The top 10 Soviet generals of WW2

Just expand the list of greatest generals of all participating countries.

USSR
Zhukov Georgy Konstantinovich (1896-1974)
Marshal Of The Soviet Union.
To take part in serious fighting Zhukov happened shortly before the second World war. 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 army. In 1941 he was appointed to the most critical areas of the front. Bringing order to the retreating army by the most stringent measures, he managed to prevent the capture of Leningrad by the Germans, and to stop the Nazis on the Mozhaisk direction on the outskirts of Moscow. And at the end of 1941 – beginning of 1942 Zhukov led the counter-offensive near Moscow, rejecting the Germans from the capital.

In 1942-43 biennium Zhukov did not command individual fronts, and coordinated their actions as a representative of the Supreme command and At Stalingrad, and the Kursk bulge, and the break of the siege of Leningrad.

In early 1944, Zhukov took command of the 1st Ukrainian front instead of heavily wounded General Vatutin and led them planned Proskurov-Chernivtsi offensive. As a result, Soviet troops liberated most of the right-Bank Ukraine and went to the state border.

At the end of 1944 Zhukov headed the 1st Belarusian front and led the attack on Berlin. In may 1945, Zhukov accepted the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany, and then-the Two victory Parade in Moscow and Berlin.

After the war, Zhukov was in the second 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 war, in 1937, Rokossovsky was repressed, but in 1940, at the request of Marshal Tymoshenko was released and restored to his former position as commander of the corps. In the first days of the great Patriotic war under the command of Rokossovsky were one of the few who managed to provide decent resistance to the advancing German troops. In the battle of Moscow Rokossovsky army defended one of the most difficult areas, Volokolamsk.

Back in operation after a serious injury received 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 the majority of military leaders, managed to convince Stalin that it is better not to start the offensive itself, but to provoke the active actions of the enemy. Exactly defining the direction of the main attack of the Germans, Rokossovsky before the offensive launched a massive artillery barrage, bled the impact forces of the enemy.

The most famous of his military achievement, included in the annals of military art, was the operation to liberate Belarus under the code name "Bagration", actually destroyed the German army group"Center".

Shortly before the decisive attack on Berlin command of The 1st Belarusian front, to the disappointment of Rokossovsky, was transferred to Zhukov. He was also instructed to command the troops of the 2nd Belarusian front in East Prussia.

Rokossovsky had outstanding personal qualities and from all Soviet military leaders enjoyed the greatest popularity in the army. After the war, Rokossovsky, a pole by origin, for a long time headed the Ministry of defense of Poland, 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, called "soldier's duty."

** Konev Ivan Stepanovich (1897-1973)**

Marshal Of The Soviet Union.

In autumn 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 get permission to withdraw his troops in time, and as a result, about 600,000 Soviet soldiers and officers were surrounded near Bryansk and Yelnya. From the Tribunal of the commander of the saved Zhukov.

In 1943, the troops of the Steppe (later 2nd Ukrainian) front under the command of Konev liberated Belgorod, Kharkiv, Poltava, Kremenchug and crossed the Dnieper. But most glorified Koneva Korsun-Shevchenko operation, which was surrounded by a large group of German troops.

In 1944, already as commander of the 1st Ukrainian front, Konev led the Lviv-sandomir operation in Western Ukraine and South-Eastern Poland, which opened the way for a further attack on Germany. Distinguished troops under the command of Konev and the Vistula-Oder operation, and the battle of Berlin. During the last rivalry between Konev and Zhukov was shown – everyone wanted to take the German capital the first. Tensions between the marshals persisted for the rest of his life. In may 1945, Konev led the liquidation of the last large center of resistance of the Nazis in Prague.

After the war, Konev was the commander-in-chief of the land forces and the first commander of the combined forces of the Warsaw Pact countries, commanded troops in Hungary during the events of 1956.

Vasilevsky, Aleksandr 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 and participated in the development of all major operations of the great Patriotic war. He, in particular, has a key role in the planning of the operation to surround the German troops at Stalingrad.

