Konev, Marshal Ivan (1897–1973),Soviet Army officer who acted as a military
commissar during the civil war before becoming part of the officer corps in 1924.
Konev, not entirely without reason, regarded
Zhukov as his nemesis. In 1937–8, he commanded the Soviet special force stationed in Outer Mongolia, but in 1939 it was Zhukov who was given command of the Halha River (Khalkin-Gol) operation (see
Japanese–Soviet campaigns). In October 1941, during the initial phase (see
BARBAROSSA) of the
German–Soviet war, Stalin divided West
front (army group), which Konev had commanded for a month, giving him the armies on the outer right flank as Kalinin
front and Zhukov the main force in the Moscow sector. Thereafter, he was Zhukov's junior partner until August 1942, when Stalin returned him to West
front after Zhukov left to take charge at
Stalingrad.
The action shifted south in the winter, and Konev was out of it until July 1943, when, according to one biographer, ‘his hour struck’—faintly. He commanded Steppe
front, which was the reserve in the
Kursk battle but, together with Voronezh
front and under Zhukov, became part of the main force in the ensuing Soviet summer, winter, and spring offensives. In October, Voronezh became First and Steppe became Second Ukrainian
front; and in February 1944, apparently to boost him to Zhukov's level of celebrity, Stalin gave Konev a marshal's star. In May 1944, Konev inherited the strategically more important First Ukrainian
front after Zhukov, who had commanded it in person since March, departed.
However, he had still not fully emerged from Zhukov's shadow. In the 1944 summer offensive, he played the accompaniment to Zhukov's bravura performance against German Army Group Centre, and his role in the 1945 offensive was initially to have been the same. His hour did not strike resoundingly until 17 April, when Stalin ordered him to drive towards
Berlin because Zhukov was having trouble crossing the River Oder, and he therewith acquired a share in the victory there.
Three days after
V-E Day, Konev gained a more doubtful distinction as the liberator of
Prague, and in July 1945, Stalin named him Soviet high commissioner for Austria. In July 1946 he was appointed first deputy armed forces minister and commander-in-chief of the ground forces to succeed Zhukov, who, after having held those posts briefly, was being sent off to vegetate in out-of-the-way military districts.
Earl Ziemke