German generals of the 2nd world war. Rating of commanders of the second world war

I. SOVIET GENERALS AND COMMANDERS.

1. Generals and military leaders of the strategic and operational-strategic level.

Zhukov Georgy Konstantinovich (1896-1974)- Marshal Soviet Union, Deputy Supreme Commander of the USSR Armed Forces, member of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command. He 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 Belorussian, Vistula-Oder and Berlin operations.

Vasilevsky Alexander Mikhailovich (1895-1977)- Marshal of the Soviet Union. Chief of the General Staff in 1942-1945, member of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command. Coordinated the actions of a number of fronts in strategic operations, in 1945 - commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front and commander in chief Soviet troops in the Far East.

Rokossovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich (1896-1968)- Marshal of the Soviet Union, Marshal of Poland. He commanded the Bryansk, Don, Central, Belorussian, 1st and 2nd Belorussian fronts.

Konev Ivan Stepanovich (1897-1973)- Marshal of the Soviet Union. He commanded the troops of the Western, Kalinin, Northwestern, Steppe, 2nd and 1st Ukrainian fronts.

Malinovsky Rodion Yakovlevich (1898-1967)- Marshal of the Soviet Union. Since October 1942 - Deputy Commander of the Voronezh Front, Commander of the 2nd Guards Army, Southern, Southwestern, 3rd and 2nd Ukrainian, Transbaikal Fronts.

Govorov Leonid Alexandrovich (1897-1955)- Marshal of the Soviet Union. From June 1942 he commanded the troops of the Leningrad Front, in February-March 1945 he simultaneously coordinated the actions of the 2nd and 3rd Baltic fronts.

Antonov Alexey Innokent'evich (1896-1962)- army General. Since 1942 - First Deputy Chief, Chief (since February 1945) of the General Staff, member of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command.

Timoshenko Semyon Konstantinovich (1895-1970)- Marshal of the Soviet Union. To the Great Patriotic war- People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR, member of the Supreme Command Headquarters, commander-in-chief of the Western, South-Western directions, from July 1942 he commanded the Stalingrad and North-Western fronts. Since 1943 - the representative of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command on the fronts.

Tolbukhin Fedor Ivanovich (1894-1949)- Marshal of the Soviet Union. At the beginning of the war - chief of staff of the district (front). Since 1942 - Deputy Commander of the Stalingrad Military District, Commander of the 57th and 68th Armies, the Southern, 4th and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts.

Meretskov Kirill Afanasyevich (1897-1968)- Marshal of the Soviet Union. Since the beginning of the war - the representative of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command on the Volkhov and Karelian fronts, commanded the 7th and 4th armies. From December 1941 - commander of the Volkhov, Karelian and 1st Far Eastern fronts. He especially distinguished himself during the defeat of the Japanese Kwantung Army in 1945.

Shaposhnikov Boris Mikhailovich (1882-1945)- Marshal of the Soviet Union. Member of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, Chief of the General Staff in the most difficult period defensive operations 1941 Made an important contribution to the organization of the defense of Moscow and the transition of the Red Army to the counteroffensive. From May 1942 - Deputy People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR, head of the Military Academy of the General Staff.

Chernyakhovsky Ivan Danilovich (1906-1945)- army General. He commanded a tank corps, the 60th Army, from April 1944 - the 3rd Belorussian Front. Mortally wounded in February 1945.

Vatutin Nikolay Fedorovich (1901-1944)- army General. Since June 1941 - Chief of Staff of the North-Western Front, First Deputy Chief of the General Staff, Commander of the Voronezh, South-Western and 1st Ukrainian Fronts. He showed the highest military art in Battle of Kursk, when forcing the river. Dnieper and the liberation of Kyiv, in the Korsun-Shevchenko operation. Mortally wounded in action in February 1944.

Bagramyan Ivan Khristoforovich (1897-1982)- Marshal of the Soviet Union. Chief of Staff of the Southwestern Front, then at the same time the headquarters of the troops of the Southwestern direction, commander of the 16th (11th Guards) Army. From 1943 he commanded the troops of the 1st Baltic and 3rd Belorussian fronts.

Eremenko Andrei Ivanovich (1892-1970)- Marshal of the Soviet Union. He commanded the Bryansk Front, the 4th Shock Army, the South-Eastern, Stalingrad, Southern, Kalinin, 1st Baltic Fronts, the Separate Primorsky Army, the 2nd Baltic and 4th Ukrainian Fronts. Particularly distinguished himself in the Battle of Stalingrad.

Petrov Ivan Efimovich (1896-1958)- army General. From May 1943 - Commander of the North Caucasian Front, 33rd Army, 2nd Belorussian and 4th Ukrainian Fronts, Chief of Staff of the 1st Ukrainian Front.

2. Naval commanders of the strategic and operational-strategic level.

Kuznetsov Nikolai Gerasimovich (1902-1974)- Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union. People's Commissar of the Navy in 1939-1946, Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, member of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command. He ensured the organized entry of the fleet forces into the war.

Isakov Ivan Stepanovich (1894-1967)- Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union. In 1938-1946. - Deputy and First Deputy People's Commissar of the Navy, simultaneously in 1941-1943. Chief of the Main Staff of the Navy. He ensured the successful management of the forces of the fleets during the war.

Tributs Vladimir Filippovich (1900-1977)- Admiral. Commander of the Baltic Fleet in 1939-1947 He showed courage and skillful actions during the relocation of the Baltic Fleet Forces from Tallinn to Kronstadt and during the defense of Leningrad.

Golovko Arseny Grigorievich (1906-1962)- Admiral. In 1940-1946. - Commander of the Northern Fleet. Provided (together with the Karelian Front) a reliable cover for the flank of the Soviet Armed Forces and sea communications for the implementation of supplies by the Allies.

Oktyabrsky (Ivanov) Philip Sergeevich (1899-1969)- Admiral. Commander of the Black Sea Fleet from 1939 to June 1943 and from March 1944. From June 1943 to March 1944 - Commander of the Amur Military Flotilla. He ensured the organized entry into the war of the Black Sea Fleet and successful operations during the war.

3. Commanders of combined arms armies.

Chuikov Vasily Ivanovich (1900-1982)- Marshal of the Soviet Union. From September 1942 - Commander of the 62nd (8th Guards) Army. Particularly distinguished himself in the Battle of Stalingrad.

Batov Pavel Ivanovich (1897-1985)- army General. Commander of the 51st, 3rd armies, assistant commander of the Bryansk Front, commander of the 65th army.

Beloborodov Afanasy Pavlantievich (1903-1990)- army General. Since the beginning of the war - the commander of a division, a rifle corps. Since 1944 - commander of the 43rd, in August-September 1945 - the 1st Red Banner Army.

Grechko Andrey Antonovich (1903-1976)- Marshal of the Soviet Union. From April 1942 - Commander of the 12th, 47th, 18th, 56th Armies, Deputy Commander of the Voronezh (1st Ukrainian) Front, Commander of the 1st Guards Army.

Krylov Nikolay Ivanovich (1903-1972)- Marshal of the Soviet Union. From July 1943 he commanded the 21st and 5th armies. He had unique experience in defending the besieged major cities, being the chief of staff of the defense of Odessa, Sevastopol and Stalingrad.

