Marshal of the Soviet Union, four times Hero of the Soviet Union, awarded two Orders of Victory. A participant in the civil war, he participated in the defeat of the kulak-SR rebellion in the Tambov province as commander of a cavalry squadron. Participant in battles in the Mongolian People's Republic on the river. Khalkhin Gol in 1939 as commander of a Soviet army group of forces that defeated Japanese troops invading the territory of the Mongolian People's Republic. He was the commander of the Kyiv Special Military District. He began the Great Patriotic War with the rank of army general as chief of the General Staff. He was a member of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command.

From August 1941, he commanded the troops of the Reserve, Leningrad, and Western fronts. In 1942, he was appointed Deputy Supreme Commander-in-Chief and 1st Deputy People's Commissar of Defense. In 1944-1945 he commanded the 1st Ukrainian and 1st Belorussian fronts. On behalf of the Supreme Commander, he signed the Act of Unconditional Surrender of Germany. Hosted the Victory Parade in Moscow on June 24, 1945. He made a huge contribution to the organization and conduct of a number of outstanding battles and operations of the Great Patriotic War.

After the war, Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov was the commander-in-chief of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. Since March 1946 - Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces and Deputy Minister of the Armed Forces of the USSR. From August 1946 until March 1953, he commanded the troops of the Odessa and Ural military districts. From March 1953 - 1st Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR, and from February 1955 - Minister of Defense of the USSR until October 1957.

Awards: Hero of the Mongolian People's Republic, 6 Orders of Lenin, Order of the October Revolution, 3 Orders of the Red Banner, 2 Orders of Suvorov 1st degree, Order of the Tuvan Republic, many medals of the Soviet Union, orders of foreign countries. Awarded the Arms of Honor. A monument to the great commander was erected in the city of Moscow.

Vasilevsky Alexander Mikhailovich (1895 - 1977)

Marshal of the Soviet Union, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, awarded two Orders of Victory. Participant in the Civil War as an assistant regiment commander. He graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR in 1937. Since May 1940 - Deputy Chief of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff of the Red Army.

In June 1941 - major general. Since August 1941 - Deputy Chief of the General Staff and Head of the Operations Directorate of the General Staff. Since June 1942 - Chief of the General Staff of the Soviet Armed Forces. At the same time, from October 1942 - Deputy People's Commissar of Defense.
He was directly involved in the planning and conduct of a number of outstanding battles and operations of the Great Patriotic War (Battle of Stalingrad, Battle of Kursk, operations to liberate Donbass, Crimea, Belarus). Since February 1945 - commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front and member of the Supreme Command Headquarters. Since June 1945, he was appointed commander-in-chief of Soviet troops in the Far East. Under his leadership, the Manchurian strategic offensive operation to defeat the Kwantung Army was planned and successfully carried out (August 9 - September 2, 1945).

After the war - Chief of the General Staff and First Deputy Minister of the Armed Forces of the USSR. In 1949-1953 - Minister of the Armed Forces of the USSR. Since March 1953 - 1st Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR. Since 1959 - in the Group of Inspectors General of the USSR Ministry of Defense. He was a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (Council of Nationalities) from 1946 to 1958 in the Voronezh electoral district, which included the city of Tambov and the region. Came to Tambov to meet with voters.

Awards: 8 Orders of Lenin, Order of the October Revolution, 2 Orders of the Red Banner, Order of Suvorov 1st degree, Order of the Red Star, Order "For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces", many medals of the Soviet Union, orders of foreign countries. Awarded the Arms of Honor.

Konev Ivan Stepanovich (1897 - 1973)

Marshal of the Soviet Union, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Hero of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic and the Mongolian People's Republic, awarded the Order of Victory. A participant in the Civil War, he was a commissar of a brigade, division, and headquarters of the People's Revolutionary Army of the Far Eastern Republic. Graduated from the Military Academy. M.V. Frunze. Commanded a number of military districts.

He began the Great Patriotic War with the rank of lieutenant general as commander of the 19th Army. Commanded the troops of the Western, Kalinin, North-Western, Steppe, 2nd and 1st Ukrainian Fronts. Troops under the command of Konev successfully operated in the Battle of Smolensk, the Battle of Moscow and Kursk, in the crossing of the Dnieper, and distinguished themselves in the Kirovograd, Korsun-Shevchenko, Uman-Batashan, Lvov-Sandomierz, Vistula-Oder, Berlin and Prague operations. Participant in the Victory Parade in Moscow on June 24, 1945.

After the war - Commander-in-Chief of the Central Group of Forces, from 1946 to 1950 - Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces and Deputy Minister of the Armed Forces of the USSR. From 1950 to 1951 - chief inspector of the Soviet Army and deputy minister of defense. From 1951 to 1955 - commander of the troops of the Carpathian Military District. From 1955 to 1956 - 1st Deputy Minister of Defense and Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces. From 1956 to 1960 - Deputy Minister of Defense and at the same time from 1955 - Commander-in-Chief of the United Armed Forces of the Warsaw Pact states, from 1961 to 1962 - Commander-in-Chief of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. Since April 1962 - in the Group of Inspectors General of the USSR Ministry of Defense.

Awards: 7 Orders of Lenin, Order of the October Revolution, 3 Orders of the Red Banner, 2 Orders of Suvorov 1st degree, Order of the Red Star, many medals of the Soviet Union, orders of foreign states.

Rokossovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich (1896 - 1968)

Marshal of the Soviet Union, twice Hero of the Soviet Union. Awarded the Order of Victory, commanded the Victory Parade in Moscow on June 24, 1945. Participant in the Civil War. He commanded a squadron, division and regiment. For courage and courage shown in battles, he was awarded two Orders of the Red Banner. After the war, he was the commander of the 5th Cavalry Brigade, which took part in battles with the White Chinese on the Chinese Eastern Railway in 1929. For these battles he was awarded the third Order of the Red Banner. Since 1930 he commanded cavalry divisions and corps.

K.K. Rokossovsky met the Great Patriotic War with the rank of major general as commander of the 9th mechanized corps on the Southwestern Front. From mid-July 1941 he commanded the 16th Army of the Western Front, from July 1942 - the troops of the Bryansk Front, and from September 1942 - the troops of the Don Front. From February 1943 he commanded the troops of the Central Front, and from October - the Belorussian Front. From February 1944 - by the troops of the 1st, and from November - by the 2nd Belorussian Fronts.

Troops under the command of K.K. Rokossovsky distinguished himself in the Battle of Smolensk, in the Battle of Moscow, in the Battles of Stalingrad and Kursk, in the Belarusian, East Prussian, East Pomeranian and Berlin operations. In all these battles, K.K. Rokossovsky showed a bright, original talent as a commander. His operation during the liberation of Belarus (code name “Bagration”) was especially original.

