Ivan Konev

Ivan Konev (born 1897) was a Soviet Field Marshal who led Red Army forces on the Eastern Front during World War II. Konev participated in many of the major military operations on the Eastern Front. In July 1943, he helped to achieve a huge victory at the Battle of Kursk. In July 1944, his forces advanced into Poland and captured tens of thousand of Germans. In January 1945, his forces took part in the Vistula-Oder Operation, liberating the city of Krakow and the Nazi camp at Auschwitz. In April 1945, his forces advanced towards Berlin, but Konev was ordered to turn south to liberate Czechoslovakia instead. Konev died in 1973.