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{{Short description|Soviet military commander}} {{Short description|Soviet military commander}}
{{Family name hatnote|Stepanovich|Konev|lang=Eastern Slavic}} {{Family name hatnote|Stepanovich|Konev|lang=Eastern Slavic}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{More citations needed|date=March 2008}} {{More citations needed|date=March 2008}}
{{Expand Russian|topic=bio|date=April 2020}}
}}

{{EngvarB|date=November 2017}} {{EngvarB|date=November 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}

{{Expand Russian|Конев, Иван Степанович|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox military person {{Infobox military person
| honorific_prefix = ] | honorific_prefix = ]
| name = Ivan Konev | name = Ivan Konev
| image = File:Ivan Stepanovich Konev.jpg
| native_name = Ива́н Степа́нович Ко́нев
| native_name_lang = ru
| image = Ivan Stepanovich Konev.jpg
| caption = Konev in 1945 | caption = Konev in 1945
| module = {{Infobox officeholder
| embed = yes
| order = ]
| termstart = 14 May 1955
| termend = April 1960
| predecessor = Position created
| successor = ]
| order2 = ] of the ]
|termstart2 = July 1945
|termend2 = 25 April 1946
|predecessor2 = ] (as military commander)
|successor2 = ]
|president2 = ]
|chancellor2 = ]
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1897|12|28}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/321708/Ivan-Stepanovich-Konev|title=Ivan Stepanovich Konev – Soviet general|website=britannica.com|access-date=8 April 2018}}</ref> | birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1897|12|28}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/321708/Ivan-Stepanovich-Konev|title=Ivan Stepanovich Konev – Soviet general|website=britannica.com|access-date=8 April 2018}}</ref>
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1973|5|21|1897|12|28}} | death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1973|5|21|1897|12|28}}
| birth_place = ], ], ], ] | birth_place = ], ], ], ]
| death_place = ], ], ] | death_place = ], ], ]
| placeofburial = ] | resting_place = ]
| allegiance = {{flag|Russian Empire}} (1916–1917)<br/>{{flag|Soviet Russia|1919}} (1917–1922)<br/>{{flag|Soviet Union|1936}} (1922–1962)<br/>
| placeofburial_label =
| branch = {{flagicon|Russian Empire}} ] (1916–1917) <br /> {{flagicon image|Red Army flag.svg}} ] (1917–1946) <br /> {{army|Soviet Union}} (1946–1962)
| nickname =
| serviceyears = 1916–1962
| allegiance = {{flag|Russian Empire}} (1915–1917)<br/>{{flagicon|Russian Empire}} ] (1915–1917)<br />{{flag|Soviet Russia|1919}} (1917–1922)<br/>{{flag|Soviet Union|1936}} (1922–1973)<br/>
| branch = {{flagicon image|Red Army flag.svg}} ] (1917–1946) <br /> {{army|Soviet Union}} (1946–1973) | rank = ] (1944–1962)
| serviceyears = 1915–1973
| rank = ] (1944–1973)
| commands = ]<br />]<br />]<br />]<br/>]<br />]<br />]<br />]<br />] | commands = ]<br />]<br />]<br />]<br/>]<br />]<br />]<br />]<br />]
| battles = {{tree list}}
| battles = ]<br />]<br />]<br />]
* ]
** ]
* ]
* ]
** ]
*** ]
*** ]
*** ]
*** ]
*** ]
*** ]
**** ]
*** ]
*** ]
*** ]
** ]
* ]
{{tree list/end}}
| awards = ] (twice) | awards = ] (twice)
| laterwork = | laterwork =
| native_name = Ива́н Степа́нович Ко́нев
| native_name_lang = ru
}}
}} }}
'''Ivan Stepanovich Konev''' ({{lang-rus|link=no|Ива́н Степа́нович Ко́нев|p=ɪˈvan sʲtʲɪˈpanəvʲɪtɕ ˈkonʲɪf}}; (28 December 1897 – 21 May 1973) was a Soviet general and ] who led ] forces on the ] during ], responsible for taking much of ] Eastern Europe. '''Ivan Stepanovich Konev''' ({{lang-rus|link=no|Ива́н Степа́нович Ко́нев|p=ɪˈvan sʲtʲɪˈpanəvʲɪtɕ ˈkonʲɪf}}; 28 December 1897 – 21 May 1973) was a Soviet general and ] who led ] forces on the ] during ], responsible for taking much of ] ].


Born to a peasant family, Konev was conscripted into the ] in 1916 and fought in ]. In 1919, he joined the ] and served in the ] during the ]. After graduating from ] in 1926, Konev gradually rose through the ranks of the Soviet military. By 1939, he had become a candidate to the ]. Born to a peasant family, Konev was conscripted into the ] in 1916 and fought in ]. In 1919, he joined the ] and served in the ] during the ]. After graduating from ] in 1926, Konev gradually rose through the ranks of the Soviet military. By 1939, he had become a candidate to the ].
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==Military career== ==Military career==
] ]
In the beginning of 1915, he was conscripted into the Imperial Russian Army. Konev was sent to the 2nd Heavy Artillery Brigade at Moscow and then graduated from artillery training courses. Posted to the 2nd Separate Heavy Artillery Battalion (then part of the ]) as a junior sergeant in 1917, he fought in the ] in Galicia in July 1917.<ref name=":0"/> In the beginning of 1915, he was conscripted into the Imperial Russian Army. Konev was sent to the 2nd Heavy Artillery Brigade at Moscow and then graduated from artillery training courses. Posted to the 2nd Separate Heavy Artillery Battalion (then part of the ]) as a junior sergeant in 1917, he fought in the ] in Galicia in July 1917.<ref name=":0"/>