After the Great Patriotic War, Marshal of the Soviet Union K.K. Rokossovsky commanded the Northern Group of Soviet Forces. In October 1949, at the request of the Polish People's Government, he was appointed Minister of National Defense of the People's Republic of Poland. He was awarded the title of Marshal of Poland. In 1956, after returning to the USSR, he was appointed Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR. Since 1957 - Chief Inspector, Deputy Minister of Defense. Since October 1957, Rokossovsky has been the commander of the troops of the Transcaucasian Military District. From 1958 to 1962 - Deputy Minister and Chief Inspector of the USSR Ministry of Defense. Since April 1962 - Inspector General of the USSR Ministry of Defense.

Awards: 7 Orders of Lenin, Order of the October Revolution, 6 Orders of the Red Banner, Orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov 1st degree, many medals of the Soviet Union, orders of foreign states. Awarded the Arms of Honor.

Meretskov Kirill Afanasvich (1897 - 1968)

Marshal of the Soviet Union, Hero of the Soviet Union, awarded the Order of Victory. Civil War participant, assistant division chief of staff. Graduated from the Academy of the Red Army in 1921. In May 1937 - Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army. Since September 1938 - Commander of the Volga Military District. Since 1939 - Commander of the Leningrad Military District. He was a Soviet internationalist volunteer in Spain. Participant in the fighting on the Karelian Isthmus during the military conflict with the White Finns. Since August 1940 - Chief of the General Staff. From January to September 1941 - Deputy People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR.

At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, with the rank of army general, he was a representative of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief on the North-Western and Karelian fronts. From September 1941 he commanded the troops of the 7th and from November 1941 - the 4th armies. From December 1941 he commanded the troops of the Volkhov Front. From May 1942 he commanded the troops of the 33rd Army, from June 1942 - again the troops of the Volkhov Front, and from February 1944 - the Karelian Front.

Since the spring of 1945 - commander of the Primorsky Group of Forces in the Far East, in August-September 1945 - troops of the 1st Far Eastern Front. Troops under the command of K.A. Meretskov successfully acted, defending Leningrad, liberating Karelia and the Arctic, and successfully carried out an offensive operation in the Far East, Eastern Manchuria and North Korea. After the war, he commanded the troops of the Primorsky, Moscow, White Sea and Northern military districts. From 1955 to 1964 - Assistant Secretary of Defense for Higher Military Educational Institutions. Since 1964, he was a member of the Group of Inspectors General of the USSR Ministry of Defense.

Awards: 7 Orders of Lenin, Order of the October Revolution, 4 Orders of the Red Banner, 2 Orders of Suvorov 1st degree, Order of Kutuzov 1st degree, many medals of the Soviet Union.

Govorov Leonid Alexandrovich (1897 - 1955)

Marshal of the Soviet Union, Hero of the Soviet Union, awarded the Order of Victory. Participant in the Civil War. Graduated from the Military Academy. M.V. Frunze, and in 1938 - the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR. Participant in the battles with the White Finns from 1939 to 1940 as chief of staff of the artillery of the 7th Army. In 1940 he was appointed Deputy Inspector General of Artillery of the Red Army. In May 1941, he was appointed head of the Military Artillery Academy.

In 1941, he was appointed chief of artillery of the Western direction, then chief of artillery of the Reserve Front, chief of artillery of the Western Front. From October 18, 1941, he commanded the troops of the 5th Army, which held the defense on the near approaches to Moscow in the Mozhaisk direction. Skillfully controlled army troops during the period of defense and counter-offensive. He established himself as a strong-willed commander with a deep understanding of combined arms combat tactics.

In April 1942, he was appointed commander of a group of troops of the Leningrad Front, and in June - commander of the troops of the Leningrad Front. Troops under the command of L.A. Govorova successfully participated in defensive battles and in breaking the siege of Leningrad. After the blockade of Leningrad was lifted, front troops carried out a number of successful offensive operations: Vyborg, Tallinn, Moonsund landing and others. Remaining the commander of the troops of his front, he successfully coordinated the combat operations of the troops of the 2nd and 3rd Baltic fronts.

After the war, Marshal of the Soviet Union L.A. Govorov commanded the troops of the Leningrad Military District, was the chief inspector of the ground forces, and the chief inspector of the USSR Armed Forces. From 1948 to 1952 he commanded the country's air defense forces, and since 1950 he was simultaneously the deputy minister of defense. Awards: 5 Orders of Lenin, 3 Orders of the Red Banner, 2 Orders of Suvorov 1st degree, Order of Kutuzov 1st degree, Order of the Red Star and many medals of the Soviet Union.

Malinovsky Rodion Yakovlevich (1898 - 1967)

Marshal of the Soviet Union, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, awarded the Order of Victory, People's Hero of Yugoslavia. Participant of the 1st World War. He was in France as part of the Russian expeditionary force. Participant in the Civil War. He was a machine gunner in the 27th Infantry Division. After graduating from the junior military school, he commanded a machine gun crew of a regiment and was a battalion commander. Since 1930 - chief of staff of a cavalry regiment, then served in the headquarters of the North Caucasus and Belarusian military districts. From 1937 to 1938, a Soviet internationalist volunteer participated in the Spanish Civil War. For his distinction in these battles he was awarded the Orders of Lenin and the Red Banner. Since 1939 - teacher at the Military Academy. M.V. Frunze. Since March 1941 - commander of the 48th Rifle Corps in the south of the country (Moldavian SSR).

He began the Great Patriotic War on the border along the Prut River, where his corps held back attempts by Romanian and German units to cross to our side. In August 1941 - commander of the 6th Army. From December 1941 he commanded the troops of the Southern Front. From August to October 1942 - by troops of the 66th Army, which fought north of Stalingrad. In October-November - Deputy Commander of the Voronezh Front. From November 1942, he commanded the 2nd Guards Army, which was formed in the Tambov region. In December 1942, this army stopped and defeated the fascist strike force that was going to release the Stalingrad group of Field Marshal Paulus (Army Group DON of Field Marshal Manstein).