At the end of the war, after the death of General Chernyakhovsky, Vasilevsky asked to release him from the post of chief of the General staff, took the place of the deceased and led the assault on Koenigsberg. In the summer of 1945, Vasilevsky was sent to the far East and commanded Katunskiy defeat of the Japanese army.

After the war, Vasilevsky headed the General staff, and then was the Minister of defense of the USSR, but after the death of Stalin went into the shadows and held lower positions.

** Fyodor Tolbukhin (1894-1949)**

Marshal Of The Soviet Union.

Before the great Patriotic war, Tolbukhin served as chief of staff of the Transcaucasian district, and with its beginning – the Transcaucasian front. Under his leadership, a sudden operation was developed to bring Soviet troops into the Northern part of Iran. Developed Tolbukhin and the operation of the Kerch landing of troops, the result being the liberation of the Crimea. However, after its successful start, our troops could not develop 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 the 4th Ukrainian) front. Under his command, a significant part of Ukraine and the Crimean Peninsula were liberated. In 1944-45, when Tolbukhin commanded the 3rd Ukrainian front, he led the troops in the liberation of Moldova, Romania, Yugoslavia, Hungary, and ended the war in Austria. The yassko-Kishinev operation, planned by Tolbukhin and led to the encirclement of two hundred thousand German-Romanian troops, was included in the annals of military art (sometimes it is called "yassko-Kishinev Cannes).

After the war, Tolbukhin commanded the southern group of troops in Romania and Bulgaria, and then – the Transcaucasian military district.

Vatutin Nikolai Fedorovich (1901-1944)

3900 17.09.1943 Soviet military commander, hero of the Soviet Union General of the army Nikolai Fedorovich Vatutin

Soviet General of the army.

In the pre-war time Vatutin served as Deputy chief of the General staff, and with the beginning of the great Patriotic war was sent to the North-Western front. In the area of Novgorod, under his leadership, several counter-attacks were carried out, which slowed down the promotion of the Manstein tank corps.

In 1942, Vatutin, who headed the then South-Western front, commanded the operation "Small Saturn", whose purpose was to prevent the German-Italian-Romanian troops to help surrounded by Stalingrad Paulus army.

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 the most famous military operation Vatutin was forcing the Dnieper and the liberation of Kiev and Zhytomyr, and then exactly. Together with the 2nd Ukrainian front Konev, the 1st Ukrainian front Vatutin conducted the Korsun-Shevchenkov operation.

In late February 1944, Vatutin's car came under fire from Ukrainian nationalists, and a month and a half later the commander died of his wounds.

Britain

Montgomery, Bernard Law (1887-1976)

British field Marshal.

Prior to the Second World war, Montgomery was considered one of the bravest and most talented British military leaders, but his promotion was hampered by a sharp, heavy character. Montgomery, himself distinguished by physical endurance, paid much attention to the daily heavy training of troops entrusted to him.

At the beginning of World war II, when the Germans defeated France, Montgomery covered the evacuation of the allied forces. In 1942, Montgomery became the commander of British forces in North Africa, and achieved a turning point in this area of the war, defeating the German-Italian group of troops in Egypt, in the battle of El Alamein. Its meaning was summarized by Winston Churchill: "Before the battle of Alamein, we did not know victories. After it we did not know defeats". For this battle Montgomery received the title of Viscount of Alamein. However, the enemy Montgomery, German field Marshal Rommel said that, having such resources as the British commander, he won the whole middle East in a month.

After that, Montgomery was transferred to Europe, where he had to act in close contact with the Americans. His difficult character affected him here: 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 opposed the German counteroffensive in the Ardennes, and then conducted several military operations in Northern Europe.

After the war, Montgomery served as chief of the British General staff, and later as first Deputy commander of the NATO Combined forces in Europe.

Alexander Harold Rupert Leofric George (1891-1969)

British field Marshal.

At the beginning of World war II, Alexander led the evacuation of British troops after the capture of the Germans in France. Most of the personnel managed to take out, but almost all military equipment went to the enemy.

At the end of 1940, Alexander was appointed to Southeast Asia. He failed to defend Burma, but he managed to block the Japanese way to India.