Moskalenko Kirill Semyonovich (1902-1985)- Marshal of the Soviet Union. From 1942 he commanded the 38th, 1st Tank, 1st Guards and 40th armies.

Pukhov Nikolai Pavlovich (1895-1958)- Colonel General. In 1942-1945. commanded the 13th Army.

Chistyakov Ivan Mikhailovich (1900-1979)- Colonel General. In 1942-1945. commanded the 21st (6th Guards) and 25th armies.

Gorbatov Alexander Vasilyevich (1891-1973)- army General. From June 1943 - Commander of the 3rd Army.

Kuznetsov Vasily Ivanovich (1894-1964)- Colonel General. During the war years, he commanded the troops of the 3rd, 21st, 58th, 1st Guards armies from 1945 - commander of the 3rd shock army.

Luchinsky Alexander Alexandrovich (1900-1990)- army General. Since 1944 - commander of the 28th and 36th armies. He especially distinguished himself in the Belorussian and Manchurian operations.

Ludnikov Ivan Ivanovich (1902-1976)- Colonel General. During the war he commanded a rifle division, a corps, in 1942 he was one of the heroic defenders of Stalingrad. Since May 1944 - commander of the 39th Army, which participated in the Belarusian and Manchurian operations.

Galitsky Kuzma Nikitovich (1897-1973)- army General. Since 1942 - commander of the 3rd shock and 11th guards armies.

Zhadov Alexey Semenovich (1901-1977)- army General. From 1942 he commanded the 66th (5th Guards) Army.

Glagolev Vasily Vasilyevich (1896-1947)- Colonel General. He commanded the 9th, 46th, 31st, in 1945 - the 9th Guards Armies. He distinguished himself in the Battle of Kursk, the Battle of the Caucasus, during the crossing of the Dnieper, the liberation of Austria and Czechoslovakia.

Kolpakchi Vladimir Yakovlevich (1899-1961)- army General. He commanded the 18th, 62nd, 30th, 63rd, 69th armies. He acted most successfully in the Vistula-Oder and Berlin operations.

Pliev Issa Alexandrovich (1903-1979)- army General. During the war years - commander of the guards cavalry divisions, corps, commander of cavalry mechanized groups. He especially distinguished himself by bold and daring actions in the Manchurian strategic operation.

Fedyuninsky Ivan Ivanovich (1900-1977)- army General. During the war years, he was commander of the troops of the 32nd and 42nd armies, the Leningrad Front, the 54th and 5th armies, deputy commander of the Volkhov and Bryansk fronts, commander of the troops of the 11th and 2nd shock armies.

Belov Pavel Alekseevich (1897-1962)- Colonel General. Commanded the 61st Army. He was distinguished by decisive maneuvering actions during the Belorussian, Vistula-Oder and Berlin operations.

Shumilov Mikhail Stepanovich (1895-1975)- Colonel General. From August 1942 until the end of the war, he commanded the 64th Army (from 1943 - the 7th Guards), which, together with the 62nd Army, heroically defended Stalingrad.

Berzarin Nikolai Erastovich (1904-1945)- Colonel General. Commander of the 27th, 34th Armies, Deputy Commander of the 61st, 20th Armies, Commander of the 39th and 5th Shock Armies. He especially distinguished himself by skillful and decisive actions in the Berlin operation.

4. Commanders of tank armies.

Katukov Mikhail Efimovich (1900-1976)- marshal armor tank troops. One of the founders of the Tank Guard was the commander of the 1st Guards Tank Brigade, 1st Guards Tank Corps. Since 1943 - Commander of the 1st Tank Army (since 1944 - Guards).

Bogdanov Semyon Ilyich (1894-1960)- Marshal of the armored forces. Since 1943 he commanded the 2nd (since 1944 - Guards) tank army.

Rybalko Pavel Semyonovich (1894-1948)- Marshal of the armored forces. From July 1942 he commanded the 5th, 3rd and 3rd Guards Tank Armies.

Lelyushenko Dmitry Danilovich (1901-1987)- army General. From October 1941 he commanded the 5th, 30th, 1st, 3rd Guards, 4th Tank (since 1945 - Guards) armies.

Rotmistrov Pavel Alekseevich (1901-1982)- Chief Marshal of the Armored Forces. He commanded a tank brigade, a corps, distinguished himself in the Stalingrad operation. From 1943 he commanded the 5th Guards Tank Army. Since 1944 - Deputy Commander of the armored and mechanized troops of the Soviet Army.

Kravchenko Andrey Grigorievich (1899-1963)- Colonel-General of Tank Troops. Since 1944 - commander of the 6th Guards Tank Army. He showed an example of highly maneuverable, swift actions during the Manchurian strategic operation.

5. Aviation commanders.

Novikov Alexander Alexandrovich (1900-1976)- Air Chief Marshal Commander of the Air Force of the Northern and Leningrad Fronts, Deputy People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR for Aviation, Commander of the Air Force of the Soviet Army.

Rudenko Sergey Ignatievich (1904-1990)- Air Marshal, commander of the 16th Air Army since 1942. He paid much attention to the training of combined arms commanders in the combat use of aviation.

Krasovsky Stepan Akimovich (1897-1983)- Air Marshal. During the war years - the commander of the Air Force of the 56th Army, the Bryansk and South-Western Fronts, the 2nd and 17th Air Armies.

Vershinin Konstantin Andreevich (1900-1973)- Air Chief Marshal During the war - Commander of the Air Force of the Southern, Transcaucasian Fronts and the 4th Air Army. Along with effective actions to support the troops of the front, he paid special attention to combating enemy aircraft and gaining air supremacy.

Sudets Vladimir Alexandrovich (1904-1981)- Air Marshal. Commander of the Air Force of the 51st Army, Air Force of the Military District, since March 1943 - of the 17th Air Army.

Golovanov Alexander Evgenievich (1904-1975)- Air Chief Marshal From 1942 he commanded long-range aviation, from 1944 - the 18th Air Army.

Khryukin Timofey Timofeevich (1910-1953)- Colonel-General of Aviation. He commanded the Air Force of the Karelian, Southwestern fronts, the 8th and 1st air armies.

Zhavoronkov Semyon Fedorovich (1899-1967)- Air Marshal. During the war years, he was commander of the Navy Aviation. He ensured the survivability of naval aviation at the beginning of the war, building up its efforts and skillful combat use during the war.

6. Artillery commanders.

Voronov Nikolai Nikolaevich (1899-1968)- Chief Marshal of Artillery. During the war years, he was the head of the Main Air Defense Directorate of the country, the head of artillery of the Soviet Army, and the deputy people's commissar of defense of the USSR. Since 1943 - commander of the artillery of the Soviet Army, representative of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command on the fronts during the Stalingrad and a number of other operations. Developed the most advanced theory and practice for its time combat use artillery, incl. artillery offensive, for the first time in history created a reserve of the Supreme High Command, which made it possible to maximize the use of artillery.

Kazakov Nikolai Nikolaevich (1898-1968)- Marshal of Artillery. During the war years - chief of artillery of the 16th Army, Bryansk, Donskoy, commander of artillery of the Central, Belorussian and 1st Belorussian fronts. One of the masters the highest class organizing an artillery attack.

Nedelin Mitrofan Ivanovich (1902-1960)- Chief Marshal of Artillery. During the war - chief of artillery of the 37th and 56th armies, commander of the 5th artillery corps, commander of the artillery of the Southwestern and 3rd Ukrainian fronts.

