Victory in World War II and World War II was given to Soviet soldiers by hard work. However, for the effective implementation of its goal, namely, to protect its homeland and native land, in the fields where the battles took place, in addition to courage and courage, it was necessary to master military art at a fairly high level. It was the generals who possessed such a talent.
Operations conducted by Soviet military leaders during the war are still being studied at various military schools and academies around the world. By the end of the war, the most prominent commanders, which all generations should know, took commanding posts. But many were forgotten, especially after the change of the Secretary General of the USSR, some were removed from their high posts and moved into the shadows.
Marshal Zhukov
Soviet commander, Victory Marshal - Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov was born in 1896 and already by 1939 (a couple of months before the start of World War II) took part in the hostilities with the Japanese. The Russian-Mongolian army crushed the group of eastern neighbors on the Khalkhin Gol River.
When news of the start of World War II broke into the Soviet Union at the speed of a hurricane, Zhukov was already the head of the General Staff, but after a while he was redirected to the active forces. In the first year of the war, he was appointed to lead army units in the most critical sectors of the front. Tough discipline requirements helped the Soviet commander, Marshal of the Soviet Union, to prevent the capture of Leningrad and cut off oxygen to the Nazis on the outskirts of Moscow in the direction of Mozhaisk.
By the beginning of 1942, Zhukov became the head of the counteroffensive near Moscow. With his help and thanks to the reactive actions of Soviet soldiers, the Germans were driven back from the capital at a great distance. In the following year, Zhukov was the coordinator of the front-line troops near Stalingrad, as well as during the breaking of the blockade of Leningrad and during the battle on the Kursk Bulge. At that time, the great Soviet commander was a representative of the Supreme Commander.
In the winter of 1944, Zhukov led the First Ukrainian Front, replacing Vatutin, who was seriously injured. The Soviet commander conducted the planned operation to free the right bank of Ukraine. The operation was offensive, therefore, with Zhukov’s skills, the troops were able to quickly break through to the state border. By the end of 1944, an outstanding Soviet commander took command of the First Belorussian Front and went to Berlin. As a result, it was he who accepted the surrender of the Nazis and the recognition of defeat. In 1945 he took part both in the Moscow Victory Parade and in Berlin.
Despite all the feats accomplished, after the end of World War II Zhukov was pushed into the background, entrusting him with command only to certain military districts. After the death of Stalin, Khrushchev appointed him deputy defense minister, and soon he headed the ministry, but in 1957, having fallen out of favor with the General Secretary, he was removed from all posts and posts. The Soviet commander, Marshal of Victory of the Beetles, died in 1974.
Marshal Rokossovsky
The great name of Rokossovsky thundered throughout the country during the Second World War. Before the war, the future Soviet commander was in places not so remote. In 1937, Konstantin Konstantinovich was repressed and only three years later he was able to return to his previous powers thanks to Marshal Tymoshenko.
It was Rokossovsky who was able to provide worthy resistance to German troops in the early days of hostilities. His army stood on the defense of Moscow near Volokolamsk, and at that time it was one of the most difficult areas. In 1942, the Soviet commander was seriously injured, and after restoration took the post of commander of the Don Front. Thanks to the Rokossovsky battle with the Nazis near Stalingrad ended in favor of the Soviets.
The famous commander of the Soviet Union also participated in the battle on the Kursk Bulge. Then he was able to convince Joseph Vissarionovich that it was necessary to provoke the Germans to strike first. He calculated the exact zone of attack and, right before the advance of the enemy, rained down on him an artillery avalanche that completely undermined German forces.
But the most famous feat of the great Soviet commander, Marshal Rokossovsky, was the liberation of the Belarusian people. This operation was later included in all military art training manuals. The code name for the operation was given to "Bagration", thanks to the correct calculations, the main group of fascists - the "Center" army was destroyed. Shortly before the victory, Zhukov took the place of Rokossovsky, Konstantin Konstantinovich was sent to the second Belorussian front, located in East Prussia.
Despite this, a Soviet commander with truly outstanding leadership qualities was very popular among Soviet soldiers. After 1945, Rokossovsky headed the Polish Ministry of Defense, before his death he managed to work as Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR and even wrote a memoir entitled "Soviet duty".
Marshal Konev
The next famous Soviet commander commanded the Western Front. Ivan Stepanovich Konev, who took over in 1941, already at the very beginning of the Second World War suffered a major defeat. Not having obtained permission to withdraw his troops from Bryansk, he threatened 600 thousand Soviet soldiers, who ended up surrounded by the enemy. Fortunately, another great Soviet commander, Marshal Zhukov, saved him from the tribunal.
In 1943, Konev, commanding the army of the second Ukrainian front, liberated Kharkov, Kremenchug, Belgorod and Poltava. And in the Korsun-Shevchen operation, the Soviet commander of World War II was able to surround a large group of fascists. On the western border of Ukraine in 1944, Konev successfully conducted an operation, opening a passage to Germany.