When the ] broke out in November 1917, he was demobilized and returned home; in 1918, he joined the ] and the ], serving as an artilleryman. During the ] of 1917-1923, he served with the Red Army in the Russian ]. His commander at one time was ], a close colleague of ], who later became ] (in office: 1925-1940). (This connection was the key to Konev's subsequent career and to his protection during the ] of the late 1930s.<ref name=denik/>) In his memoirs, he wrote: "Together with a group of demobilized soldiers, I organized the overthrow of the land administration, the confiscation of agricultural land and the imprisonment of traders." He participated in the violent suppression of the 1921 ].<ref name=denik>{{Cite news|url= https://www.denik.cz/ze_sveta/marsal-konev-spatny-velitel-ale-soucasne-muz-ktery-sel-vzdy-tvrde-za-svym-20200911.html|title= Maršál Koněv: špatný velitel, zároveň ale muž, který si šel tvrdě za svým|date= 12 September 2019|website=Deník.cz|language=cs|access-date=24 April 2020|last1=Krupka|first1=Jaroslav}}</ref> When the ] broke out in November 1917, he was demobilized and returned home; in 1918, he joined the ] and the ], serving as an artilleryman. During the ] of 1917-1923, he served with the Red Army in the Russian ]. His commander at one time was ], a close colleague of ], who later became ] (in office: 1925-1940). (This connection was the key to Konev's subsequent career and to his protection during the ] of the late 1930s.<ref name=denik/>) In his memoirs, he wrote: "Together with a group of demobilized soldiers, I organized the overthrow of the land administration, the confiscation of agricultural land and the imprisonment of traders." He participated in the violent suppression of the 1921 ].<ref name=denik>{{Cite news|url= https://www.denik.cz/ze_sveta/marsal-konev-spatny-velitel-ale-soucasne-muz-ktery-sel-vzdy-tvrde-za-svym-20200911.html|title= Maršál Koněv: špatný velitel, zároveň ale muž, který si šel tvrdě za svým|date= 12 September 2019|website=Deník.cz|language=cs|access-date=24 April 2020|last1=Krupka|first1=Jaroslav}}</ref>


In 1926 Konev completed advanced officer training courses at the ], and between then and 1941 he held a series of progressively more senior commands, becoming head first of the ] then of the ]s in 1940 and 1941, respectively. In 1934 he became commander and ] of the ]. In July 1938, he was appointed commander of the ]. In 1937 he became a Deputy of the ] and in 1939 a candidate member of the Party ].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title = Конев Иван Степанович|url = http://www.warheroes.ru/hero/hero.asp?Hero_id=698 |website = warheroes.ru |access-date = 19 February 2016 |language = ru|trans-title = Konev Ivan Stepanovich}}</ref> In 1926 Konev completed advanced officer training courses at the ], and between then and 1941 he held a series of progressively more senior commands, becoming head first of the ] then of the ]s in 1940 and 1941, respectively. In 1934 he became commander and ] of the ]. In July 1938, he was appointed commander of the ]. In 1937 he became a Deputy of the ] and in 1939 a candidate member of the Party ].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title = Конев Иван Степанович|url = http://www.warheroes.ru/hero/hero.asp?Hero_id=698 |website = warheroes.ru |access-date = 19 February 2016 |language = ru|trans-title = Konev Ivan Stepanovich}}</ref>


===World War II=== ===World War II===
When ] ] in June 1941, Konev was assigned command of the ] in the ] region, and waged a series of defensive battles during the Red Army's retreat, first to ] and then to the approaches to Moscow. When ] ] in June 1941, Konev was assigned command of the ] in the ] region, and waged a series of defensive battles during the Red Army's retreat, first to ] and then to the approaches to Moscow.


He commanded the ] from October 1941<ref name=GeorgyZhukov>{{Cite book |last= Zhukov |first= Georgy |title=Marshal of Victory, Volume II |publisher=] Ltd. |year=1974 |isbn=978-1781592915 |page=26}}</ref> to August 1942, playing a key role in the fighting around ] and the ]. For his role in the successful defense of the Soviet capital, Stalin promoted Konev to ]. In the summer of 1942 Konev led the Kalinin Front and later the ] in the ].<ref>Gerasimova, S. (2016) ''The Rzhev Slaughterhouse: The Red Army's Forgotten 15-Month Campaign Against Army Group Center, 1942-1943''. Helion and Company. p. 172. {{ISBN|978-1911096146}}</ref> He commanded the ] from October 1941<ref name=GeorgyZhukov>{{Cite book |last= Zhukov |first= Georgy |title=Marshal of Victory, Volume II |publisher=] Ltd. |year=1974 |isbn=978-1781592915 |page=26}}</ref> to August 1942, playing a key role in the fighting around ] and the ]. For his role in the successful defense of the Soviet capital, Stalin promoted Konev to ]. In the summer of 1942 Konev led the Kalinin Front and later the ] in the ].<ref>Gerasimova, S. (2016) ''The Rzhev Slaughterhouse: The Red Army's Forgotten 15-Month Campaign Against Army Group Center, 1942-1943''. Helion and Company. p. 172. {{ISBN|978-1911096146}}</ref>


Konev held ] (army group) commands for the rest of the war. He commanded the ] until February 1943, the ] February–July 1943, and the ] from July 1943 (later further the ]) until May 1945.<ref name=":0"/> Konev held ] (army group) commands for the rest of the war. He commanded the ] until February 1943, the ] February–July 1943, and the ] from July 1943 (later further the ]) until May 1945.<ref name=":0"/>


] with ] during the Battle of Kursk, 1943]] ] with ] during the Battle of Kursk, 1943]]
He participated in the ], commanding the southern part of the Soviet counter-offensive, the ], where he actively and energetically promoted ] (the use of ] and ]).<ref name=Glantz153>Glantz, David M. (1989) ''Soviet Military Deception in the Second World War''. Routledge. p. 153-154. {{ISBN|0415408598}}</ref> Among the ''maskirovka'' measures he adopted to achieve tactical surprise were the camouflaging of defense lines and depots; dummy units and supply points; a dummy air-defense network; and the use of reconnaissance units to verify the quality of his army's camouflage and deception works. In David Glantz's view, Konev's forces "generated a major portion of the element of surprise".<ref name=Glantz153/> He participated in the ], commanding the southern part of the Soviet counter-offensive, the ], where he actively and energetically promoted ] (the use of ] and ]).<ref name=Glantz153>Glantz, David M. (1989) ''Soviet Military Deception in the Second World War''. Routledge. p. 153-154. {{ISBN|0415408598}}</ref> Among the ''maskirovka'' measures he adopted to achieve tactical surprise were the camouflaging of defense lines and depots; dummy units and supply points; a dummy air-defense network; and the use of reconnaissance units to verify the quality of his army's camouflage and deception works. In David Glantz's view, Konev's forces "generated a major portion of the element of surprise".<ref name=Glantz153/>