Odintsov Georgy Fedotovich (1900-1972)- Marshal of Artillery. Since the beginning of the war - chief of staff and chief of artillery of the army. From May 1942 - commander of the artillery of the Leningrad Front. One of the largest specialists in organizing the fight against enemy artillery.

II. GENERAL LEADERS AND LEADERS OF THE ALLIED ARMIES OF THE USA

Eisenhower Dwight David (1890-1969)- American statesman and military figure, army general. Commander of American Forces in Europe from 1942, Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Western Europe in 1943-1945

MacArthur Douglas (1880-1964)- army General. Commander of the US armed forces in the Far East in 1941-1942, since 1942 - commander of the allied forces in the southwestern part Pacific Ocean.

Marshall George Catlett (1880-1959)- army General. Chief of Staff of the US Army in 1939-1945, one of the main authors of the military-strategic plans of the US and Great Britain in World War II.

Lehi William (1875-1959)- Admiral of the Fleet. Chairman of the Committee of Chiefs of Staff, at the same time - Chief of Staff under the Supreme Commander of the US Armed Forces in 1942-1945.

Halsey William (1882-1959)- Admiral of the Fleet. He commanded the 3rd Fleet, led the American forces in the battles for the Solomon Islands in 1943.

Patton George Smith Jr. (1885-1945)- general. Since 1942, he commanded an operational group of troops in North Africa, in 1944-1945. - 7th and 3rd American armies in Europe, skillfully used tank troops.

Bradley Omar Nelson (1893-1981)- army General. Commander of the 12th Army Group of the Allied Forces in Europe in 1942-1945.

King Ernest (1878-1956)- Admiral of the Fleet. Commander-in-Chief of the US Navy, Chief of Naval Operations in 1942-1945.

Nimitz Chester (1885-1966)- Admiral. Commander of the US Armed Forces in the Central Pacific from 1942-1945.

Arnold Henry (1886-1950)- army General. In 1942-1945. - Chief of Staff of the United States Army Air Forces.

Clark Mark (1896-1984)- general. Commander of the 5th American army in Italy in 1943-1945. He became famous for his landing operation in the Salerno area (Operation Avalanche).

Spaats Karl (1891-1974)- general. Commander of the US Strategic Air Forces in Europe. Managed operations strategic aviation during the air attack on Germany.

Great Britain

Montgomery Bernard Low (1887-1976)- field marshal. From July 1942 - commander of the 8th English army in Africa. During the Normandy operation he commanded an army group. In 1945 - Commander-in-Chief of the British occupation forces in Germany.

Brooke Alan Francis (1883-1963)- field marshal. commanded the English army corps in France, in 1940-1941. metropolitan troops. In 1941-1946. - Chief of the Imperial General Staff.

Alexander Harold (1891- 1969)- field marshal. In 1941-1942. commander of the British troops in Burma. In 1943 he commanded the 18th Army Group in Tunisia and the 15th Army Group allied armies, landed on about. Sicily and Italy. From December 1944 - Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations.

Andrew Cunningham (1883-1963)- Admiral. Commander of the British Fleet, Eastern mediterranean sea in 1940-1941

Harris Arthur Travers (1892-1984)- Air Marshal. Commander of the bomber aviation, which carried out the "air attack" on Germany in 1942-1945.

Tedder Arthur (1890-1967)- Air Chief Marshal Deputy Supreme Commander of the United Armed Forces in Europe Eisenhower for Aviation during the second front in Western Europe in 1944-1945.

Wavell Archibald (1883-1950)- field marshal. Commander of the British troops East Africa in 1940-1941 In 1942-1945. - Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces in Southeast Asia.

France

De Tassigny Jean de Latre (1889-1952)- Marshal of France. From September 1943 - Commander-in-Chief of the "Fighting France", from June 1944 - Commander of the 1st French Army.

Juin Alphonse (1888-1967)- Marshal of France. Since 1942 - commander of the "Fighting France" in Tunisia. In 1944-1945. - commander of the French expeditionary force in Italy.

China

Zhu De (1886-1976)- Marshal of the People's Republic of China. During the Chinese People's National Liberation War of 1937-1945. commanded the 8th Army, operating in North China. Since 1945 - Commander-in-Chief of the People's Liberation Army of China.

Pung Dehuai (1898-1974)- Marshal of the People's Republic of China. In 1937-1945. - Deputy Commander of the 8th Army of the PLA.

Chen Yi- Commander of the New 4th Army of the PLA, operating in the regions of Central China.

Liu Bochen- Commander of the PLA.

Poland

Zymersky Michal (pseudonym - Role) (1890-1989)- Marshal of Poland. During the Nazi occupation of Poland, he participated in the resistance movement. From January 1944 - Commander-in-Chief of the People's Army, from July 1944 - the Polish Army.

Beurling Sigmund (1896-1980)- General of the Armor of the Polish Army. In 1943, he was the organizer on the territory of the USSR of the 1st Polish Infantry Division named after. Kosciuszko, in 1944 - commander of the 1st Army of the Polish Army.

Poplavsky Stanislav Gilyarovich (1902-1973)- General of the Army (in the Soviet Armed Forces). During the war years in the Soviet Army - commander of a regiment, division, corps. Since 1944 in the Polish Army - commander of the 2nd and 1st armies.

Sverchevsky Karol (1897- 1947)- General of the Polish Army. One of the organizers of the Polish Army. During the Great Patriotic War - commander rifle division, from 1943 - deputy commander of the 1st Polish Corps of the 1st Army, from September 1944 - commander of the 2nd Army of the Polish Army.

Czechoslovakia

Freedom Ludwik (1895-1979)- statesman and military leader of the Czechoslovak Republic, army general. One of the initiators of the creation of Czechoslovak units on the territory of the USSR, since 1943 - commander of a battalion, brigade, 1st Army Corps.

III. THE MOST PROMINENT COMMANDERS, NAVEL COMMANDERS OF THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR (ON THE ENEMY'S SIDE)

Germany

Rundstedt Karl Rudolf (1875-1953)- Field Marshal General. Second world war commanded Army Group South and Army Group A during the attack on Poland and France. He headed the Army Group "South" on the Soviet-German front (until November 1941). From 1942 to July 1944 and from September 1944 - Commander-in-Chief of the German Forces in the West.

Manstein Erich von Lewinsky (1887-1973)- Field Marshal General. In the French campaign of 1940 he commanded a corps, on the Soviet-German front - a corps, an army, in 1942-1944. - Army Group "Don" and "South".

Keitel Wilhelm (1882- 1946)- Field Marshal General. In 1938-1945. - chief of staff supreme command armed forces.

Kleist Ewald (1881-1954)- Field Marshal General. During World War II, he commanded a tank corps and a tank group operating against Poland, France, and Yugoslavia. On the Soviet-German front, he commanded a tank group (army), in 1942-1944. - Army Group A.

Guderian Heinz Wilhelm (1888-1954)- Colonel General. During World War II he commanded a tank corps, a group and an army. In December 1941, after the defeat near Moscow, he was removed from his post. In 1944-1945. - Chief of the General Staff ground forces.

