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| World War II |
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| Timelines of World War II |
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TheCommanders of World War II were for the most part careerofficers. They were forced to adapt to new technologies and forged the direction of modern warfare. Some political leaders, particularly those of the principal dictatorships involved in the conflict,Adolf Hitler (Germany),Benito Mussolini (Italy), andHirohito (Japan), acted as dictators for their respective countries or empires.[1]
| Armed Force | Name | Highest Rank | Highest Award | Commands | Fate | Theatres / Battles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army | Charles de Gaulle |  | Général de Brigade | Grand Master Legion of Honor | Commander, 4th Armored Division Leader of the Free French Forces Chairman of the Provisional Government of the French Republic | Took control of France asPresident and was instrumental in creating theProvisional Government of the French Republic and later theFifth French Republic. | |
| DefiedVichy France by vowing to continue fighting after the French surrender. He headed with de Tassigny theFree French Forces, who assisted the Allies in theliberation of France in 1944.[1] | |||||||
| Jean de Lattre de Tassigny | .jpg) | Marshal of France | Grand Master Legion of Honor | Commander, First Army Commander-in-Chief, Ground Forces in Western Europe | Later commanded theFrench Far East Expeditionary Corps in theFirst Indochina War. | ||
| DefiedVichy France by vowing to continue fighting after the French surrender. He headed with Charles de Gaulle theFree French Forces, who assisted the Allies in theliberation of France in 1944.[1] | |||||||
| Alphonse Juin |  | Marshal of France | Grand Cross Legion of Honor | Commander, 15th Motorized Infantry Division | BecameResident General inMorocco and member of theAcadémie Française,Allied Joint Force Commander Brunssum inNATO | ||
| Commander of the Vichy French forces in North Africa until 1942, then commander of theFrench Expeditionary Corps in Tunisia and Italy.[1] | |||||||
| Maurice Gamelin |  | Général d'Armée | Grand Cross Legion of Honor | Chief of Staff of the French Army | Died in 1958. | ||
| Commander-in-Chief of French army during Battle of France, was replaced on 20 May 1940.[1] | |||||||
| Maxime Weygand |  | Général d'armée | Grand Cross Legion of Honor | Chief of Staff of the French Army | Arrested on charges of treason but acquitted. | ||
| Commander-in-Chief of French army during the Battle of France from 20 May 1940 until the surrender of France. Oversaw the creation of the Weygand line, an early application of theHedgehog tactic.[1] | |||||||
| French Navy | François Darlan |  | Admiral of the Fleet | War Cross | Chief of Staff of the French Navy | Assassinated byFernand Bonnier de La Chapelle December 1942. | |
| Built up the French Navy to prepare for war, only to see it destroyed by the British Navy. Served the Vichy France government and was tipped to become Pétain's successor. Was commander ofVichy French forces inOperation Torch. After arranging a ceasefire, he defected to the Allied side.[1] | |||||||
| Armed Force | Name | Highest Rank | Highest Award | Command | Fate | Theatres / Battles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army | George Marshall |  | General of the Army | Distinguished Service Medal,Silver Star | Chief of Staff of the United States Army | AsUnited States Secretary of State his name was given to theMarshall Plan, for which he was awarded theNobel Peace Prize in 1953. Also served asSecretary of Defense during the Korean War. | |
| Was the aide to GeneralJohn J. Pershing after World War I. Was Chief of Staff having overall command of the US Army during and before World War II. Marshall served as the U.S. Army Chief of Staff during the war and as the chief military adviser to PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt. Many of the American generals that were given top commands during the war were either picked or recommended by Marshall, includingDwight Eisenhower,Lloyd Fredendall,Lesley J. McNair,Mark W. Clark andOmar Bradley.[4] He led the rapid growth of US forces, co-ordinated the Western Allies and promoted postwar reconstruction of Europe.[1] | |||||||
| Dwight D. Eisenhower |  | General of the Army | Army Distinguished Service Medal,Navy Distinguished Service Medal. | Commanding General, European Theater of Operations | After liberating Europe, served as Army Chief of Staff, president ofColumbia University, and Supreme Commander of NATO before being elected the 34thPresident of the United States. | ||
| In December 1943, President Roosevelt decided that Eisenhower—not Marshall—would beSupreme Allied Commander inEurope. The following month, he resumed command ofEuropean Theater of Operations United States Army (ETOUSA) and the following month was officially designated as theSupreme Allied Commander of theSupreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), serving in a dual role until the end of hostilities in Europe in May 1945. He was charged in these positions with planning and carrying out the Allied assault on the coast of Normandy in June 1944 under the code nameOperation Overlord, to head the liberation of Europe on theWestern Front and theinvasion of Germany. | |||||||
| Douglas MacArthur |  | General of the Army | Medal of Honor,Philippine Medal of Valor | United States Military Advisor to the Philippines Commanding General, United States Army Forces in the Far East | Tasked with rebuilding Japan after the war. Later commanded theUnited Nations Command in theKorean War, and wascontroversially dismissed by PresidentHarry S. Truman for considering the use ofnuclear weapons againstChina andNorth Korea. Considered possibleRepublican Party candidate in1952 United States presidential election, and chairedRemington Rand | ||