Since February 1943, R.Ya. Malinovsky commanded the troops of the Southern, and from March of the same year - the Southwestern Front. Front troops under his command liberated Donbass and Right Bank Ukraine. In the spring of 1944, troops under the command of R.Ya. Malinovsky was liberated by the cities of Nikolaev and Odessa. Since May 1944 RL. Malinovsky commanded the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front. At the end of August, the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, together with the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, carried out an important strategic operation - Iasi-Kishinev. This is one of the outstanding operations of the Great Patriotic War. In the autumn of 1944 - spring of 1945, troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front carried out the Debrecen, Budapest and Vienna operations, defeating fascist troops in Hungary, Austria and Czechoslovakia. Since July 1945, R.Ya. Malinovsky commanded the troops of the Transbaikal District and participated in the defeat of the Japanese Kwantung Army. After the Great Patriotic War from 1945 to 1947, Marshal of the Soviet Union R.Ya. Malinovsky commanded the troops of the Transbaikal-Amur Military District. From 1947 to 1953 - commander of the Far East troops, from 1953 to 1956 - commander of the Far Eastern Military District.

In March 1956, he was appointed 1st Deputy Minister of Defense and Commander of the USSR Ground Forces. From 1957 to 1967 R.Ya. Malinovsky served as Minister of Defense of the USSR. Awards: 5 Orders of Lenin, 3 Orders of the Red Banner, 2 Orders of Suvorov 1st degree, Order of Kutuzov 1st degree and many medals of the Soviet Union.

Tolbukhin Fedor Ivanovich (1894 - 1949)

Marshal of the Soviet Union, Hero of the Soviet Union. Awarded the Order of Victory, Hero of the People's Republic of Bulgaria. Participant in the Civil War. He was the chief of staff of the division and the chief of the operations department of the army headquarters. After the Civil War - chief of staff of a rifle division and corps. In 1934 he graduated from the Military Academy. M.V. Frunze. Since 1937 - commander of a rifle division. From July 1938 to August 1941 - chief of staff of the Transcaucasian Military District.

During the Great Patriotic War - chief of staff of the Transcaucasian, Caucasian and Crimean fronts. In May - July 1942 - Deputy Commander of the Stalingrad Military District. Since July 1942 - commander of the 57th Army of the Stalingrad Front. Since February 1943 - commander of the 68th Army on the North-Western Front. Since March 1943, F.I. Tolbukhin was appointed commander of the troops of the Southern Front, renamed on October 20, 1943 into the 4th Ukrainian Front. From May 1944 until the end of the war, he commanded the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front. Commanding the troops, he showed brilliant leadership talent and organizational skills. The troops under his command successfully operated in the operations to liberate Donbass and Crimea. In August 1944, the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, together with the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, brilliantly carried out the Iasi-Kishinev operation.

Front troops under the command of F.I. Tolbukhin participated in the Belgrade, Budapest, Balaton and Vienna operations. F.I. Tolbukhin skillfully organized the interaction of Soviet troops with the troops of the Bulgarian and Yugoslav armies. Since September 1944, Marshal F.I. Tolbukhin was the chairman of the Allied Control Commission in Bulgaria.

After the Great Patriotic War, from July 1945 to January 1947, F.I. Tolbukhin - Commander-in-Chief of the Southern Group of Soviet Forces. Since 1947 - Commander of the Transcaucasian Military District. Awards: 2 Orders of Lenin, 3 Orders of the Red Banner, 2 Orders of Suvorov 1st degree, Order of Kutuzov 1st degree, Order of the Red Star, many foreign orders and medals of the Soviet Union. Marshal of the Soviet Union F.I. A monument to Tolbukhin was erected in Moscow. The city of Dobrich in Bulgaria was renamed the city of Tolbukhin.

Timoshenko Semyon Konstantinovich (1895 - 1970)

Participant in the Civil War. He commanded a platoon, squadron, regiment, separate cavalry brigade, 6th cavalry and 4th cavalry divisions. For courage and valor in the battles of the Civil War, he was awarded two Orders of the Red Banner. After the Civil War, he commanded a cavalry corps, and from August 1933 he was deputy commander of the Belarusian Military District. From July 1937 - commander of the troops of the North Caucasus, from September - of the Kharkov, and from February 1938 - of the Kyiv special military district.

In September 1939, troops of the Ukrainian district made a liberation campaign in Western Ukraine. During the Soviet-Finnish War of 1939-1940, he commanded the troops of the North-Western Front. He led the breakthrough of the Finnish defensive line of Mannerheim. Awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. In May 1940, he was appointed People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR. At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, he was the People's Commissar of Defense and a representative of the Headquarters of the High Command. Since July 1941 - Commander-in-Chief of the Western Direction. Member of the SVG, Deputy People's Commissar of Defense. From September 1941 to June 1942 - Commander-in-Chief of the South-Western direction. At the same time, in July - September 1941, he was commander of the Western Front. In September-December 1941 and in April-July 1942, he commanded the troops of the Southwestern Front. In July 1942 - by the troops of the Stalingrad Front, and from October 1942 to March 1943 - by the troops of the North-Western Front. Since March 1943, as a representative of the SVG, he coordinated military actions on a number of fronts. After the Great Patriotic War, Marshal of the Soviet Union S.K. Timoshenko commanded the troops of the Baranovichi, South Ural and Belarusian military districts.

Since April 1960 - Inspector General of the USSR Ministry of Defense. Since 1961 - Chairman of the Soviet War Veterans Committee. Awards: 5 Orders of Lenin, Order of the October Revolution, 5 Orders of the Red Banner, 3 Orders of Suvorov 1st degree, foreign orders and many medals of the Soviet Union. Awarded the Arms of Honor.

Antonov Alexey Innokentievich (1896 - 1962)

Army General, awarded the Order of Victory. Participant in the Civil War. He took part in the defeat of the Kornilov rebellion and in battles on the Southern Front as assistant chief of staff of the 1st Moscow Workers' Division. Then he was the chief of staff of the rifle brigade, crossed the Sivash, and participated in the defeat of the Wrangel troops in the Crimea. Graduated from the Military Academy. M.V. Frunze in 1931 and the Military Academy of the General Staff in 1937. He worked his way up from the head of the operational department of the division headquarters to the chief of staff of the Moscow Military District. He proved himself to be a major operational staff worker with a broad political and military outlook. In 1938-1940 he worked as head of the department of general tactics of the Military Academy named after. M.V. Frunze.

The Great Patriotic War found A.I. Antonov as deputy chief of staff of the Kyiv Special Military District. Soon A.I. Antonov headed the group for forming the control of the Southern Front. In August 1941, A.I. Antonov was appointed chief of staff of the Southern Front. In July - November 1942 A.I. Antonov is the chief of staff of the North Caucasus Front, and then of the Black Sea Group of Forces and the Transcaucasian Front. In these posts he showed deep military knowledge and demonstrated outstanding organizational skills.