Rommel Erwin (1891-1944)- Field Marshal General. In 1941-1943. commanded the German Expeditionary Force in North Africa, Army Group B in Northern Italy, in 1943-1944. - Army Group "B" in France.

Doenitz Karl (1891-1980)- Grand Admiral. Commanding submarine fleet(1936-1943), Commander-in-Chief of the Navy of Nazi Germany (1943-1945). At the beginning of May 1945 - Reich Chancellor and Supreme Commander.

Keselring Albert (1885- 1960)- Field Marshal General. He commanded air fleets operating against Poland, Holland, France, and England. At the beginning of the war with the USSR, he commanded the 2nd air fleet. From December 1941 - Commander-in-Chief of the Nazi troops of the South-West (Mediterranean - Italy), in 1945 - the troops of the West (West Germany).

Finland

Mannerheim Carl Gustav Emil (1867-1951)- military and statesman Finland, marshal. commander in chief Finnish army in the wars against the USSR in 1939-1940. and 1941-1944

Japan

Yamamoto Isoroku (1884-1943)- Admiral. During the Second World War - Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese Navy. He carried out the operation to defeat the American fleet at Pearl Harbor in December 1941.

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Victory in World War II was indeed achieved through the joint efforts of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition, their military leaders, officers and soldiers. But still decisive role in defeat and achievement played Soviet people and its armed forces. Significant contribution to the achievement military victory invested the General Staff, many commanders, naval commanders, military leaders, commanders and staffs, chiefs of military branches under the general leadership of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command.

Our generals (Soviet and allied armies) defeated strongest armies world, German and Japanese, which had previously conquered all of Western Europe and a significant part of Asia, and overthrew the vaunted German military school, which for decades was revered throughout the world as a standard.

Of course there were different days war. There were major setbacks and defeats in 1941–1942. The Americans had Pearl Harbor. But even in the first half of the war there were not only defeats and setbacks. There were victories near Moscow, Stalingrad, El Alamein, Kursk and other battles.

And in the operations of 1944-1945, the Soviet Armed Forces were so superior to the enemy armies in all respects (in weapons and equipment, the ability to fight, high morale) that in short time broke through its defensive lines, crossed large water barriers, surrounded and destroyed large enemy groupings, showing the highest examples of military art, although success in these operations was also achieved by enormous effort of the forces of the army, navy and home front workers.

It was these brilliant offensive operations, about which it is now customary to "modestly" keep silent, that ultimately led us to the desired victory.

ALLIES

During the Second World War, Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov, Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky, Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovsky, Alexei Innokentyevich Antonov and our other military leaders closely followed the activities of the commanders of the allied armies. They spoke especially highly of the largest Normandy landing operation, conducted under the command of General Dwight Eisenhower. In turn, Eisenhower also appreciated our commanders.

In the postwar years, the General Staff and our military academies carefully studied the experience of operations carried out by Anglo-American troops in Africa, the Pacific and Europe.

If we talk about the military leaders of the countries allied to us, then in the West, General George Catlett Marshall, who during the Second World War was the chief of staff of the army, the de facto chairman of the US Chiefs of Staff Committee, was considered an unsurpassed organizer of the construction and strategic use of the armed forces. General Eisenhower, who essentially had almost no command experience before the war, but had a lot of staff service experience, found himself at the head of the Allied forces and played a prominent role in the final operations of World War II. His military activity is a wonderful example of a combination of politician, diplomat and strategist in one person. He was a great master of planning strategic operations, including large combined landing operations. His plans were backed up by solid all-round calculations. Eisenhower was especially resourceful in difficult conditions military-political situation.

The most important feature of Eisenhower's art of military leadership is the thorough, comprehensive and covert preparation of operations, their logistical support; his methods of planning and training troops were designed to carry out operations with certainty. He gave great initiative to his subordinates. The ability, in spite of everything, to pursue the Allied and American strategic line and achieve the landing of allied troops in Normandy, contrary to the special position of Prime Minister Winston Churchill, the obstinate Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, who were constantly drawn to Africa and the Balkans, to cope with their no less obstinate generals George Patton or Omar Nelson Bradley - all this says a lot. On the whole, he showed himself to be an outstanding coalition war strategist. Field Marshal Montgomery was a great master of driving troops. He was also a most skilful tactician, outwitting in a number of cases General Rommel, who was considered unsurpassed in this respect.

A number of brilliant operations were carried out in the Pacific zone under the leadership of Army General Douglas MacArthur, who, among all the commanders of the Second World War, had greatest experience organization of interaction and conduct, joint operations by the naval, air forces and ground forces.

Special mention should be made of General de Gaulle, who managed to rally the resistance forces of France and, together with the allied armies, lead them to victory.

As part of the Polish Army, along with the Soviet troops, such talented generals as Stanislav Poplavsky, Zygmund Berling, Karol Swierchevsky, Vladislav Korchits and others fought. The liberation struggle of the Yugoslav people was led by Marshal Josip Broz Tito. The Chinese people fought heroically. In the fight against the Japanese aggressors, its most reliable armed force was the People's Liberation Army of China, which was led by such outstanding commanders as Zhu De, Liu Bocheng, Ping Dehuai, Chen Yi, Yang Jingyu, and others. There were many other capable military leaders in the allied armies. . The activities of each of them took place in the peculiar conditions of that time.

The command of the allied forces, taking advantage of the fact that the main forces of Germany were connected in the east, could postpone the opening of a second front from year to year, waiting for a favorable moment for this.

US Ambassador to the USSR Averell Harriman said: "Roosevelt hoped ... that the Red Army would defeat Hitler's forces and our people would not have to do this dirty work themselves," they sought to get off with material assistance to our country. Therefore, they did not need to put undue pressure on the troops, because they, as a rule, did not fall into emergency conditions, with the exception of May-June 1940 or the battle in the Ardennes in December 1944. As a result of the fascist attack in 1941, the Soviet troops could not choose whether or not to repulse aggression in the border zone, or whether to defend Moscow and Leningrad. They were forced to accept battles where they were forced upon them. This put the command and troops in emergency conditions.

At the same time, our military leaders also had their advantages over the Western allies. The political leadership of the country ensured the mobilization of all the forces of the people to repel fascist aggression, the equipping of the armed forces with first-class weapons, and their nationwide support.

THE BEST SOLDIERS IN THE WORLD

The landing of American troops in the Philippines. In the foreground is General MacArthur. A photo National Administration archives and documentation. 1944

Firstly, excessively harsh interference in operational-political issues sometimes hindered the implementation of the most expedient decisions and methods of action, forced our military leaders to spend enormous efforts on overcoming artificially created crises and difficulties, and complicated the full realization of their military leadership abilities. for being too persistent and strategic initiative Zhukov already in July 1941 completely lost his post as chief of the General Staff. Therefore, as William Spar rightly writes, "Zhukov's brilliant insights were not always in demand by political leadership."

Secondly, due to the miscalculations of the military-political leadership, the intransigence of military-political goals and the fierceness of the armed struggle, the situation on the Soviet-German front dictated a very strict framework in which it was necessary to build military leadership and exercise command and control. None of the former commanders of the allied armies had to act in such unusually difficult, emergency conditions as our commanders.

And if our commanders and soldiers near Moscow, Leningrad, Stalingrad, in the name of "humanism", at the first failure, added up, as some formations of the allied forces did (for example, in Singapore in 1942), then the Nazis would have achieved their goal, and the whole world Today I would live a completely different life. Therefore, in a wide historical plan the so-called Zhukovsky approach ultimately turned out to be more humane.

