WW2 Russian Generals
The best WW2 Russian Generals commanded Soviet Army Fronts and armies during major battles on the Eastern Front. From Battle of Moscow, in December 1941, to the Battle of Berlin, their victories decisively contributed to turn the tide of the war in the Allied favor as they fought against powerful German forces for the liberation of their land.
List of Best Soviet Generals of World War II
Georgy Zhukov (1896-1974). As commander of the Soviet-Mongolian Front, his first victory was at the Battle of Khalkhin Gol in August 1939. In late 1942, he was supreme commander of the Soviet forces that carried out Operation Uranus, which annihilated the German 6th Army at the Battle of Stalingrad. In July 1943, along with Vasilevsky, he coordinated the Red Army moves at the Battle of Kursk. In the Summer of 1944, he was commander of all the Soviet Fronts that successfully carried out Operation Bagration. In April, 1945, he commanded the 1st Belorussian Front during the Battle of Berlin.
Konstantin Rokossovsky (1896-1968). He was commander of the Soviet 16th Army, which successfully fought and defended the Capital of the Soviet Union during the Battle of Moscow. During the Battle of Stalingrad, he was commander of the 4th Tank Army, which took part in Operation Uranus, carrying out the final mopping up fighting in this military engagement, at the end of which he interrogated von Paulus, the German 6th Army commander. During the Battle of Kursk, he led the Central Front, which successfully defended the salient against the German attacks. By mid 1944, he commanded the 1st Belorussian Front during Operation Bagration, breaching the German lines as he advanced all the way to Poland. In early 1945, he was in charge of the 2nd Belorussian Front, which invaded East Prussia and advanced westwards, linking up with British forces under Montgomery in Wismar, northern Germany.
Ivan Konev (1897-1973). In 1916, one year before the Bolschevik Revolution broke out, he had been drafted into the Imperial Russian Army as a conscript. The following year, he was already a young sergeant and, over the years, he would become a bright General. During the Battle of Kursk, he led the Steppe Front which successfully defended the southern side of the salient, retaking Belgorod, Kiev, Kharkov, and Odessa in the subsequent Soviet counteroffensive. During Bagration, his forces pushed into Poland, assisting the other Russian forces to capture Warsaw. In April 1945, he was commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front that defeated the German forces at the Battle of Oder-Neisse River and the Battle of Berlin.
Vasilii Ivanovich Chuikov (1900-1982). He had joined the Red Army in 1918, fighting during the last phases of the Bolschevik Revolution, during which he was decorated. When World War II broke out, he was commander of the 4th Army, which took part in the invasion of Poland. From mid 1942 to 1943, he was commander of 62nd Army which fought fiercely in Stalingrad in a house-to-house battle against the German 6th Army units. During the Oder-Vistula Offensive at the beginning of 1945, he led the 8th Guards Army, which was part of the 1st Belorussian Front under Georgy Zhukov. His forces under his command fought through Poland and into Germany, taking part in the Battle of Berlin.
Aleksandr Vasilevsky (1895-1977). He had joined the Imperial Russian Army in 1915 and in 1916 he commanded a battalion in the First World War. In 1942, together with Zhukov, he planned Operation Uranus and coordinated the pincers movements against the German forces at Stalingrad. In 1943, during the Battle of Kurks, he was the overall commander of the Voronezh and Steppe Front. By mid 1944, he led the 1st Baltic and 3rd Belorussian Front, which pushed their way westwards, liberating Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania during Bagration. In early August 1945, he was the supreme commander of the Soviet forces in the Battle of Manchuria against the Imperial Japanese Army at the end of World War II.
Below, General Georgy Zhukov and Ivan Konev studying the Red Army’s units during the Battle of Kursk in July 1943 (photo from the Soviet State Archive).