Also, the army of the commander of the Soviet Union Konev distinguished himself in the battle for Berlin. In that significant period, rivalry began between Zhukov and Konev: who will occupy the capital and put an end to this war first? Moreover, the strained relations between them remained after the war.
Marshal Vasilevsky
Soviet commander of the Great Patriotic War, Marshal of the Soviet Union Vasilevsky was the chief of the General Staff since 1942. His main duty was to coordinate the actions of all fronts of the Red Army. Moreover, Vasilevsky took part in the development and implementation of all large-scale operations of the Great Patriotic War.
The main plan for the encirclement of fascist troops near Stalingrad was also planned by the commander of the Soviet Union Vasilevsky. When General Chernyakhovsky passed away at the end of the war, Marshal Vasilevsky filed a request for his release from the post of chief of the General Staff, and he himself took the place of the deceased comrade. He stood at the head of the army and went on the assault on Koenigsberg.
After the victory in 1945, Vasilevsky was transported east to the Japanese, where he defeated the Kwatun army. Then he again took the place of chief of the General Staff and was promoted to minister of defense of the USSR, but after the death of the great leader, the figure of the commander and hero of the Soviet Union Vasilevsky went into the shadows.
Marshal Tolbukhin
The Soviet commander of the Second World War, Marshal Fedor Ivanovich Tolbukhin after the outbreak of hostilities became the head of the Transcaucasian Front. He led the development of a forced operation to land the Soviet army in the northern territories of Iran. He also developed an operation to transfer the Kerch landing to the Crimea, which was supposed to bring success in the liberation of the latter, but failed. Due to significant losses, he was removed from his post.
True, when Tolbukhin distinguished himself in the battle of Stalingrad, commanding the 57th Army, he was appointed to the post of commander of the Southern Front or the fourth Ukrainian. As a result, he liberated the Crimea and most of the Ukrainian lands. Under his leadership, the Soviet army liberated Romania, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Austria, and the Iasi-Kishinev operation entered the textbooks on military art. After the war, Tolbukhin again returned to the command of the Transcaucasian Military District.
Marshal Meretskov
Kirill Afanasevich Meretskov at one time fought with the White Finns on the Karelian Isthmus. In 1940, he received the post of chief of the General Staff, and in 1941, for almost a year, he served as deputy People's Commissar of Defense of the Soviet Union.
After the declaration of war, he became the representative of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief on the fronts near Karelia and the northwestern part of the country. In 1941, under his command were the 4th and 7th armies. In 1942, he led the 33rd Army. In 1944, the Karelian Front was given under his leadership. In 1945, the great commander of the Soviet Union became commander of the forces of Primorye and the first Far Eastern Front.
Meretskov brilliantly coped with the defense of the northern capital, participated in the liberation of the polar and Karelian territories. Moreover, he carried out counterattacks in the battle with the Japanese in eastern Manchuria and the Far East. When the fascist expansion was stopped and defeated, Meretskov took turns at the head of several military districts, including Moscow.
In 1955, he assumed the post of Assistant Secretary of Defense for Military Universities. In 1964 he was enrolled in the Group of General Inspectors of the USSR Ministry of Defense. Marshal Meretskov was awarded seven orders of Lenin, four orders of the Red Banner, two orders of Suvorov I degree, the Order of the October Revolution, etc.
Marshal Govorov
Leonid Alexandrovich Govorov was a veteran and Soviet commander of the Civil War. He was educated at two military academies. After graduating from the latter, in 1939 he became the head of the 7th artillery army during the period of hostilities with the White Finns.
In 1941, Govorov was put on the post of manager of the Military Artillery Academy, then he became commander of the artillery forces of the Western Front. Govorov commanded the Soviet soldiers in the 5th army when she defended the approaches to the capital from Mozhaisk. His skillful tactical decisions secured him the glory of a strong-willed commander, well versed in combined arms combat. In 1942, Govorov became commander of the Leningrad Front and successfully carried out several operations to break the blockade of the city: Tallinn, Vyborg, etc. Moreover, at the same time, while remaining at his post, he helped coordinate the army on the Baltic fronts.
After the Second World War, Govorov changed several positions, and managed to visit the commander of the military district of Leningrad, the chief inspector of the ground forces, and even the chief inspector of the USSR Armed Forces.
For four years (since 1948) he was the commander of the air defense military forces and at the same time took the place of deputy defense minister. He was awarded five orders of Lenin, two orders of Suvorov I degree, the Order of the Red Star, three orders of the Red Banner and many other medals of the USSR.
Marshal Malinovsky
Rodion Yakovlevich Malinovsky became twice a hero of the USSR, a hero of Yugoslavia. He began his military activity with the First World War, continued in the Civil War. At one time, Malinovsky went to France as part of the Russian expeditionary force.