Thirdly, the decisions and methods of action of Zhukov, Vasilevsky, Rokossovsky, Konev, Malinovsky, Govorov and other commanders not only took into account the unusually complex, peculiar conditions of the current situation to the greatest extent, but also allowed them to extract such benefits for themselves, to turn the prevailing circumstances in such a way to the detriment of the enemy, with such indomitable will and organizational acumen to implement their decisions that they could most effectively solve strategic, operational-tactical tasks and win victories where other military leaders suffered defeats or did not even try to solve them.

Not only in military style, but also in personal character, military leaders cannot be the same.

Of course, it would be ideal if it were possible to combine Zhukov's outstanding military leadership qualities and the rock-hard character with personal charm and sensitivity to Rokossovsky's people. According to the story of Semyon Konstantinovich Timoshenko, Stalin jokingly said: “If Zhukov and Vasilevsky were put together and then divided in half, we would get two of the best commanders. But that doesn't work in real life."

Luckily for us, the war brought forth a whole constellation of talented commanders who, in solving various problems, complemented each other well.

STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF THE ENEMY

Soviet military art shaped the military art of our military leaders during the war in a fierce confrontation with the very strong military art of Germany. In the military science and military art of Germany, very sophisticated forms and methods of disinformation and achieving surprise actions, preempting the enemy in strategic deployment, massive use of the Air Force to gain air supremacy and continuous support for the actions of the Ground Forces in the main directions were most fully developed.

From the point of view of military art, the most powerful side of the German command was the ability to constantly maneuver forces and means both on the offensive and in defense, quickly shift efforts from one direction to another, and good interaction between the Ground Forces and aviation. We emphasize once again that, as a rule, the German commanders and commanders sought to bypass the strong centers of resistance of our troops, quickly transferred strikes from one direction to another and skillfully used the gaps in the operational and combat formation of our troops to curtail the defense towards the flanks and develop an offensive in depth . For the sake of objectivity, it must be admitted that such operations as the encirclement and destruction of the advancing Soviet troops near Kharkov in the spring of 1942 or the actions of General Manstein to defeat our troops in the Crimea in 1942 and some others were carried out with great military skill.

The German commanders and commanders acted more flexibly in defense. They, unlike us, did not always adhere to the principle of tough defense and, when the situation required, they withdrew troops to new lines. For example, during the Byelorussian offensive operation, when a gap of 400 km was formed in the operational formation of the Nazi troops, the German command did not stretch the remaining forces to plug this gap. It assembled a strike force and delivered a counterattack on the Soviet troops in the center of this empty space. Thus, they forced our troops to engage in battle and stop the offensive. At the same time, in the rear, they began to create a new line of defense, and thanks to this unexpected and bold blow, they bought time to create it. Zhukov considered such a decision bold and smart.

In the second half of the war, the German command, however, was unable to solve the problem of preparing and conducting defensive operations capable of successfully resisting the powerful offensive operations of the Soviet troops. Beginning in the autumn of 1942, the actions of the German command were no longer distinguished by either particular flexibility or creativity.

In general, Zhukov, Vasilevsky, Rokossovsky, Konev and our other military leaders paid tribute to the military professionalism of the generals of the Nazi army. At the beginning of the war, the commanders of the groups of troops Leeb, Bock, Rundstedt, undoubtedly, had more experience in command and control of large groupings of troops in a combat situation than, say, our front commanders Kuznetsov, Pavlov and Kirponos.

However, a closer look, not only from the point of view of the results military activities and the lost war as a whole, and even according to the formal criteria for military service, as Ivan Stepanovich Konev wrote about, the German professional system was far from perfect. At least among the 25 field marshals of the Third Reich, there was not a single one who, like Zhukov, Konev, Rokossovsky, Eremenko, Meretskov and others, in the words of Churchill, passed military service according to established order". Even such campaigners as Manstein and Guderian.

On this occasion, Liddell Hart wrote: “The general opinion among the generals whom I had to interrogate in 1945 was that Field Marshal von Manstein showed himself to be the most talented commander in the entire army and that they would first of all want to see him in the role commander-in-chief." How did Manstein go through military service?

At the start of World War I, he was an adjutant in a reserve regiment. In 1914 he was wounded and after that he served in the headquarters. Finished the war as a captain. During the years of the Weimar Republic, he also served in the headquarters and until 1931 only briefly commanded a company and a battalion. With the advent of Hitler to power, he immediately becomes the chief of staff of the military district. In 1936 he was promoted to the rank of general, and the following year he became deputy chief of the General Staff. During the war with France in 1940 he commanded a corps in the second echelon. In 1941 he commanded a corps on the Soviet-German front, and then was transferred to the south and took command of the 11th Army, where he showed himself to be a truly outstanding commander. After an unsuccessful attempt to release the encircled Paulus group near Stalingrad, he commanded Army Group South. After the failure of Hitler's plans to consolidate on the border of the Dnieper in March 1944, he was removed from his post and no longer fought. Rommel's service was about the same. Of course, this is a big and harsh military school, but you can’t compare it, say, with the combat experience of the same Konev, who almost from the beginning to the end of the war continuously commanded fronts in the most important strategic directions.

The battle of Stalingrad clearly showed whose military school is better. Photo by the German Federal Archives. 1943

Samuel Mitcham, considering the biographies of German field marshals, emphasizes that by the time Hitler came to power, none of the field marshals had been in active service for more than 10 years. Over the next 10 years, Hitler awarded the rank of field marshal to 25 senior officers (19 army and six aviation). 23 of them were awarded this title after the surrender of France in June 1940.

Field marshals - the elite of Germany - having behind them the centuries-old traditions of Prussian militarism, inspired reverence, respect and fear. After the victory over Poland and France, an aura of invincibility was created around them and the German army as a whole. But the myth of the invincibility of the Nazi army was crushed already in 1941 near Moscow, when over 30 field marshals, generals and senior officers were removed from their posts.

After the defeat at Stalingrad and the capture of Field Marshal Paulus, Hitler gave his word not to assign the field marshal rank to anyone else, but nevertheless, by the end of the war, he was forced to grant this highest military rank to several generals. Of the 19 field marshals, only two remained in active service by the end of the war. Several people died, three committed suicide, others were executed for attempting to assassinate Hitler or died in prison (four) when war criminal trials began after the war.

AT Soviet army many commanders of fronts and armies (Zhukov, Konev, Rokossovsky, Eremenko, Meretskov, Malinovsky, Govorov, Grechko, Moskalenko, Batov, etc.) started the war and ended it at the highest positions of the operational-strategic level.

From the field marshals of the Wehrmacht, who started the war, by the end of the war, in essence, there was no one left. The war wiped them all out.

Samuel W. Mitcham wrote his book on the basis of what the German field marshals themselves told and wrote. Of course, in a number of cases he follows their lead, but as a result of his research, even he comes to the conclusion: “On the whole, Hitler's field marshals were a galaxy of surprisingly mediocre military figures. And you can’t even call them geniuses of science to defeat them. ”

Not all of our military leaders managed to finish their studies at military academies. But no matter how strange it may seem to adherents of everything alien, there were such among the German field marshals. The same Keitel (the highest-ranking military executive in Nazi Germany) Nuremberg Trials confessed: "I never studied at a military academy." This is also evidenced by many captured documents, testimonies of the highest German leaders.