In 1943, Alexander was appointed commander-in-Chief of the allied land 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 in Sicily, and then on the mainland. At the end of the war, he served as the Supreme commander of the allied forces in the Mediterranean.

After the war, Alexander received the title of count of Tunisia, for some time was Governor-General of Canada, and then the Minister of defense of great Britain.

USA

Eisenhower Dwight David (1890-1969)

General of the army of the United States.

His childhood was spent in a family whose members were for religious reasons pacifists, but Eisenhower chose a military career.

The beginning of World war II Eisenhower met in a fairly modest rank of Colonel. But his abilities were noticed by the chief of the American General staff George Marshall, and soon Eisenhower became the head of the Department of operational planning.

In 1942, Eisenhower led operation Torch to land allies in North Africa. In early 1943, he was defeated by Rommel in the battle for Kasserine passage, but in the future, surpassing the Anglo-American forces have made in the North African campaign turning point.

In 1944, Eisenhower led the allied landings in Normandy and the subsequent attack on Germany. At the end of the war, Eisenhower created the infamous camps for "disarmed enemy forces" that were not covered by the Geneva Convention on the rights of prisoners of war, which actually became death camps for German soldiers there.

After the war, Eisenhower was the commander of NATO forces, and then twice elected President of the United States.

MacArthur, Douglas (1880-1964)

General of the army of the United States.

In his youth, MacArthur did not want to take to the military Academy "West point" for health reasons, but he made his, and graduated from the Academy, was recognized as its best graduate in history. He received the General title in the First World war.

In 1941-42 he MacArthur led the defense of the Philippines from the Japanese troops. The enemy managed to take the American parts by surprise and get a big advantage at the very beginning of the campaign. After the loss of the Philippines, he said the famous phrase:"I did what I could, but I'll be back."

After being appointed commander of the South-West Pacific, MacArthur opposed Japanese plans to invade Australia, and then conducted successful offensive operations in New Guinea and the Philippines.

September 2, 1945 MacArthur, already being all us armed forces in the Pacific ocean, on Board the battleship "Missouri" took the surrender of Japan, which put an end to the Second World war.

After World war II, MacArthur commanded the occupation forces in Japan and then led American troops in the Korean war. He developed the landing of the American troops in Incheon became a classic of military art. He called for the nuclear bombing of China and the invasion of this country, and then was dismissed.

Nimitz Chester William (1885-1966)

Admiral of the fleet of the United States.

Before the Second World war, Nimitz was engaged in the design and combat training of the American submarine fleet and headed the navigation Bureau. At the beginning of the war, after the disaster at pearl Harbor, Nimitz was appointed commander of the 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 Atoll midway. And then, in 1943, win the fight for the strategically important island of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands archipelago. In 1944-45 he headed Nimitz fleet played a crucial role in the liberation of other Pacific archipelagos, and at the end of the war carried out the landing in Japan. During the fighting, Nimitz used the tactics of sudden rapid movement from island to island, called "frog jump".

The return of Nimitz to the homeland was marked as a national holiday and was called "nimitsa day". After the war, he led the demobilization of troops, and then supervised the creation of a nuclear submarine fleet. At the Nuremberg trials defended his German counterpart Admiral Lucifer, saying that he used the same methods of submarine warfare, making Lucifer escaped a death sentence.

Germany

Background Bok Teodor (1880-1945)

German General-field Marshal.

Even before the second World war, von Bock led troops that carried out the Anschluss of Austria and invaded the Sudeten region of Czechoslovakia. Since the beginning of the war he commanded a group of armies "North" during the war with Poland. In 1940, von Bock led the capture of Belgium and the Netherlands and the defeat of French troops near Dunkirk. It was he who hosted the parade of German troops in occupied Paris.

Von Bock objected to the attack on the Soviet Union, but when the decision was made, he led the army group "Center", carrying out a blow to the main direction. After the failure of the attack on Moscow, he was considered one of the main responsible for this failure of the German army. In 1942, he led the army group "South" and for a long time successfully restrained the Soviet offensive in Kharkov.