As a result, the Germans seriously underestimated the strength of the Soviet defenses. The commander of the ] of the ''Wehrmacht'', ], wrote that "We did not assume that there was even one fourth of what we had to encounter".<ref name=Glantz153/> As a result, the Germans seriously underestimated the strength of the Soviet defenses. The commander of the ] of the ''Wehrmacht'', ], wrote that "We did not assume that there was even one fourth of what we had to encounter".<ref name=Glantz153/>


After the Soviet victory (August 1943) at Kursk, Konev's armies retook ], ], ] and ]. The subsequent ] led to the ] which took place from 24 January to 16 February 1944. The offensive was part of the ]. In it, the 1st and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts, commanded, respectively, by ] and by Konev, trapped German forces of ] in a pocket or "cauldron" west of the ]. During weeks of fighting, the two Red Army Fronts tried to eradicate the pocket; the subsequent ] eliminated the cauldron. According to ], Konev openly boasted of his killing of thousands of German prisoners of war: "The cavalry finally finished them off. 'We let the Cossacks cut up as long as they wished. They even hacked off the hands of those who raised them to surrender' the Marshal recounted with a smile."<ref name="Djilas">{{cite book|title= Conversations with Stalin|last= Djilas|first= Milovan|year= 1962|publisher= Harcourt, Brace & Company|location= Orlando, Florida|isbn= 0-15-622591-3|url-access= registration|url= https://archive.org/details/conversationswit0000djil|page=54}}</ref> After the Soviet victory (August 1943) at Kursk, Konev's armies retook ], ], ] and ]. The subsequent ] led to the ] which took place from 24 January to 16 February 1944. The offensive was part of the ]. In it, the 1st and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts, commanded, respectively, by ] and by Konev, trapped German forces of ] in a pocket or "cauldron" west of the ]. During weeks of fighting, the two Red Army Fronts tried to eradicate the pocket; the subsequent ] eliminated the cauldron. According to ], Konev openly boasted of his killing of thousands of German prisoners of war: "The cavalry finally finished them off. 'We let the Cossacks cut up as long as they wished. They even hacked off the hands of those who raised them to surrender' the Marshal recounted with a smile."<ref name="Djilas">{{cite book|title= Conversations with Stalin|last= Djilas|first= Milovan|year= 1962|publisher= Harcourt, Brace & Company|location= Orlando, Florida|isbn= 0-15-622591-3|url-access= registration|url= https://archive.org/details/conversationswit0000djil|page=54}}</ref>


] ]


For Konev's achievements in Ukraine, the ] promoted him to ] in February 1944.<ref> // Ведомости Верховного Совета Союза Советских Социалистических Республик : газета. — 1944. — 29 февраля (№ 12 (272)). — С. 1</ref> Konev was one of Stalin's favorite generals and one of the few senior commanders whom even Stalin admired for his ruthlessness.<ref>{{Cite web|url= https://ww2db.com/person_bio.php?person_id=35|title=Ivan Konev|last=Chen|first=Peter|website=World War II Database |access-date=19 February 2018}}</ref> For Konev's achievements in Ukraine, the ] promoted him to ] in February 1944.<ref> // Ведомости Верховного Совета Союза Советских Социалистических Республик : газета. — 1944. — 29 февраля (№ 12 (272)). — С. 1</ref> Konev was one of Stalin's favorite generals and one of the few senior commanders whom even Stalin admired for his ruthlessness.<ref>{{Cite web|url= https://ww2db.com/person_bio.php?person_id=35|title=Ivan Konev|last=Chen|first=Peter|website=World War II Database |access-date=19 February 2018}}</ref>


During 1944 Konev's armies advanced from ] and ] into ] and later into ]. In May 1944 he participated in an unsuccessful invasion of the ], (the ]) together with Generals ] and ].<ref> During 1944 Konev's armies advanced from ] and ] into ] and later into ]. In May 1944 he participated in an unsuccessful invasion of the ], (the ]) together with Generals ] and ].<ref>
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</ref> </ref>


By July he had advanced to the ] River in central Poland, and was awarded the title of ]. In September 1944 his forces, now designated the ], advanced into ] and fought alongside the ] in their ]. By July, he had advanced to the ] River in central Poland, and was awarded the title of ]. In September 1944 his forces, now designated the ], advanced into ] and fought alongside the ] in their ].

In January 1945 Konev, together with ], commanded the Soviet armies which launched ] in western Poland, driving the German forces from the Vistula to the ]. In southern Poland his armies seized ] (18 January 1945). Soviet historians, and generally Russian sources, claimed that Konev preserved Kraków from Nazi-planned destruction by ordering a lightning attack on the city.<ref name=Gareev>], {{webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071013152242/http://redstar.ru/55_yar/12_04_1.html |date=13 October 2007 }}, '']'', 12 April 2001</ref> Konev's January 1945 offensive also prevented planned destruction of the ]n industry by the retreating Germans.


] ]


In January 1945, Konev, together with ], commanded the Soviet armies which launched ] in western Poland, driving the German forces from the Vistula to the ]. In southern Poland his armies seized ] (18 January 1945). Soviet historians, and generally Russian sources, claimed that Konev preserved Kraków from Nazi-planned destruction by ordering a lightning attack on the city.<ref name=Gareev>], {{webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071013152242/http://redstar.ru/55_yar/12_04_1.html |date=13 October 2007 }}, '']'', 12 April 2001</ref> Konev's January 1945 offensive also prevented planned destruction of the ]n industry by the retreating Germans.
In April Konev's troops, together with the ] under his competitor, Marshal Zhukov, forced the line of the Oder and advanced towards ]. Konev's forces entered the city first, but Stalin gave Zhukov the honor of ] and hoisting the Soviet flag over the ]. Konev was ordered to the south-west, where his forces linked up with elements of the ] at ] (25 April 1945) and also retook ] (9 May 1945) shortly after the official surrender of the German forces.

