The names of some are still honored, the names of others are consigned to oblivion. But they are all united by their leadership talent.
USSR
Zhukov Georgy Konstantinovich (1896–1974)
Marshal Soviet Union.
Zhukov had the opportunity to take part in serious hostilities shortly before the start of World War II. In the summer of 1939, Soviet-Mongolian troops under his command defeated the Japanese group on the Khalkhin Gol River.
By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, Zhukov headed the General Staff, but was soon sent to the active army. In 1941, he was assigned to the most critical sectors of the front. Restoring order in the retreating army with the most stringent measures, he managed to prevent the Germans from capturing Leningrad, and to stop the Nazis in the Mozhaisk direction on the outskirts of Moscow. And already at the end of 1941 - beginning of 1942, Zhukov led a counter-offensive near Moscow, pushing the Germans back from the capital.
In 1942-43, Zhukov did not command individual fronts, but coordinated their actions as a representative of the Supreme High Command at Stalingrad, on the Kursk Bulge, and during the breaking of the siege of Leningrad.
At the beginning of 1944, Zhukov took command of the 1st Ukrainian Front instead of the seriously wounded General Vatutin and led the Proskurov-Chernovtsy offensive operation he planned. As a result, Soviet troops liberated most of Right Bank Ukraine and reached the state border.
At the end of 1944, Zhukov led the 1st Belorussian Front and led an attack on Berlin. In May 1945, Zhukov accepted the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany, and then two Victory Parades, in Moscow and Berlin.
After the war, Zhukov found himself in a supporting role, commanding various military districts. After Khrushchev came to power, he became deputy minister and then headed the Ministry of Defense. But in 1957 he finally fell into disgrace and was removed from all posts.
Rokossovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich (1896–1968)
Marshal of the Soviet Union.
Shortly before the start of the war, in 1937, Rokossovsky was repressed, but in 1940, at the request of Marshal Timoshenko, he was released and reinstated in his former position as corps commander. In the first days of the Great Patriotic War, units under the command of Rokossovsky were one of the few that were able to provide worthy resistance to the advancing German troops. In the battle of Moscow, Rokossovsky’s army defended one of the most difficult directions, Volokolamsk.
Returning to duty after being seriously wounded in 1942, Rokossovsky took command of the Don Front, which completed the defeat of the Germans at Stalingrad.
On the eve of the Battle of Kursk, Rokossovsky, contrary to the position of most military leaders, managed to convince Stalin that it was better not to launch an offensive ourselves, but to provoke the enemy into active action. Having precisely determined the direction of the main attack of the Germans, Rokossovsky, just before their offensive, undertook a massive artillery barrage that bled the enemy’s strike forces dry.
His most famous achievement as a commander, included in the annals of military art, was the operation to liberate Belarus, codenamed “Bagration”, which virtually destroyed German group armies "Center".
Shortly before the decisive offensive on Berlin, command of the 1st Belorussian Front, to Rokossovsky's disappointment, was transferred to Zhukov. He was also entrusted with commanding the troops of the 2nd Belorussian Front in East Prussia.
Rokossovsky had outstanding personal qualities and, of all Soviet military leaders, was the most popular in the army. After the war, Rokossovsky, a Pole by birth, headed the Polish Ministry of Defense for a long time, and then served as Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR and Chief Military Inspector. The day before his death, he finished writing his memoirs, entitled A Soldier's Duty.
Konev Ivan Stepanovich (1897–1973)
Marshal of the Soviet Union.
In the fall of 1941, Konev was appointed commander of the Western Front. In this position he suffered one of the biggest failures of the beginning of the war. Konev failed to obtain permission to withdraw troops in time, and, as a result, about 600,000 Soviet soldiers and officers were surrounded near Bryansk and Yelnya. Zhukov saved the commander from the tribunal.
In 1943, troops of the Steppe (later 2nd Ukrainian) Front under the command of Konev liberated Belgorod, Kharkov, Poltava, Kremenchug and crossed the Dnieper. But most of all, Konev was glorified by the Korsun-Shevchen operation, as a result of which a large group of German troops was surrounded.
In 1944, already as commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front, Konev led the Lviv-Sandomierz operation in western Ukraine and southeastern Poland, which opened the way for a further offensive against Germany. The troops under the command of Konev distinguished themselves in the Vistula-Oder operation and in the battle for Berlin. During the latter, rivalry between Konev and Zhukov emerged - each wanted to occupy the German capital first. Tensions between the marshals remained until the end of their lives. In May 1945, Konev led the liquidation of the last major center of fascist resistance in Prague.
After the war, Konev was the commander-in-chief of the ground forces and the first commander of the combined forces of the Warsaw Pact countries, and commanded troops in Hungary during the events of 1956.
Vasilevsky Alexander Mikhailovich (1895–1977)
Marshal of the Soviet Union, Chief of the General Staff.
As Chief of the General Staff, which he held since 1942, Vasilevsky coordinated the actions of the Red Army fronts and participated in the development of all major operations Great Patriotic War. In particular, he played a key role in planning the operation to encircle German troops at Stalingrad.
At the end of the war, after the death of General Chernyakhovsky, Vasilevsky asked to be relieved of his post as Chief of the General Staff, took the place of the deceased and led the assault on Koenigsberg. In the summer of 1945, Vasilevsky was transferred to the Far East and commanded the defeat of the Kwatuna Army of Japan.
After the war, Vasilevsky headed the General Staff and then was the Minister of Defense of the USSR, but after Stalin’s death he went into the shadows and held lower positions.
Tolbukhin Fedor Ivanovich (1894–1949)
Marshal of the Soviet Union.
Before the start of the Great Patriotic War, Tolbukhin served as chief of staff of the Transcaucasian District, and with its beginning - of the Transcaucasian Front. Under his leadership, a surprise operation was developed to introduce Soviet troops into the northern part of Iran. Tolbukhin also developed the Kerch landing operation, which would result in the liberation of Crimea. However, after its successful start, our troops were unable to build on their success, suffered heavy losses, and Tolbukhin was removed from office.
Having distinguished himself as commander of the 57th Army in the Battle of Stalingrad, Tolbukhin was appointed commander of the Southern (later 4th Ukrainian) Front. Under his command, a significant part of Ukraine was liberated and Crimean peninsula. In 1944-45, when Tolbukhin already commanded the 3rd Ukrainian Front, he led troops during the liberation of Moldova, Romania, Yugoslavia, Hungary, and ended the war in Austria. The Iasi-Kishinev operation, planned by Tolbukhin and leading to the encirclement of a 200,000-strong group of German-Romanian troops, entered the annals of military art (sometimes it is called “Iasi-Kishinev Cannes”).
After the war, Tolbukhin commanded the Southern Group of Forces in Romania and Bulgaria, and then the Transcaucasian Military District.
Vatutin Nikolai Fedorovich (1901–1944)
Soviet army general.
In pre-war times, Vatutin served as Deputy Chief of the General Staff, and with the beginning of the Great Patriotic War he was sent to the North-Western Front. In the Novgorod area, under his leadership, several counterattacks were carried out, slowing down the advance of Manstein's tank corps.
In 1942, Vatutin, who then headed the Southwestern Front, commanded Operation Little Saturn, the purpose of which was to prevent German-Italian-Romanian troops from helping Paulus’ army encircled at Stalingrad.
In 1943, Vatutin headed the Voronezh (later 1st Ukrainian) Front. He played a very important role in the Battle of Kursk and the liberation of Kharkov and Belgorod. But Vatutin’s most famous military operation was the crossing of the Dnieper and the liberation of Kyiv and Zhitomir, and then Rivne. Together with Konev’s 2nd Ukrainian Front, Vatutin’s 1st Ukrainian Front also carried out the Korsun-Shevchenko operation.
At the end of February 1944, Vatutin’s car came under fire from Ukrainian nationalists, and a month and a half later the commander died from his wounds.
Great Britain
Montgomery Bernard Law (1887–1976)
British Field Marshal.
Before the start of World War II, Montgomery was considered one of the bravest and most talented British military leaders, but his career advancement was hampered by his harsh, difficult character. Montgomery, himself distinguished by physical endurance, great attention devoted daily hard training to the troops entrusted to him.
At the beginning of World War II, when the Germans defeated France, Montgomery's units covered the evacuation of Allied forces. In 1942, Montgomery became the commander of British troops in North Africa, and achieved a turning point in this part of the war, defeating the German-Italian group of troops in Egypt at the Battle of El Alamein. Its significance was summed up by Winston Churchill: “Before the Battle of Alamein we knew no victories. After it we didn’t know defeat.” For this battle, Montgomery received the title Viscount of Alamein. True, Montgomery’s opponent, German Field Marshal Rommel, said that, having such resources as the British military leader, he would have conquered the entire Middle East in a month.
After this, Montgomery was transferred to Europe, where he had to operate in close contact with the Americans. This is where his quarrelsome character took its toll: he came into conflict with the American commander Eisenhower, which had a bad effect on the interaction of troops and led to a number of relative military failures. Towards the end of the war, Montgomery successfully resisted the German counter-offensive in the Ardennes, and then carried out several military operations in Northern Europe.