| Recalled from retirement prior to the start of the Pacific war. Early on in World War II, received theMedal of Honor for extreme bravery. Was disappointed to relinquish the Philippines to the Japanese. Promising to return, he did so in 1945 and while in Manila, prepared for war inJapan itself. MacArthur presided over theJapanese Unconditional Surrender in 1945. His strategy of maneuver, air strikes and force avoidance meant that soldiers under his command faced relatively low casualties. | |||||||
| Omar Bradley |  | General of the Army | Distinguished Service Medal (Army and Navy). | Commanding General, 82nd Airborne Division | Promoted to General of the Army during theKorean War (after serving in the rank of General during World War II). BecameChairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. | ||
| This former infantry school instructor entered the war under Patton, later becoming his boss. Towards the end of the war, led a force of over 1.3 million troops (America's largest to serve under one man).[1] | |||||||
| Mark W. Clark |  | General | Distinguished Service Medal (Army and Navy). | Commanding General, II Corps Commanding General, Fifth Army | Commanded theUnited Nations Command at the end of theKorean War. Served as President ofthe Citadel from 1954 to 1965. | ||
| Led the triumphal entry into Rome. Served under GeneralHarold Alexander. Ordered the destruction of the religious abbey atMonte Cassino. Wascommander-in-chief in Italy from late 1944.[1] | |||||||
| George S. Patton, Jr. | .jpg) | General | Distinguished Service Cross | Commanding General, Desert Training Center Commanding General, Seventh Army Commanding General, First Army Group Commanding General, Third Army | Died in a road accident 4 months after the end of the war. | ||
| An aggressive general whose ferocious military thrusts earned him admiration and respect from many participants in the war (and at times endangered his military career). Successfully used the German tactic of armoredblitzkrieg against the Germans.[1] | |||||||
| Navy | Ernest King | .jpg) | Fleet Admiral | Navy Cross | Commander-in-Chief, United States Atlantic Fleet | Retired on 15 December 1945. | |
| [1] United StatesChief of Naval Operations. | |||||||
| William D. Leahy |  | Fleet Admiral | Navy Cross | Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief | Retired on 2 March 1949. | ||
| As the Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief, Leahy was the most senior United States military officer on active duty during the war. Serving as thede facto firstChairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he oversaw all of the American armed forces. He also presided over the American delegation to theCombined Chiefs of Staff. He was a major decision-maker during the war and was second only to the President in authority and influence. Was the first-ever five-star officer in the United States Armed Forces.[5] | |||||||
| Chester W. Nimitz |  | Fleet Admiral | Legion of Honour,Distinguished Service Medal | Commander-in-Chief, United States Pacific Fleet | Served as Chief of Naval Operations. | ||
| After theattack on Pearl Harbor, took command of the Pacific Ocean areas, and turned around USA's fortunes in theBattle of Midway. Closed the war with operations in the Leyte Gulf and Okinawa.[1] | |||||||
| William Halsey, Jr. |  | Fleet Admiral | Navy Cross | Commander, Carrier Division 2 | Retired 1947. | ||
| Commander ofSouth Pacific Area 1942–1944. Commander ofUnited States Third Fleet 1944–1945.[1][6] | |||||||
| Frank Jack Fletcher |  | Admiral | Medal of Honor | Commander, Task Force 14 | Chairman of the General Board, retired in 1947. | ||
Recipient of theMedal of Honor for saving hundreds of refugees during the United States occupation of Veracruz in April 1914 during theMexican Revolution. Operational commander at the pivotal Battles of Coral Sea and of Midway; nephew of Admiral Frank Friday Fletcher. In November 1942, he became Commander, Thirteenth Naval District and Commander, Northwestern Sea Frontier. Later, he was placed in charge of the Northern Pacific area.[1] | |||||||
| Raymond A. Spruance | .jpg) | Admiral | Navy Cross | Commander, Task Force 16 Deputy Commander-in-Chief, United States Pacific Fleet Commander, Central Pacific Force Commander-in-Chief, United States Pacific Fleet andPacific Ocean Areas | Served asPresident of the Naval War College. | ||
| Commander of two significant battles during the war,Battle of Midway and theBattle of the Philippine Sea. | |||||||
| USAAF | Henry Arnold |  | General of the Air Force | Distinguished Service Medal | Chief of the United States Army Air Forces Deputy Chief of Staff for Air | ||
| Member of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Combined Chiefs of Staff committees.[1] | |||||||
| Ira C. Eaker |  | General | Distinguished Service Medal (Army, Navy and Air Force) | Commander, Eighth Air Force Commander of Air Operations, Mediterranean Theater of Operations Deputy Commander of the United States Army Air Forces | Became deputy commander of the Army Air Forces until retirement in 1947. | ||
| Commander of the 8th US Bomber command.[1] | |||||||
| Carl Spaatz |  | General | Air Force Cross | Commander, Air Combat Command Commander of Air Operations, European Theater | Replaced Arnold in September 1947 to become chief of the US Air Force. | ||
| One of the pioneers of US military aviation, Spaatz advocated the use of scientific analysis to bombing raids, and made effective use of long range fighters, tactics which helped the Allies achieve air superiority over Europe.[1] | |||||||
| Armed Force | Name | Highest Rank | Highest Award | Fate | Theatres / Battles | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army | Georgy Zhukov |  | Marshal of the Soviet Union | Twice anOrder of Victory, four timesHero of the Soviet Union | Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army | Became Soviet member of theAllied Control Council for Germany, influential in removal ofLavrentiy Beria and selection ofNikita Khrushchev asFirst Secretary after thedeath of Joseph Stalin,Minister of Defense of the Soviet Union 1955–57, member of the20th Presidium of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union 1956-1957 | |
