Konstantin Rokossovsky
Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovsky (Russian: Константин Константинович (Ксаверьевич) Рокоссовский; Polish: Konstanty Rokossowski; 21 December 1896 – 3 August 1968) was a Soviet and Polish officer who became a Marshal of the Soviet Union, a Marshal of Poland, and served as Poland's Defence Minister from 1949 until his removal in 1956 during the Polish October. He became one of the most prominent Red Army commanders of World War II.
Marshal of the Soviet Union Marshal of Poland Konstantin Rokossovsky | |
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Rokossovsky in the 1950s | |
| Deputy Prime Minister of Poland | |
| In office 20 November 1952 – 18 March 1954 | |
| Prime Minister | Bolesław Bierut Józef Cyrankiewicz |
| Preceded by | Zenon Nowak |
| Succeeded by | Jakub Berman |
| Minister of National Defence of Poland | |
| In office 6 November 1949 – 13 November 1956 | |
| Prime Minister | Józef Cyrankiewicz Bolesław Bierut Józef Cyrankiewicz |
| Preceded by | Michał Rola-Żymierski |
| Succeeded by | Marian Spychalski |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Konstantin Ksaveryevich Rokossovsky (Konstanty Ksaweriewicz Rokossowski) 21 December 1896 Warsaw (or Velikiye Luki), Russian Empire |
| Died | 3 August 1968 (aged 71) Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union |
| Resting place | Kremlin Wall Necropolis |
| Awards | Hero of the Soviet Union (twice) Order of Victory Several others (see below) |
| Signature | |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Russian Empire (1914–1917) Soviet Russia (1917–1922) USSR (1922–1949, 1956–1962) Polish People's Republic (1949–1956) |
| Years of service | 1914–1937, 1940–1962 |
| Rank | Marshal of the Soviet Union Marshal of Poland |
| Commands | 7th Samara Cavalry Division 15th Cavalry Division 5th Cavalry Corps 9th Mechanized Corps 4th Army "Group Yartsevo" 16th Army Bryansk Front Don Front Central Front 1st Belorussian Front 2nd Belorussian Front Polish Armed Forces |
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Born in Warsaw (in present-day Poland; then part of the Russian Empire), or, according to other sources, in Velikiye Luki, Rokossovsky served in the Imperial Russian Army during World War I. In 1917 he joined the Red Guards and in 1918 the newly-formed Red Army; he fought with great distinction during the Russian Civil War of 1917–1922. Rokossovsky held senior commands until 1937 when he fell victim to the Great Purge, during which he was branded a traitor, imprisoned and tortured.
After Soviet failures in the Winter War of 1939–1940, Rokossovsky was taken out of prison and reinstated due to an urgent need for experienced officers. Following Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, Rokossovsky played key roles in the defense of Moscow (1941–1942) and the counter-offensives at Stalingrad (1942–1943) and Kursk (1943). He was instrumental in planning and executing part of Operation Bagration (1944)—one of the most decisive Red Army successes of the war—for which he was made a Marshal of the Soviet Union.
After the war, Rokossovsky became Defence Minister and deputy chairman of the Council of Ministers in the newly-established Polish People's Republic. Forced out of office in Poland in 1956 after Władysław Gomułka became the leader of Poland, Rokossovsky then returned to the Soviet Union, where he lived out the rest of his life until his death in 1968.