Biographical Study: MARSHAL OF THE SOVIET UNION K.K. ROKOSSOVSKY AND THE BATTLES OF STALINGRAD AND KURSK
Biographical Study:
MARSHAL OF THE SOVIET
UNION K.K. ROKOSSOVSKY AND THE BATTLES OF STALINGRAD AND KURSK
Introduction
The German Army Group Center had been the bane
of the Russian Stavka (staff) across the Eastern Front during the
Russo-German War (1941-1945). Of the three Army Groups the Germans had invaded
Russia with in 1941, the Center was an incredibly powerful and highly mobile organization.
And due to its geographical focus, it was the most threatening and could strike
for Moscow or reinforce Army Groups North and South.
Army Group Center had been commanded by
Generals Fedor von Bock, Gunther von Kluge, Gunther Blumentritt, Ernst Busch,
Walter Model, and Georg Hans Reinhardt to name a few. Their subordinate
Commanders included such figures as Heinz Guderian, Herman Hoth, Gotthard
Heinrici, Werner Kempf, and Eric Hoepner.
During ‘Operation Bagration’ in 1944,
as the Red Army marched west, the Stavka (Russian General Staff) finally
had the resources to tackle Army Group Center. The Soviets would assemble an
incredible array of tanks, assault guns, artillery, and close air support
aircraft to challenge the scourge that was Army Group Center. Opposing Army
Group Center would be five Soviet Fronts.
The 1st Belorussian Front, in the
van and commanded by General Rokossovski, would tackle the nemesis of the
Soviet Union and the Red Army. An interesting story has been conveyed by
numerous historians of the Russo-German war regarding the character and
principles of Marshal Rokossovsky.
In the May 1944 planning conference for ‘Operation
Bagration,’ the massive Red Army plan to destroy Army Group Center and push
on into Poland, Rokossovsky proposed a double thrusted attack by the 1st
Belorussian Front that would converge on Berezina, Belarus.
Apparently, Stalin was none too pleased and
wanted a single hammer blow across the Dnepr bridgehead. He ordered Rokossovsky
out of the conference room to think it over. This Rokossovsky did. Rokossovsky,
upon re-entry was asked what he thought and he again requested his double
thrust. Stalin ordered him out again. This time others went with him to include
Molotov and Malenkov. Everyone attempted to talk sense into Rokossovsky as he
was disagreeing with none other than Joseph Stalin! “After the third presentation
of his ‘report’, Rokossovsky had convinced Stalin.”[1]
Marshal K.K. Rokossovsky
Marshal Konstantine Konstantinovich Rokossovsky,
Hero of the Soviet Union (twice), seven Orders of Lenin, six Orders of the Red
Banner, and recipient of the Orders of Kutuzov and Suvurov was a Red Army
commander during World War II and fought throughout the Russo-German War as a
commander of armored and combined arms formations from Corps to Army and Front
(a grouping of three to five Armies).
Rokossoovsky was “considered by many senior
wartime German commanders as the Red Army’s best general.”[2]
Rokossovsky was a rare personality among his peers in the Red Army. All
the Soviet Generals who had survived both the Russo-German war and Stalin had
the traits of a ‘survivor.’ But Rokossovsky was known among superiors, peers,
and most importantly, subordinates, as a man who embodied the professional
ethos of a professional soldier; an officer who was physically impressive,
competent, and self-effacing.
“The Deputy Supreme Commander in Chief of the Red Army, Marshal G Zhukov , the Commander of the 21st Army Group, Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery, Marshal Sokolovsky (behind Rokossovsky) and General K Rokossovsky of the Red Army leave the Brandenburg Gate after the ceremony.”[3]
Rokossovsky was of Polish origins. Born in
Warsaw into a family of nobility and enlisted in the Russian Army during World
War I. He served as a common cavalryman in the ‘Great War’ and later, as an
officer in the Civil War against White Russia. Rokossovsky commanded at the
Squadron, Battalion, Regiment, and Brigade level before attending the Frunze
Military Academy. He fought, in 1929, in the Sino-Soviet conflict in Manchuria.
He went on to command at the Division level and “in 1937 he was arrested on
charges of ‘sabotage’ and ‘impairing combat effectiveness.”[4] This was during the height of ‘Stalin’s
Purges’ where many Army, Corps, Division and Brigade commanders were collected
up across Soviet Russia for interrogation, imprisonment or worse. Rokossovsky
was held in prison for over three years, brutally tortured, and yet, never
confessed. The charges were trumped up, as was often the case, and he was
released and returned to active service as the 5th Corps Commander.
During the Russo-German war, Roksossovsky
commanded at Corps level and above. He first took his Corps through the Ukraine
during the initial first year of the war demonstrating an aggressive spirit
even though his counterattacks proved “fruitless.”[5] He fought at the Battles of Moscow and Smolensk
and then, led his “Don Front” in 1942 against the 6th German Army in
Stalingrad. After his success at Stalingrad, Rokossovsky led an offensive west
of Kursk. Although, unsuccessful in the period between the victory of
Stalingrad and on the eve of Kursk, he gained an intimate understanding of the
Kursk area of operations. This understanding he would use against Model and his
9th Army in July 1943.