| Involved in nearly every major battle on the Eastern Front. He successfully led the defense of Moscow and later relieved Leningrad. After vying with Rokossovsky for overall command, he led all Soviet armies in the closing stages of the war and at the Battle for Berlin.[1] | |||||||
| Aleksandr Vasilevsky |  | Marshal of the Soviet Union | Twice anOrder of Victory, twiceHero of the Soviet Union. | Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army Deputy People's Commissar for Defense of the Soviet Union Commander-in-Chief, Soviet Forces in the Far East | Chief of Staff of the Soviet Army, Soviet Defence Minister | ||
| Stalin's strategic specialist who planned and carried through many successful Soviet operations as overall commander, particularly the encirclement at Stalingrad and the grand plan for Bagration. Commander-in-Chief of Soviet Forces in the Far East during Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation.[1] | |||||||
| Konstantin Rokossovsky |  | Marshal of the Soviet Union,Marshal of Poland | Order of Victory, twiceHero of the Soviet Union. | Commander, 9th Mechanized Corps Commander, Central Front and1st Belorussian Front | Commanded the Northern Group of Forces during the Soviet occupation of Poland and the beginning of theCold War. AppointedMinister of National Defense of the CommunistPolish People's Republic. | ||
| Decisive role in the Battle for Moscow, led encirclement forces at Stalingrad, broke German counter-attack at Kursk, advanced into Poland and eventually linked up with the Americans atWismar.[1] | |||||||
| Ivan Bagramyan |  | Marshal of the Soviet Union | TwiceHero of the Soviet Union. | Commander of 1st Baltic Front | Soviet Army commander | ||
| Bagramyan's experience in military planning as a chief of staff allowed him to distinguish himself as a capable commander in the early stages of the Soviet counter-offensives against Nazi Germany. | |||||||
| Boris Shaposhnikov |  | Marshal of the Soviet Union | ThreeOrders of Lenin | Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army | Commandant of the Voroshilov Military Academy. Died in 1945. | ||
| Chief of the General Staff 1937–1940, 1941–1942. Organized pre-war buildup of theRed Army. | |||||||
| Nikolai Vatutin |  | General of the Army | Hero of the Soviet Union | Commander, Voronezh Front | Killed by theUkrainian Insurgent Army. | ||
| Deputy of the Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army. Played a decisive role at Kursk, outmanoeuvered German commander Manstein and later routed German forces in Korsun salient.[1][additional citation(s) needed] | |||||||
| Ivan Konev |  | Marshal of the Soviet Union | Order of Victory, TwiceHero of the Soviet Union | Commander, 19th Army Commander, 2nd Ukrainian Front Commander, 1st Ukrainian Front Commander, Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in East Germany | Appointed head of the Soviet forces in theSoviet occupation zone of Germany. Served as Commander-in-Chief of theSoviet Armed Forces andSupreme Commander of the Unified Armed Forces of the Warsaw Treaty Organization during theHungarian Revolution of 1956, theBerlin Crisis of 1961, and theWarsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia | ||
| Played a pivotal role in the War, retaking much of Eastern Europe. Helped in the capture of Berlin, the capital of Nazi Germany. Konev was also a competitor of Marshal Georgy Zhukov.[1] | |||||||
| Semyon Timoshenko |  | Marshal of the Soviet Union | Order of Victory, TwiceHero of the Soviet Union. | Commander, Kiev Military District Commander, Leningrad Military District | Commanded theBelorussian Military District (Soviet Armed Forces in theByelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic) | ||
| Defence Commissar till 19 July 1941. Chairman of the Stavka (Soviet High Command). A capable commander in the early stages of World War II. Played a decisive role in the Winter War and the invasion of Poland. After the defeat at Kharkov, Timoshenko was removed by Stalin from front-line command but given overall command in different fronts of the USSR. | |||||||
| Soviet Navy | Ivan Isakov |  | Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union | Hero of the Soviet Union | Chief-of-Staff of the Soviet Navy | Chief of Staff of the Soviet Navy, Deputy People's Commissar of the Navy | |
| Nikolay Kuznetsov |  | Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union | Hero of the Soviet Union | People's Commissar of the Navy | People's Commissar of the Navy during The Second World War | ||
| Ivan Yumashev |  | Admiral | Hero of the Soviet Union | Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Fleet | Commander of Soviet Pacific Fleet | ||
| Soviet Aviation | Sergei Khudyakov |  | Marshal of Aviation of the Soviet Union | Order of Lenin | Chief of Staff of the Soviet Air Force | Chief of Staff of the Soviet Air Force, deputy commander of the Air Force | |
| Alexander Novikov |  | Chief Marshal of Aviation of the Soviet Union | Two timesHero of the Soviet Union | Chief of Staff of the Soviet Air Force | Commander of the Air Forces of the Soviet UnionChief of the High school of civil aviation | ||
| Alexander Golovanov |  | Chief Marshal of Aviation of the Soviet Union | Commander, 18th Air Army | Commander of the Long Range Aviation | |||
Army:Filipp Golikov
| Armed Force | Name | Highest Rank | Highest Award | Fate | Theatres / Battles | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army | Harry Crerar |  | General | Order of the Companions of Honour | General Officer Commanding, 2nd Canadian Infantry Division General Officer Commanding, I Canadian Corps | Became a diplomat, postings in Czechoslovakia, Netherlands and Japan. | |
