The 1st Ukrainian Front (), previously the Voronezh Front (), was a major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to a Western army group. Background During the first months of the war, officers from 16 regions of Ukraine conscripted about 2.5 million people from military enlistment offices. 1.3 million militiamen from the left-bank and southern regions of Ukraine fought against the enemy. In 1941, about 3.185 million citizens of the Ukrainian SSR were sent to the Soviet Red Army and Navy. Replenishing mostly the units of the Southern and Southwestern fronts, the Ukrainian people formed the basis of the 37th, 38th, and 40th armies; and the 13th and 17th rifle divisions. Due to the conscription of civilians, the proportion of Ukrainian citizens fighting in south-west Ukraine reached 50%. This significantly exceeded the percentage of Ukrainians from the army as a whole. From 1943 to 1944, the Red Army recruited more than 3 million people, which was 10% of the total population of Ukraine, although in the Volyn region, this figure was 16%. Ukrainians accounted for 60–80% of Soviet Red Army soldiers in the 1st to 4th Ukrainian Fronts. The Ukrainian people were conscripted to join all four Ukrainian fronts, and this process lasted until the end of 1944. According to Vladislav Hrynevych, in the summer of 1943 in the Donetsk region 12,860 people were called up and conscripted by advancing units. In Sumy region - 24,031 people were recruited. Military enlistment offices were also established in liberated Ukrainian areas to enlist those who avoided conscription by the army. According to researchers, during 1943-1945 about 4.5 million Ukrainians became Red Army soldiers. After June 1944, almost 40% of the Soviet Red Army consisted of Ukrainians. The losses of the Ukrainian people during World War Two account for 19-35% of the total losses of the USSR. Wartime The Voronezh front was established at the end of June 1942 when tanks of the German Wehrmacht's 6th Army reached Voronezh during the early stages of Operation Blau. It was split off the earlier Bryansk Front in order to better defend the Voronezh region. The name indicated the primary geographical region in which the front first fought, based on the town of Voronezh on the Don River. The Voronezh Front participated in the Battle of Voronezh, the defensive operations on the approaches to Stalingrad, and in the December 1942 Operation