After the war, Montgomery served as Chief of the British General Staff and subsequently as Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe.
Alexander Harold Rupert Leofric George (1891–1969)
British Field Marshal.
At the beginning of World War II, Alexander oversaw the evacuation of British troops after the Germans captured France. Most of the personnel were taken out, but almost all the military equipment went to the enemy.
At the end of 1940, Alexander was assigned to Southeast Asia. He failed to defend Burma, but he managed to block the Japanese from entering India.
In 1943, Alexander was appointed Commander-in-Chief of Allied ground forces in North Africa. Under his leadership, a large German-Italian group in Tunisia was defeated, and this, by and large, ended the campaign in North Africa and opened the way to Italy. Alexander commanded the landing of Allied troops on Sicily, and then on the mainland. At the end of the war, he served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in the Mediterranean.
After the war, Alexander received the title of Count of Tunis, for some time he was Governor General of Canada, and then British Minister of Defense.
USA
Eisenhower Dwight David (1890–1969)
US Army General.
His childhood was spent in a family whose members were pacifists for religious reasons, but Eisenhower chose a military career.
Eisenhower met the beginning of World War II with the rather modest rank of colonel. But his abilities were noticed by the Chief of the American General Staff, George Marshall, and soon Eisenhower became head of the Operational Planning Department.
In 1942, Eisenhower led Operation Torch, the Allied landings in North Africa. In early 1943, he was defeated by Rommel in the Battle of Kasserine Pass, but subsequently superior Anglo-American forces brought a turning point in the North African campaign.
In 1944, Eisenhower oversaw the Allied landings in Normandy and the subsequent offensive against Germany. At the end of the war, Eisenhower became the creator of the notorious camps for “disarming enemy forces”, which were not subject to the Geneva Convention on the Rights of Prisoners of War, which effectively became death camps for the German soldiers who ended up there.
After the war, Eisenhower was commander of NATO forces and then twice elected president of the United States.
MacArthur Douglas (1880–1964)
US Army General.
In his youth, MacArthur was not accepted into the West Point military academy for health reasons, but he achieved his goal and, upon graduating from the academy, was recognized as its best graduate in history. He received the rank of general back in the First World War.
In 1941-42, MacArthur led the defense of the Philippines against Japanese forces. The enemy managed to take American units by surprise and gain a great advantage at the very beginning of the campaign. After the loss of the Philippines, he uttered the now famous phrase: “I did what I could, but I will come back.”
After being appointed commander of forces in the southwest Pacific, MacArthur resisted Japanese plans to invade Australia and then led successful offensive operations in New Guinea and the Philippines.
On September 2, 1945, MacArthur, already in command of all U.S. forces in the Pacific, accepted the Japanese surrender aboard the battleship Missouri, ending World War II.
After World War II, MacArthur commanded occupation forces in Japan and later led American forces in the Korean War. The American landing at Inchon, which he developed, became a classic of military art. He called for the nuclear bombing of China and the invasion of that country, after which he was dismissed.
Nimitz Chester William (1885–1966)
US Navy Admiral.
Before World War II, Nimitz was involved in the design and combat training of the American submarine fleet and headed the Bureau of Navigation. At the beginning of the war, after the disaster at Pearl Harbor, Nimitz was appointed commander of the US Pacific Fleet. His task was to confront the Japanese in close contact with General MacArthur.
In 1942, the American fleet under the command of Nimitz managed to inflict the first serious defeat on the Japanese at Midway Atoll. And then, in 1943, to win the fight for the strategically important island of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands archipelago. In 1944-45, the fleet led by Nimitz played a decisive role in the liberation of other Pacific archipelagos, and at the end of the war carried out a landing in Japan. During the fighting, Nimitz used a tactic of sudden rapid movement from island to island, called the “frog jump”.
Nimitz's homecoming was celebrated as a national holiday and was called "Nimitz Day." After the war, he oversaw the demobilization of troops and then oversaw the creation of a nuclear submarine fleet. At the Nuremberg trials, he defended his German colleague, Admiral Dennitz, saying that he himself used the same methods of submarine warfare, thanks to which Dennitz avoided a death sentence.
Germany
Von Bock Theodor (1880–1945)
German Field Marshal.
Even before the outbreak of World War II, von Bock led the troops that carried out the Anschluss of Austria and invaded the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia. At the outbreak of war, he commanded Army Group North during the war with Poland. In 1940, von Bock led the conquest of Belgium and the Netherlands and the defeat of French troops at Dunkirk. It was he who hosted the parade of German troops in occupied Paris.
Von Bock objected to an attack on the USSR, but when the decision was made, he led Army Group Center, which carried out an attack on the main direction. After the failure of the attack on Moscow, he was considered one of the main people responsible for this failure of the German army. In 1942, he led Army Group South and for a long time successfully held back the advance of Soviet troops on Kharkov.
Von Bock had an extremely independent character, repeatedly clashed with Hitler and pointedly stayed away from politics. After in the summer of 1942, von Bock opposed the Fuhrer’s decision to divide Army Group South into two directions, the Caucasus and Stalingrad, during the planned offensive, he was removed from command and sent to reserve. A few days before the end of the war, von Bock was killed during an air raid.
Von Rundstedt Karl Rudolf Gerd (1875–1953)
German Field Marshal.
By the beginning of the Second World War, von Rundstedt, who held important command positions back in the First World War, had already retired. But in 1939, Hitler returned him to the army. Von Rundstedt became the main planner of the attack on Poland, code-named Weiss, and commanded Army Group South during its implementation. He then led Army Group A, which played a key role in the capture of France, and also developed the unrealized Sea Lion attack plan on England.
Von Rundstedt objected to the Barbarossa plan, but after the decision was made to attack the USSR, he led Army Group South, which captured Kyiv and other big cities in the south of the country. After von Rundstedt, in order to avoid encirclement, violated the Fuhrer's order and withdrew troops from Rostov-on-Don, he was dismissed.
However, the following year he was again drafted into the army to become commander-in-chief of the German armed forces in the West. His main task there was opposition to a possible Allied landing. Having familiarized himself with the situation, von Rundstedt warned Hitler that a long-term defense with the existing forces would be impossible. At the decisive moment of the Normandy landings, June 6, 1944, Hitler canceled von Rundstedt's order to transfer troops, thereby wasting time and giving the enemy the opportunity to develop an offensive. Already at the end of the war, von Rundstedt successfully resisted the Allied landings in Holland.
After the war, von Rundstedt, thanks to the intercession of the British, managed to avoid the Nuremberg Tribunal, and participated in it only as a witness.
Von Manstein Erich (1887–1973)
German Field Marshal.
Manstein was considered one of the strongest strategists of the Wehrmacht. In 1939, as Chief of Staff of Army Group A, he played a key role in developing the successful plan for the invasion of France.
In 1941, Manstein was part of Army Group North, which captured the Baltic states, and was preparing to attack Leningrad, but was soon transferred to the south. In 1941-42, the 11th Army under his command captured the Crimean Peninsula, and for the capture of Sevastopol, Manstein received the rank of Field Marshal.
Manstein then commanded Army Group Don and tried unsuccessfully to rescue Paulus's army from the Stalingrad pocket. Since 1943, he led Army Group South and inflicted a sensitive defeat on Soviet troops near Kharkov, and then tried to prevent the crossing of the Dnieper. When retreating, Manstein's troops used scorched earth tactics.
Having been defeated in the Battle of Korsun-Shevchen, Manstein retreated, violating Hitler's orders. Thus, he saved part of the army from encirclement, but after that he was forced to resign.
After the war, he was sentenced to 18 years by a British tribunal for war crimes, but was released in 1953, worked as a military adviser to the German government and wrote a memoir, “Lost Victories.”
Guderian Heinz Wilhelm (1888–1954)
German Colonel General, commander of armored forces.
Guderian is one of the main theorists and practitioners of “blitzkrieg” - lightning war. He assigned a key role in it to tank units, which were supposed to break through behind enemy lines and disable command posts and communications. Such tactics were considered effective, but risky, creating the danger of being cut off from the main forces.
In 1939-40, in the military campaigns against Poland and France, the blitzkrieg tactics fully justified themselves. Guderian was at the height of his glory: he received the rank of Colonel General and high awards. However, in 1941, in the war against the Soviet Union, this tactic failed. The reason for this was both the vast Russian spaces and the cold climate, in which equipment often refused to work, and the readiness of the Red Army units to resist this method of warfare. Guderian's tank troops suffered heavy losses near Moscow and were forced to retreat. After this, he was sent to the reserve, and subsequently served as inspector general of tank forces.
After the war, Guderian, who was not charged with war crimes, was quickly released and lived out his life writing his memoirs.
Rommel Erwin Johann Eugen (1891–1944)
German field marshal general, nicknamed "Desert Fox". He was distinguished by great independence and a penchant for risky attacking actions, even without the sanction of the command.