At the beginning of his career, he took the place of a machine gunner of the 27th Infantry Division, and when he graduated from military school he was appointed to the post of battalion commander. In 1930, Malinovsky became the head of the cavalry regiment. In 1937, he volunteered to participate in the Italian Civil War. In 1939 he began to teach classes at the military academy. In 1941, Malinovsky became the commander of the 48th Rifle Corps in Moldova.
With the beginning of World War II, he restrained the enemy's forces on the Prut River. In the same 1941, he became the commander of the 6th Army, later the main one on the Southern Front. In 1942, he controlled the 66th Army, which fought in the north of Stalingrad. Then he was transferred to the post of deputy commander of the Voronezh Front and the Second Guards Army near Tambov. It was the last in the winter of 1942 that defeated the Nazis, who intended to free Paulus' army from the blockade.
In 1943, Malinovsky, thanks to the forces of the Southwestern Front, liberated the Donbass and the right Ukrainian coast. In 1944, Odessa and Nikolaev were liberated, from the same year he was appointed head of the second Ukrainian front. Malinowski took part in the already mentioned Iasi-Chisinau operation, which is considered one of the most important and outstanding for the entire period of the Second World War. By the spring of 1945, he had developed operations to defeat German forces in Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Austria. In the summer of that year, he, commanding the army of the Trans-Baikal Military District, took part in the defeat of the Japanese forces.
After the successful extermination of fascism and the end of World War II, Malinovsky remained as commander of the troops of the Far East. In 1956, at the insistence of Khrushchev, he was approved as the first deputy defense minister and commander of the Soviet land forces. 10 years (since 1957) Malinovsky was on the post of Minister of Defense of the USSR.
For all his activities, the marshal was awarded five orders of Lenin, three orders of the Red Banner, two orders of Suvorov, I degree, etc.
General Vatutin
The General of the Soviet Army Nikolai Fedorovich Vatutin, who lived only 43 years before the start of the war, was the deputy chief of the General Staff. When the Germans attacked the borders of the Soviet Union, Vatutin was sent to the Northwest Front. Near Nizhny Novgorod, Vatutin carried out a couple of serious counterattacks that suspended the movement of the Manstein tank division.
In 1942, Vatutin was the leader in an operation called "Small Saturn", thanks to which Hitler's Italian and Romanian accomplices could not approach the encircled Paulus army.
In 1943, Vatutin became the commander of the first Ukrainian front. It was with his help that success was achieved in military operations on the Kursk Bulge. With the help of his strategic actions, it was possible to liberate Kharkov, Kiev, Zhytomyr and Rivne. The military operations carried out in these cities made Vatutin a well-known commander.
He participated in the Korsun-Shevchenkovsky operation. At the beginning of 1944, the car in which Vatutin followed was fired upon by Ukrainian nationalists. A month and a half, the general fought for his life, but died due to wounds incompatible with life. Many streets in the Russian Federation are named after Vatutin, but few people know who this great man was and what role he played in the victory over fascism.
General Antonov
The general and great commander of the Soviet Union Alexei Innokentyevich Antonov, awarded the Order of Victory, participated in the Civil War. He helped in the defeat of the Kornilov rebellion, was an assistant chief of staff of the first Moscow division on the Southern Front, and then was transferred to the post of chief of staff of the rifle brigade.
Then he was assigned to manage the headquarters of the rifle brigade, with whom he passed Sivash and took part in the battle with the Wrangels on the Kramsky Peninsula. Like many generals, Antonov graduated from two military academies. His military career began with the chief of the operational department at the division headquarters, he was able to rise to the post of chief of staff of the Moscow Military District. He also managed to work as the head of the Department of General Tactics of the VA Frunze.
During the declaration of war by Hitler to the Soviet Union, Antonov was deputy chief of staff of the Kiev Military District. Later he was given the post of chief of the formation of the Southern Front, and in 1941 he became the chief of staff of the Southern Front.
In 1942, Antonov became the chief of staff of the North Caucasus Front, after - the Transcaucasian Front. It was during this period that he managed to show his highest skill in military affairs. At the end of 1942, Antonov was appointed first deputy chief of the General Staff, as well as the chief in operational management. The general took part in the development and implementation of many strategic plans during the Great Patriotic War.
In early 1945, Antonov was transferred to the post of chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union. In the same year, Antonov was sent as part of a delegation to the Crimean and Potsdam conference. From 1950 to 1954, Antonov commanded the troops of the Transcaucasian Military District, but eventually returned to the General Staff, taking the post of first deputy chief. He was a member of the board of the Ministry of Defense. In 1955, Antonov became the chief of staff of the armies of the Warsaw Treaty member countries and worked at that post until the end of his days.
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