In December 1942, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command appointed A.I. Antonov as first deputy chief of the General Staff and head of the operational department. In May 1943, he was focused on fulfilling his duties as 1st Deputy Chief of the General Staff. Army General A.I. Antonov participated in the development of many operations of the Great Patriotic War. Since February 1945, A.I. Antonov - Chief of the General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces. He was part of the SVGK. In 1945 A.I. Antonov was part of the Soviet delegation at the Crimean and Potsdam conferences. After the Great Patriotic War, Army General A.I. Antonov was the first deputy chief of the General Staff of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1948.

From 1948 - deputy, and from 1950 to 1954 - commander of the Transcaucasian Military District. In April 1954, he returned to work at the General Staff as First Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Soviet Armed Forces. Elected a member of the board of the Ministry of Defense. In 1955, he was appointed chief of staff of the armies of the Warsaw Pact member states. He worked in this position until the end of his life. Awards: 3 Orders of Lenin, 4 Orders of the Red Banner, 2 Orders of Suvorov 1st degree, Order of Kutuzov 1st degree, Order of the Patriotic War 1st degree, many medals of the Soviet Union, 14 foreign orders.

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 the Kaluga region, into 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 joined a dragoon regiment, with which he participated in the battles of the 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 the Alekseevsky Military School (Moscow) and graduated from it in 4 months (in 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 Velikiye 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 was in a train accident and died in 1902 after a long illness. 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, into a large peasant family (his father had seven children from two marriages). He graduated with a diploma of commendation from an elementary rural school, during which he was the first student in the class and schools.
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), a participant in the 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 at 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 promptly and energetically led the fleet, 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.

Vasilevsky Alexander Mikhailovich (1895 - 1977)

Konev Ivan Stepanovich (1897 - 1973)

Rokossovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich (1896 - 1968)

Troops under the command of K.K. Rokossovsky distinguished themselves in the Battle of Smolensk, in the Battle of Moscow, in the Battles of Stalingrad and Kursk, in the Belarusian, East Prussian, East Pomeranian and Berlin operations. In all these battles, K.K. Rokossovsky showed a bright, original talent as a commander. His operation during the liberation of Belarus (code name “Bagration”) was especially original.

Meretskov Kirill Afanasyevich (1897 - 1968)

Since the spring of 1945 - commander of the Primorsky Group of Forces in the Far East, in August-September 1945 - troops of the 1st Far Eastern Front. The troops under the command of K. A. Meretskov successfully acted, defending Leningrad, liberating Karelia and the Arctic, and successfully carried out an offensive operation in the Far East, in Eastern Manchuria and North Korea. After the war, he commanded the troops of the Primorsky, Moscow, White Sea and Northern military districts. From 1955 to 1964 - Assistant Secretary of Defense for Higher Military Educational Institutions. Since 1964, he was a member of the Group of Inspectors General of the USSR Ministry of Defense.

Awards: 7 Orders of Lenin, Order of the October Revolution, 4 Orders of the Red Banner, 2 Orders of Suvorov 1st degree, Order of Kutuzov 1st degree, many medals of the Soviet Union.

Govorov Leonid Alexandrovich (1897 - 1955)

In April 1942, he was appointed commander of a group of troops of the Leningrad Front, and in June - commander of the troops of the Leningrad Front. Troops under the command of L. A. Govorov successfully participated in defensive battles and in breaking the siege of Leningrad. After the blockade of Leningrad was lifted, front troops carried out a number of successful offensive operations: Vyborg, Tallinn, Moonsund landing and others. Remaining the commander of the troops of his front, he successfully coordinated the combat operations of the troops of the 2nd and 3rd Baltic fronts.

Malinovsky Rodion Yakovlevich (1898 - 1967)

Since February 1943, R. Ya. Malinovsky commanded the troops of the Southern, and since March of the same year - the Southwestern Front. Front troops under his command liberated Donbass and Right Bank Ukraine. In the spring of 1944, troops under the command of R. Ya. Malinovsky liberated the cities of Nikolaev and Odessa. Since May 1944, R. Ya. Malinovsky commanded the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front. At the end of August, the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, together with the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, carried out an important strategic operation - Iasi-Kishinev. This is one of the outstanding operations of the Great Patriotic War. In the autumn of 1944 - spring of 1945, troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front carried out the Debrecen, Budapest and Vienna operations, defeating fascist troops in Hungary, Austria and Czechoslovakia. Since July 1945, R. Ya. Malinovsky commanded the troops of the Transbaikal District and participated in the defeat of the Japanese Kwantung Army. After the Great Patriotic War, from 1945 to 1947, Marshal of the Soviet Union R. Ya. Malinovsky commanded the troops of the Trans-Baikal-Amur Military District. From 1947 to 1953 - commander of the Far East troops, from 1953 to 1956 - commander of the Far Eastern Military District.

In March 1956, he was appointed 1st Deputy Minister of Defense and Commander of the USSR Ground Forces. From 1957 to 1967, R. Ya. Malinovsky served as Minister of Defense of the USSR. Awards: 5 Orders of Lenin, 3 Orders of the Red Banner, 2 Orders of Suvorov 1st degree, Order of Kutuzov 1st degree and many medals of the Soviet Union.

Tolbukhin Fedor Ivanovich (1894 - 1949)

Marshal of the Soviet Union, Hero of the Soviet Union. Awarded the Order of Victory, Hero of the People's Republic of Bulgaria. Participant in the Civil War. He was the chief of staff of the division and the chief of the operations department of the army headquarters. After the Civil War - chief of staff of a rifle division and corps. In 1934 he graduated from the Military Academy. M. V. Frunze. Since 1937 - commander of a rifle division. From July 1938 to August 1941 - chief of staff of the Transcaucasian Military District.

After the Great Patriotic War, from July 1945 to January 1947, F.I. Tolbukhin - Commander-in-Chief of the Southern Group of Soviet Forces. Since 1947 - Commander of the Transcaucasian Military District. Awards: 2 Orders of Lenin, 3 Orders of the Red Banner, 2 Orders of Suvorov 1st degree, Order of Kutuzov 1st degree, Order of the Red Star, many foreign orders and medals of the Soviet Union. A monument was erected to Marshal of the Soviet Union F.I. Tolbukhin in the city of Moscow. The city of Dobrich in Bulgaria was renamed the city of Tolbukhin.

Timoshenko Semyon Konstantinovich (1895 - 1970)

Antonov Alexey Innokentievich (1896 - 1962)

Marshal of the Soviet Union, four times Hero of the Soviet Union, awarded two Orders of Victory. He began the Great Patriotic War with the rank of army general as chief of the General Staff. He was a member of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command.