At the beginning of World War II, Rommel took part in the Polish and French campaigns, but his main successes were associated with military operations in North Africa. Rommel headed the Afrika Korps, which was initially assigned to help Italian troops who were defeated by the British. Instead of strengthening the defense, as the order prescribed, Rommel went on the offensive with small forces and won important victories. He acted in a similar manner in the future. Like Manstein, Rommel assigned the main role to rapid breakthroughs and maneuvering of tank forces. And only towards the end of 1942, when the British and Americans in North Africa had a great advantage in manpower and equipment, Rommel’s troops began to suffer defeats. Subsequently, he fought in Italy and tried, together with von Rundstedt, with whom he had serious disagreements affecting the combat effectiveness of the troops, to stop the Allied landing in Normandy.
In the pre-war period, Yamamoto paid great attention to the construction of aircraft carriers and the creation of naval aviation, thanks to which the Japanese fleet became one of the strongest in the world. For a long time, Yamamoto lived in the USA and had the opportunity to thoroughly study the army of the future enemy. On the eve of the start of the war, he warned the country's leadership: “In the first six to twelve months of the war, I will demonstrate an unbroken chain of victories. But if the confrontation lasts two or three years, I have no confidence in the final victory.”
Yamamoto planned and personally led the Pearl Harbor operation. On December 7, 1941, Japanese planes taking off from aircraft carriers destroyed the American naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii and caused enormous damage to the US fleet and air force. After this, Yamamoto won a number of victories in the central and southern parts of the Pacific Ocean. But on June 4, 1942, he suffered a serious defeat from the Allies at Midway Atoll. This happened largely due to the fact that the Americans managed to decipher the codes of the Japanese Navy and obtain all the information about the upcoming operation. After this, the war, as Yamamoto feared, became protracted.
Unlike many other Japanese generals, Yamashita did not commit suicide after the surrender of Japan, but surrendered. In 1946 he was executed on charges of war crimes. His case became a legal precedent, called the “Yamashita Rule”: according to it, the commander is responsible for not stopping the war crimes of his subordinates.
Other countries
Von Mannerheim Carl Gustav Emil (1867–1951)
Finnish marshal.
Before the revolution of 1917, when Finland was part of Russian Empire, Mannerheim was an officer in the Russian army and rose to the rank of lieutenant general. On the eve of the Second World War, he, as chairman of the Finnish Defense Council, was engaged in strengthening the Finnish army. According to his plan, in particular, powerful defensive fortifications were erected on the Karelian Isthmus, which went down in history as the “Mannerheim Line”.
When the Soviet-Finnish war began at the end of 1939, 72-year-old Mannerheim led the country's army. Under his command, Finnish troops for a long time held back the advance of Soviet units significantly superior in number. As a result, Finland retained its independence, although the peace conditions were very difficult for it.
During World War II, when Finland was an ally Hitler's Germany, Mannerheim showed the art of political maneuver, avoiding active hostilities with all his might. And in 1944, Finland broke the pact with Germany, and at the end of the war it was already fighting against the Germans, coordinating actions with the Red Army.
At the end of the war, Mannerheim was elected president of Finland, but already in 1946 he left this post for health reasons.
Tito Josip Broz (1892–1980)
Marshal of Yugoslavia.
Before the outbreak of World War II, Tito was a figure in the Yugoslav communist movement. After the German attack on Yugoslavia, he began organizing partisan detachments. At first, the Titoites acted together with the remnants of the tsarist army and the monarchists, who were called “Chetniks.” However, differences with the latter eventually became so strong that it came to military clashes.
Tito managed to organize scattered partisan detachments into a powerful partisan army of a quarter of a million fighters under the leadership of the General Headquarters of the People's Liberation Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia. She used not only traditional partisan methods of war, but also entered into open battles with fascist divisions. At the end of 1943, Tito was officially recognized by the Allies as the leader of Yugoslavia. During the liberation of the country, Tito's army acted together with Soviet troops.
Shortly after the war, Tito led Yugoslavia and remained in power until his death. Despite his socialist orientation, he pursued a fairly independent policy.
Soviet propaganda did its job, and every schoolchild knew the names of these military leaders. And the phrase of Mikhail Ulyanov in the role of Zhukov: “To fight to the death... made me shiver.” However, recently there have been a lot of alternative points of view that cast doubt on the abilities of the commanders of that war, pointing to obvious tactical miscalculations and unjustified sacrifices. Whether this is true or not, I don’t know, but I’m sure that, sitting at a computer with a cup of coffee, it’s very easy to evaluate people’s actions, find mistakes and move entire armies, everything is different in life and understand the motives for actions without having all the data very not easy.
Let's remember the names of these people.
1 . Zhukov (1896-1974)
Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov is a three-time hero of the Soviet Union, Marshal of the Soviet Union, who has the Order of Suvorov, 1st degree, and two Orders of Victory. Participated in the Leningrad and Moscow, Stalingrad and Kursk battles. In 1944 he was appointed commander of the First Belorussian Front.
2 Voroshilov (1881-1969)
Voroshilov Kliment Efremovich - twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Hero of Socialist Labor, since 1935 - Marshal of the Soviet Union. In 1942-43 he was the commander-in-chief of the partisan movement, and in 1943 he was the coordinator of troops in breaking the siege of Leningrad.
3 Rokossovsky (1896-1968)
Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovsky is one of the most titled military leaders of the Great Patriotic War. It was he who was entrusted with commanding the Victory Parade in 1945. Marshal of the Soviet Union and Marshal of Poland, Rokossovsky was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, the Order of Victory, the Order of Suvorov and Kutuzov, 1st degree. Known for his participation in many military operations, including Operation Bagration for the liberation of Belarus. He commanded troops in the Battles of Stalingrad and Leningrad, participated in the Vistula-Oder and Berlin operations.
4 Tolbukhin (1894-1949)
Fyodor Ivanovich Tolbukhin is a man who went through the war from chief of staff (1941) to Marshal of the Soviet Union (1944). His troops took part in the Crimean, Belgrade, Budapest, Vienna and other operations. The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to Tolbukhin posthumously in 1965.
Ivan Danilovich Chernyakhovsky is the commander of dozens of successful military operations. At the age of 35, he became the commander of a tank division, and from 1944, the commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front. Twice Hero of the Soviet Union, awarded many orders and medals. He died in 1945 from a fatal wound.
6 Govorov (1897-1955)
Leonid Aleksandrovich Govorov - Hero and Marshal of the Soviet Union, commander at different times of the Leningrad and Baltic fronts. He led the defense of Leningrad for 670 of the 900 days of the siege. Participated in the liberation of Borodino. He led the encirclement of the Kurland group of Germans, who capitulated on May 8, 1945.
7 Malinovsky (1898-1967)
Rodion Yakovlevich Malinovsky - twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Marshal of the Soviet Union, holder of the highest Soviet Order of Victory. Participated in the liberation of Rostov and Donbass, led the Zaporozhye and Odessa operations.
8 Konev (1897-1973)
Ivan Stepanovich Konev - commander of the army and fronts, and since 1950 - deputy. Minister of Defense During the Great Patriotic War, he participated in the Battle of Kursk and the Battle of Moscow, in the Berlin, Vistula-Oder and Paris operations.
9 Vasilevsky (1885-1977)
Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky - Hero and Marshal of the Soviet Union, Chief of the General Staff, Commander of the 3rd Belorussian and 1st Baltic Fronts. Participated in operations to liberate Donbass, Crimea, Belarus, Latvia and Lithuania. Led troops on Far East in the Russo-Japanese War.
10 Tymoshenko (1895-1970)
Semyon Konstantinovich Timoshenko is a holder of the Order of Victory, awarded a personalized saber with the coat of arms of the USSR. He took part in the Leningrad and Moscow battles; in the Iasi-Kishinev and Budapest operations, and also took part in the liberation of Vienna.
"We served Russia with you,
Knowing how dear she is to us,
Guiding with a familiar hand
A sword that strikes any enemy."