| De factocommander-in-chief of theCanadian military.[1] | |||||||
| Rod Keller |  | Major General | Commander of the Order of the British Empire | ||||
| Guy Simonds |  | Lieutenant General | Companion of the Order of Canada | General Officer Commanding, 1st Canadian Infantry Division | In 1951 he was appointedChief of the General Staff | ||
| Devised theKangarooarmoured personnel carrier.[1] | |||||||
| Andrew McNaughton |  | Lieutenant General | Order of the Companions of Honour | General Officer Commanding, 1st Canadian Infantry Division General Officer Commanding, VII Corps General Officer Commanding, Canadian Corps General Officer Commanding, I Canadian Corps | FirstPresident of the United Nations Security Council | ||
| A noteworthy scientist and inventor of a direction finding device for artillery, a precursor to Radar. Fought inVimy Ridge during World War I and was alieutenant colonel. Commander of the Canadian troops until 1943. Was defeated in theDieppe Raid. Opposed the breaking up of theCanadian Army, and insisted it fight as a single unit. Grandfather ofLieutenant-GeneralAndrew Leslie of Canada.[1] | |||||||
| Air Force | George Croil |  | Air Marshal | Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire | Chief of the Air Staff of the Royal Canadian Air Force Inspector-General of the Royal Canadian Air Force | Died in 1959 in Vancouver, British Columbia. | |
| Croil succeeded in obtaining the RCAF's independence from the Army just before the war. He wasChief of the Air Staff from 1938 to 1940 and Inspector-General of the Royal Canadian Air Force from 1940 to 1944. | |||||||
| Lloyd Samuel Breadner |  | Air Chief Marshal | Companion of the Order of the Bath | Chief of the Air Staff of the Royal Canadian Air Force | Retired after the war. Died in 1952 in Boston, Massachusetts. | ||
| A decorated Royal Naval Air Service pilot in World War I, Breadner served asChief of the Air Staff from 1940 to 1943 and Air Officer Commanding-in-ChiefRCAF Overseas from 1944 to 1945. He was one of only two Canadian air chief marshals, the other beingFrank Robert Miller. | |||||||
| Armed Force | Name | Highest Rank held during World War II | Highest Award | Command | Fate | Theatres / Battles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army | Evered Poole |  | Major-General | Companion of the Order of the Bath | General Service Officer Grade 1, 1st Infantry Division General Service Officer Grade 1, 2nd Infantry Division General Officer Commanding, 2nd Infantry Brigade General Officer Commanding, 6th Armoured Division General Officer Commanding, South African Forces in Allied Central Mediterranean Force | Passed over asChief of Staff in 1948 by the newly electedNational Party. Posted as head of the South African military mission in Berlin, before embarking on a successful diplomatic career. In 1960, he became ambassador to Greece. | |
| Commanded the6th Armoured Division upon its formation in February 1943, and led the division throughout the Italian campaign until 1945. He was among the very few South Africans to be invested as a Commander of the United StatesLegion of Merit, and was invested as a Commander of the FrenchLegion of Honour. He also received the FrenchCroix de Guerre. | |||||||
| Dan Pienaar |  | Major-General | Companion of the Order of the Bath | General Officer Commanding, 1st Infantry Brigade General Officer Commanding, 1st Infantry Division | Killed in an air crash nearLake Victoria,Kenya on his way back toSouth Africa in December 1942. Pienaar was arguably one of South Africa's most charismatic and popular military commanders.An infantry regiment, the exhibition hall at theSouth African National Museum of Military History anda suburb of his home town,Bloemfontein, were later named after him. | ||
| Fought in theEast African Campaign, and led the1st South African Infantry Division in theWestern Desert. He was recorded by the press after El Alamein as saying, "Rommel will not get to Alexandria, he will not get theCanal, and he will never dine in Cairo - unless as a tourist." | |||||||
| George Brink |  | General | Companion of the Order of the Bath | General Officer Commanding, 1st Infantry Division General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Inland Area Command | Declared unfit for field duty and recalled to South Africa. Although he retired from the military in 1946, Brink led South Africa's demobilisation efforts from 1944 to 1948. | ||
| From 1940, Brink commanded the1st South African Division during theEast African Campaign, and later commanded the division during theWestern Desert Campaign in North Africa. In 1942, Brink turned over command of the division toDan Pienaar after being declared unfit for field duty due to a back injury. | |||||||
| Hendrik Klopper |  | General | Distinguished Service Order | General Officer Commanding, 3rd Infantry Brigade | Escaped from captivity in 1943 and was later exonerated by a 1942 Court of Inquiry into the Tobruk disaster, however, Klopper never commanded in the field again. Officer Commanding theSouth African Army College from 1944 to 1945, before being appointed in command of Northern Command in 1945. From 1951 to 1953, Klopper served asArmy Chief of Staff, as Inspector-General from 1953 to 1956, and asCommandant General of the Union Defence Force from 1956 to 1958. | ||
| Briefly commanded the 2nd South African Infantry Division from May to June 1942, and was tasked as Fortress Commander of Tobruk. Forced to surrender the Tobruk garrison to Axis forces, with over 30,000 British and Commonwealth troops being taken prisoner. Klopper later escaped from captivity in 1943 and returned to South Africa. | |||||||
| Isaac Pierre de Villiers | Major-General | Companion of the Order of the Bath | General Officer Commanding, 2nd Infantry Division | Retired in 1945, became Chairman of the Immigrants Selection Board from 1946 to 1948. | |||