After the war, among the captured documents of the German command, a dossier was found on Soviet military leaders. On March 18, 1945, Goebbels (at that time the Commissar of Defense of Berlin) wrote about this dossier in his diary: “The General Staff presented me with a file containing biographies and portraits of Soviet generals and marshals ... These marshals and generals are almost all no older than 50 years. With rich political and revolutionary activity behind them, convinced Bolsheviks are exceptionally energetic people, and it is clear from their faces that they are of national origin ... In a word, one has to come to the unpleasant conviction that the military leadership of the Soviet Union consists of better classes than ours ..."

When Field Marshal Paulus acted as a witness at the Nuremberg trials, Goering's defender tried to accuse him of teaching at the Soviet military academy, allegedly being in captivity. Paulus replied: "Soviet military strategy turned out to be so much higher than ours that the Russians could hardly need me even to teach at the school of non-commissioned officers. The best of that the proof is the outcome of the battle on the Volga, as a result of which I was taken prisoner, and also the fact that all these gentlemen are sitting here in the dock.”

But the above forced recognition of our superiority in the art of war from the outside former leaders fascist Germany does not cancel the fact that the fascist German army (both at the highest and especially at the tactical level of officers and non-commissioned officers) was a highly professional army and the Soviet armed forces, together with our allies, defeated a really strong enemy.

SOVIET SUPERIORITY

Soviet military science and military art showed their undeniable superiority. In general, our officers including generals. There were also renegades like Vlasov. But most of the generals, being constantly among the troops, and often on the front lines, were completely scorched by the war and passed the combat test. There are many different documentary and living testimonies about their high authority in the troops. It is enough to refer to Alexander Matrosov's dying letter: “I saw how my comrades were dying. And today the battalion commander told the story of how one general died, he died, facing the West. But if I am destined to die, I would like to die like this general of ours: in battle and facing the West.

In total, by the beginning of the war, there were about 1,106 generals and admirals in the Soviet Armed Forces. During the war, another 3,700 people received this title. Total 4800 generals and admirals. Of these, 235 generals died in battle, and in total, due to illness, as a result of accidents, repressions, the loss of generals and admirals amounted to more than 500 people.

There were more than 1,500 generals and admirals in the German armed forces. In order to understand the difference in the number of senior officers, two circumstances must be taken into account. Firstly, we had a greater number of associations and connections, which gave us the opportunity, while maintaining the backbone of connections, to replenish and restore connections in a shorter time. Secondly, it should be borne in mind that, in addition to the German army, Hungarian, Romanian, Finnish, and Italian generals fought against us. In addition, part of the Soviet troops (forces) and the generals who led them were constantly in the Far East.

With all this in mind, with an objective approach, the combat experience of the Second World War and the military heritage of our generals must be perceived as a multifaceted, integrated experience of all the armies and navies that fought, where both acquisitions and costs of military professional skills are intertwined.

However, unfortunately, among some part of the new generation of military leaders, interest in the experience of the Second World War is increasingly fading. But in principle, the experience of any war never completely becomes obsolete and cannot become obsolete, unless, of course, we consider it not as an object of copying and blind imitation, but as a clot of military wisdom, where everything instructive and negative that was in the past is integrated. military practice, and the laws of development and principles of military affairs that follow from this. From combat experience in this sense, not a single war or battle, both the oldest and the newest, can not be excluded. In history, more than once, after a big or local war, they tried to present things in such a way that nothing was left of the former military art. But the next war, giving rise to new methods of conducting armed struggle, retained many of the old ones. At least until now in history there has not yet been such a war that would cross out everything that was in the art of war before.

For use in the future, we need not just past experience, not what lies on the surface, but those deep, sometimes hidden, stable processes and phenomena that tend to further development, sometimes manifest themselves in new, completely different forms than it was in the previous war. At the same time, it should be borne in mind that each subsequent war retains less and less elements of the old and more and more gives rise to the new. Therefore, a critical creativity to the experience of any war, including the experience of the Afghan or Chechen war, where the experience of the Great Patriotic War was also used to a large extent (especially in the matter of substantive combat training of units for each battle, taking into account the upcoming specific combat mission) and many new methods of conducting combat operations in a local war in the specific conditions of a mountainous desert area were developed.

In general, in the field of military art, there is a need for a more thorough study of the experience of local wars, military conflicts and a more thorough, deep theoretical development and practical development troops of ways of conducting combat operations in military actions of this kind.

AT recent times when, against the backdrop of American overwhelming technological superiority in the war against obviously weak opponents, the brilliance of military art fades, an information and disinformation campaign is launched in order to depict that traditionally Russian and German military schools, based on the rich experience of waging big wars and the ideas of the military advanced for their time thinkers (such as Suvorov, Milyutin, Dragomirov, Brusilov, Frunze, Tukhachevsky, Svechin, Zhukov, Vasilevsky or Scharnhorst, Moltke, Ludendorff, Keitel, Rundsted, Manstein, Guderian) have outlived themselves.

Now, according to the apologists for virtual and "asymmetric" wars, all past military art should be buried. It is argued that "now gone by the wayside personal qualities a warrior commander capable of demonstrating military skill, courage, fearlessness and courage in battle ... headquarters and computers develop a strategy, technology provides mobility and onslaught ... The same United States, having dispensed with brilliant commanders, won the geopolitical battle and established the actual protectorate over the Balkans.

However, it will be impossible to do without talented generals for a long time to come. The same staffs consist not only of computers. As always, overly addicted people want to quickly part with all the past. There are calls to focus on the American military school. But military cooperation can be beneficial if it is carried out on an equal basis, taking into account the experience and traditions of the armies of different countries.

