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| Joseph Stalin |
Stalin, Joseph
Marshall of the Soviet Union
Supreme Commander – controller of Stavka: the military High Command
Stalin was effectively commander-in-chief from July 1941 onwards,
directing the war and running the Red Army.
In time, Stalin identified his most able commanders as Zhukov,
Rokossovsky and Konev. By 1944 all three
were commanding fronts.
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| Georgi Zhukov |
Zhukov, Georgi
Marshall of the Soviet Union
Deputy Commander of the Red Army
Stavka representative: northern face of the Kursk Bulge and
Operation Rumiantsev
Stalin’s appointment of Georgi Zhukov as his deputy made him the most
powerful of Soviet generals.
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| Aleksandr Vasilevsky |
Vasilevsky, Aleksandr
Marshall of the Soviet Union
Chief of the Red Army General Staff
Stavka representative: southern
face of the Kursk Bulge and Operation Rumiantsev
Stalin’s Operations Officer, comparable to Colonel General Alfred Jodl in
Hitler’s headquarters. Vasilevsky was
considered to be a model staff officer and he was a natural commander – quickly
grasping the nature of the battlefield and its likely course of action. Along with Zhukov, it was Vasilevsky that
proposed the double envelopment at Stalingrad.
Vasilevsky and Zhukov later convinced Stalin that a defensive battle to
absorb and reduce German offensive power should precede a Soviet offensive in the
summer of 1943. This would be the
Russian strategy at Kursk.
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| Konstantin Rokossovsky |
Rokossovsky, Konstantin
Army General
Commander, Central Front:
Defended the
northern face of the Kursk Bulge in Operation Citadel
Attacked the
southern face of the Orel salient in Operation Kutuzov
Rokossovsky had been imprisoned for three years as a result of army
purges in the 1930s. As a commander he
was instrumental in reducing the German pocket around Stalingrad.
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| Nikolai Vatutin |
Vatutin, Nikolai
Army General
Commander, Voronezh Front
Defended the
southern face of the Kursk Bulge in Operation Citadel
Attacked during Operation
Rumiantsev
During the Battle of Kursk General Vatutin saw the 11 July German move
on Prokhorovka as an opportunity to counterattack and encircle the attacking
Wehrmacht forces, which he believed, were sufficiently weakened by the previous
days’ battles.
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| Ivan Konev |
Konev, Ivan
Army General
Commander, Steppe Front
Counterattacked in
Operation Citadel
Attacked in
Operation Rumiantsev
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| Aleksei Antonov |
Antonov, Aleksei
Colonel General
1st Deputy Chief of the Red Army Staff
Stavka member
Antonov developed an effective working relationship with Stalin. He was industrious, firm, intelligent and
calm. At a Kremlin meeting on 12 April 1943,
Antonov joined with Zhukov and Vasilevsky in persuading Stalin to precede an
offensive action with a defensive battle in order to reduce Germany’s offensive
capability.
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| Markian Popov |
Popov, Markian
Colonel General
Commander, Briansk Front
Attacked the
eastern face of the Orel salient in Operation Kutuzov
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| Vasilii Sokolovsky |
Sokolovsky, Vasilii
Colonel General
Commander, Western Front
11th Guards
and 50th Armies participated in attack against the northern face of
the Orel salient during Operation Kutuzov
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| Aleksei Rodin |
Rodin, Aleksei
Lieutenant General
Commander, 2nd Tank Army
Defended the
northern face of the Kursk Bulge in Operation Citadel
Attacked the
southern face of the Orel salient in Operation Kutuzov
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| Mikhail Katukov |
Katukov, Mikhail
Lieutenant General
Commander, 1st Tank Army
Defended the
southern face of the Kursk Bulge in Operation Citadel
Spearheaded Operation
Rumiantsev
On the southern face of the Kursk Bulge German forces penetrated the third
Soviet defensive belt before being stopped by Katukov’s 1st Tank
Army.
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| Pavel Rotmistrov |
Rotmistrov, Pavel
Lieutenant General
Commander, 5th Guards Tank Army
Spearheaded Steppe
Front’s counterstroke at Prokhorovka
Spearheaded steppe
Front’s offensive in Operation Rumiantsev
Rotmistrov’s forces closed on German armor near Prokhorovka with 850
tanks, near numerical parity with the Panzers.
The Germans, though, had about 100 Tigers fortifying their spearhead.
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| Pavel Rybalko |
Rybalko, Pavel
Lieutenant General
Commander, 3rd Guards Tank Army
Spearheaded Briansk
Front’s offensive against eastern face of Orel salient in Operation Kutuzov
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| Vasilii Badanov |
Badanov, Vasilii
Lieutenant General
Commander, 4th Tank Army
Participated in counter-offensive
against Orel salient - Operation Kutuzov
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