Abstract:
Marshal Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovskiy, Hero of the Soviet Union, Order of
Victory, Knight of the Bath, OBE, victor of Moscow, Stalingrad, Kursk, the destruction
of German Army Group Centre and East Prussia, participated in some of the most
significant operations in the history of war, let alone the twentieth century. Yet, in the
English speaking world Rokossovskiy is unknown, a name, vaguely associated with
famous events. There is no sustained historical analysis of Rokossovskiy’s style of
leadership and operational command in the English language.
Rokossovskiy rejected the authoritarian leadership culture of Stalin’s Soviet Union and
Zhukov’s Red Army. Rokossovskiy was highly demanding and occasionally harsh but
his leadership encouraged initiative, consultation, trust, delegation and tolerated
mistakes in a way that made him unusual, indeed exceptional, in the Red Army. It was
primarily an authoritative style of leadership but Rokossovskiy practised different forms
and styles of leadership guided by his own instinctive judgement according to the
demands of the situation and the nature of his subordinates. This was a considered
philosophy of leadership and command that set him apart from his contemporaries.
Rokossovskiy’s style of leadership was intimately connected to his conduct of
operations. As one of the Red Army’s finest commanders, respected by the Wehrmacht
and the Red Army, Rokossovskiy’s operational art was dominated by the idea of depth.
Rokossovskiy, the Pole, was the heir to a long Russian tradition, centuries old, of deep
operations, whereas Zhukov, the Russian, was committed to operational encirclement
and annihilation, a Germanic concept.
Marshal Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovskiy had a distinct military style of his
own: his style of leadership challenged the Red Army’s authoritarian culture whilst his
style of operations endorsed the historical traditions of the Russian army. It makes him
one of the most significant military commanders of the twentieth century.