A. Roshchupkin
Our “famous military leaders come from the midst of the people. Zhukov is from the poorest peasant family. Konev was a peasant and worked at a sawmill. Rokossovsky, the son of a machinist, began working in a hosiery factory. Eremenko - from poor peasants, was a shepherd. Bagramyan is the son of a railway worker. Vatutin is from the peasants. Chernyakhovsky is the son of a worker. The list could go on for a long time. In the early 30s, these people commanded regiments, then studied at military academies, sat, as they say, “at the same desk,” and knew each other well. These are people raised by our party. Knowledgeable, devoted to the Motherland, brave and talented. Their rise to high command posts was natural. This steel was forged before the war. She hardened herself in the fire and mercilessly struck down the enemy. Operations carried out in the last war by our military leaders, are now being studied in all military academies in the world. And if we talk about assessing their courage and talent, here is one of them, short but expressive. “As a soldier who witnessed the Red Army campaign, I developed the deepest admiration for the skill of its leaders.” This was said by Dwight Eisenhower, a man who understood the art of war,” said Marshal A.M. Vasilevsky.
| COMMANDERS OF THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR | Warlord's name | Front | Combat operations | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zhukov Georgy Konstantinovich (1896-1974) | Since 1940, he was appointed commander of the Kyiv Military District. From July 1941 - Chief of the General Staff. In 1941 gen. army, commander of the Western Front. In 1942 - representative of the Supreme Command Headquarters on the Western and Kalinin fronts. In January 1943, he was awarded the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union. In October 1944, he was appointed commander of the 1st Belorussian Front. Since June 1946 - commanded the Odessa military district, since 1948 - the Ural military district. | 1941-1942 - Leningrad and Moscow battles. 1942-1943 - Battles of Stalingrad and Kursk. 1944 - Belarusian operation. 1944-1945 - Vistula-Oder and Berlin operations. | Three times Hero of the Soviet Union, two Orders of Victory, Order of Suvorov 1st degree. 1943 - awarded the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union. 1939, 1944, 1945, 1974 - awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. |
 Timoshenko Semyon Konstantinovich (1895-1970) |
In 1940-1941 People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR. 1941-1942 - Commander of the Western and Southwestern military fronts. 1942-1943 - Commander of the Stalingrad and Northwestern Fronts. October 1942 - March 1943, then until July 1945 he was a representative of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command on a number of fronts. | In 1941-1942. - participated in the Leningrad and Moscow battles. In 1943 - in the Ostrogozh-Rossoshan offensive operation. In 1943 - Smolensk operation, Novorossiysk-Taman operation. 1944 - in Yassy-Kishinev, 1945 - in Budapest, during the liberation of Vienna. | Knight of the Order of Victory, 5 Orders of Lenin, Order October revolution, 5 Orders of the Red Banner, 3 Orders of Suvorov 1st degree, medals, personalized checker with the Order of the Red Banner, honorary nominal checker with the Golden Coat of Arms of the USSR, foreign orders and medals |
 Voroshilov Kliment Efremovich (1881-1969) |
In 1934-1940 - People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR. In 1941-1944. - member of the State Defense Committee. Until September 1941 - Commander-in-Chief of the North Western direction. In September 1941 he commanded the troops of the Leningrad Front. September 1941 - February 1942 - representative of the Supreme Command Headquarters on the formation of military formations (reserves). February-September 1942 - representative of the Supreme Command Headquarters on the Volkhov Front. September 1942 - May 1943 - Commander-in-Chief of the partisan movement. May-September 1943 - Chairman of the Trophy Committee under the State Defense Committee. September 1943 - June 1944 - Chairman of the Armistice Commission. In 1943 he participated in the Tehran Conference. | 1941 near Leningrad, as a front commander, he could not stop the German advance. In January 1943, he coordinated the actions of the troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts when breaking the blockade of Leningrad. | Awarded 8 Orders of Lenin, 6 Orders of the Red Banner, Order of Suvorov 1st degree, other Soviet and foreign orders and medals. Twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Hero of Socialist Labor, “Marshal of the Soviet Union” (1935). |
 Chuikov Vasily Ivanovich (1900-1982) |
During the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940. commanded the 9th Army. 1940-1942 - Military attaché in China. From September 1942 until the end of the war, he commanded the 62nd (from April 1943, 8th Guards) Army. Since 1949, he commanded a group of Soviet troops in Germany, commander of the troops of the Kyiv Military Front. | Commanded the 62nd Army in the Battle of Stalingrad. The army under the command of Chuikov participated in the Izyum-Barvenkovskaya and Donbass operations, the battle for the Dnieper, the Nikopol-Krivoy Rog, Bereznegovato-Snegirevskaya, Odessa, Belarusian, Warsaw-Poznan and Berlin operations. | Awarded 9 Orders of Lenin, Order of the October Revolution, 4 Orders of the Red Banner (2 of them for the Civil War), 3 Orders of Suvorov 1st degree, Order of the Red Star, Honorary Nominal Weapon, foreign orders. In 1955 - awarded the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union. In 1944, 1945 - awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. |
 Vasilevsky Alexander Mikhailovich (1985-1977) |
From May 1940, deputy chief, from August 1941, chief of the Operations Directorate, deputy and first deputy chief of the General Staff. Since June 1942 - Chief of the General Staff and Deputy People's Commissar of Defense. In February 1945, he was introduced to Headquarters and appointed commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front and the 1st Baltic Front. In June 1945, he was appointed commander-in-chief of Soviet troops in the Far East and led them in the Soviet-Japanese War of 1945. | In 1942-1944. coordinated the actions of the fronts: Southwestern, Don and Stalingrad, Voronezh and Steppe - in the Battle of Kursk in 1943; Southwestern and Southern - during the liberation of Donbass in the summer of 1943; 1943 - Ostrogozh-Rossoshan offensive operation. 4th Ukrainian Front and Black Sea Fleet during the liberation of Crimea in the spring of 1944; 3rd and 4th Ukrainian Fronts in operations on Right Bank Ukraine; 3rd Belorussian, 1st and 2nd Baltic Fronts in operations to liberate Belarus, Latvia and Lithuania in the summer of 1944. | On February 16, 1943, he was awarded the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union. In 1944 he was awarded the Order of Victory. On July 29, 1944 he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. On September 8, 1945 he received the Gold Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union. He was also awarded 8 Orders of Lenin and the Order of the October Revolution. He was also awarded 2 Orders of the Red Banner, Order of Suvorov 1st degree, Order of the Red Star, 28 foreign awards (including 18 foreign orders). |
 Konev Ivan Stepanovich (1897-1973) |
In 1940-1941 commanded the troops of the Transbaikal and North Caucasus military districts. He commanded the 19th Army and was commander of many fronts: Western (from September to October 10, 1941, from August 1942 to February 1943), Kalinin (from October 17, 1941), Northwestern (from March 1943), Stepnoy (from July 1943), 2nd Ukrainian (from October 1943) and 1st Ukrainian (from May 1944 to May 1945). In 1946-1948. Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces - 1st Deputy. Minister of Defense, since 1950 chief inspector of the Soviet Army - deputy. Minister of Defense | Troops under the command of I.S. Konev participated in the battle of Moscow, the Battle of Kursk, in the liberation of Right Bank Ukraine, in the East Carpathian, Vistula-Oder, Berlin and Prague operations | For exemplary leadership of troops, twice Hero of the Soviet Union (July 29, 1944 and June 1, 1945) Marshal of the Soviet Union (February 20, 1944). I.S. Konev was awarded the highest military order of the USSR "Victory", awarded 6 Orders of Lenin, the Order of the October Revolution, 3 Orders of the Red Banner, 2 Orders of Suvorov 1st degree, 2 Orders of Kutuzov 1st degree, the Order of the Red Star, 13 foreign orders, medals , title Hero of the MPR (1971) |
 Eremenko Andrey Ivanovich (1892-1970) |
On June 22, 1941, Eremenko was appointed to the post of commander of the Western Front. At the beginning of August 1941, he was appointed commander of the newly created Bryansk Front. At the end of December 1941, he was appointed commander of the 4th Shock Army. In February 1943, he was appointed commander of the South-Eastern Front, later renamed the Stalingrad Front. In 1943 he was appointed commander of the Primorsky Army in Crimea. On April 18, 1944 he was appointed commander of the 2nd Baltic Front. In March 1945, he was appointed commander of the 4th Ukrainian Front. | In October 1941, the troops of the Bryansk Front under the command of Eremenko were surrounded east of Bryansk. In 1942, he carried out the Toropetsk and Velezh army operations. November 1942 Operation Uranus - encirclement of the Paulus group. 1943 successful offensive in the Nevel area. 1943 Smolensk operation. February 1944 – Crimean operation. Participated in blocking the Kurland group of the enemy. Operations of the 2nd Baltic Front in 1944. Autumn 1944 - liberation of Riga. In 1945 he participated in the liberation of Czechoslovakia. | In 1955 he was awarded the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union. Awarded five Orders of Lenin, four Orders of the Red Banner, three Orders of Suvorov 1st degree, Order of Kutuzov 1st degree. For his successes in the operations of the 2nd Baltic Front during the liberation of the Baltic states, Eremenko was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and the military rank of Army General. In 1945, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic for his participation in the liberation of Czechoslovakia. |
 Rokossovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich (1896-1968) |