In April Konev's troops, together with the ] under his competitor, Marshal Zhukov, forced the line of the Oder and advanced towards ]. Konev's forces entered the city first, but Stalin gave Zhukov the honor of ] and hoisting the Soviet flag over the ]. Konev was ordered to the south-west, where his forces linked up with elements of the ] at ] (25 April 1945) and also retook ] (9 May 1945) shortly after the official surrender of the German forces.


===Post-war career=== ===Post-war career===
]
After the war the Soviet Union appointed Konev as head of the Soviet occupation forces in ] and also Allied High Commissioner for ]. In 1946 he became Commander-in-Chief of the ] and First Deputy Minister of Defense of the Soviet Union, replacing Zhukov. He held these posts until 1950, when he was appointed commander of the ]. He held this post until 1960, when he retired from active service. In 1961–62, however, he was recalled and was again commander of the Soviet forces in ], where he ordered the closing of ] to ] during the construction of the ].<ref name="pz">{{Cite web|url=https://www.pragerzeitung.cz/ein-umstrittener-held-der-sowjetunion/|title=Ein umstrittener Held der Sowjetunion|date=1 June 2016|website=Prager Zeitung |language= de|access-date=24 April 2020}}</ref> He was then appointed to the largely ceremonial post of Inspector-General of the Defense Ministry. After the war the Soviet Union appointed Konev as head of the Soviet occupation forces in ] and also Allied High Commissioner for ]. In 1946 he became Commander-in-Chief of the ] and First Deputy Minister of Defense of the Soviet Union, replacing Zhukov. He held these posts until 1950, when he was appointed commander of the ]. He held this post until 1960, when he retired from active service. In 1961–62, however, he was recalled and was again commander of the Soviet forces in ], where he ordered the closing of ] to ] during the construction of the ].<ref name="pz">{{Cite web|url=https://www.pragerzeitung.cz/ein-umstrittener-held-der-sowjetunion/|title=Ein umstrittener Held der Sowjetunion|date=1 June 2016|website=Prager Zeitung |language= de|access-date=24 April 2020}}</ref> He was then appointed to the largely ceremonial post of Inspector-General of the Defense Ministry.


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]]] ]]]


The British military historian ] wrote that he was surprised with the extent of personal archives (''lichnye arkhivy'') held by former Red Army soldiers of many ranks, and that "there is no substitute for having the late Marshal Koniev (sic) – spectacles perched on nose – read from his own personal notebook, detailing operational orders, his own personal instructions to select commanders and his tally of Soviet casualties. And while on the subject of casualties, Marshal Koniev made it plain that, though such figures did exist, he was not prepared on his own authority to allow certain figures to be released for publication while a number of commanders were still alive."<ref> {{cite book |last= Erickson |first= John |title= The Road to Stalingrad: Stalin's War with Germany Volume One |orig-year= 1975 |year= 2003 |publisher= Cassell |location= London |isbn= 0-304-36541-6 |page= 474 }} </ref> The British military historian ] wrote that he was surprised with the extent of personal archives (''lichnye arkhivy'') held by former Red Army soldiers of many ranks, and that "there is no substitute for having the late Marshal Koniev (sic) – spectacles perched on nose – read from his own personal notebook, detailing operational orders, his own personal instructions to select commanders and his tally of Soviet casualties. And while on the subject of casualties, Marshal Koniev made it plain that, though such figures did exist, he was not prepared on his own authority to allow certain figures to be released for publication while a number of commanders were still alive."<ref>{{cite book |last= Erickson |first= John |title= The Road to Stalingrad: Stalin's War with Germany Volume One |orig-year= 1975 |year= 2003 |publisher= Cassell |location= London |isbn= 0-304-36541-6 |page= 474 }}</ref>


Konev remained one of the Soviet Union's most admired military figures until his death in 1973. He married twice, and his daughter Nataliya is Dean of the Department of Linguistics and Literature at the ]. Konev remained one of the Soviet Union's most admired military figures until his death in 1973. He married twice, and his daughter Nataliya is Dean of the Department of Linguistics and Literature at the ].
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In 1969, the ] published Konev's 285-page war memoir called ''Forty-Five''. It was later translated into English in the same year and published by ], Moscow. This work discusses Konev's taking of Berlin, Prague, his work with Zhukov, ], his field meeting with General ] and ]. In English, the book was titled ''I. Konev&nbsp;– Year of Victory''. It was also published in Spanish and French under the titles ''El Año 45'' and ''L'an 45'' respectively. In 1969, the ] published Konev's 285-page war memoir called ''Forty-Five''. It was later translated into English in the same year and published by ], Moscow. This work discusses Konev's taking of Berlin, Prague, his work with Zhukov, ], his field meeting with General ] and ]. In English, the book was titled ''I. Konev&nbsp;– Year of Victory''. It was also published in Spanish and French under the titles ''El Año 45'' and ''L'an 45'' respectively.


Konev died on 21 May, 1973 at age 75 in ]. Following his cremation, his ashes were placed in the ] with those of the greatest figures of the USSR, and can still be visited today. Konev died on 21 May 1973 at age 75 in ]. Following his cremation, his ashes were placed in the ] with those of the greatest figures of the USSR, and can still be visited today.


==Monuments== ==Monuments==
Konev has monuments, primarily in Russia. The places include ], ] (] region), ], ], ], ], and ]. Konev has monuments, primarily in Russia. The places include ], ] (] region), ], ], ], ], and ].