Von Bock was exceptionally independent character repeatedly clashed with Hitler and deliberately stayed away from politics. After the summer of 1942, von Bock opposed the decision of the Fuhrer to divide the planned offensive of the army group "South" in 2 directions, the Caucasus and Stalingrad, he was removed from command and sent to the reserve. A few days before the end of the war von Bock died during an air RAID.

Von Rundstedt Karl Rudolf Gerd (1875-1953)

German General-field Marshal.

By the beginning of the Second World war, von Rundstedt, who held important command positions during the First World war, has already managed to retire. But in 1939, Hitler returned him to the army. Von Rundstedt became the main developer of the plan of attack on Poland, codenamed "Weiss", and during its implementation he commanded a group of armies"South". Then he led a group of armies "A", which played a key role in the capture of France, as well as developing an unrealized plan of attack on England"sea lion".

Von Rundstedt objected to the "Barbarossa" plan, but after the decision to attack the Soviet Union he led a group of armies "South", which captured Kiev and other major cities in the South. After von Rundstedt, in order to avoid encirclement, violated the order of the Fuhrer and withdrew his troops from Rostov-on-don, he was dismissed.

However, the following year he was again drafted into the army to become the commander-in-chief of the German armed forces in the West. His main task was to counter the possible landing of allies. After reviewing the situation, von Rundstedt warned Hitler that the long-term defense of the existing forces will be impossible. At the crucial moment of the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, Hitler cancelled von Rundstedt's order to transfer troops, thereby missing time and allowing the enemy to develop an offensive. Already at the end of the war von Rundstedt successfully opposed the landing of the allies in the Netherlands.

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 General-field Marshal.

Manstein was considered one of the strongest strategists of the Wehrmacht. In 1939, he was the chief of staff of army group A and played a key role in the development of a successful plan for the invasion of France.

In 1941, Manstein was part of the army group "North", which captured the Baltic States, and was preparing to attack Leningrad, but was soon thrown 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 title of field Marshal.

Then Manstein commanded a group of armies "don" and unsuccessfully tried to get out of the Stalingrad boiler army Paulus. Since 1943, he led the army group "South" and caused the Soviet troops a severe defeat near Kharkov, and then tried to prevent the crossing of the Dnieper. When retreating troops Manstein used the tactics of"scorched earth".

Defeated in Korsun ' -Chechenskoy battle, Manstein retreated, violating the orders of Hitler. Thus he saved part of the army from the environment, but then had to resign.

After the war he was convicted by a British Tribunal for war crimes for 18 years, but in 1953 he was released, worked as a military adviser to the German government and wrote memoirs "lost victories".

Guderian, Heinz Wilhelm (1888-1954)

German Colonel-General, commander of armored forces.

Guderian – one of the main theorists and practitioners of "blitzkrieg" - lightning war. A key role in it he assigned to tank units, which had to break into the rear of the enemy and disable command posts and communications. This tactic was considered effective, but risky, creating the danger of being cut off from the main forces.

In 1939-40, in military campaigns against Poland and France, the tactics of blitzkrieg fully justified itself. Guderian was at the top of his fame: 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 huge Russian space and the cold climate in which technology often refused to work, and the readiness of the red army units to resist this method of warfare. Tank troops Guderian suffered heavy losses near Moscow and were forced to retreat. After that, he was sent to the reserve, and later held the position of inspector General of tank troops.

After the war, Guderian, who was not charged with war crimes, quickly released and lived out his life writing memoirs.

Rommel, Erwin Johannes Eugen (1891-1944)

German field Marshal, nicknamed the "desert Fox". He was distinguished by great independence and a tendency to risky attacking actions, even without the sanction of the command.

At the beginning of the Second World war, Rommel participated in The Polish and French campaigns, but his main successes are associated with military operations in North Africa. Rommel led the African corps, which was originally given to help the Italian troops, who suffered defeat by the British. Instead, to strengthen the defense, as prescribed by the order, Rommel with a small force went on the offensive and won a major victory. He acted in the same way in the future. As Manstein, the main role Rommel took quick breakthroughs and maneuvering armored forces. And only by 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 defeat. He subsequently fought in Italy and tried, together with von Runstedt, with whom he had serious disagreements affecting the combat capability of the troops, to stop the allied landing in Normandy.

