Soviet General. He served in the Russian Imperial Army during the First World War having been trained as a machine gun specialist. In 1919 he entered the Red Army fighting in the Russian Civil War against anti-Soviet forces. He was promoted to the rank of battalion commander before joining the Communist Party in 1926. He received his formal military training from the Frunze Military Academy. Following graduation in 1930 he was assigned as an adviser in assisting the Republican backed government during the Spanish Civil War. Following conclusion of the conflict in 1939 he returned to the Soviet Union where he served as an instructor at the Frunze Military Academy until March 1941. He was appointed commander of the 48th Rifle Corps shortly before the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. In August he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General and placed in charge of the Russian Sixth Army. Four months later he was assigned as commander of the Southern Front and the Russian 66th Army. In December 1942 he was appointed as commander of the 2nd Guards Army, successfully leading his forces in the liberation of Stalingrad and the destruction of the German Sixth Army. Over the next two years he directed several successful operations driving the German Armies from the Ukraine, Romania, and Bulgaria. In September 1944 he was awarded the rank of "Marshal of the Soviet Union." Following his promotion he returned to the front where he continued his battlefield successes in liberating the German controlled territories of Hungary, Austria and Czechoslovakia. Following the defeat of Germany in May 1945, he was transferred to the Transbaikal Front in the Far East where he defeated the Japanese Army in China during the final months of the war. His victory in the Asian Theater earned him the title of "Hero of the Soviet Union." Following the war he served in several high ranking military positions including Deputy Defense Minister and Defense Minister. He was a three time recipient of the "Order of the Red Banner," a recipient of the "Gold Star," a recipient of the "National Hero of Yugoslavia" award and the "Victory" medal.