On 9 January 1991, his memorial sculpture in Kraków was dismantled less than just 4 years after it had been unveiled. The sculpture was given to the Russian city of ].<ref>]</ref>{{Circular reference|date=October 2020}}<ref>{{cite web|language=pl|title=9 stycznia 1991 r. Pomnik marszałka Iwana Koniewa wywieziony z Krakowa|url=http://nowahistoria.interia.pl/kartka-z-kalendarza/news-9-stycznia-1991-r-pomnik-marszalka-iwana-koniewa-wywieziony-,nId,1086142|date=9 January 2014|publisher=Interia}}</ref> The memorial plaque in front of the apartment building where he lived (three blocks from the ]) is still mounted on the brick wall. On 9 January 1991, his memorial sculpture in Kraków was dismantled less than just 4 years after it had been unveiled. The sculpture was given to the Russian city of ].<ref>]</ref>{{Circular reference|date=October 2020}}<ref>{{cite web|language=pl|title=9 stycznia 1991 r. Pomnik marszałka Iwana Koniewa wywieziony z Krakowa|url=http://nowahistoria.interia.pl/kartka-z-kalendarza/news-9-stycznia-1991-r-pomnik-marszalka-iwana-koniewa-wywieziony-,nId,1086142|date=9 January 2014|publisher=Interia}}</ref> The memorial plaque in front of the apartment building where he lived (three blocks from the ]) is still mounted on the brick wall.


The ] in ] (náměstí Interbrigády) in 1980 became a subject of controversy that escalated in 2018, after which the city administration added explanatory text to the monument, noting the participation of its subject in the suppression of the Hungarian Revolution and the Prague Spring.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://zpravy.aktualne.cz/domaci/u-sochy-marsala-koneva-odhalili-vysvetlujici-desky-prepisuje/r~6408ca48a55011e8b634ac1f6b220ee8/?redirected=1536168691|title=U sochy maršála Koněva odhalili vysvětlující desky. Přepisujete historii, protestovali komunisté|date=21 August 2018|work=ČTK|access-date=21 August 2018|language=cs|trans-title=Explanatory plaque unveiled at Marshal Konev sculpture, Communists protest rewriting of history}}</ref> The monument was removed on 3 April 2020, with the Czech president ] criticizing the removal as "an abuse of the state of emergency".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.novinky.cz/domaci/clanek/praha-6-odstranila-sochu-marsala-koneva-40319208|title=Praha 6 odstranila sochu maršála Koněva|date=3 April 2020|work=ČTK|access-date=3 April 2020|language=cs|trans-title=Prague 6 removed the statue of Marshal Konev}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2020/04/03/controversial-soviet-era-statue-removed-in-prague-a69865 |title=Controversial Soviet-Era Statue Removed in Prague |access-date=18 April 2020 |date=3 April 2020 |work=The Moscow Times |agency=Agence France-Presse}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.radio.cz/en/section/curraffrs/red-is-beautiful-says-mayor-of-prague-6-after-refusing-to-remove-paint-from-vandalised-statue|title='Red is beautiful' says mayor of Prague 6 after refusing to remove paint from vandalised statue|date=23 August 2019}}</ref> Within days, the ] of the Russian Federation announced it would begin a symbolic investigation of the alleged "defiling of symbols of Russia's military glory".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/konev-statue-prague-moscow-criminal-case/30546527.html|title=Moscow Opens Criminal Case Over Removal Of Soviet Marshal's Statue In Prague|date=10 April 2020|website=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty|language=en|access-date=10 April 2020}}</ref> The ] in ] (náměstí Interbrigády) in 1980 became a subject of controversy that escalated in 2018, after which the city administration added explanatory text to the monument, noting the participation of its subject in the suppression of the Hungarian Revolution and the Prague Spring.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://zpravy.aktualne.cz/domaci/u-sochy-marsala-koneva-odhalili-vysvetlujici-desky-prepisuje/r~6408ca48a55011e8b634ac1f6b220ee8/?redirected=1536168691|title=U sochy maršála Koněva odhalili vysvětlující desky. Přepisujete historii, protestovali komunisté|date=21 August 2018|work=ČTK|access-date=21 August 2018|language=cs|trans-title=Explanatory plaque unveiled at Marshal Konev sculpture, Communists protest rewriting of history}}</ref> The monument was removed on 3 April 2020, with the Czech president ] criticizing the removal as "an abuse of the state of emergency".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.novinky.cz/domaci/clanek/praha-6-odstranila-sochu-marsala-koneva-40319208|title=Praha 6 odstranila sochu maršála Koněva|date=3 April 2020|work=ČTK|access-date=3 April 2020|language=cs|trans-title=Prague 6 removed the statue of Marshal Konev}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2020/04/03/controversial-soviet-era-statue-removed-in-prague-a69865 |title=Controversial Soviet-Era Statue Removed in Prague |access-date=18 April 2020 |date=3 April 2020 |work=The Moscow Times |agency=Agence France-Presse}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.radio.cz/en/section/curraffrs/red-is-beautiful-says-mayor-of-prague-6-after-refusing-to-remove-paint-from-vandalised-statue|title='Red is beautiful' says mayor of Prague 6 after refusing to remove paint from vandalised statue|date=23 August 2019}}</ref> Within days, the ] of the Russian Federation announced it would begin a symbolic investigation of the alleged "defiling of symbols of Russia's military glory".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/konev-statue-prague-moscow-criminal-case/30546527.html|title=Moscow Opens Criminal Case Over Removal Of Soviet Marshal's Statue In Prague|date=10 April 2020|website=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty|language=en|access-date=10 April 2020}}</ref>
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Latest revision as of 01:23, 1 December 2024

Soviet military commander In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Stepanovich and the family name is Konev.
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Marshal of the Soviet Union
Ivan Konev
Konev in 1945
1st Supreme Commander of the Unified Armed Forces of the Warsaw Treaty Organization
In office
14 May 1955 – April 1960
Preceded byPosition created
Succeeded byAndrei Grechko
1st High Commissioner of the Soviet occupation of Austria
In office
July 1945 – 25 April 1946
PresidentKarl Renner
ChancellorKarl Renner
Preceded byFyodor Tolbukhin (as military commander)
Succeeded byVladimir Kurasov
Personal details
Born(1897-12-28)28 December 1897
Lodeyno, Nikolsky Uyezd, Vologda Governorate, Russian Empire
Died21 May 1973(1973-05-21) (aged 75)
Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Resting placeKremlin Wall Necropolis
AwardsHero of the Soviet Union (twice)
Military service
Allegiance Russian Empire (1916–1917)
 Soviet Russia (1917–1922)
 Soviet Union (1922–1962)
Branch/serviceRussian Empire Imperial Russian Army (1916–1917)
Red Army (1917–1946)
 Soviet Army (1946–1962)
Years of service1916–1962
RankMarshal of the Soviet Union (1944–1962)
Commands2nd Rifle Division
2nd Red Banner Army
Transbaikal Military District
Steppe Front
Kalinin Front
Western Front
2nd Ukrainian Front
1st Ukrainian Front
Commander of Warsaw Pact Armed Forces
Battles/wars

Ivan Stepanovich Konev (Russian: Ива́н Степа́нович Ко́нев, IPA: [ɪˈvan sʲtʲɪˈpanəvʲɪtɕ ˈkonʲɪf]; 28 December 1897 – 21 May 1973) was a Soviet general and Marshal of the Soviet Union who led Red Army forces on the Eastern Front during World War II, responsible for taking much of Axis-occupied Eastern Europe.

