It was first formed in April 1943 during World War II near Voronezh as a strategic reserve, and after the beginning of the Battle of Kursk in July it became the Steppe Front.
[1] The district headquarters was located near Voronezh in the villages of Somovo, Novaya Usman, Babilovo, Rykan, Khrenovoye, and others at various points in time.
The district was tasked with preventing a German breakthrough from Oryol and Belgorod towards Kursk and Voronezh, and to this end a 250-kilometre (160 mi) defensive line along the Kshen River from Rossoshnoye to Bely Kholodez was established and preparations made for counterattacking and going on the offensive towards Maloarkhangelsk, Kursk, and Oboyan.
In June Colonel General Ivan Konev took command of the district,[2] on the recommendation of Stavka representative Georgy Zhukov.
It controlled troops on the territory of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, excluding Aktobe, Guryev, and West Kazakhstan Oblasts.