11th Cavalry Division

15th Tank Corps

2nd Tank Brigade

21st Tank Brigade

27th Tank Brigade

20th Motorised Rifle Brigade

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Tenth ArmyTemplate:Efn

Komkor Ivan Zakharkin

11th Rifle Corps

6th Rifle Division

33rd Rifle Division

121st Rifle Division

Slutsk Army Group

Komdiv Vasily Chuikov

8th Rifle Division

29th Tank Brigade

32nd Tank Brigade

23rd Rifle Corps

52nd Rifle Division

Dnieper Flotilla

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Ukrainian Front

Covered southern sector of Polish front from Kiev Special Military District
Komandarm 1st rank Semyon Timoshenko
Chief of Staff Kombrig Nikolai Vatutin

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Shepetovka Army Group
Komdiv Ivan Sovetnikov

15th Rifle Corps

60th Rifle Division

8th Rifle Corps

36th Light-Tank BrigadeTemplate:Efn

UkrSSR Border Troops
Komdiv Template:Ill

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