Born to a peasant family, Konev was conscripted into the Imperial Russian Army in 1916 and fought in World War I. In 1919, he joined the Bolsheviks and served in the Red Army during the Russian Civil War. After graduating from Frunze Military Academy in 1926, Konev gradually rose through the ranks of the Soviet military. By 1939, he had become a candidate to the Central Committee of the Communist Party.

Following the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, Konev took part in a series of major campaigns, including the battles of Moscow and Rzhev. Konev further commanded forces in major Soviet offensives at Kursk, in the Dnieper–Carpathian and Vistula–Oder offensives. In February 1944, he was made a Marshal of the Soviet Union. On the eve of German defeat, Konev's 1st Ukrainian Front was pitted against the armies of Georgy Zhukov in the Race to Berlin. Konev was the first Allied commander to enter Prague, the capital of Czechoslovakia, after the Prague uprising.

He replaced Zhukov as commander of Soviet ground forces in 1946. In 1956, he was appointed commander of the Warsaw Pact armed forces, and led the violent suppression of the Hungarian Revolution and Prague Spring. In 1961, as commander of Soviet forces in East Germany, he ordered the closing of West Berlin to East Berlin during the building of the Berlin Wall. Konev remained a popular military figure in the Soviet Union until his death in 1973.

Early life

Konev was born 28 December 1897 in the village of Lodeyno in the Nikolsky Uyezd of Vologda Governorate to a peasant family of Russian ethnicity. Konev graduated from a parish school in the village of Yakovlevskaya Gora in 1906, and later the Nikolo-Pushemsky Zemstvo School in the neighboring village of Schetkino in 1912. At the age of 15, he found work as a forester and lumberjack at Podosinovets and Arkhangelsk.

Military career

Konev as a regimental commander

In the beginning of 1915, he was conscripted into the Imperial Russian Army. Konev was sent to the 2nd Heavy Artillery Brigade at Moscow and then graduated from artillery training courses. Posted to the 2nd Separate Heavy Artillery Battalion (then part of the Southwestern Front) as a junior sergeant in 1917, he fought in the Kerensky Offensive in Galicia in July 1917.

When the October Revolution broke out in November 1917, he was demobilized and returned home; in 1918, he joined the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) and the Red Army, serving as an artilleryman. During the Russian Civil War of 1917-1923, he served with the Red Army in the Russian Far Eastern Republic. His commander at one time was Kliment Voroshilov, a close colleague of Joseph Stalin, who later became People's Commissar for Defense (in office: 1925-1940). (This connection was the key to Konev's subsequent career and to his protection during the Great Purge of the late 1930s.) In his memoirs, he wrote: "Together with a group of demobilized soldiers, I organized the overthrow of the land administration, the confiscation of agricultural land and the imprisonment of traders." He participated in the violent suppression of the 1921 Kronstadt rebellion.

In 1926 Konev completed advanced officer training courses at the Frunze Military Academy, and between then and 1941 he held a series of progressively more senior commands, becoming head first of the Transbaikal then of the North Caucasus Military Districts in 1940 and 1941, respectively. In 1934 he became commander and political commissar of the 37th Rifle Division. In July 1938, he was appointed commander of the 2nd Red Banner Army. In 1937 he became a Deputy of the Supreme Soviet and in 1939 a candidate member of the Party Central Committee.

World War II

When Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, Konev was assigned command of the 19th Army in the Vitebsk region, and waged a series of defensive battles during the Red Army's retreat, first to Smolensk and then to the approaches to Moscow.

He commanded the Kalinin Front from October 1941 to August 1942, playing a key role in the fighting around Moscow and the Soviet counter-offensive during the winter of 1941–42. For his role in the successful defense of the Soviet capital, Stalin promoted Konev to Colonel-General. In the summer of 1942 Konev led the Kalinin Front and later the Western Front in the battle on the Rzhev salient.

Konev held "Front" (army group) commands for the rest of the war. He commanded the Soviet Western Front until February 1943, the North-Western Front February–July 1943, and the 2nd Ukrainian Front from July 1943 (later further the 1st Ukrainian Front) until May 1945.

Konev as commander of the Steppe Front with Georgy Zhukov during the Battle of Kursk, 1943

He participated in the Battle of Kursk, commanding the southern part of the Soviet counter-offensive, the Steppe Front, where he actively and energetically promoted maskirovka (the use of military camouflage and deception). Among the maskirovka measures he adopted to achieve tactical surprise were the camouflaging of defense lines and depots; dummy units and supply points; a dummy air-defense network; and the use of reconnaissance units to verify the quality of his army's camouflage and deception works. In David Glantz's view, Konev's forces "generated a major portion of the element of surprise".

As a result, the Germans seriously underestimated the strength of the Soviet defenses. The commander of the 19th Panzer division of the Wehrmacht, General G. Schmidt, wrote that "We did not assume that there was even one fourth of what we had to encounter".

