Leaders of the Great Patriotic War: the main features of military art

One of the most complex and debated issues relating to the Great Patriotic War is the problem of the contribution of one commander or another, a commander in the common treasury of the Great Victory. Now they speak quite a lot in the sense that the main burden of this Victory was borne by the simple Soviet people on their shoulders. However, even the apologists of this point of view can not but admit that to realize the potential of this people, to channel the efforts of his people could only be the willful decisions of outstanding military leaders.

The generals of the Great Patriotic War brightly inscribed their names in the general annals of Russian military art. They are difficult not to remember. Zhukov and Vasilevsky, Rokossovsky and Konev, Tolbukhin and many other generals of the Great Patriotic War ranked in line with Alexander Nevsky and Dmitry Donskoy, Suvorov and Ushakov, Skobelev and Nakhimov.

What are the main features of the military leader's talent for these famous military leaders? First of all, it should be borne in mind that under the commander is understood a military leader of the highest rank, under whose command are either large operational units or the Armed Forces of the country as a whole. However, a simple command, even with such a large strategic connection as the front, is not enough to be worn not on paper, but in real life to wear the high title of "commander". They can only become that military commander who has the gift of strategic foresight, great authority, military talent and unconditional organizational skills. This is why not all the warlords of the Great Patriotic War, commanding huge fronts and directions, deserved the right to be considered generals.

Analyzing the most important characteristics of such a concept as "military talent," most researchers, first of all, talk about such a component of it as operational-strategic thinking, that is, the ability to see behind the actions of individual regiments, divisions and corps general prospects for the development of events on this or that Direction. In addition, this quality also implies the ability to bring his vision of the situation to each subordinate, regardless of his rank and position. Famous generals of the Great Patriotic War, such as G.K. Zhukov, I.S. Konev, K.K. Rokossovsky, A.M. Vasilevsky also became famous for being able not only to assess the prospects for the development of the situation on a given front in extremely short terms, but also to clearly explain this to all his subordinates.

Almost all the most famous Soviet military leaders of the Great Patriotic War possessed such a quality as the ability to take a justified risk. This quality was most clearly manifested in the activities of such commanders of fronts and large formations as Zhukov, Rokossovsky, Konev. All of them repeatedly fell into a situation when success or failure of succession depended on one action, so they had to take risks, take responsibility for themselves. However, their risk was fully justified and logically verified.

Both the allies and opponents of the USSR recognize that the Soviet generals of the Great Patriotic War differed in their non-standard approach to this or that situation. Neither Zhukov, Vasilevsky, nor Malinovsky almost never acted according to the pattern. The basis of their military talent was the desire in any situation, in preparation for any operation to find something unexpected that it is impossible to imagine any even the most sophisticated mind. The generals of the Second World War left behind a rich theoretical legacy, which is successfully studied by modern military commanders.

Finally, the most important component of Soviet military art was that virtually all Soviet generals of the Great Patriotic War knew perfectly well both their own army and the armed forces of the enemy. Often traveling to the front line, they, thanks to the breadth of their wits and military talents, could in the very shortest possible time make all the necessary conclusions and implement them in the strategic plans of various military operations.