Konev, Ivan Stepanovich

Konev, Ivan Stepanovich

▪ Soviet general
born Dec. 28 [Dec. 16, Old Style], 1897, Lodeino, near Veliky Ustyug, Russia
died May 21, 1973, Moscow, Russia, U.S.S.R.
 one of the outstanding Soviet generals in World War II, who was a leader of the offensive against the Germans.

      Of peasant birth, Konev was drafted into the tsarist army in 1916. After the Russian Revolution, he joined (1918) the Communist Party and the Red Army. During the Civil War, he fought against the White Russian Army of Aleksandr V. Kolchak (Kolchak, Aleksandr Vasilyevich), organized guerrilla bands, and fought the Japanese. Konev participated in subduing the Kronshtadt Rebellion (1921) against Bolshevik rule. He finished his military training at the Frunze Military Academy, graduating in 1926.

      Konev was a general in the army when the Germans invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941; it was he who led the first real counterattack of the war. He defeated the German tank expert General Heinz Guderian (Guderian, Heinz)'s advance on Moscow (December 1941) by employing the “Konev ambush”—a planned retreat of troops in the centre, with the flanks then snapping shut across the breach to trap the pursuing enemy. In the critical summer of 1942 he halted a large German force that had been sent to reinforce the German army pounding at Stalingrad. He was one of the generals involved in repelling Germany's third summer offensive (1943). After his entrapment of 100,000 Nazi troops in the Korsun salient, Konev was made a marshal of the Soviet Union (March 1944). In August 1944 his army was the first to carry the fighting beyond Soviet frontiers, crossing the Vistula River, and, after sweeping across Poland, it was the first to march onto German soil. Konev's 1st Ukrainian Army advanced to the Oder River and, together with Marshal Georgy K. Zhukov (Zhukov, Georgy Konstantinovich)'s forces, entered and captured Berlin. His army linked with the U.S. forces under Lieutenant General Courtney H. Hodges at Torgau.

      After the defeat of Germany, Konev became supreme commissar for Austria (1945), succeeded Zhukov as commander in chief of Soviet ground forces (1946–50), and thereafter held various military posts on the ministerial level, including commander in chief of the Warsaw Pact forces (1955–60). In 1961 he was temporarily recalled to act as commander in chief of Soviet forces in East Germany, stepping down in 1962 although still retaining a post in the defense ministry.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Konev, Ivan (Stepanovich) — born Dec. 28, 1897, Lodeino, near Veliky Ustyug, Russia died May 21, 1973, Moscow, Russia, U.S.S.R. Soviet general in World War II. When the Germans invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, Konev led the first counterattack of the war. He defeated Heinz …   Universalium

  • ivan — /ee vahn/, n. iwan. * * * (as used in expressions) Albright Ivan Le Lorraine Bunin Ivan Alekseyevich Ivan Asen II Ivan III Ivan the Great Ivan IV Ivan the Terrible Ivan Vasilyevich Ivan VI Ivan Antonovich Ivan V Ivan Alekseyevich Konev Ivan… …   Universalium

  • Ivan — /uy veuhn/; Russ. /ee vahn /, n. a male given name, Russian form of John. * * * (as used in expressions) Albright Ivan Le Lorraine Bunin Ivan Alekseyevich Ivan Asen II Ivan III Ivan the Great Ivan IV Ivan the Terrible Ivan Vasilyevich Ivan VI… …   Universalium

  • Iván Kónev — Iván Stepánovich Kónev Иван Степанович Конев Iván Stepánovich Kónev …   Wikipedia Español

  • Ivan Konev — Ivan Koniev Ivan Stepanovitch Koniev Naissance 28 décembre 1897 Podosinovsky (oblast de Kirov) Décès 21 mai 1973 (à 75 ans …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Ivan Konev — Иван Степанович Конев Ivan Stepanovich Konev Born December 28, 1897(1897 12 28) Lodeyno, Russian Empire …   Wikipedia

  • Konev — biographical name Ivan Stepanovich 1897 1973 Soviet general …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Konev — /kawn yef/; Russ. /kaw nyif/, n. Ivan Stepanovich /ee vahn styi pah neuh vyich/, 1897 1973, Russian general and politician. * * * …   Universalium

  • Konev — /kawn yef/; Russ. /kaw nyif/, n. Ivan Stepanovich /ee vahn styi pah neuh vyich/, 1897 1973, Russian general and politician …   Useful english dictionary

  • Marshal Konev Street — Coordinates: 55°47′49.5″N 37°29′20.5″E / 55.797083°N 37.489028°E / 55.797083; 37.489028 …   Wikipedia

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