In 1944, Rommel took part in a plot by senior officers against Hitler, or at least knew about it. A few days before the planned attempt on the Fuhrer, he was seriously injured. After the failure of the assassination attempt and the disclosure of a network of conspirators, popular in the troops of Rommel, unlike other participants in the conspiracy, gave the opportunity to commit suicide. It was officially reported that the General field Marshal died of wounds, and the day of his funeral was declared in Germany a day of national mourning.

Japan

Yamamoto Isoroku (1884-1943)

Japanese Admiral, commander of the Japanese Navy.

In the pre-war period, Yamamoto paid great attention to the construction of aircraft carriers and the creation of naval aviation, so the Japanese fleet became one of the strongest in the world. For a long time Yamamoto lived in the United States and had the opportunity to study the army of the future enemy. On the eve of the war, he warned the country's leadership: "in the first six to twelve months of the war, I will demonstrate a continuous chain of victories. But if the confrontation lasts for 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 aircraft taking off from aircraft carriers defeated the us naval base pearl Harbor in Hawaii and caused huge damage to the us fleet and aviation. After that Yamamoto won a number of victories in the Central and southern Pacific. But on June 4, 1942, he was seriously defeated by the allies at midway Atoll. This happened largely due to the fact that the Americans were able to decipher the codes of the Japanese Navy and get all the information about the upcoming operation. After this war, as and feared Yamamoto, passed protracted character.

Yamamoto died April 18, 1943 - his plane was shot down as a result of a carefully planned operation of the US air force.

Yamashita Tomoyuki (1885-1946)

A Japanese General, nicknamed "Malayan tiger".

In 1941-42 he led the Malay operation, as a result of which the Japanese captured the Malacca Peninsula, and then Singapore, and more than 100,000 British and allied military were captured. In 1944-45 he Yamashita commanded the defense of the Philippine Islands. During the siege of Manila by the Japanese were set on fire wooden buildings of the city, which led to huge casualties among the civilian population.

Unlike many other Japanese generals, Yamashita did not commit suicide after Japan's surrender, but surrendered. In 1946 he was executed on charges of war crimes. His case became a legal precedent, called the "Yamashita rule": according to him, the commander is responsible for the non-suppression of war crimes of subordinates.

Other country

Von Mannerheim, Carl Gustav Emil (1867-1951)

Finnish Marshal.

Before the revolution of 1917, when Finland was part of the Russian Empire, Mannerheim was an officer of 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 built on the Karelian isthmus, which went down in history as the "Mannerheim line".

When the Soviet-Finnish war broke out at the end of 1939, the 72-year-old Mannerheim led the country's army. Under his command, Finnish troops for a long time restrained the offensive significantly superior to their number of Soviet units. As a result, Finland retained its independence, although the conditions of peace were very difficult for it.

During the Second World war, when Finland was an ally of Nazi Germany, Mannerheim showed the art of political maneuver, all the forces evading active hostilities. And in 1944, Finland broke the Pact with Germany, and at the end of the war already fought against the Germans, coordinating with the red army.

At the end of the war, Mannerheim was elected President of Finland, but in 1946 he left the post for health reasons.

Tito, Josip Broz (1892-1980)

Marshal Of Yugoslavia.

Before the Second World war, Tito was a figure of the Yugoslav Communist movement. After the German attack on Yugoslavia, he began organizing guerrilla groups. The first time litovtsy worked together with the remnants of the tsarist army and the royalists, who were called "Chetniks". However, the differences with the latter became so strong over time that it came to military clashes.

Tito managed to organize the scattered guerrilla units into a powerful guerrilla army numbering a quarter of a million of soldiers under the leadership of the Chief of staff of the people's liberation partisan detachments of Yugoslavia. She used not only traditional methods of guerrilla war, but engaged in open battle with the fascist divisions. In late 1943, Tito was officially recognized as the leader of Yugoslavia's allies. During the liberation of the country, Tito's army acted together with the Soviet troops.

Soon after the war, Tito led Yugoslavia and remained in power until his death. Despite the socialist orientation, he pursued a fairly independent policy.