In 1940, he was appointed commander of the 5th Cavalry Corps in Pskov, then commander of the 9th Mechanized Corps. In July 1941 he was sent to the Western Front. From August 1941 he commanded the 16th Army. In July 1942 he was appointed commander of the Bryansk Front, and from September - commander of the Don Front. From February 1943 - Central, from October - Belorussian, from February 1944 - 1st Belorussian, from November 1944 to June 1945 - 2nd Belorussian Fronts. | In 1940, he took part in leading troops during the campaign and liberation of Bessarabia. He successfully operated in the area of Lutsk and Novgorod-Volynsk. In 1943, he took part in the defeat of the German Army Group "Center" in the Oryol direction during the Battle of Kursk. In the fall of 1943, he carried out the Chernigov-Pripyat front operation. In 1944, Rokossovsky, together with other fronts, carried out the strategic operation “Bagration” to liberate Belarus. Develops and conducts the Lublin-Brest operation. | In 1940 he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. Marshal of the Soviet Union, Marshal of Poland twice Hero of the Soviet Union, 7 Orders of Lenin, Order of Victory, 6 Orders of the Red Banner, Orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov 1st degree, medals and foreign orders. Commanded the Victory Parade on June 24, 1945 in Moscow. |
 Malinovsky Rodion Yakovlevich (1898-1967) |
In March 1941, he was appointed commander of the 48th Rifle Corps - he met the war on the border along the Prut River. In August 1941 he became commander of the 6th Army. In December 1941, he assumed the post of commander of the Southern Front. From August to October 1942, Malinovsky commanded the 66th Army, which fought north of Stalingrad. In the same year, in October-November, he was deputy commander of the Voronezh Front. In February, Malinovsky was appointed commander of the Southern Front, and from March of the same year - commander of the Southwestern Front (from October 20, 1943 - 3rd Ukrainian Front). In May 1944, Malinovsky was appointed commander of the 2nd Ukrainian Front. Since July 1945 R.Ya. Malinovsky - commander of the Transbaikal Front. | Troops under his command participated in the liberation of Rostov and Donbass (1943), Left-Bank and Right-Bank Ukraine. One of the largest operations prepared and carried out by R.Ya. Malinovsky during the Great Patriotic War, became Zaporozhye. In the spring of 1944, Malinovsky's front successfully carried out an offensive in the Northern Black Sea region, the Bereznegovato-Snigirevskaya and Odessa operations (Odessa was liberated on April 10, 1944). In the same year, the Iasi-Kishinev operation. In October 1944 - February 1945 Budapest operation. | For the Iasi-Kishinev operation, in 1944 he received the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union. For the victory in the Soviet-Japanese War of 1945, Marshal Malinovsky was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (September 8, 1945) and awarded the highest Soviet military order "Victory". Twice Hero of the Soviet Union. Has awards: 5 Orders of Lenin, 3 Orders of the Red Banner, 2 Orders of Suvorov 1st degree, Order of Kutuzov 1st degree, USSR medals, foreign awards. |
 Bagramyan Ivan Khristoforovich (1897-1982) |
June-December 1941 - deputy chief of staff and head of the operational department of the headquarters of the Southwestern Front, chief task force South-Western direction (until March 1942). Until June 1942 - Chief of Staff of the Southwestern Front. From June 1942 to November 1943 - commander of the 16th Army (transformed into the 11th Guards) of the Western Front. From November 1943 he commanded the 1st Baltic Front, from February 1945 - the Zemland Group of Forces, from April 1945 - the 3rd Belorussian Front. | Participated in organizing a tank battle in the Dubno, Rivne, and Lutsk areas. In 1941, with the front headquarters, he left the encirclement. In 1941, he developed a plan for the liberation of Rostov-on-Don. In 1942 - the unsuccessful Kharkov operation. Commanded the 11th Army in the winter offensive of 1942-1943. in the Western direction. In July 1943, he prepared and carried out an offensive operation as part of the troops of the Bryansk Front in the Oryol direction. The 1st Baltic Front under the command of Bagramyan carried out: in December 1943 - Gorodok; in the summer of 1944 - Vitebsk-Orsha, Polotsk and Siauliai; in September-October 1944 (together with the 2nd and 3rd Baltic fronts) - Riga and Memel; in 1945 (as part of the 3rd Belorussian Front) - operations to capture Konigsberg and the Zemland Peninsula. | Awarded: 2 Gold Stars of the Hero of the Soviet Union, 7 Orders of Lenin, Order of the October Revolution, 3 Orders of the Red Banner, 2 Orders of Suvorov 1st degree, Order of Kutuzov 1st degree, Order “For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR” 3rd degrees, 16 medals; An honorary nominal saber with the golden Coat of Arms of the USSR, 17 foreign awards (including 7 orders). |
 Govorov Leonid Alexandrovich (1897-1955) |
In July 1941 - chief of artillery of the Western direction, then of the Reserve Front, deputy. commander of the Mozhaisk defense line. In October 1941 - chief of artillery on the Western Front. Near Moscow he commanded the 5th Army. In April 1942, commander of a group of troops of the Leningrad Front. Since July 1942 - commander Leningrad Front. Since October 1944, he simultaneously coordinated the actions of the Leningrad, 2nd and 3rd Baltic fronts. Since February 1945 - commander of the 2nd Baltic and Leningrad fronts. After the abolition of the 2nd Baltic Front, he commanded the general front - Leningrad. | In 1941, he successfully carried out defensive operations in Mozhaisk and Zvenigorod, as well as operations to liberate Borodino. 670 of the 900 days of the siege led the defense of Leningrad. In January 1943 he led the operations to break the blockade of Leningrad (together with the troops of the Volkhov Front), and in 1944 to lift the blockade. In 1944, he carried out the Krasnoselsko-Ropshinsk, Mginsk, Novgorod-Luga, Vyborg, Tallinn, Moonsund offensive operations. He led the encirclement of the Kurland group of Germans and on May 8, 1945 accepted its surrender. | Awarded 5 Orders of Lenin, 3 Orders of the Red Banner, 2 Orders of Suvorov 1st degree, Orders of Kutuzov 1st degree, Red Star, medals and foreign orders. In 1945 he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and awarded the Order of Victory. In 1944 he was awarded the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union. |
 Meretskov Kirill Afanasyevich (1897-1968) |
Since January 1941 - Deputy People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR. In August - September 1941 - representative of the Headquarters on the North-Western and Karelian fronts. From September 1941 he commanded the 7th Division. army, from November 1941 - 4th Army. In May - June 1942 he commanded the 33rd Army. From December 1941 to February 1944 he commanded the troops of the Volkhov Front, in February - November 1944 - of the Karelian Front, from April 1945 - of the Primorsky Group of Forces. In August 1945 - commander of the 1st Far Eastern Front, which participated in the defeat of Japanese troops in Manchuria and North Korea. | In 1941 - the defeat of the Germans near Tikhvin. In 1942, in cooperation with the Leningrad Front, they carried out the Lyuban and Sinyavinsk operations, in January 1943 - breaking the blockade of Leningrad, in 1944 - the Novgorod-Luga operation. In June - August 1944 he commanded the Svir-Petrozavodsk operation - the South was liberated. Karelia, in October 1944 - Petsamo-Kirkenes - the Arctic and northern regions were liberated. part of Norway. In August - September 1945 - offensive operation in the East. Manchuria and North. Korea. | Awards: 7 Orders of Lenin, 4 Orders of the Red Banner, 2 Orders of Suvorov 1st degree, Order of Kutuzov 1st degree, Order of the October Revolution, Order of Victory, foreign orders, medals, honorary weapons. Hero of the Soviet Union (March 21, 1940). In 1944 he was awarded the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union. |
 Tolbukhin Fedor Ivanovich (1894-1949) |
August - December 1941 - Chief of Staff of the Transcaucasian Front, December 1941 - January 1942 - Caucasian Front, January - March 1942 - Crimean Front. May - July 1942 - Deputy Commander of the Stalingrad Military District. July 1942 - February 1943 - commander of the 57th Army on the Stalingrad Front, February 1943 - March 1943 - commander of the 68th Army on the North-Western Front. From March 1943 - commander of the Southern (from October 1943, 4th Ukrainian), from May 1944 to June 1945 - 3rd Ukrainian Front. | Prepared a plan for the Kerch-Feodosia landing operation. Tolbukhin's troops participated: July - August 1943 in the Mius operation, August - September 1943 in and, September - November 1943 in the Melitopol operation, April - May 1944 in the Crimean operation, August 1944 in Yassko- Chisinau operation, September 1944 in the Romanian operation, October 1944 in the Belgrade operation, October 1944 - February 1945 in the Budapest operation, March 1945 in the Balaton operation, March - April 1945 in the Vienna operation. | Awarded 2 Orders of Lenin, Order of Victory, 3 Orders of the Red Banner, 2 Orders of Suvorov 1st degree, Order of Kutuzov 1st degree, Order of the Red Star and medals, as well as foreign orders and medals. Since September 1944 - Marshal of the Soviet Union. The title Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded posthumously in 1965. |
 (1901-1944)
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In 1940 - Deputy Chief of the General Staff. On June 30, 1941, he was appointed chief of staff of the North-Western Front. In May - July 1942 - deputy. Chief of the General Staff, representative of the Headquarters on the Bryansk Front. Since July 1942 - Commander of the Voronezh Front. Since October 1942 - commander of the troops of the Southwestern Front. In March 1943, he was again appointed commander of the Voronezh Front. In October 1943, he was appointed commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front (formerly Voronezh). | In June 1941, he prepared a counterattack near Soltsy in the Novgorod direction. In October 1941 - a counterattack in the area of Kalinin. In the summer of 1942, troops of the Voronezh Front stopped the German offensive near Voronezh. In November 1942, troops of the Southwestern Front, together with the Stalingrad Front, surrounded German divisions in the Kalach and Sovetsky areas. In December 1942, in cooperation with the left wing of the Voronezh Front, troops of the Southwestern Front carried out a successful Middle Don operation. In the summer of 1943 - defensive battles in the Battle of Kursk, heavy losses. In August 1943, during the Belgorod-Kharkov operation, a successful breakthrough of the deeply echeloned German defense. In the fall of 1943, troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front, under the command of Vatutin, took part in the battle for the Dnieper, the liberation of Kyiv, and Right Bank Ukraine. In January - February 1944, together with the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, they surrounded and eliminated a large group of Germans in the Korsun-Shevchenkovsky area. | Awarded the Order of Lenin, the Order of the Red Banner, Suvorov 1st degree, Kutuzov 1st degree, and the Czechoslovakian Order. On May 6, 1965 he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (posthumously). He died on April 15, 1944, after being seriously wounded. |