| Commanded the 2nd South African Infantry Division between 1940 and 1942, later overseeing Coastal Area Command in South Africa until 1945. Relinquished command of the 2nd SA Division just one month before theFall of Tobruk where over 10,000 South Africans were taken prisoner by Axis forces. | |||||||
| Air Force | Pierre van Ryneveld | General | Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire | Chief of the General Staff of the Union Defence Force Founder of theSouth African Air Force | Retired in 1949 after serving as CGS for sixteen years, including the whole of theSecond World War. ThePretoriasuburb ofPierre van Ryneveld Park was named in his honour and the airport just north ofUpington in theNorthern Cape is also named after Van Ryneveld. Sir Pierre van Ryneveld High School is inKempton Park, Gauteng. The SAAF's annualair power symposium, is known as the Sir Pierre Van Ryneveld Air Power Symposium. | ||
| Established the SAAF in 1920 and directed it until 1933, when he was promoted toChief of the General Staff (CGS), in command of theUnion Defence Forces. However, for the next four years, the SAAF remained under Van Ryneveld's direct control as no one was appointed as the Air Force's director until 1937. | |||||||
| Air Force | Jimmy Durrant | Major-General | Companion of the Order of the Bath | Officer Commanding, No. 40 Squadron SAAF Officer Commanding, No. 24 Squadron SAAF Officer Commanding, No. 205 Group RAF Air Officer Commanding, No. 231 Group SAAF | In 1946, he became Director-General of the South African Air Force and qualified on a special course at theImperial Defence College in 1951. He resigned from the SAAF as a result of the de-anglicisation policy instituted by theNational Party after they took power after the 1948 general election. | ||
| Appointed officer commanding ofNo. 40 Squadron SAAF, which he commanded inEast Africa from May 1940 to September 1941 when was promotedlieutenant-colonel and appointed officer commanding24 Squadron SAAF. He commanded this squadron throughout the bitter fighting in theWestern Desert Campaign in 1941–42. Later promotedcolonel and given command of 3 (Bomber) Wing SAAF in North Africa, Sicily and Italy. In 1945, he was posted to the Far East asAOC No. 231 Heavy Bomber Group, RAF, with the rank ofmajor-general. At the age of 32, he was the youngest major-general in the Allied forces. | |||||||
| Navy | Guy Hallifax |  | Rear Admiral | Order of St Michael and St George | Killed in an air crash at Baboon Point, 74 kilometres (46 mi) north ofSaldanha while returning from a tour of inspection to the newly established naval detachment inWalvis Bay in March 1941. |
| |
| Instrumental in overseeing large-scale industrial and administrative expansion of theSouth African Navy between 1939 and 1941, as well as assuming operational responsibility from the Royal Navy for the first time. | |||||||
| Armed Force | Name | Highest Rank held during World War II | Highest Award | Command | Fate | Theatres / Battles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army | Bernard Freyberg, 1st Baron Freyberg |  | Lieutenant General | Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George,Distinguished Service Order Holder of theVictoria Cross plus three otherDistinguished Service Orders (World War I) | General Officer Commanding, New Zealand Expeditionary Force | Returned to New Zealand and later becameGovernor-General of New Zealand | |
| A veteran of theMexican Revolution andVictoria Cross recipient during the First World War. First soldier on beach for theBattle of Gallipoli during the First World War and the youngest general in the British Army during the First World War.[7] He liked to be in the thick of action—Churchill called him "the Salamander" due to his love of fire. Involved in the defeat in theBattle of Greece. Again defeated as the Allied Commander in theBattle of Crete after Churchill failed to provideenigma intelligence. Very successful as a commander in various campaigns in theNorth African Campaign, including theBattle of El Alamein. Defeated again at the FirstBattle of Cassino as a Corps Commander. RelievedPadua andVenice, and was first to enterTrieste in the race for Trieste, and successfully confrontedJosip Broz Tito'sPartisans there. By the end of World War II, Freyberg had spent ten and a half years fighting the Germans during both the second and first world wars.[8] | |||||||
| Air Force | Arthur Coningham | .jpg) | Air Marshal | Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath | Air Officer Commanding, No. 4 Group RAF Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Desert Air Force Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Northwest African Tactical Air Force | Missing inBermuda Triangle. | |
| A high scoring air ace in World War I. Air force Commander working with famous Major GeneralGeorge Patton duringOperation Torch. Commander of tactical Air Forces forOperation Husky andD-Day. | |||||||
| Keith Park |  | Air Chief Marshal | Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath | Air Officer Commanding, No. 11 Group RAF Air Officer Commanding, No. 23 Group RAF Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Air Headquarters Egypt Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Air Headquarters Malta Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Middle East Command Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Air Command South East Asia | Returned to New Zealand. | ||
| A veteran of World War I and air ace. Served underHugh Dowding and commanded the defense of London during the Luftwaffe attacks. Dowding and Park are credited with winning theBattle of Britain. Led the defense ofMalta. | |||||||
| Roderick Carr |  | Air Marshal | Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire | Air Officer Commanding, No. 4 Group RAF | Air Officer Commanding Indian Air Force, 1946 | ||