For his previous commands at Front level
coupled with his aforementioned knowledge of the Kursk are, Rokossovsky was
selected by Marshal Zhukov as “the ideal commander to defend the northern
sector of the Kursk bulge.”[6]
Stalingrad
The summer of 1942 saw the German Army,
although denied a single and decisive campaign in the preceding year, occupy
vast swaths of territory across Russia. From the Baltic states in the North
running south through Belarus on to the Ukraine, ‘Operation Barbarossa’
had delivered incredible territorial gains and captured hundreds of thousands
of Red Army soldiers. The German armored formations, backed up by close air
support from the various Luftwaffe air groups, had chewed up Red Army
formations in rapid succession. The summer of 1942 saw the Germans consolidate
their gains and begin to focus south after their failed attempts to invest
Leningrad and Moscow. Rokossovsky, who had fought hard and lost much during the
Battle of Moscow went on to comment in his memoirs: “we understood that the
war, in its essence, had only just begun, that our victory in this grandiose battle
before Moscow where forces of three fronts had participated, was a paradigm
shift in the course of the entire war, that this victory had accorded us
breathing space, which we needed as much as air itself.”[7]
The Battle of Stalingrad saw the absolute
destruction of the German 6th Army under General von Paulus. The
battle began on 23 August 1942 and formerly ended with the 6th
Army’s surrender on 2 February 1943. The Germans lost over 250,000 men and it
was Rokossovsky that led the encirclement. The ‘Don Front’ under Rokossovsky,
prepared the encirclement operation, ‘Operation Uranus’, and deftly
surrounded the entire 6th Army in November 1942. The 6th
Army possessed upwards of 250,000 soldiers that included Germany’s allies from
Italy, Romania, and Hungary.
‘Operation Ring’ was
planned once the 6th Army was surrounded and it was Rokossovsky who
proposed the division of the Stalingrad ‘cauldron’ between a North and South
zones. “One crucial element in the success was a pragmatic approach to the
critical problem of senior command and control.”[8]
Rokossovsky had to constantly impose authority
while simultaneously identifying and supporting competent subordinate
commanders. This he did in the chaos of Stalingrad. Both ‘Operations Uranus and
Ring’ were successful. Rokossovsky had been at the center of both but it was
the average Red Army soldier who had gained victory but at a terrible price as “the
ruins of Stalingrad were the icon of Red Army stoicism.”[9]
In Rokossovsky, one can immediately see the
stoicism required of any Soviet commander given the climate created by the
Political Commissars, the NKVD, and most importantly, Stalin himself.
Map 1: Rokossovsky’s Encirclement of German 6th Army at Stalingrad. “Operation Uranus” November 1942.[10]
Kursk
With the defeat of the 6th Army and
the halting of German ambitions towards the Caucuses, the Heer (German
Army) refocused on shortening its lines on the Eastern Front in order to
better concentrate combat power. The shortening of the lines would free up
numerous units which then would be available for further decisive operations.
Most importantly, the strategic and political fallout of the loss at Stalingrad
had major consequences with respect to the German Axis allies. Romania,
Hungary, and Italy had taken incredible losses during Stalingrad. The weaker
axis allies were contemplating an exit from continued commitments to the
Eastern Front.
A victory at Kursk would have several
ramifications. Firstly, it would maintain the initiative on behalf of the
German Army. It was hopes as well, that a decisive defeat of the Red Army units
in the Kursk salient would provide numerous Russian prisoners which would be
forced into augmenting the labor shortages across the German armaments
industry. Secondly, a decisive victory would also demonstrate to friends and
foe alike that Germany was still incredibly strong and that her prestige was
maintained.
The battle of Kursk began on 5 July 1943 and
terminated on 23 August 1943. The operations plan was named ‘Fall Zitadelle’
(‘Operation Citadel’). To many historians, the defeat or collapse of the
German offensive at Kursk marked the hand-over of the offensive and initiative
from the Germans to the Soviets.
Map 2: Battle of Kursk and Vicinity, July 1943.[11]
The Stavka and the Red Army
Front commanders had gained much experience during the terrible carnage that
was the 1941-1942 fighting. Post-Stalingrad, the Stavka desiring a
winter offensive, had matured and elected to await the Germans next move. The
bulge or salient, that was Kursk, afforded the Red Army the opportunity to
defend in depth, thereby attriting the German armor and thus, counterattack.
The results of the first few days in
the north (Rokossovsky’s operational area) “had gone largely as the Stavka
and Rokossovsky had anticipated.”[12] Much was sacrificed in Soviet Armor and
personnel. But Russia had plenty of both to replace and rebuild. Rokossovsky
had played an instrumental part in holding the northern portion of the Kursk
salient and would lead the ‘Central Front’ (formerly ‘Don Front’) in the
enormous counterattack. His particular area north of Kursk had held out against
Model’s 9th Army. “Of the two arms, which were meant to converge
across a sixty mile base of the salient, Model’s had fared worse.”[13] A testament to bad luck, a very well prepared
and rehearsed defense, and most importantly, an equal to the tactical and
operational task; Rokossovsky.
