One of the most difficult and debated issues related to the Great Patriotic War is the problem of the contribution of one military commander or another to the common treasury of the Great Victory. Now they say a lot in the sense that the simple burden of the Victory was borne by the simple Soviet people. However, even apologists of this point of view cannot but admit that to realize the potential of this people, to direct their efforts in the right direction could only be made-up decisions of outstanding military leaders.
The commanders of the Great Patriotic War inscribed in bright pages their names in the general annals of Russian military art. It’s hard not to remember. Zhukov and Vasilevsky, Rokossovsky and Konev, Tolbukhin and many other commanders of the Second World War stood on a par with Alexander Nevsky and Dmitry Donsky, Suvorov and Ushakov, Skobelev and Nakhimov.
What are the main features of the military talent of these famous military leaders reflected in? First of all, it should be borne in mind that a commander is a military leader of the highest rank, under whose leadership there are either large operational formations or the Armed Forces of the country as a whole. However, mere command of even such a large strategic formation as the front is not enough to carry the high rank of “commander” not on paper, but in real life. Only a military leader who possesses the gift of strategic foresight, great authority, military talent, and unconditional organizational abilities can become one. That is why far from all the military leaders of the Great Patriotic War, who commanded huge fronts and directions, deserved the right to be considered generals.
Analyzing the most important characteristics of such a concept as “leadership talent”, most researchers, first of all, talk about such a component as operational-strategic thinking, that is, the ability to see the general prospects for the development of events on one or another activity of individual regiments, divisions, and corps direction. In addition, this quality also implies the ability to bring your vision of the situation to each subordinate, regardless of his rank and position. Famous generals of the Great Patriotic War, such as G.K. Zhukov, I.S. Konev, K.K. Rokossovsky, A.M. Vasilevsky was also famous for the fact that they could not only very quickly assess the prospects for the development of the situation on one or another front, but also clearly explain this to all their subordinates.
Almost all of the most famous Soviet military leaders of the Great Patriotic Won had such a quality as the ability to take reasonable risks. This quality was most clearly manifested in the activities of such commanders of fronts and large formations as Zhukov, Rokossovsky, Konev. All of them repeatedly found themselves in situations where success or failure of subsequent ones depended on one action, so they had to take risks and take responsibility. However, their risk was fully justified and logically verified.
Both the allies and opponents of the USSR recognize that the Soviet commanders of the Great Patriotic War were notable for their non-standard approach to this or that situation. Neither Zhukov, nor Vasilevsky, nor Malinovsky practically never acted according to the pattern. The basis of their leadership talent was the desire in any situation, in preparation for any operation to find something unexpected, which is impossible to imagine even for the most sophisticated mind. World War II commanders left behind a rich theoretical heritage, which is successfully studied by modern military leaders.
Finally, the most important component of Soviet military art was the fact that almost all Soviet commanders of the Great Patriotic War knew perfectly well both their army and the armed forces of the enemy. Often leaving for the front line, they, thanks to the breadth of their mind and military talent, could, in the shortest possible time, draw all the necessary conclusions and translate them into the strategic plans of various military operations.