| Served in theRoyal Naval Air Service during the First World War. Commander ofNorthern IrelandRAF. Bomber Command Commander 4 Group. Deputy Chief of Staff (Air),SHAEF. | |||||||
| Armed Force | Name | Highest Rank | Highest Award | Commands | Fate | Theatres / Battles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army | Ludvík Svoboda | General | People's Hero of Yugoslavia,Hero of the Soviet Union | Commander-in-Chief, 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps in the Soviet Union | Laterpresident of theCzechoslovak Socialist Republic. | ||
| Commander of theCzechoslovak military units on the Eastern front | |||||||
| Ján Golian |  | Brigadier General | Czechoslovak War Cross | Executed by theGermans in aconcentration camp inFlossenburg. | |||
| Led the insurgentSlovak Army during theSlovak National Uprising. | |||||||
| Armed Force | Name | Highest Rank | Highest Award | Commands | Fate | Theatres / Battles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army | Henri Winkelman |  | General | Military William Order | Chief of Defence of the Netherlands Armed Forces | Died in 1952. | |
| WasCommander-in-Chief of the Netherlands army during theBattle of the Netherlands.[1] | |||||||
| Hein ter Poorten |  | Lieutenant General | Commander-in-Chief, Royal Netherlands East Indies Army | He spent the rest of the war in various prisoner of war camps, and in 1945 returned to the Netherlands. Died in 1968. | |||
| Commander of theABDA land forces in early 1942. | |||||||
| Navy | Conrad Helfrich | .jpg) | Vice Admiral | Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands Lion | Commander of the Royal Netherlands Navy | Died in 1962. | |
| Commander of theABDA Naval forces in 1942. | |||||||
| Karel Doorman |  | Rear admiral | Knight of the Military William Order | Commander, American-British-Dutch-Australian Combined Striking Force | Died inBattle of the Java Sea. | ||
| Commander of the combined American, British, Dutch and Australian (ABDA) fleet in theDutch East Indies.[1] | |||||||
| Armed Force | Name | Highest Rank | Highest Award | Commands | Fate | Theatres / Battles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army | Émile Speller | Major-Commandant | Order of the Oak Crown | Chief of Defence | Arrested by Germany in 1940 following the invasion of Luxembourg but later released, died 17 January 1952[10] | ||
| Armed Force | Name | Highest Rank | Highest Award | Commands | Fate | Theatres / Battles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army | Draža Mihailović |  | General of the Army | Legion of Merit | Commander of the Chetnik Detachments of Yugoslav Army | Executed by Communists in 1946. | |
| Led theChetniks. | |||||||
| Josip Broz Tito |  | Marshal | Order of the National Hero | President of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia Commander-in-Chief of the Yugoslav Partisans Founder ofDemocratic Federal Yugoslavia and theSocialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia | BecamePresident of Yugoslavia | ||
| Led thePeople's Liberation Army.[1] | |||||||
| Armed Force | Name | Highest Rank | Highest Award | Commands | Fate | Theatres / Battles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army | Wilhelm Keitel |  | Field Marshal | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross | Chief of theOberkommando der Wehrmacht | Executed in 1946. | |
| Chief of the OKW during World War II. Was convicted of war crimes in the Nuremberg Trials and executed by the Allies.[1] | |||||||
| Alfred Jodl |  | Colonel General | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross | Chief of the Operations Staff of theOberkommando der Wehrmacht | Executed in 1946. | ||
| Chief of the Operations Staff of the OKW.[1] | |||||||
| Heinrich Himmler |  | Reichsführer-SS | Blood Order,Golden Nazi Party | Reichsfuhrer-SS Chief of German Police | Chief of the SS during World War II.[1] Suicide, 1945. | ||
| Military commander and a leading member of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) ofNazi Germany. Nazi leaderAdolf Hitler later appointed him Commander of the Replacement (Home) Army andGeneral Plenipotentiary for the administration of the entire Third Reich. Himmler was one of the most influential men in Nazi Germany and one of the persons most directly responsible forthe Holocaust. | |||||||
| Walther von Brauchitsch |  | Field Marshal | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross | Supreme Commander of the German Army | Died in 1948. | ||
| Commander-in-Chief of the German Army 1938–1941. | |||||||
| Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist |  | Field Marshal | Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords | Commander, 1st Panzer Army | Died in 1954 in a Soviet prison. Most senior German officer to die in a Soviet prison. | ||
| An aristocrat and senior commander in World War I. Commander of tank armies in the German Army in World War II. Fought in most of the actions involving blitzkrieg techniques. | |||||||
| Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb |  | Field Marshal | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross | Commander-in-Chief, Army Group C | Died in 1956. | ||
| Exemplary service in World War I. Given the command ofArmy Group North inOperation Barbarossa. Was in charge of the unsuccessfulsiege of Leningrad, which lasted nearly 1000 days. | |||||||
| Gerd von Rundstedt |  | Field Marshal | Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords | Commander-in-Chief, Army Group South | Died in 1953. |
| |
| AKriegsakademie graduate of thePrussian nobility, and a major World War I veteran, Rundstedt distinguished himself as commander of numerous fronts of World War II including theWestern andEastern fronts of Europe.[1] | |||||||
| Günther von Kluge |  | Field Marshal | Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords | Commander, 4th Army | Committed suicide in 1944. | ||