 Chernyakhovsky Ivan Danilovich (1906-1945) |
Since March 1941, commander of the 28th Tank Division (in December 1941, reorganized into the 241st Rifle Division) of the Baltic Special Military District. June - July 1942 - commander of the 18th Tank Corps on the Voronezh Front. July 1942 - April 1944 - commander of the 60th Army on the Voronezh, Central and 1st Ukrainian fronts. From April 15, 1944 - commander of the troops of the Western, and from April 24, 1944 - commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front. | In 1941, defensive battles took place southwest of Siauliai, on the Western Dvina, near Soltsy and Novgorod. Beginning of 1942 - successful battles on the outskirts of Voronezh. In 1943 - participation in the Voronezh-Kharkov operation, the Battle of Kursk, crossing the Desna and Dnieper rivers, in the Kyiv, Zhitomir-Berdichev operations. In 1944 - participation in the Rovno-Lutsk, Chernigov-Pripyat, Belarusian, Vilnius, Kaunas, Baltic, Memel, and Gumbinnen operations. 1945 - East Prussian operation. | Awarded the Order of Lenin, 4 Orders of the Red Banner, 2 Orders of Suvorov 1st degree, Orders of Kutuzov 1st degree, Bogdan Khmelnitsky 1st degree and medals. Twice Hero of the Soviet Union. Died on February 18, 1945, after being mortally wounded. |
Battle of Stalingrad. Our troops number more than a million. There are more than a million enemies. By April 16, 1945, two and a half million of our soldiers were operating in the Berlin direction. They were opposed by a group of more than a million fascists. And in addition, there is “inanimate force”: huge concentrations of tanks and artillery, giant flocks of aircraft.
And with such “density of fire” the battles lasted a long time. Counteroffensive at Stalingrad - 75 days. And “Mamaevo’s Massacre” took three hours. And the Battle of Poltava lasted almost as long.
But, when comparing, we will not argue that the great battles of past centuries are just “battles of local significance” if we measure them by the standards already known to us. The great future has never diminished the great past.
We are talking about something else - about commanders.
Napoleon said that many of the questions facing a commander were a mathematical problem worthy of the efforts of Newton and. He meant his time. But what can we say about our commanders? How to measure the complexity of the tasks facing them?
Zhukov, Vasilevsky, Rokossovsky, Konev, Vatutin, Tolbukhin, Chernyakhovsky, Meretskov, Bagramyan. The names speak for themselves. They say a lot to many people. Moreover, the series can be continued further; even its length is amazing.
Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov
General G.K. Zhukov, a platoon and squadron commander in the civil war, the hero of Khalkhin Gol, became the chief of the General Staff back in January 1941, at the age of forty-four. He held the position until July 30, that is, a little more than six months. The Great Patriotic War, as we see, accounts for a month and a little more than a week of this period. Then, in civilian terms, he was transferred to another job. This happened in the bitter days of our failures.
Very little time will pass, and Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov will become Deputy Supreme Commander-in-Chief. But it will be so. Very soon and very soon. The hours and years count on the clock of war.
The first thing Zhukov will do in his new capacity as commander of the Reserve Front will be Yelnya, where he will go to organize a counterattack.
He will understand a lot very quickly, that our units are firing artillery not at actual enemy firing points, but at supposed ones.
He will understand that, while delaying decisive action, he must constantly keep the enemy in suspense, exhaust him, and even mislead him with his activity.
Let us remember: Zhukov replaced the former commander of the Leningrad Front when Army Group North, having captured Shlisselburg, surrounded Leningrad. The enemy tried with all his might to turn the blockade ring into a suffocating noose thrown around the neck of the tormented city.
Zhukov stayed in Leningrad for less than a month and was urgently recalled - now Moscow found itself in mortal danger. Fulfilling his longed-for dream - to capture the Soviet capital in order to thereby surpass Napoleon (at that time Moscow was not the first city of Russia), Hitler sent almost half of all the troops that operated on the Soviet-German front to the operation, including two thirds of all tank and motorized divisions. He remembered the experiences of Paris, Oslo, Copenhagen, Belgrade.
The same person goes precisely to the “boiling points”. According to Vasilevsky, Zhukov was the most noticeable in the main cohort of Soviet commanders, and turns out to be where he should be every time. And this despite his “hotness”, his independent character. But he will not change - he will remain the same. But the attitude towards such people will become different (“Gradually, under the pressure of the circumstances of the course of the war,” Vasilevsky would later write). To those who know their business perfectly, for whom the interests of the cause, the interests of Victory are above all.
Rokossovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich
We often hear and repeat these words: time dictates, time demands. That's when - during the war - it became absolutely clear that these were not just words. That's when it became absolutely obvious that the principles of personnel selection are vitally important. Wartime complicated many things, but also unexpectedly simplified many things - for example, the view of who was considered a promising person worthy of nomination.
Rokossovsky started the war not as a 44-year-old general, but as a very young man. In civilian life he made a daring raid on the White headquarters train, took part in the defeat and capture of Baron Ungern, and was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
In fact, in nine months, minus the time spent in the hospital after being wounded, Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovsky went from corps commander to front commander. Rapid growth, instant assessment of merit. Instant, but not hasty.
If you think about it, Rokossovsky’s “official” growth was facilitated by his enemies - it was they who gave him commendable characteristics. How? At least this: in January 1942, the Sixteenth Army was transferred to the Sukhinichi area, and an incident occurred there that at first seemed inexplicable.
The Nazi units opposing our troops suddenly abandoned their positions and retreated seven to eight kilometers. Without a fight, without any coercion on our part.
It later became clear what prompted them to act this way - they heard a rumor about the arrival of the Sixteenth Army. The enemy already knew the name of its commander well, and therefore decided, without tempting fate, to withdraw the troops to more prepared positions.
During the war, responsibility for decisions made sharply increased. The need for these decisions to be error-free has become more acute than ever: the cost of every mistake, especially in decisions of a military nature, has never been higher.
By accepting them, they risked not their position, not their reputation, they not only put themselves at risk, but so many others, their lives - the lives of tens, hundreds, thousands.
Chernyakhovsky Ivan Danilovich
The war answered all questions incomparably quickly. A decision was made - and everything became clear tomorrow, or even today - an hour later.
When in one of the battles the artillery fell behind, changing firing positions - and every minute was valuable, otherwise the offensive would bog down, Ivan Danilovich Chernyakhovsky - and this was, it seems, for the first time in the history of the Great Patriotic War - was removed from firing positions and moved to the front line to fight by the ground enemy the main group of the army's anti-aircraft artillery.
The anti-aircraft guns did not hit planes, but tanks and fortified enemy positions. This was a big risk, but Chernyakhovsky, having made such a decision, hoped to break the enemy’s resistance in an hour or two. And he turned out to be right.
In another battle, again remembering Suvorov’s order: one minute decides the outcome of battles, one hour - the success of the campaign, one day - the fate of the country, not allowing the enemy to gain a foothold on advantageous lines, and therefore, avoiding unjustified losses, Chernyakhovsky orders the troops to force the Dnieper.
Without pulling up the pontoon-bridge parks, without ensuring the simultaneous crossing of infantry, tanks and artillery, cross on rafts and fishing boats. The plan was for surprise. And to German loyalty to the letter of the charter.
The general knew that in all the instructions of the German army, forcing such large rivers is allowed only if engineering transportation facilities are available. He knew that the Germans would not dare to allow, even if this was happening before their eyes, that someone was doing something they themselves would never do. And again I was right.
And when, under fierce enemy fire, our advanced units reached the opposite bank and entered into an unequal battle, Chernyakhovsky conveyed to the advanced units: “I am sending reinforcements, I will support you with fire. Order: expand the bridgehead. I’ll go to you myself!”
The bridgehead was not only maintained, but also expanded.
They were like-minded people, our outstanding military leaders. Everyone thought and fought outside the box, faithful to the rule that Chernyakhovsky formulated as follows: a commander in battle should not do what the enemy is looking for and expecting from him.