Vasilevsky Alexander Mikhailovich (1895 - 1977)

In June 1941 - major general. Since August 1941 - Deputy Chief of the General Staff and Head of the Operations Directorate of the General Staff. Since June 1942 - Chief of the General Staff of the Soviet Armed Forces. At the same time, from October 1942 - Deputy People's Commissar of Defense. He was directly involved in the planning and conduct of a number of outstanding battles and operations of the Great Patriotic War (Battle of Stalingrad, Battle of Kursk, operations to liberate Donbass, Crimea, Belarus). Since February 1945 - commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front and member of the Supreme Command Headquarters. Since June 1945, he was appointed commander-in-chief of Soviet troops in the Far East. Under his leadership, the Manchurian strategic offensive operation to defeat the Kwantung Army was planned and successfully carried out (August 9 - September 2, 1945).

Konev Ivan Stepanovich (1897 - 1973)

Marshal of the Soviet Union, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Hero of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic and the Mongolian People's Republic, awarded the Order of Victory. A participant in the Civil War, he was a commissar of a brigade, division, and headquarters of the People's Revolutionary Army of the Far Eastern Republic. Graduated from the Military Academy. M.V. Frunze. Commanded a number of military districts.

He began the Great Patriotic War with the rank of lieutenant general as commander of the 19th Army.

Commanded the troops of the Western, Kalinin, North-Western, Steppe, 2nd and 1st Ukrainian Fronts. Troops under the command of Konev successfully operated in the Battle of Smolensk, the Battle of Moscow and Kursk, in the crossing of the Dnieper, and distinguished themselves in the Kirovograd, Korsun-Shevchenko, Uman-Batashan, Lvov-Sandomierz, Vistula-Oder, Berlin and Prague operations. Participant in the Victory Parade in Moscow on June 24, 1945.

Marshals of the Great Patriotic War

Zhukov Georgy Konstantinovich

11/19 (12/1). 1896—06/18/1974
Great commander
Marshal of the Soviet Union,
Minister of Defense of the USSR

Born in the village of Strelkovka near Kaluga in a peasant family. Furrier. In the army since 1915. Participated in the First World War, a junior non-commissioned officer in the cavalry. In the battles he was seriously shell-shocked and awarded 2 Crosses of St. George.

Since August 1918 in the Red Army. During the Civil War, he fought against the Ural Cossacks near Tsaritsyn, fought with the troops of Denikin and Wrangel, took part in the suppression of the Antonov uprising in the Tambov region, was wounded, and was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. After the Civil War, he commanded a regiment, brigade, division, and corps. In the summer of 1939, he carried out a successful encirclement operation and defeated a group of Japanese troops under General. Kamatsubara on the Khalkhin Gol River. G. K. Zhukov received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of the Red Banner of the Mongolian People's Republic.

During the Great Patriotic War (1941 - 1945) he was a member of the Headquarters, Deputy Supreme Commander-in-Chief, and commanded the fronts (pseudonyms: Konstantinov, Yuryev, Zharov). He was the first to be awarded the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union during the war (01/18/1943). Under the command of G.K. Zhukov, troops of the Leningrad Front, together with the Baltic Fleet, stopped the advance of Army Group North of Field Marshal F.W. von Leeb on Leningrad in September 1941. Under his command, the troops of the Western Front defeated the troops of Army Group Center under Field Marshal F. von Bock near Moscow and dispelled the myth of the invincibility of the Nazi army. Then Zhukov coordinated the actions of the fronts near Stalingrad (Operation Uranus - 1942), in Operation Iskra during the breakthrough of the Leningrad blockade (1943), in the Battle of Kursk (summer 1943), where Hitler’s plan was thwarted. Citadel" and the troops of Field Marshals Kluge and Manstein were defeated. The name of Marshal Zhukov is also associated with victories near Korsun-Shevchenkovsky and the liberation of Right Bank Ukraine; Operation Bagration (in Belarus), where the Vaterland Line was broken and Army Group Center of Field Marshals E. von Busch and W. von Model was defeated. At the final stage of the war, the 1st Belorussian Front, led by Marshal Zhukov, took Warsaw (01/17/1945), defeated Army Group A of General von Harpe and Field Marshal F. Scherner with a dissecting blow in the Vistula-Oder operation and victoriously ended the war with a grandiose Berlin operation. Together with the soldiers, the marshal signed the scorched wall of the Reichstag, over the broken dome of which the Victory Banner fluttered. On May 8, 1945, in Karlshorst (Berlin), the commander accepted the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany from Hitler’s Field Marshal W. von Keitel. General D. Eisenhower presented G. K. Zhukov with the highest military order of the United States “Legion of Honor”, the degree of Commander-in-Chief (06/5/1945). Later in Berlin at the Brandenburg Gate, the British Field Marshal Montgomery placed on him the Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, 1st Class, with star and crimson ribbon. On June 24, 1945, Marshal Zhukov hosted the triumphal Victory Parade in Moscow.

In 1955-1957 “Marshal of Victory” was the Minister of Defense of the USSR.

American military historian Martin Kaiden says: “Zhukov was the commander of commanders in the conduct of war by mass armies of the twentieth century. He inflicted more casualties on the Germans than any other military leader. He was a "miracle marshal". Before us is a military genius."

He wrote the memoirs “Memories and Reflections.”

Marshal G.K. Zhukov had:

4 Gold Stars of the Hero of the Soviet Union (08/29/1939, 07/29/1944, 06/1/1945, 12/1/1956),
6 Orders of Lenin,
2 Orders of Victory (including No. 1 - 04/11/1944, 03/30/1945),
order of the October Revolution,
3 Orders of the Red Banner,
2 Orders of Suvorov, 1st degree (including No. 1), a total of 14 orders and 16 medals;
honorary weapon - a personalized saber with the golden Coat of Arms of the USSR (1968);
Hero of the Mongolian People's Republic (1969); Order of the Tuvan Republic;
17 foreign orders and 10 medals, etc.

A bronze bust and monuments were erected to Zhukov. He was buried on Red Square near the Kremlin wall.
In 1995, a monument to Zhukov was erected on Manezhnaya Square in Moscow.

