Boris Sokolov - Marshal K.K. Rokossovsky

Dr Boris Sokolov

Translated and edited by Stuart Britton

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Published by Helion & Company 2015

Designed and typeset by Battlefield Design, Gloucester ( www.battlefield-design.co.uk )

Cover designed by Euan Carter, Leicester ( www.euancarter.com )

Text Boris Sokolov 2014. English edition translated and edited by Stuart Britton, Helion & Company Limited 2014. Photographs open source.

Maps open source except for Battle of Smolensk 1941 drawn by George Anderson Helion & Company Ltd 2015.

Russian edition published in 2009 by Molodaia Gvardiia as Rokossovskii .

ISBN 978 1 909982 10 9

eISBN 978 1 912174 50 8

Mobi ISBN 978 1 912174 50 8

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The author Boris Sokolov offers this first objective and intriguing biography of Marshal Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovsky, who is widely considered one of the Red Armys top commanders in the Second World War. Yet even though he brilliantly served the harsh Stalinist system, Rokossovsky himself became a victim of it with his arrest, beatings and imprisonment between 1937 and 1940.

The author analyzes all of Rokossovskys military operations, in both the Russian Civil War and the Second World War, paying particular attention to the problem of establishing the real casualties suffered by both armies in the main battles where Rokossovsky took part, as well as on the Eastern Front as a whole. Rokossovsky played a prominent role in the battles for Smolensk, Moscow, Stalingrad, Kursk, Belorussia, Poland, East Prussia and Pomerania. While praising Rokossovskys masterful generalship, the author does not shy away from criticizing the nature of Soviet military art and strategy, in which the guiding principle was at all costs and little value was placed on holding down casualties. This discussion extends to the painful topic of the many atrocities against civilians perpetrated by Soviet soldiers, including Rokossovskys own troops.

A highly private man, Rokossovsky disliked discussing his personal life. With the help of family records and interviews, including the original, uncensored draft of the Marshals memoirs, the author reveals the numerous dualities in Rokossovskys life. Despite his imprisonment and the beatings he endured, Rokossovsky never wavered in his loyalty to Stalin, yet also never betrayed his colleagues. Though a Stalinist, he was also a gentleman widely admired for his courtesy and chivalry. A dedicated family man, women were drawn to him, and he took a campaign wife during the war. Though born in 1894 in Poland, Rokossovsky maintained that he was really born in Russia in 1896. This Polish/Russian duality in Rokossovskys identity hampered his career and became particularly acute during the Warsaw Uprising in 1944 and his later service as Polands Defense Minister. Thus, the author ably portrays a fascinating man and commander, who became a marshal of two countries, yet who was not fully embraced by either.

Dr. Boris Sokolov is a prolific author and a member of the Russian branch of PEN International, which celebrates literature and promotes freedom of expression. In 2008, Dr. Sokolov was forced to resign as Professor of Social Anthropology from his post at the Russian State Social University in Moscow at the demand of President Medvedevs administration after publishing an article about the 2008 Russian-Georgian War. The author of 100 books (as of January 2015), his work has focused on the history of the Second World War and has also written biographies of such prominent military and political leaders as Bulgakov, Stalin, Molotov, Beria, Tukhachevsky, Rokossovsky and Zhukov. In addition, he has written numerous articles on history, philology, political science and economics. A prominent specialist in the problems of military losses, military economy and strategy, he has given lectures in Russia, Estonia, Latvia and Denmark, and his books and articles have been translated into numerous languages. He currently resides in Moscow and is working on a biography of Marshal Rodion Malinovsky.

Stuart Britton is a freelance translator and editor residing in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He has been responsible for making a growing number of Russian titles available to readers of the English language, consisting primarily of memoirs by Red Army veterans and recent historical research concerning the Eastern Front of the Second World War and Soviet air operations in the Korean War. Notable recent titles include Valeriy Zamulins award-winning Demolishing the Myth: The Tank Battle at Prokhorovka, Kursk, July 1943: An Operational Narrative (Helion, 2011), Lev Lopukhovskys highly acclaimed The Viazma Catastrophe, 1941: The Red Armys Disastrous Stand against Operation Typhoon (Helion, 2013), and Rostislav Alievs detailed study, The Siege of Brest 1941: A Legend of Red Army Resistance on the Eastern Front (Pen & Sword, 2013). Future books will include Valeriy Zamulins photo album of the Battle of Kursk; Boris Sokolovs insightful biography of Marshal K.K. Rokossovsky, the Red Armys gentleman commander; and Igor Nebolsins documentary study of the Red Armys 2nd [Guards] Tank Army.

Rokossovsky in the Tsarist Army, 1916.

Graduates from the Leningrad Higher Cavalry School 1924/25.

Rokossovsky with his wife, Julia.

At Sochi in June 1940. Daughter Ariadna is center, next to her friend.

A portrait from 1941.

As commander of the 16th Army (second from left) inspecting captured German equipment.

June 1942. Rokossovsky is third from left.

As commander of the Don Front at Stalingrad. 1942.

With the commander of 65th Army, Batov, on the Don Front, 1942.

With N.F. Vatutin, 1942/43.

Reviewing plans, 1943.

Inspecting a knocked-out German Ferdinand tank destroyer, Kursk 1943.

With wife Julia and daughter Ariadna.

Galina Talanova.

An official portrait, 1945.

Preparing to ascend in an observation balloon, April 1945.

Another image with Julia and Ariadna.

On horseback, 1945.

Preparing for the May Day Victory Parade, 1945.

In 1947.

After being awarded the Order of the October Revolution, February 1968. Rokossovsky is second from right, the front row.

A 1976 USSR postage stamp.

The monument to Rokossovsky at the Museum of the Red Army and the Polish Army at Uniejwice.

Battle of Smolensk, 1941

The Moscow Counteroffensive Phase I 6 - 15 December 1941

The Moscow Counteroffensive Phase II

16 December 1941- 1 January 1942