Red Army Victory Parade Moscow
1945
Rokossovsky would eventually lead
the Central Front into Poland and after the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, push his
Armies into Germany. Zhukov would beat him to Berlin. But then, Rokossovsky
would stand shoulder to shoulder with him at the ‘Soviet Victory Parade in
Moscow’. The parade in Moscow was set for 24 June, 1945. Stalin would see the
greatest parade in Russian history and he selected his senior two Marshals to
represent the Red Army; Marshal Georgy Zhukov and Marshal Konstantin
Rokossovsky. The salute would be received by Marshal Zhukov, who was actually
Rokossovky’s junior and had served under him at one time. For those who knew
both men, many said “Zhukov was tougher, Rokossovsky smarter.”[14]
The parade commander, however, among all of
the other Marshals in the Red Army, would be none other than Marshal Konstantin
Rokossovsky. Rokossovky “whose torture, humiliation, survival, resilience, and
ultimate military greatness mirrored the experience of Soviet Russia herself.”[15] Zhukov
would ride a white Arab stallion while Rukossovsky rode a black. Their
relationship remained intertwined in the post-war period and both saw their
fortunes rise and fall with the death of Stalin.
For all that Rokossovksy had
accomplished it is of little surprise that his German opposites knew of him and
had their own appraisal of his skill and competence. Rokossovksy “would become
known to the Germans who called him ‘the dagger’ and he was the most tactically
deft commander in the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War.”[16]
Selected Bibliography
Bellamy, Chris Absolute War: Soviet Russia in the Second World War,
New York: Random House Vintage Books, 2007
Clark, Alan Barbarossa,
New York: Quill, 1965
Erickson, John The Road to Berlin, London: Cassell Military Paperbacks, 1983
Glantz, David M. and House, Jonathan M The Battle of Kursk, Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 1999
Merridale, Catherine Ivan’s
War: Life and Death in the Red Army 1939-1945, New York: Metropolitan
Books, 2006
Pleshakov, Constantine Stalin’s
Folly: The Tragic First Ten Days of WWII on the Eastern Front, New York:
Houghton Mifflin, 2005
Woff,Richard
“Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovsky”, in Stalin’s Generals ed Harold Shukman,New York: Grove Press, 1993 p.
177-196
Photographs
War Museum, Imperial “Field Marshal Montgomery
decorates Russian generals at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, 12 July
1945”, War Office official
photographer, Ministry Of
Information Second World War Colour Transparency Collection, TR2913, https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205189188, accessed on 1 September, 2018
Maps
Map#1
United States Military Academy, Department of History. “World War II European
Theater” Map: Battle of Stalingrad, West Point New York: https://www.westpoint.edu/history/SiteAssets/SitePages/World%20War%20II%20Europe/WWIIEurope23b.gif
Map#2
United States Military Academy, Department of History. “World War II European
Theater” Map: Battle of Stalingrad, West Point New York: https://www.westpoint.edu/history/SiteAssets/SitePages/World%20War%20II%20Europe/WWIIEurope27Combined.gif
[1] Erickson,
John The Road to Berlin, London:
Cassell Military Paperbacks: 1983, p.203
[2] Woff,Richard
“Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovsky”, in Stalin’s Generals ed Harold Shukman, New York: Grove Press, 1993 p.
179
[3] War
Museum, Imperial “Field Marshal Montgomery decorates Russian generals
at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, 12 July 1945”, War Office official photographer, Ministry
Of Information Second World War Colour Transparency Collection, TR2913,
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205189188
[4] Glantz,
David and House, Jonathan M The Battle of Kursk, Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 1999,
p.45
[5]
Ibid. p.46
[6]
Ibid. p.46
[7]
Bellamy, Chris
Absolute War: Soviet Russia in the Second World War, New York: Random House
Vintage Books, 2007
[8] Woff,Richard “Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovsky”, in Stalin’s Generals ed Harold Shukman, New
York: Grove Press, 1993 p. 179
[9] Merridale,
Catherine Ivan’s War: Life and Death in the Red Army 1939-1945, New York:
Metropolitan Books, 2006, p. 171
[10]
United States Military Academy, Department of History. “World War II European
Theater” Map: Battle of Stalingrad, West Point New York: https://www.westpoint.edu/history/SiteAssets/SitePages/World%20War%20II%20Europe/WWIIEurope23b.gif
[11]
United States Military Academy, Department of History. “World War II European
Theater” Map: Battle of Stalingrad, West Point New York: https://www.westpoint.edu/history/SiteAssets/SitePages/World%20War%20II%20Europe/WWIIEurope27Combined.gif
[12] Glantz,
David M. and House, Jonathan M The Battle
of Kursk, Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 1999 p.147
[13] Clark, Alan Barbarossa,
New York: Quill, 1965, p.333
[14] Pleshakov, Constantine Stalin’s Folly: The Tragic
First Ten Days of WWII on the Eastern Front, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2005
[15] Bellamy, Chris Absolute War: Soviet Russia in the Second World War, New
York: Random House Vintage Books, 2007, p.672
[16]
Ibid. p.673
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