Vasilevsky Alexander Mikhailovich

18(30).09.1895—5.12.1977
Marshal of the Soviet Union,
Minister of the Armed Forces of the USSR

Born in the village of Novaya Golchikha near Kineshma on the Volga. Son of a priest. He studied at the Kostroma Theological Seminary. In 1915, he completed courses at the Alexander Military School and, with the rank of ensign, was sent to the front of the First World War (1914-1918). Staff captain of the tsarist army. Having joined the Red Army during the Civil War of 1918-1920, he commanded a company, battalion, and regiment. In 1937 he graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff. From 1940 he served in the General Staff, where he was caught up in the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945). In June 1942, he became the Chief of the General Staff, replacing Marshal B. M. Shaposhnikov in this post due to illness. Of the 34 months of his tenure as Chief of the General Staff, A. M. Vasilevsky spent 22 directly at the front (pseudonyms: Mikhailov, Alexandrov, Vladimirov). He was wounded and shell-shocked. Over the course of a year and a half, he rose from major general to Marshal of the Soviet Union (02/19/1943) and, together with Mr. K. Zhukov, became the first holder of the Order of Victory. Under his leadership, the largest operations of the Soviet Armed Forces were developed. A. M. Vasilevsky coordinated the actions of the fronts: in the Battle of Stalingrad (Operation Uranus, Little Saturn), near Kursk (Operation Commander Rumyantsev), during the liberation of Donbass (Operation Don "), in the Crimea and during the capture of Sevastopol, in the battles in Right Bank Ukraine; in the Belarusian Operation Bagration.

After the death of General I. D. Chernyakhovsky, he commanded the 3rd Belorussian Front in the East Prussian operation, which ended with the famous “star” assault on Koenigsberg.

On the fronts of the Great Patriotic War, Soviet commander A. M. Vasilevsky smashed Nazi field marshals and generals F. von Bock, G. Guderian, F. Paulus, E. Manstein, E. Kleist, Eneke, E. von Busch, W. von Model, F. Scherner, von Weichs, etc.

In June 1945, the marshal was appointed Commander-in-Chief of Soviet troops in the Far East (pseudonym Vasiliev). For the quick defeat of the Kwantung Army of the Japanese under General O. Yamada in Manchuria, the commander received a second Gold Star. After the war, from 1946 - Chief of the General Staff; in 1949-1953 - Minister of the Armed Forces of the USSR.
A. M. Vasilevsky is the author of the memoir “The Work of a Whole Life.”

Marshal A. M. Vasilevsky had:

2 Gold Stars of the Hero of the Soviet Union (07/29/1944, 09/08/1945),
8 Orders of Lenin,
2 orders of "Victory" (including No. 2 - 01/10/1944, 04/19/1945),
order of the October Revolution,
2 Orders of the Red Banner,
Order of Suvorov 1st degree,
Order of the Red Star,
Order "For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" 3rd degree,
a total of 16 orders and 14 medals;
honorary personal weapon - saber with the golden Coat of Arms of the USSR (1968),
28 foreign awards (including 18 foreign orders).

The urn with the ashes of A. M. Vasilevsky was buried on Red Square in Moscow near the Kremlin wall next to the ashes of G. K. Zhukov. A bronze bust of the marshal was installed in Kineshma.

Konev Ivan Stepanovich

16(28).12.1897—27.06.1973
Marshal of the Soviet Union

Born in the Vologda region in the village of Lodeyno in a peasant family. In 1916 he was drafted into the army. Upon completion of the training team, junior non-commissioned officer Art. division is sent to the Southwestern Front. Having joined the Red Army in 1918, he took part in battles against the troops of Admiral Kolchak, Ataman Semenov, and the Japanese. Commissioner of the armored train "Grozny", then brigades, divisions. In 1921 he took part in the storming of Kronstadt. Graduated from the Academy. Frunze (1934), commanded a regiment, division, corps, and the 2nd Separate Red Banner Far Eastern Army (1938-1940).

During the Great Patriotic War he commanded the army and fronts (pseudonyms: Stepin, Kyiv). Participated in the battles of Smolensk and Kalinin (1941), in the battle of Moscow (1941-1942). During the Battle of Kursk, together with the troops of General N.F. Vatutin, he defeated the enemy on the Belgorod-Kharkov bridgehead - a German bastion in Ukraine. On August 5, 1943, Konev’s troops took the city of Belgorod, in honor of which Moscow gave its first fireworks, and on August 24, Kharkov was taken. This was followed by the breakthrough of the “Eastern Wall” on the Dnieper.

In 1944, near Korsun-Shevchenkovsky, the Germans set up “New (small) Stalingrad” - 10 divisions and 1 brigade of General V. Stemmeran, who fell on the battlefield, were surrounded and destroyed. I. S. Konev was awarded the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union (02/20/1944), and on March 26, 1944, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front were the first to reach the state border. In July-August they defeated the Army Group “Northern Ukraine” of Field Marshal E. von Manstein in the Lvov-Sandomierz operation. The name of Marshal Konev, nicknamed “the forward general,” is associated with brilliant victories at the final stage of the war - in the Vistula-Oder, Berlin and Prague operations. During the Berlin operation, his troops reached the river. Elbe near Torgau and met with the American troops of General O. Bradley (04/25/1945). On May 9, the defeat of Field Marshal Scherner near Prague ended. The highest orders of the “White Lion” 1st class and the “Czechoslovak War Cross of 1939” were a reward to the marshal for the liberation of the Czech capital. Moscow saluted the troops of I. S. Konev 57 times.

In the post-war period, the marshal was the Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces (1946-1950; 1955-1956), the first Commander-in-Chief of the United Armed Forces of the Warsaw Pact member states (1956-1960).

Marshal I. S. Konev - twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Hero of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (1970), Hero of the Mongolian People's Republic (1971). A bronze bust was installed in his homeland in the village of Lodeyno.

He wrote memoirs: “Forty-fifth” and “Notes of the Front Commander.”

Marshal I. S. Konev had:

two Gold Stars of the Hero of the Soviet Union (07/29/1944, 06/1/1945),
7 Orders of Lenin,
order of the October Revolution,
3 Orders of the Red Banner,
2 Orders of Kutuzov 1st degree,
Order of the Red Star,
a total of 17 orders and 10 medals;
honorary personalized weapon - a saber with the Golden Coat of Arms of the USSR (1968),
24 foreign awards (including 13 foreign orders).

Govorov Leonid Alexandrovich

10(22).02.1897—19.03.1955
Marshal of the Soviet Union

Born in the village of Butyrki near Vyatka in the family of a peasant, who later became an employee in the city of Elabuga. A student at the Petrograd Polytechnic Institute, L. Govorov, became a cadet at the Konstantinovsky Artillery School in 1916. He began his combat activities in 1918 as an officer in the White Army of Admiral Kolchak.

In 1919, he volunteered to join the Red Army, participated in battles on the Eastern and Southern fronts, commanded an artillery division, and was wounded twice - near Kakhovka and Perekop.
In 1933 he graduated from the Military Academy. Frunze, and then the General Staff Academy (1938). Participated in the war with Finland of 1939-1940.