1. Commanders and commanders of the strategic and operational-strategic level of the USSR.


Zhukov Georgy Konstantinovich (1896-1974)- Marshal of the Soviet Union, Deputy Supreme Commander of the USSR Armed Forces, member of the Supreme Command Headquarters. He 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 Battle of Stalingrad, Kursk, in the Belorussian, Vistula-Oder and Berlin operations.
Vasilevsky Alexander Mikhailovich (1895-1977)- Marshal of the Soviet Union. Chief of the General Staff in 1942-1945, member of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command. He coordinated the actions of a number of fronts in strategic operations, in 1945 he was commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front and commander-in-chief of Soviet troops in the Far East.
Rokossovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich (1896-1968)- Marshal of the Soviet Union, Marshal of Poland. He commanded the Bryansk, Don, Central, Belorussian, 1st and 2nd Belorussian fronts.
Konev Ivan Stepanovich(1897-1973 ) - Marshal of the Soviet Union. He commanded the troops of the Western, Kalinin, Northwestern, Steppe, 2nd and 1st Ukrainian fronts.
Malinovsky Rodion Yakovlevich (1898-1967)- Marshal of the Soviet Union. Since October 1942 - Deputy Commander of the Voronezh Front, Commander of the 2nd Guards Army, Southern, Southwestern, 3rd and 2nd Ukrainian, Transbaikal Fronts.
Govorov Leonid Alexandrovich (1897-1955) - Marshal of the Soviet Union. From June 1942 he commanded the troops of the Leningrad Front, in February-March 1945 he simultaneously coordinated the actions of the 2nd and 3rd Baltic fronts.
Antonov Alexey Innokent'evich (1896-1962)- army General. Since 1942 - First Deputy Chief, Chief (since February 1945) of the General Staff, member of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command.
Timoshenko Semyon Konstantinovich (1895-1970)- Marshal of the Soviet Union. During the Great Patriotic War - People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR, member of the Headquarters of the All-Russian Supreme Command, commander-in-chief of the Western, South-Western directions, from July 1942 he commanded the Stalingrad and North-Western fronts. Since 1943 - the representative of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command on the fronts.
Tolbukhin Fedor Ivanovich (1894-1949)- Marshal of the Soviet Union. At the beginning of the war - chief of staff of the district (front). Since 1942 - Deputy Commander of the Stalingrad Military District, Commander of the 57th and 68th Armies, the Southern, 4th and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts.
Meretskov Kirill Afanasyevich (1897-1968)- Marshal of the Soviet Union. Since the beginning of the war - the representative of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command on the Volkhov and Karelian fronts, commanded the 7th and 4th armies. From December 1941 - commander of the Volkhov, Karelian and 1st Far Eastern fronts. He especially distinguished himself during the defeat of the Japanese Kwantung Army in 1945.
Shaposhnikov Boris Mikhailovich (1882-1945)- Marshal of the Soviet Union. Member of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, Chief of the General Staff in the most difficult period of defensive operations in 1941. He made an important contribution to the organization of the defense of Moscow and the transition of the Red Army to the counteroffensive. From May 1942 - Deputy People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR, head of the Military Academy of the General Staff.
Chernyakhovsky Ivan Danilovich (1906-1945)- army General. He commanded a tank corps, the 60th Army, from April 1944 - the 3rd Belorussian Front. Mortally wounded in February 1945.
Vatutin Nikolay Fedorovich (1901-1944)- army General. Since June 1941 - Chief of Staff of the North-Western Front, First Deputy Chief of the General Staff, Commander of the Voronezh, South-Western and 1st Ukrainian Fronts. He showed the highest military art in the Battle of Kursk, when crossing the river. Dnieper and the liberation of Kyiv, in the Korsun-Shevchenko operation. Mortally wounded in action in February 1944.
Bagramyan Ivan Khristoforovich (1897-1982)- Marshal of the Soviet Union. Chief of Staff of the Southwestern Front, then at the same time the headquarters of the troops of the Southwestern direction, commander of the 16th (11th Guards) Army. From 1943 he commanded the troops of the 1st Baltic and 3rd Belorussian fronts.
Eremenko Andrei Ivanovich (1892-1970)- Marshal of the Soviet Union. He commanded the Bryansk Front, the 4th Shock Army, the South-Eastern, Stalingrad, Southern, Kalinin, 1st Baltic Fronts, the Separate Primorsky Army, the 2nd Baltic and 4th Ukrainian Fronts. Particularly distinguished himself in the Battle of Stalingrad.
Petrov Ivan Efimovich (1896-1958)- army General. From May 1943 - Commander of the North Caucasian Front, 33rd Army, 2nd Belorussian and 4th Ukrainian Fronts, Chief of Staff of the 1st Ukrainian Front.

II. GENERAL LEADERS AND LEADERS OF THE ALLIED ARMIES OF THE USA

Eisenhower Dwight David (1890-1969)- American statesman and military figure, army general. Commander of American Forces in Europe from 1942, Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Western Europe from 1943-1945.
MacArthur Douglas (1880-1964)- army General. Commander of the US armed forces in the Far East in 1941-1942, since 1942 - commander of the allied forces in the southwestern part of the Pacific Ocean.
Marshall George Catlett (1880-1959) - General of the Army. Chief of Staff of the US Army in 1939-1945, one of the main authors of the military-strategic plans of the US and Great Britain in World War II.
Lehi William (1875-1959)- Admiral of the Fleet. Chairman of the Committee of Chiefs of Staff, at the same time - Chief of Staff under the Supreme Commander of the US Armed Forces in 1942-1945.
Halsey William (1882-1959)- Admiral of the Fleet. He commanded the 3rd Fleet, led the American forces in the battles for the Solomon Islands in 1943.
Patton George Smith Jr. (1885-1945)- general. Since 1942, he commanded an operational group of troops in North Africa, in 1944-1945. - 7th and 3rd American armies in Europe, skillfully used tank troops.
Bradley Omar Nelson (1893-1981)- army General. Commander of the 12th Army Group of the Allied Forces in Europe in 1942-1945.
King Ernest (1878-1956)- Admiral of the Fleet. Commander-in-Chief of the US Navy, Chief of Naval Operations in 1942-1945.
Nimitz Chester (1885-1966) - admiral. Commander of the US Armed Forces in the Central Pacific from 1942-1945.
Arnold Henry (1886-1950)- army General. In 1942-1945. - Chief of Staff of the United States Army Air Forces.
Clark Mark (1896-1984) - general. Commander of the 5th American Army in Italy in 1943-1945. He became famous for his landing operation in the Salerno area (Operation Avalanche).
Spaats Karl (1891-1974)- general. Commander of the US Strategic Air Forces in Europe. He led strategic aviation operations during the air attack on Germany.

Great Britain

Montgomery Bernard Low (1887-1976)- field marshal. From July 1942 - Commander of the 8th British Army in Africa. During the Normandy operation he commanded an army group. In 1945 - Commander-in-Chief of the British occupation forces in Germany.
Brooke Alan Francis (1883-1963)- field marshal. He commanded the British army corps in France, in 1940-1941. metropolitan troops. In 1941-1946. - Chief of the Imperial General Staff.
Alexander Harold (1891- 1969)- field marshal. In 1941-1942. commander of the British troops in Burma. In 1943, he commanded the 18th Army Group in Tunisia and the 15th Allied Army Group, which landed on about. Sicily and Italy. From December 1944 - Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations.
Andrew Cunningham (1883-1963)- Admiral. Commander of the British Fleet in the Eastern Mediterranean in 1940-1941.
Harris Arthur Travers (1892-1984)- Air Marshal. Commander of the bomber aviation, which carried out the "air attack" on Germany in 1942-1945.
Tedder Arthur (1890-1967)- Air Chief Marshal Deputy Supreme Commander of the United Armed Forces in Europe Eisenhower for Aviation during the second front in Western Europe in 1944-1945.
Wavell Archibald (1883-1950)- field marshal. Commander of the British troops in East Africa in 1940-1941. In 1942-1945. - Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces in Southeast Asia.
France

De Tassigny Jean de Latre (1889-1952)- Marshal of France. From September 1943 - Commander-in-Chief of the "Fighting France", from June 1944 - Commander of the 1st French Army.
Juin Alphonse (1888-1967)- Marshal of France. Since 1942 - commander of the "Fighting France" in Tunisia. In 1944-1945. - commander of the French expeditionary force in Italy.