Everyone understood that the true commander of a war for those who expect to win it must be a thought - new, deep, unexpected.
At 37 years old, Ivan Danilovich Chernyakhovsky was already commanding the front. Now, knowing how he fought, it’s not easy to even imagine that someone could have thought at one time: isn’t it too early for him to take such a post? For him, commanding an army is an achievement beyond his age?
Nikolai Fedorovich Vatutin, who was the front commander at that time, suggested that Chernyakhovsky take command of the army. He was only five years older, but managed to test himself in battles with the Makhnovists, and by the beginning of the war, at thirty-nine years old, he already held the high post of First Deputy Chief of the General Staff.
The offer to take command of the army took Chernyakhovsky by surprise:
It's only been a month since I commanded the corps.
A month in war is a very long time.
There are other generals, more experienced, deserved, my appointment will hurt their pride.
Well, here’s what,” Vatutin said almost sternly, “now is not the time to talk about someone’s pride.” The enemy has put us in harsh conditions. And we cannot ignore this.
A man of position, with past merits, he seemed much older than the youngest of the front commanders. By the way, other major military leaders also had past achievements.
Konev Ivan Stepanovich and Tolbukhin Fedor Ivanovich
Konev became the head of the front at the age of 43, and first announced himself in the years of his combat youth - the red commissar of armored train No. 102 “Grozny”, division commissar, participant in the suppression of the counter-revolutionary rebellion in Kronstadt.
Tolbukhin, who in those years seemed like an elderly man to himself, although he was only two years older than Zhukov and Rokossovsky, three years older than Konev, fought against Yudenich and the White Poles, was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for personal courage, was awarded three times with a personalized silver watch with the inscription "To the honest warrior of the workers and peasants."
But even with regard to past merits, time has spoken quite clearly - a real war cannot be won by past victories, or even by the methods by which they were achieved. The path to victories in a modern war must be new, modern. Different times, different battles. And the commanders are different.
"Can not". Even if they wanted to. Not a human time dictates. Although someone, some person, much less impartial than time, could say: really, what’s the rush? Let the young general get used to his previous position. He will gain experience in leadership work... He still has everything ahead...
The military leader was required to constantly comprehend the situation, sometimes instantly solve the most complex problems, while minimizing possible mistakes. The work of a commander, ideally, is unmistakable creativity. But is it possible to create with the guarantee that you will avoid mistakes? Is one compatible with the other? But the fact of the matter is that someone managed to get closer to the ideal. It was then that time “interceded” for such people, demanding immediate recognition, immediate promotion. For the ability to fight, how to do one’s military work, such “trifles” as a complex character, like youth were forgiven... The most promising, in any case, turned out to be precisely those personnel changes that were made “in the spirit of the times,” not pre-war or post-war - military .
Govorov Leonid Alexandrovich
With the name of Leonid Aleksandrovich Govorov - he commanded the Leningrad Front - the heroic epic of the great city, the breakthrough of the Leningrad blockade, went down in history forever. Little talkative, dry, even somewhat gloomy in appearance, he could not or did not want to make an impression that was advantageous to himself.
However, this quality of nature is not the only thing that could prevent the future marshal from making a worthy contribution to the defeat of fascism and demonstrating his abilities as a strategist. IN early youth due to difficult circumstances, he ended up in the Kolchak army, and although he quickly parted with it, and subsequently fought with, he was wounded twice in battles for Soviet power, awarded the Order of the Red Banner, who could guarantee that not a single personnel officer would ever look askance at “ dark page" of his biography. But, as we already know, nothing stopped it. And Zhukov “looked after” him, seeing a major military talent in Govorov.
Vasilevsky Alexander Mikhailovich
Preparing a counteroffensive near Stalingrad, the Soviet Supreme High Command sent its representatives to the fronts. Chief of the General Staff Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky arrived at the Stalingrad Front. The operation was scheduled to begin on October 20, 1942. But it started a month later. What happened? Who delayed the day that was so longed for? By what right and for what reasons?
Vasilevsky “dragged” with the start of the counteroffensive.
Arriving at the front, I became convinced that the day it began, judging by the state of the enemy, was chosen extremely well. The enemy could no longer attack, and did not have time to properly organize the defense. But such a “one-sided view” did not suit him. It was also necessary to take into account the fact that our fronts, in turn, had not yet had time to raise troops or concentrate material resources.
There are examples in the history of war when commanders with a “convenient character” hastened to console the Supreme High Command with optimistic assurances that in no way stemmed from a sober analysis of the situation. The arrogance of the leaders was paid for with the blood of the soldiers.
Facts of this kind explain not only what kind of Chief of the General Staff A. M. Vasilevsky was, but also why he became one, for what merits, why he grew up.
Results of the leadership of the generals
As we see, having an inconvenient character is the “privilege” of not only Zhukov, but also other commanders. They knew how to firmly stand their ground. Yes, not on “ours” - on the common one, needed by the people, the country. Having been promoted to high positions by deeds, they proved by deeds that they occupied them by right.
Still, this ancient and solemn word “commander” sounds strange when talking about our contemporaries, including those who quite recently came to meetings with us, so to speak, according to Moscow time, and not thanks to a fabulous time machine, came not from legends, but from his apartments.
Did he himself, Ivan Chernyakhovsky, a thirteen-year-old orphan shepherd boy, who disappeared in the meadows with his flock from morning to evening, ever think that someday this “commander” would also refer to him? And Konstantin Rokossovsky is also an orphan from the age of fourteen? And the cook’s son Rodion Malinovsky? And Nikolai Voronov, our first marshal of artillery, when he was left without a mother as a child - did she commit suicide, tormented by hopeless poverty? And Georgy Zhukov, whose brother died of hunger, living in his Strelkovka in a house with a roof that had collapsed from disrepair? The same Zhukov, who would grow into the most prominent commander of his time, on behalf of the army and the people, will accept the surrender of Nazi Germany in Karlshorst, and then, riding a white horse, will host the Victory Parade on Red Square?
I believed that while in power, a person has no idea how damn difficult the situation of ordinary ordinary people can be. Whether this is true or not depends, probably, on many things.
Let us remember and compare: , born in 1887, the one whose armies advanced on Leningrad, and then unsuccessfully tried to relieve those encircled at Stalingrad Nazi troops, was no longer a first-generation general; he represented the dynasty of the Prussian military aristocracy. And how many of them were there besides him in the avalanche that was rolling towards us - hereditary generals who were allegedly haunted by the “genes” of aggression and hatred that had settled in them from past centuries. Generals are from some families, soldiers are from others. It's like from another world.
This is a symbol. They were one family, our commanders and our soldiers.
The fate of millions of people depended on their decisions! This is not the entire list of our great commanders of the Second World War!
Zhukov Georgy Konstantinovich (1896-1974) Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov was born on November 1, 1896 in Kaluga region, in a peasant family. During the First World War, he was drafted into the army and enrolled in a regiment stationed in the Kharkov province. In the spring of 1916, he was enrolled in a group sent to officer courses. After studying, Zhukov became a non-commissioned officer and went to the dragoon regiment, with which he participated in battles Great War. Soon he received a concussion from a mine explosion and was sent to the hospital. He managed to prove himself, and for capturing a German officer he was awarded the Cross of St. George.
After the civil war, he completed the courses for Red commanders. He commanded a cavalry regiment, then a brigade. He was an assistant inspector of the Red Army cavalry.
In January 1941, shortly before the German invasion of the USSR, Zhukov was appointed chief of the General Staff and deputy people's commissar of defense.
Commanded the troops of the Reserve, Leningrad, Western, 1st Belorussian fronts, coordinated the actions of a number of fronts, made a great contribution to achieving victory in the battle of Moscow, in the Battles of Stalingrad, Kursk, in the Belarusian, Vistula-Oder and Berlin operations. Four times Hero of the Soviet Union , holder of two Orders of Victory, many other Soviet and foreign orders and medals.
Vasilevsky Alexander Mikhailovich (1895-1977) - Marshal of the Soviet Union.
Born on September 16 (September 30), 1895 in the village. Novaya Golchikha, Kineshma district, Ivanovo region, in the family of a priest, Russian. In February 1915, after graduating from the Kostroma Theological Seminary, he entered Alekseevskoe military school(Moscow) and completed it in 4 months (June 1915).
During the Great Patriotic War, as Chief of the General Staff (1942-1945), he took an active part in the development and implementation of almost all major operations on the Soviet-German front. From February 1945, he commanded the 3rd Belorussian Front and led the assault on Königsberg. In 1945, commander-in-chief of Soviet troops in the Far East in the war with Japan.
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Rokossovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich (1896-1968) - Marshal of the Soviet Union, Marshal of Poland.
Born on December 21, 1896 in the small Russian town of Velikie Luki (formerly Pskov province), in the family of a Pole railway driver, Xavier-Józef Rokossovsky and his Russian wife Antonina. After the birth of Konstantin, the Rokossovsky family moved to Warsaw. At less than 6 years old, Kostya was orphaned: his father ended up in train accident and after a long illness died in 1902. In 1911, his mother also died. With the outbreak of World War I, Rokossovsky asked to join one of the Russian regiments heading west through Warsaw.