In the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945), artillery general L.A. Govorov became the commander of the 5th Army, which defended the approaches to Moscow in the central direction. In the spring of 1942, on instructions from I.V. Stalin, he went to besieged Leningrad, where he soon led the front (pseudonyms: Leonidov, Leonov, Gavrilov). On January 18, 1943, the troops of generals Govorov and Meretskov broke through the blockade of Leningrad (Operation Iskra), delivering a counter-attack near Shlisselburg. A year later, they struck again, crushing the Germans' Northern Wall, completely lifting the blockade of Leningrad. The German troops of Field Marshal von Küchler suffered huge losses. In June 1944, troops of the Leningrad Front carried out the Vyborg operation, broke through the “Mannerheim Line” and took the city of Vyborg. L.A. Govorov became Marshal of the Soviet Union (06/18/1944). In the fall of 1944, Govorov’s troops liberated Estonia, breaking into the enemy “Panther” defenses.

While remaining commander of the Leningrad Front, the marshal was also the representative of Headquarters in the Baltic States. He was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. In May 1945, the German army group Kurland surrendered to the front forces.

Moscow saluted the troops of commander L. A. Govorov 14 times. In the post-war period, the marshal became the first Commander-in-Chief of the country's air defense.

Marshal L.A. Govorov had:

Gold Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union (01/27/1945), 5 Orders of Lenin,
Order of Victory (05/31/1945),
3 Orders of the Red Banner,
2 Orders of Suvorov 1st degree,
Order of Kutuzov 1st degree,
Order of the Red Star - a total of 13 orders and 7 medals,
Tuvan "Order of the Republic",
3 foreign orders.

He died in 1955 at the age of 59. He was buried on Red Square in Moscow near the Kremlin wall.

Rokossovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich

9(21).12.1896—3.08.1968
Marshal of the Soviet Union,
Marshal of Poland

Born in Velikiye Luki in the family of a railway driver, a Pole, Xavier Jozef Rokossovsky, who soon moved to live in Warsaw. He began his service in 1914 in the Russian army. Participated in the First World War. He fought in a dragoon regiment, was a non-commissioned officer, was wounded twice in battle, was awarded the St. George Cross and 2 medals. Red Guard (1917). During the Civil War, he was again wounded 2 times, fought on the Eastern Front against the troops of Admiral Kolchak and in Transbaikalia against Baron Ungern; commanded a squadron, division, cavalry regiment; awarded 2 Orders of the Red Banner. In 1929 he fought against the Chinese at Jalainor (conflict on the Chinese Eastern Railway). In 1937-1940 was imprisoned as a victim of slander.

During the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) he commanded a mechanized corps, army, and fronts (Pseudonyms: Kostin, Dontsov, Rumyantsev). He distinguished himself in the Battle of Smolensk (1941). Hero of the Battle of Moscow (September 30, 1941—January 8, 1942). He was seriously wounded near Sukhinichi. During the Battle of Stalingrad (1942-1943), Rokossovsky’s Don Front, together with other fronts, was surrounded by 22 enemy divisions with a total number of 330 thousand people (Operation Uranus). At the beginning of 1943, the Don Front eliminated the encircled group of Germans (Operation “Ring”). Field Marshal F. Paulus was captured (3 days of mourning were declared in Germany). In the Battle of Kursk (1943), Rokossovsky's Central Front defeated the German troops of General Model (Operation Kutuzov) near Orel, in honor of which Moscow gave its first fireworks (08/05/1943). In the grandiose Belorussian operation (1944), Rokossovsky’s 1st Belorussian Front defeated Field Marshal von Busch’s Army Group Center and, together with the troops of General I. D. Chernyakhovsky, surrounded up to 30 drag divisions in the “Minsk Cauldron” (Operation Bagration). . On June 29, 1944, Rokossovsky was awarded the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union. The highest military orders "Virtuti Militari" and the "Grunwald" cross, 1st class, were awarded to the marshal for the liberation of Poland.

At the final stage of the war, Rokossovsky's 2nd Belorussian Front participated in the East Prussian, Pomeranian and Berlin operations. Moscow saluted the troops of commander Rokossovsky 63 times. On June 24, 1945, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, holder of the Order of Victory, Marshal K. K. Rokossovsky commanded the Victory Parade on Red Square in Moscow. In 1949-1956, K.K. Rokossovsky was the Minister of National Defense of the Polish People's Republic. He was awarded the title of Marshal of Poland (1949). Returning to the Soviet Union, he became the chief inspector of the USSR Ministry of Defense.

Wrote a memoir, A Soldier's Duty.

Marshal K.K. Rokossovsky had:

2 Gold Stars of the Hero of the Soviet Union (07/29/1944, 06/1/1945),
7 Orders of Lenin,
Order of Victory (30.03.1945),
order of the October Revolution,
6 Orders of the Red Banner,
Order of Suvorov 1st degree,
Order of Kutuzov 1st degree,
a total of 17 orders and 11 medals;
honorary weapon - saber with the golden coat of arms of the USSR (1968),
13 foreign awards (including 9 foreign orders)

He was buried on Red Square in Moscow near the Kremlin wall. A bronze bust of Rokossovsky was installed in his homeland (Velikie Luki).

Malinovsky Rodion Yakovlevich

11(23).11.1898—31.03.1967
Marshal of the Soviet Union,
Minister of Defense of the USSR

Born in Odessa, he grew up without a father. In 1914, he volunteered for the front of the 1st World War, where he was seriously wounded and awarded the St. George Cross, 4th degree (1915). In February 1916 he was sent to France as part of the Russian expeditionary force. There he was again wounded and received the French Croix de Guerre. Returning to his homeland, he voluntarily joined the Red Army (1919) and fought against the whites in Siberia. In 1930 he graduated from the Military Academy. M. V. Frunze. In 1937-1938, he volunteered to take part in battles in Spain (under the pseudonym “Malino”) on the side of the republican government, for which he received the Order of the Red Banner.

In the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) he commanded a corps, an army, and a front (pseudonyms: Yakovlev, Rodionov, Morozov). He distinguished himself in the Battle of Stalingrad. Malinovsky’s army, in cooperation with other armies, stopped and then defeated Army Group Don of Field Marshal E. von Manstein, which was trying to relieve Paulus’s group encircled at Stalingrad. The troops of General Malinovsky liberated Rostov and Donbass (1943), participated in the cleansing of Right Bank Ukraine from the enemy; Having defeated the troops of E. von Kleist, they took Odessa on April 10, 1944; together with the troops of General Tolbukhin, they defeated the southern wing of the enemy front, encircling 22 German divisions and the 3rd Romanian Army in the Iasi-Kishinev operation (08.20-29.1944). During the fighting, Malinovsky was slightly wounded; On September 10, 1944, he was awarded the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union. The troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, Marshal R. Ya. Malinovsky, liberated Romania, Hungary, Austria, and Czechoslovakia. On August 13, 1944, they entered Bucharest, took Budapest by storm (02/13/1945), and liberated Prague (05/9/1945). The marshal was awarded the Order of Victory.