After the Soviet victory (August 1943) at Kursk, Konev's armies retook Belgorod, Odessa, Kharkiv and Kyiv. The subsequent Korsun–Shevchenkovsky Offensive led to the Battle of the Korsun–Cherkassy Pocket which took place from 24 January to 16 February 1944. The offensive was part of the Dnieper–Carpathian Offensive. In it, the 1st and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts, commanded, respectively, by Nikolai Vatutin and by Konev, trapped German forces of Army Group South in a pocket or "cauldron" west of the Dnieper river. During weeks of fighting, the two Red Army Fronts tried to eradicate the pocket; the subsequent Korsun battle eliminated the cauldron. According to Milovan Djilas, Konev openly boasted of his killing of thousands of German prisoners of war: "The cavalry finally finished them off. 'We let the Cossacks cut up as long as they wished. They even hacked off the hands of those who raised them to surrender' the Marshal recounted with a smile."

Residents of Prague greet Marshal Konev upon the arrival of the Red Army on 9 May 1945

For Konev's achievements in Ukraine, the Presidium promoted him to Marshal of the Soviet Union in February 1944. Konev was one of Stalin's favorite generals and one of the few senior commanders whom even Stalin admired for his ruthlessness.

During 1944 Konev's armies advanced from Ukraine and Belarus into Poland and later into Czechoslovakia. In May 1944 he participated in an unsuccessful invasion of the Balkans, (the first Jassy–Kishinev Offensive) together with Generals Rodion Malinovsky and Fyodor Tolbukhin.

By July, he had advanced to the Vistula River in central Poland, and was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. In September 1944 his forces, now designated the Fourth Ukrainian Front, advanced into Slovakia and fought alongside the Slovak partisans in their rebellion against German occupation.

Ivan Konev (front row, 1st from left) at the Victory Parade, 24 June 1945

In January 1945, Konev, together with Georgy Zhukov, commanded the Soviet armies which launched the massive winter offensive in western Poland, driving the German forces from the Vistula to the Oder River. In southern Poland his armies seized Kraków (18 January 1945). Soviet historians, and generally Russian sources, claimed that Konev preserved Kraków from Nazi-planned destruction by ordering a lightning attack on the city. Konev's January 1945 offensive also prevented planned destruction of the Silesian industry by the retreating Germans.

In April Konev's troops, together with the 1st Belorussian Front under his competitor, Marshal Zhukov, forced the line of the Oder and advanced towards Berlin. Konev's forces entered the city first, but Stalin gave Zhukov the honor of capturing Berlin and hoisting the Soviet flag over the Reichstag. Konev was ordered to the south-west, where his forces linked up with elements of the United States Army at Torgau (25 April 1945) and also retook Prague (9 May 1945) shortly after the official surrender of the German forces.

Post-war career

Konev in Moscow, June 1945

After the war the Soviet Union appointed Konev as head of the Soviet occupation forces in Eastern Germany and also Allied High Commissioner for Austria. In 1946 he became Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Ground Forces and First Deputy Minister of Defense of the Soviet Union, replacing Zhukov. He held these posts until 1950, when he was appointed commander of the Carpathian Military District. He held this post until 1960, when he retired from active service. In 1961–62, however, he was recalled and was again commander of the Soviet forces in East Germany, where he ordered the closing of West Berlin to East Berlin during the construction of the Berlin Wall. He was then appointed to the largely ceremonial post of Inspector-General of the Defense Ministry.

Following the Prague Spring, Konev headed a delegation that visited Czechoslovakia in May 1968 to celebrate the anniversary of the Soviet victory during World War II. After Stalin's death, Konev returned to prominence. He became a key ally of the new party leader Nikita Khrushchev, being entrusted with the trial of the Stalinist police chief Lavrenty Beria in 1953. He was again appointed First Deputy Minister of Defense and commander of Soviet ground forces, posts he held until 1956, when he was named Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Warsaw Pact. Shortly after his appointment he led the suppression of the Hungarian Revolution. It has been claimed that Konev visited military units in Czechoslovakia in order to obtain first-hand information to better assess the situation in the country, but there is no documentary evidence to support this.

Soviet T-54s in Budapest during the suppression of the Hungarian Revolution

The British military historian John Erickson wrote that he was surprised with the extent of personal archives (lichnye arkhivy) held by former Red Army soldiers of many ranks, and that "there is no substitute for having the late Marshal Koniev (sic) – spectacles perched on nose – read from his own personal notebook, detailing operational orders, his own personal instructions to select commanders and his tally of Soviet casualties. And while on the subject of casualties, Marshal Koniev made it plain that, though such figures did exist, he was not prepared on his own authority to allow certain figures to be released for publication while a number of commanders were still alive."

Konev remained one of the Soviet Union's most admired military figures until his death in 1973. He married twice, and his daughter Nataliya is Dean of the Department of Linguistics and Literature at the Military University of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.

In 1969, the Ministry of Defence of the USSR published Konev's 285-page war memoir called Forty-Five. It was later translated into English in the same year and published by Progress Publishers, Moscow. This work discusses Konev's taking of Berlin, Prague, his work with Zhukov, Stalin, his field meeting with General Omar Bradley and Jascha Heifetz. In English, the book was titled I. Konev – Year of Victory. It was also published in Spanish and French under the titles El Año 45 and L'an 45 respectively.

Konev died on 21 May 1973 at age 75 in Moscow. Following his cremation, his ashes were placed in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis with those of the greatest figures of the USSR, and can still be visited today.

Monuments

Konev has monuments, primarily in Russia. The places include Svidník, Patriot Park (Moscow region), Kirov, Belgorod, Nizhny Novgorod, Omsk, and Vologda.

On 9 January 1991, his memorial sculpture in Kraków was dismantled less than just 4 years after it had been unveiled. The sculpture was given to the Russian city of Kirov. The memorial plaque in front of the apartment building where he lived (three blocks from the Kremlin) is still mounted on the brick wall.

The Konev monument erected by the communist government of Czechoslovakia in Prague 6 (náměstí Interbrigády) in 1980 became a subject of controversy that escalated in 2018, after which the city administration added explanatory text to the monument, noting the participation of its subject in the suppression of the Hungarian Revolution and the Prague Spring. The monument was removed on 3 April 2020, with the Czech president Miloš Zeman criticizing the removal as "an abuse of the state of emergency". Within days, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation announced it would begin a symbolic investigation of the alleged "defiling of symbols of Russia's military glory".