III. THE MOST PROMINENT COMMANDERS, NAVEL COMMANDERS OF THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR (ON THE ENEMY'S SIDE)
Germany
Rundstedt Karl Rudolf (1875-1953)- Field Marshal General. During World War II, he commanded Army Group South and Army Group A during the attack on Poland and France. He headed the Army Group "South" on the Soviet-German front (until November 1941). From 1942 to July 1944 and from September 1944 - Commander-in-Chief of the German Forces in the West.
Manstein Erich von Lewinsky (1887-1973)- Field Marshal General. In the French campaign of 1940 he commanded a corps, on the Soviet-German front - a corps, an army, in 1942-1944. - Army Group "Don" and "South".
Keitel Wilhelm (1882-1946) - Field Marshal General. In 1938-1945. - Chief of Staff of the Supreme High Command of the Armed Forces.
Kleist Ewald (1881-1954)- Field Marshal General. During World War II, he commanded a tank corps and a tank group operating against Poland, France, and Yugoslavia. On the Soviet-German front, he commanded a tank group (army), in 1942-1944. - Army Group A.

Guderian Heinz Wilhelm (1888-1954)- Colonel General. During World War II he commanded a tank corps, a group and an army. In December 1941, after the defeat near Moscow, he was removed from his post. In 1944-1945. - Chief of the General Staff of the Ground Forces.

Rommel Erwin (1891-1944)- Field Marshal General. In 1941-1943. commanded the German Expeditionary Force in North Africa, Army Group B in Northern Italy, in 1943-1944. - Army Group "B" in France.
Doenitz Karl (1891-1980)- Grand Admiral. Commander of the submarine fleet (1936-1943), commander-in-chief of the Nazi German Navy (1943-1945). At the beginning of May 1945 - Reich Chancellor and Supreme Commander.
Keselring Albert (1885- 1960)- Field Marshal General. He commanded air fleets operating against Poland, Holland, France, and England. At the beginning of the war with the USSR, he commanded the 2nd air fleet. From December 1941 - Commander-in-Chief of the Nazi troops of the South-West (Mediterranean - Italy), in 1945 - the troops of the West (West Germany).
Finland

Mannerheim Carl Gustav Emil (1867-1951)- military and statesman of Finland, marshal. Commander-in-Chief of the Finnish Army in the wars against the USSR in 1939-1940. and 1941-1944
Japan

Yamamoto Isoroku (1884-1943)- Admiral. During the Second World War - Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese Navy. He carried out the operation to defeat the American fleet at Pearl Harbor in December 1941.

The highest ranks of the military command have always enjoyed respect. But how long has this title existed? And who were those people who led the armies and fronts, making history during one of the most grandiose military conflicts of mankind?

Who are the generals of World War II?

Until 1940 there was no air force the Soviet Union of this rank. His counterparts were commanders, commanders, army commanders, commissars. True, in September 1935 the rank of marshal appeared, which was awarded to five people. But before the war, only two of them survived.

In May 1940, for the first time, a little over a thousand people were nominated for the rank of general and admiral. There were 1056 people in this rank. By May 1945, their number had reached 5,597.

Among the dead and missing from 1940 to 1945, there are 421 generals and admirals.

Let's take a closer look and name the prominent military leaders by last name.

Ground commanders

Even being in the highest ranks, a soldier remains a soldier. And he is not at all immune from death on the battlefield or for the sake of honor. Although there were those who held a different opinion. But we will talk about them in the corresponding section.

So, not all WWII generals survived. I.R. Apanasenko, M.P. Kirponos, I.A. Bogdanov, F.Ya. Kostenko, M.P. Petrov, N.F. Vatutin and I.D. Chernyakhovsky died heroically under various circumstances. M.G. Efremov committed suicide so as not to get the Nazis alive, and D. G. Pavlov was repressed.

The rest of the generals of the Second World War, the list of which will take more than one page, survived and greatly contributed to the victory of the Soviet Union in this conflict.

We will only mention a few. THEM. Baghramyan was twice promoted to the rank of a participant in many offensive operations.

CM. Budyonny is famous not only for his mustache, but also for 3 Gold Star medals received over the years of battles. Participated in and for the Caucasus.

Four times presented to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, a participant in many battles and operations.

He was awarded not only two gold stars. Also, a heavy self-propelled gun mount, Klim Voroshilov, was named in his honor.

Commanders of the air defense fronts

In general, in order to win thousands of battles, you need to have knowledge and experience in many areas. For example, to understand professionally in strategy and tactics, to know all the nuances of various troops, their ability to interact. You also need an unbending will and quick decision-making. These and other qualities make military leaders of the highest officers who can command armies.

The generals of the Second World War also led the troops air defense. Among them, the following names can be mentioned: M.S. Gromadin, P.E. Gudymenko, and G.S. Zashikhin.

But not everyone put honor and loyalty to the Motherland above their own lives and interests. Among the latter, several people can be named.

G.N. Zhilenkov was captured by the Germans near the city of Vyazma. There he pretended to be a private and until 1942 he served in the Wehrmacht as an ordinary driver. But the forester accidentally recognized him. After interrogation and confirmed readiness to cooperate, Georgy Nikolayevich meets with Goebbels and he is appointed as an assistant to Vlasov.

In 1945 he was detained by the Americans. He reported himself to the Soviet counterintelligence, hoping for cooperation, but after the trial was sentenced to death. Execution by hanging was carried out in the Butyrka prison.

V.F. Malyshkin was captured after the Vyazemsky boiler. Immediately expressed a desire to cooperate. He worked in the propaganda department and since 1943 became Vlasov's assistant in this matter.

He was also detained by the Americans, handed over to the Soviet authorities and executed in Butyrka prison.

B.S. Richter, F.I. Trukhin also managed to serve both the Soviet and the German side.

Thus, we see that the generals of the Second World War did not always act heroically. They were ordinary people with their own fears and desires, but also with remarkable talents in the military field.

Commanders of the Wehrmacht

What happened on the other side of the front? Which German generals of World War II became especially famous in battles?

Some of them also died in battles. These are Gunther von Kluge, Fedor von Bock, Georg von Witzleben, Walter Model, Erwin Rommel and others.

Almost all of them were awarded the Order of the Iron Cross, which has been issued since 1939 for three or more successful dangerous operations.

Among the most successful commanders, it is worth noting Hermann Balck, Albert Kesselring, Walter Model, Ferdinand Schörner, who were four knights of this order.

German traitor generals

However, not everything went as smoothly as it might seem. Among the command of the Wehrmacht there were also people who did not agree with the course of events. In search of a better fate, they ended up on the lists of traitors to their homeland.

Vincenz Müller, lieutenant general. In June 1944, he was abandoned with the 4th Army near Minsk. Tippelskirch, the official commander of this unit, left him full authority, fleeing with his staff.

As a result, not receiving support, supplies, provisions, not even having simple cards with intelligence, he was forced to stop resisting and surrender to the Soviet troops.

As we can see, many generals of the Second World War changed their views after they were captured without receiving support. Otto Korfes, for example, was captured at Stalingrad and surrendered in full dress. In the future, he collaborated with the Soviet troops, for which his family in Germany was subjected to severe repression.

Bernard Bechler was also taken prisoner at Stalingrad. The main reason why the officers began to cooperate with the enemy was that they blamed the shortsightedness of Hitler.

It turns out that the generals of the Second World War were ready to serve their country and win battles, but the leadership did not always appreciate their zeal. Resentment, disappointment and other feelings pushed for cooperation with the enemy.

Thus, in the article we figured out a little about who the generals are and talked about the outstanding military leaders of the Second World War.