From July 1945, Malinovsky commanded the Transbaikal Front (pseudonym Zakharov), which dealt the main blow to the Japanese Kwantung Army in Manchuria (08/1945). Front troops reached Port Arthur. The marshal received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Moscow saluted the troops of commander Malinovsky 49 times.

On October 15, 1957, Marshal R. Ya. Malinovsky was appointed Minister of Defense of the USSR. He remained in this position until the end of his life.

The Marshal is the author of the books “Soldiers of Russia”, “The Angry Whirlwinds of Spain”; under his leadership, “Iasi-Chisinau Cannes”, “Budapest - Vienna - Prague”, “Final” and other works were written.

Marshal R. Ya. Malinovsky had:

2 Gold Stars of the Hero of the Soviet Union (09/08/1945, 11/22/1958),
5 Orders of Lenin,
3 Orders of the Red Banner,
2 Orders of Suvorov 1st degree,
Order of Kutuzov 1st degree,
a total of 12 orders and 9 medals;
as well as 24 foreign awards (including 15 orders of foreign states). In 1964 he was awarded the title of People's Hero of Yugoslavia.

A bronze bust of the marshal was installed in Odessa. He was buried on Red Square near the Kremlin wall.

Tolbukhin Fedor Ivanovich

4(16).6.1894—17.10.1949
Marshal of the Soviet Union

Born in the village of Androniki near Yaroslavl in a peasant family. He worked as an accountant in Petrograd. In 1914 he was a private motorcyclist. Having become an officer, he took part in battles with Austro-German troops and was awarded the Anna and Stanislav crosses.

In the Red Army since 1918; fought on the fronts of the Civil War against the troops of General N.N. Yudenich, Poles and Finns. He was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.

In the post-war period, Tolbukhin worked in staff positions. In 1934 he graduated from the Military Academy. M. V. Frunze. In 1940 he became a general.

During the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) he was the chief of staff of the front, commanded the army and the front. He distinguished himself in the Battle of Stalingrad, commanding the 57th Army. In the spring of 1943, Tolbukhin became commander of the Southern Front, and from October - the 4th Ukrainian Front, from May 1944 until the end of the war - the 3rd Ukrainian Front. General Tolbukhin's troops defeated the enemy at Miussa and Molochnaya and liberated Taganrog and Donbass. In the spring of 1944, they invaded Crimea and took Sevastopol by storm on May 9. In August 1944, together with the troops of R. Ya. Malinovsky, they defeated the army group “Southern Ukraine” of Mr. Frizner in the Iasi-Kishinev operation. On September 12, 1944, F.I. Tolbukhin was awarded the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union.

Tolbukhin's troops liberated Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Hungary and Austria. Moscow saluted Tolbukhin's troops 34 times. At the Victory Parade on June 24, 1945, the marshal led the column of the 3rd Ukrainian Front.

The marshal's health, undermined by the wars, began to fail, and in 1949 F.I. Tolbukhin died at the age of 56. Three days of mourning were declared in Bulgaria; the city of Dobrich was renamed the city of Tolbukhin.

In 1965, Marshal F.I. Tolbukhin was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

People's Hero of Yugoslavia (1944) and "Hero of the People's Republic of Bulgaria" (1979).

Marshal F.I. Tolbukhin had:

2 Orders of Lenin,
Order of Victory (04/26/1945),
3 Orders of the Red Banner,
2 Orders of Suvorov 1st degree,
Order of Kutuzov 1st degree,
Order of the Red Star,
a total of 10 orders and 9 medals;
as well as 10 foreign awards (including 5 foreign orders).

He was buried on Red Square in Moscow near the Kremlin wall.

Meretskov Kirill Afanasyevich

26.05 (7.06).1897—30.12.1968
Marshal of the Soviet Union

Born in the village of Nazaryevo near Zaraysk, Moscow region, into a peasant family. Before serving in the army, he worked as a mechanic. In the Red Army since 1918. During the Civil War he fought on the Eastern and Southern fronts. He took part in battles in the ranks of the 1st Cavalry against Pilsudski's Poles. He was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.

In 1921 he graduated from the Military Academy of the Red Army. In 1936-1937, under the pseudonym "Petrovich", he fought in Spain (awarded the Orders of Lenin and the Red Banner). During the Soviet-Finnish War (December 1939 - March 1940), he commanded the army that broke through the Manerheim Line and took Vyborg, for which he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (1940).
During the Great Patriotic War, he commanded troops in the northern directions (pseudonyms: Afanasyev, Kirillov); was a representative of the Headquarters on the North-Western Front. He commanded the army, the front. In 1941, Meretskov inflicted the first serious defeat of the war on the troops of Field Marshal Leeb near Tikhvin. On January 18, 1943, the troops of generals Govorov and Meretskov, delivering a counter strike near Shlisselburg (Operation Iskra), broke the blockade of Leningrad. On January 20, Novgorod was taken. In February 1944 he became commander of the Karelian Front. In June 1944, Meretskov and Govorov defeated Marshal K. Mannerheim in Karelia. In October 1944, Meretskov's troops defeated the enemy in the Arctic near Pechenga (Petsamo). On October 26, 1944, K. A. Meretskov received the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union, and from the Norwegian King Haakon VII the Grand Cross of St. Olaf.

In the spring of 1945, the “cunning Yaroslavets” (as Stalin called him) under the name of “General Maksimov” was sent to the Far East. In August - September 1945, his troops took part in the defeat of the Kwantung Army, breaking into Manchuria from Primorye and liberating areas of China and Korea.

Moscow saluted the troops of commander Meretskov 10 times.

Marshal K. A. Meretskov had:

Gold Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union (03/21/1940), 7 Orders of Lenin,
Order of Victory (8.09.1945),
order of the October Revolution,
4 Orders of the Red Banner,
2 Orders of Suvorov 1st degree,
Order of Kutuzov 1st degree,
10 medals;
an honorary weapon - a saber with the Golden Coat of Arms of the USSR, as well as 4 highest foreign orders and 3 medals.

He wrote a memoir, “In the Service of the People.” He was buried on Red Square in Moscow near the Kremlin wall.