| Commander of many successful operations including the invasion of Poland, France and the Soviet Union. Involved in the failed Hitler assassination, he decided to commit suicide.[1] | |||||||
| Georg von Küchler |  | Field Marshal | Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves | Commander, 18th Army | Arrested in 1948 by the Americans, for crimes against the Soviet Union. Released in 1953. | ||
| Relieved von Leeb as commander of the siege of Leningrad. After this failed, withdrewArmy Group North, which prevented its destruction.[1] | |||||||
| Fedor von Bock |  | Field Marshal | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross | Commander-in-Chief, Army Group North Commander-in-Chief, Army Group B | Was killed by a British fighter pilot in 1945 and became the only one of two of Adolf Hitler's field marshal's to die from enemy fire. | ||
| Recipient of thePour le Mérite from World War I, rose rapidly in rank to field marshal by the fall of France. Took command of Army Group Centre, whose Panzer groups penetrated the furthest into Russia. Was one of the senior Wehrmacht commanders before the outbreak of war. Play a decisive role in the defeat of Poland and France. Bock was German Army Group Center commander during Operation Barbarossa, after the defeat at Moscow was relieved of command by Hitler. After Reichenau death, he was appointed to take over Army Group South. He was instructmental in defeating Marshal Timoshenko forces at Kharkov. However, Hitler was displeased with Bock and dismissed him. Played no further part in the war[1] | |||||||
| Erich von Manstein |  | Field Marshal | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oakleaves and Swords | Commander, 18th Infantry Division | Imprisoned after war, later released and served as senior advisor to theBundeswehr. | ||
| The master of mobile battle, authored the original Sichelschnitt plan, a plan which enabled Germany to capture France with minimal casualties. Manstein captured Sevastapol and was responsible for shoring up the Southern Front after the defeat at Stalingrad. He later recaptured Kharkov. After the defeat at Kursk, he successfully handled his army group retreat. However, he was dismissed by Hitler after frequently clashing with him in 1944. He then played no further part in the war from then on.[1] | |||||||
| Erwin Rommel | .jpg) | Field Marshal | Pour le Mérite,Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oakleaves, Swords and Diamonds | Commander, 7th Panzer Division | Committed suicide after being implicated in the Valkyrie plot. Official cause of death by the State was succumbing to wounds from an Allied air attack. |
| |
| NicknamedThe Desert Fox, Rommel headed the German campaign of North Africa. Rommel was highly decorated in World War I with thePour le Mérite, Germany's highest award. During World War II, he made an immediate impact in the Saharan desert, conquering all of West Africa and threatening to reach Suez. A number of factors such as stretching supply lines and the reinforcement of Allied military power (both in Morocco and Egypt) turned the tide in the favour of the Allies, and his forces were routed in theBattle of Tunisia in 1943. Before he could counterattack, German high command reassigned him to defend theAtlantic Wall. Rommel failed to stop theallied invasion of Normandy. Though typically linked to the assassination of Hitler, Rommel likely did not take part in theJuly 20 plot as he did not want future generations to think that the Axis lost the war due to backstabbing. Nevertheless, Rommel committed suicide in order to avoid trial after the war.[1] | |||||||
| Walter Model |  | Field Marshal | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oakleaves, Swords and Diamonds | Commander, 3rd Panzer Division Commander-in-Chief, Army Group North Commander-in-Chief, Army Group North Ukraine Commander-in-Chief, Army Group Centre | Committed suicide in 1945. |
| |
| German Army officer whose expertise in defensive warfare earned him the nickname of the 'Führer's fireman'[1] | |||||||
| Heinz Guderian |  | Colonel General | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves | Commander, 2nd Panzer Division Acting Chief of theOberkommando des Heeres | Died in 1954. | ||
| Early pioneer ofBlitzkrieg tactics. Chief of OKH General Staff 1944–1945.[1] | |||||||
| Friedrich Paulus |  | Generalfeldmarschall | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves | Deputy Chief of theOberkommando des Heeres | Soviet captivity until 1953. Became a vocal critic of the Nazi regime. | ||
| Commander of the disastrous campaign in theBattle of Stalingrad. | |||||||
| Josef Dietrich |  | SS-Oberst-Gruppenführer und Generaloberst der Waffen-SS | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oakleaves, Swords and Diamonds | Commander, Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler Commander, I SS Panzer Corps Commander, 5th Panzer Army Commander, 6th Panzer Army | Sentenced to life, reduced to 25 years imprisonment in 1946. Promoted welfare of ex-servicemen on release. | ||
| Before World War II, Dietrich was very close to Hitler, commanded his bodyguard unit, was a member of thePrussian State Council, and played a key part in theNight of the Long Knives. In World War II, he became the commander of1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler and General of theWaffen-SS. Dietrich came into prominence for his role in theBattle of the Bulge in late 1944. He later commanded the defense of Vienna. He was a widely respected person in Germany both during and after the war.[1] | |||||||
| Air force | Hermann Göring |  | Reichsmarschall | Grand Cross of the Iron Cross | Reichsmarschall of the Greater German Reich (supreme commander of theWehrmacht) Chief of theOberkommando der Luftwaffe | Committed suicide after being sentenced to death for war crimes. | |