Honours and awards

Konev on a 2022 stamp of Russia
Soviet Union
"Gold Star" Hero of the Soviet Union, twice (29 July 1944, 1 June 1945)
Order of Victory (№ 5–3 March 1945)
Seven Orders of Lenin (29 July 1944, 21 February 1945, 27 December 1947, 18 December 1956, 27 December 1957, 27 December 1967, 28 December 1972)
Order of the October Revolution (22 February 1968)
Order of the Red Banner, three times (22 February 1938, 3 November 1944, 20 June 1949)
Order of Suvorov, 1st class, twice (27 August 1943, 17 May 1944)
Order of Kutuzov, 1st class, twice (9 April 1943, 28 July 1943)
Order of the Red Star, (16 August 1936)
Medal "For the Defence of Moscow" (1 May 1944)
Medal "For the Liberation of Prague" (9 June 1945)
Medal "For the Capture of Berlin" (9 June 1945)
Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" (1945)
Jubilee Medal "Twenty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945" (1965)
Jubilee Medal "XX Years of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army" (22 February 1938)
Jubilee Medal "30 Years of the Soviet Army and Navy" (22 February 1948)
Jubilee Medal "40 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" (17 February 1958)
Jubilee Medal "50 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" (1968)
Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin" (1969)
Honorary weapon – sword inscribed with golden national emblem of the Soviet Union (22 February 1968)
  • Honorary citizen of Bălți (Moldova) and other cities
Foreign
Hero of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (28 April 1970)
Hero of the Mongolian People's Republic (Mongolian People's Republic, 7 May 1971)
Patriotic Order of Merit, in silver (East Germany)
Order of Sukhbaatar, twice (Mongolian People's Republic, 1961 and 1971)
Order of the Red Banner (Mongolian People's Republic)
Virtuti Militari, 1st class (Poland)
Cross of Grunwald, 1st class (Poland)
Order of Polonia Restituta, 1st class (Poland)
Golden Order of the Partisan Star (Yugoslavia)
Order of the People's Republic of Bulgaria, 1st class (Bulgaria)
Order of Klement Gottwald (Czechoslovakia)
Order of the White Lion, 1st class (Czechoslovakia)
Military Order of the White Lion, 1st class (Czechoslovakia)
War Cross 1939–1945 (Czechoslovakia)
Order of Merit of the Hungarian People Republic (Hungary)
Order of the Hungarian Freedom (Hungary)
Honorary Knight Commander, Order of the Bath (UK)
Military Cross (UK)
Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour (France)
Croix de guerre 1939–1945 (France)
Chief Commander of the Legion of Merit (USA)
Medal of Sino-Soviet Friendship (China)

References

  1. "Ivan Stepanovich Konev – Soviet general". britannica.com. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  2. ^ "Конев Иван Степанович" [Konev Ivan Stepanovich]. warheroes.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  3. ^ Krupka, Jaroslav (12 September 2019). "Maršál Koněv: špatný velitel, zároveň ale muž, který si šel tvrdě za svým". Deník.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  4. Zhukov, Georgy (1974). Marshal of Victory, Volume II. Pen and Sword Books Ltd. p. 26. ISBN 978-1781592915.
  5. Gerasimova, S. (2016) The Rzhev Slaughterhouse: The Red Army's Forgotten 15-Month Campaign Against Army Group Center, 1942-1943. Helion and Company. p. 172. ISBN 978-1911096146
  6. ^ Glantz, David M. (1989) Soviet Military Deception in the Second World War. Routledge. p. 153-154. ISBN 0415408598
  7. Djilas, Milovan (1962). Conversations with Stalin. Orlando, Florida: Harcourt, Brace & Company. p. 54. ISBN 0-15-622591-3.
  8. Указ Президиума Верховного Совета СССР «О присвоении генералу армии Коневу И. С. военного звания маршала Советского Союза» от 20 февраля 1944 года // Ведомости Верховного Совета Союза Советских Социалистических Республик : газета. — 1944. — 29 февраля (№ 12 (272)). — С. 1
  9. Chen, Peter. "Ivan Konev". World War II Database. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  10. Glantz, David M. (2007). Red Storm Over the Balkans: The Failed Soviet Invasion of Romania, Spring 1944. Modern war studies, ISSN 2691-9508. Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas. ISBN 9780700614653. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
  11. Makhmut Gareev, Marshal Konev Archived 13 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Krasnaia Zvezda, 12 April 2001
  12. "Ein umstrittener Held der Sowjetunion". Prager Zeitung (in German). 1 June 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  13. Kaimakov, Anton (19 June 2018). "Маршал Конев и вторжение 1968" [Marshal Konev and the invasion of 1968]. Czech Radio (in Russian). Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  14. Erickson, John (2003) . The Road to Stalingrad: Stalin's War with Germany Volume One. London: Cassell. p. 474. ISBN 0-304-36541-6.
  15. ru:Памятник маршалу Коневу (Киров
  16. "9 stycznia 1991 r. Pomnik marszałka Iwana Koniewa wywieziony z Krakowa" (in Polish). Interia. 9 January 2014.
  17. "U sochy maršála Koněva odhalili vysvětlující desky. Přepisujete historii, protestovali komunisté" [Explanatory plaque unveiled at Marshal Konev sculpture, Communists protest rewriting of history]. ČTK (in Czech). 21 August 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  18. "Praha 6 odstranila sochu maršála Koněva" [Prague 6 removed the statue of Marshal Konev]. ČTK (in Czech). 3 April 2020. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  19. "Controversial Soviet-Era Statue Removed in Prague". The Moscow Times. Agence France-Presse. 3 April 2020. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  20. "'Red is beautiful' says mayor of Prague 6 after refusing to remove paint from vandalised statue". 23 August 2019.
  21. "Moscow Opens Criminal Case Over Removal Of Soviet Marshal's Statue In Prague". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. 10 April 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2020.

External links

Military offices
Preceded by(none) Supreme Commander of the Unified Armed Forces of the Warsaw Treaty Organization
1955–1960 		Succeeded byAndrei Grechko
Marshals of the Soviet Union
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Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany
(1945–54)		 Soviet Army marking present on GSFG vehicles
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Chiefs of Combined Staff
Camoufleurs
World War I
World War II
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