With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, he commanded the 9th Mechanized Corps. In the summer of 1941 he was appointed commander of the 4th Army. He managed to somewhat hold back the advance of the German armies on the western front. In the summer of 1942 he became commander of the Bryansk Front. The Germans managed to approach the Don and, from advantageous positions, create threats to capture Stalingrad and break through to the North Caucasus. With a blow from his army, he prevented the Germans from trying to break through to the north, towards the city of Yelets. Rokossovsky took part in the counter-offensive of Soviet troops near Stalingrad. His ability to conduct combat operations played a big role in the success of the operation. In 1943, he led the central front, which, under his command, began the defensive battle on the Kursk Bulge. A little later, he organized an offensive and liberated significant territories from the Germans. He also led the liberation of Belarus, implementing the Stavka plan - “Bagration”
Twice Hero of the Soviet Union
Konev Ivan Stepanovich (1897-1973) - Marshal of the Soviet Union.
Born in December 1897 in one of the villages of the Vologda province. His family was peasant. In 1916, the future commander was drafted into the tsarist army. He participates in the First World War as a non-commissioned officer.
At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, Konev commanded the 19th Army, which took part in battles with the Germans and closed the capital from the enemy. For successful leadership of the army's actions, he receives the rank of colonel general.
During the Great Patriotic War, Ivan Stepanovich managed to be the commander of several fronts: Kalinin, Western, Northwestern, Steppe, Second Ukrainian and First Ukrainian. In January 1945, the First Ukrainian Front, together with the First Belorussian Front, launched the offensive Vistula-Oder operation. The troops managed to occupy several cities of strategic importance, and even liberate Krakow from the Germans. At the end of January, the Auschwitz camp was liberated from the Nazis. In April, two fronts launched an offensive in the Berlin direction. Soon Berlin was taken, and Konev took direct part in the assault on the city.
Twice Hero of the Soviet Union
Vatutin Nikolai Fedorovich (1901-1944) - army general.
Born on December 16, 1901 in the village of Chepukhino, Kursk province, into a large peasant family. He graduated from four classes of the zemstvo school, where he was considered the first student.
In the first days of the Great Patriotic War, Vatutin visited the most critical sectors of the front. The staff worker turned into a brilliant combat commander.
On February 21, Headquarters instructed Vatutin to prepare an attack on Dubno and further on Chernivtsi. On February 29, the general was heading to the headquarters of the 60th Army. On the way, his car was fired upon by a detachment of Ukrainian Bandera partisans. The wounded Vatutin died on the night of April 15 in a Kiev military hospital.
In 1965, Vatutin was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Katukov Mikhail Efimovich (1900-1976) - Marshal of the armored forces. One of the founders of the Tank Guard.
Born on September 4 (17), 1900 in the village of Bolshoye Uvarovo, then Kolomna district, Moscow province. large family a peasant (his father had seven children from two marriages). He graduated from an elementary rural school with a diploma of commendation, during which he was the first student in his class and school.
In the Soviet Army - since 1919.
At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, he took part in defensive operations in the area of the cities of Lutsk, Dubno, Korosten, showing himself to be a skillful, proactive organizer of a tank battle with superior enemy forces. These qualities were brilliantly demonstrated in the Battle of Moscow, when he commanded the 4th Tank Brigade. In the first half of October 1941, near Mtsensk, on a number of defensive lines, the brigade steadfastly held back the advance of enemy tanks and infantry and inflicted enormous damage on them. Having completed a 360-km march to the Istra orientation, the M.E. brigade. Katukova, as part of the 16th Army of the Western Front, heroically fought in the Volokolamsk direction and participated in the counter-offensive near Moscow. On November 11, 1941, for brave and skillful military actions, the brigade was the first in the tank forces to receive the rank of guards. In 1942, M.E. Katukov commanded the 1st Tank Corps, which repelled the onslaught of enemy troops in the Kursk-Voronezh direction, from September 1942 - the 3rd Mechanized Corps. In January 1943, he was appointed commander of the 1st Tank Army, which was part of the Voronezh, and later the 1st The Ukrainian Front distinguished itself in the Battle of Kursk and during the liberation of Ukraine. In April 1944, the armed forces were transformed into the 1st Guards Tank Army, which, under the command of M.E. Katukova participated in the Lviv-Sandomierz, Vistula-Oder, East Pomeranian and Berlin operations, crossed the Vistula and Oder rivers.
Rotmistrov Pavel Alekseevich (1901-1982) - chief marshal of the armored forces.
Born in the village of Skovorovo, now Selizharovsky district, Tver region, into a large peasant family (he had 8 brothers and sisters)... In 1916 he graduated from higher primary school
In the Soviet Army from April 1919 (he was enlisted in the Samara Workers' Regiment), participant Civil War.
During the Great Patriotic War P.A. Rotmistrov fought on the Western, Northwestern, Kalinin, Stalingrad, Voronezh, Steppe, Southwestern, 2nd Ukrainian and 3rd Belorussian fronts. He commanded the 5th Guards Tank Army, which distinguished itself in the Battle of Kursk. In the summer of 1944, P.A. Rotmistrov and his army took part in the Belarusian offensive operation, the liberation of the cities of Borisov, Minsk, and Vilnius. Since August 1944, he was appointed deputy commander of the armored and mechanized forces of the Soviet Army.
Kravchenko Andrey Grigorievich (1899-1963) - Colonel General of tank forces.
Born on November 30, 1899 on the Sulimin farm, now the village of Sulimovka, Yagotinsky district, Kyiv region of Ukraine, in a peasant family. Ukrainian. Member of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) since 1925. Participant in the Civil War. He graduated from the Poltava Military Infantry School in 1923, the Military Academy named after M.V. Frunze in 1928.
From June 1940 to the end of February 1941 A.G. Kravchenko - chief of staff of the 16th tank division, and from March to September 1941 - chief of staff of the 18th mechanized corps.
On the fronts of the Great Patriotic War since September 1941. Commander of the 31st Tank Brigade (09/09/1941 - 01/10/1942). Since February 1942, deputy commander of the 61st Army for tank forces. Chief of Staff of the 1st Tank Corps (03/31/1942 - 07/30/1942). Commanded the 2nd (07/2/1942 - 09/13/1942) and 4th (from 02/7/43 - 5th Guards; from 09/18/1942 to 01/24/1944) tank corps.
In November 1942, the 4th Corps took part in the encirclement of the 6th German Army near Stalingrad, in July 1943 - in the tank battle near Prokhorovka, in October of the same year - in the Battle of the Dnieper.
Novikov Alexander Alexandrovich (1900-1976) - chief marshal of aviation.
Born on November 19, 1900 in the village of Kryukovo, Nerekhta district, Kostroma region. He received his education at the teachers' seminary in 1918.
In the Soviet Army since 1919
In aviation since 1933. Participant of the Great Patriotic War from the first day. He was the commander of the Northern Air Force, then the Leningrad Front. From April 1942 until the end of the war, he was the commander of the Red Army Air Force. In March 1946, he was illegally repressed (together with A.I. Shakhurin), rehabilitated in 1953.
Kuznetsov Nikolai Gerasimovich (1902-1974) - Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union. People's Commissar of the Navy.
Born on July 11 (24), 1904 in the family of Gerasim Fedorovich Kuznetsov (1861-1915), a peasant in the village of Medvedki, Veliko-Ustyug district, Vologda province (now in the Kotlas district of the Arkhangelsk region).
In 1919, at the age of 15, he joined the Severodvinsk flotilla, giving himself two years to be accepted (the erroneous birth year of 1902 is still found in some reference books). In 1921-1922 he was a combatant in the Arkhangelsk naval crew.
During the Great Patriotic War, N. G. Kuznetsov was the chairman of the Main Military Council of the Navy and the commander-in-chief of the Navy. He led the fleet promptly and energetically, coordinating its actions with the operations of other armed forces. The admiral was a member of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command and constantly traveled to ships and fronts. The fleet prevented an invasion of the Caucasus from the sea. In 1944, N. G. Kuznetsov was awarded the military rank of fleet admiral. On May 25, 1945, this rank was equated to the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union and marshal-type shoulder straps were introduced.
Hero of the Soviet Union,Chernyakhovsky Ivan Danilovich (1906-1945) - army general.
Born in the city of Uman. His father was a railway worker, so it is not surprising that in 1915 his son followed in his father’s footsteps and entered a railway school. In 1919, a real tragedy occurred in the family: his parents died due to typhus, so the boy was forced to leave school and take up farming. He worked as a shepherd, driving cattle into the field in the morning, and sat down to his textbooks every free minute. Immediately after dinner, I ran to the teacher for clarification of the material.
During the Second World War, he was one of those young military leaders who, by their example, motivated the soldiers, gave them confidence and gave them faith in a bright future.