| Was a high scoringair ace and took over theRed Baron's famous squadron, and won the prestigiousPour le Mérite in World War I. Hitler's second in command. Commander-in-Chief of Luftwaffe 1935–1945. He was involved with the running of Germany and the war, including implementation of theHolocaust.[1] | |||||||
| Albert Kesselring |  | Field Marshal | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oakleaves, Swords and Diamonds | Commander, Luftflotte 1 | Died in 1960 at the age of 75. | ||
| Was commander-in-chief of Luftwaffe South (1941–1943), then South-west (1943–1945), then West Europe (1945). Chief of the defense of Italy against the allies during the prolonged battles ofAnzio andMonte Cassino. Was a leader in the defense of Germany at the end of the war. Kesselring was admired by both sides of the war and was responsible for protecting priceless artworks and even the City of Rome from destruction.[1] | |||||||
| Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen | .jpg) | Field Marshal | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves | Commander, 8th Air Corps | Died in 1945. | ||
| Robert Ritter von Greim |  | Field Marshal | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oakleaves, Swords and Diamonds | Commander, 5th Air Corps Chief of theOberkommando der Luftwaffe | Committed suicide in 1945. | ||
| An ace of World War I and winner of the prestigiousPour le Mérite award. Before World War II, went to China to help build their air force. A commander of the Luftwaffe during theBattle of Poland. He was loyal to Hitler to the end, flying in on 26 April 1945 withHanna Reitsch. He and Hanna Reitsch said "It was the blackest day when we could not die at our Führer's side.".[1] | |||||||
| Kurt Student |  | General | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oakleaves | Commander, 1st Parachute Division | Held as a Prisoner of War by the British and freed in 1948. | ||
| An ace of World War I. Before World War II, trained troops in airborne operations. Commanded the successful airborne operations in theBattle of Crete. Commanded the highly successful operation to freeBenito Mussolini. Successful again in the defense against airborne landings nearArnhem.[1] | |||||||
| Navy | Erich Raeder |  | Grand Admiral | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross | Chief of theOberkommando der Marine | Died in 1960. | |
| Commander-in-Chief of Kriegsmarine 1936–1943.[1] | |||||||
| Karl Dönitz |  | Grand Admiral | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves | Befehlshaber der U-Boote Chief of theOberkommando der Marine | Briefly became President of Germany. Spent 10 years in prison. Died in 1980. | ||
| Commander-in-Chief of Kriegsmarine 1943–1945.[1] | |||||||
| Armed Force | Name | Highest Rank | Highest Award | Commands | Fate | Theatres / Battles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army | Hideki Tojo |  | General | Order of the Rising Sun | Prime Minister of Japan | Executed in 1948. | |
| Prime minister of Japan and President of theImperial Rule Assistance Association in 1941-1944 was also a military commander. Chief of the Army General Staff in 1944.[1] | |||||||
| Hajime Sugiyama |  | Field Marshal | Order of the Rising Sun | Minister of the Army Inspector-General of Military Training Commander North China Area Army Commander Mongolia Garrison Army | Committed suicide shortly after the end of the war. | ||
| Chief of the Army General Staff 1940–1944.[1] | |||||||
| Prince Kotohito Kan'in |  | Field Marshal | Order of the Chrysanthemum | Chief of Imperial Japanese Army General Staff | Died in 1945 | ||
| Chief of staff of the Army, 1931–1940 | |||||||
| Hisaichi Terauchi |  | Field Marshal | Order of the Rising Sun | Commander, Taiwan Army of Japan | Died in a prisoner of war camp in Malaya June 1946. | ||
| Son of former PMTerauchi Masatake, became the senior officer of the Imperial Japanese after the coup of 1936. Was at one time considered as Tojo successor after the latter's resignation. | |||||||
| Shunroku Hata |  | Field Marshal | Order of the Rising Sun | Commander, 14th Division Commander, Taiwan Army of Japan Inspector-General of Military Training Commander, Central China Expeditionary Army | Sentenced to imprisonment. | ||
| Commanded theSecond General Army, based in Hiroshima from 1944 to 1945 in preparation for the anticipatedAllied invasion of the Japanese home islands. | |||||||
| Tomoyuki Yamashita |  | General | Order of the Rising Sun | Commander, 3rd Imperial Infantry Regiment | Executed at 1946. | ||
| Forced the surrender of the allies in theBattle of Singapore. Defender of the Philippines against MacArthur. an American military tribunal in Manila tried General Yamashita for war crimes relating to theManila Massacre and many atrocities in the Philippines and Singapore against civilians and prisoners of war, such as theSook Ching massacre, and sentenced him to death. This controversial case has become a precedent regarding the command responsibility for war crimes and is known as the Yamashita Standard.[1] | |||||||
| Iwane Matsui |  | General | Order of the Rising Sun | Commander, 11th Division Commander, Taiwan Army of Japan | Retired 1938, executed in 1948. | ||
| Arrested by the American occupation authorities after the surrender of Japan, Matsui was charged with war crimes in connection with the actions of the Japanese army in China also known as TheNanking Massacre. In 1948, the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE) found him guilty of class B and C war crimes, and he was hanged that December at Sugamo Prison, alongside six others, including Hideki Tojo. He was 70 at the time of his death. | |||||||
| Navy | Osami Nagano |  | Fleet Admiral | Order of the Rising Sun | Minister of the Navy | Died of a heart attack in 1947. | |
| Chief of the Navy General Staff, 1941–1944. | |||||||
| Prince Fushimi Hiroyasu |  | Fleet Admiral | Order of the Chrysanthemum | Chief ofImperial Japanese Navy General Staff | Died in 1946. | ||
| Chief of staff of the Navy, 1932–1941. | |||||||
| Isoroku Yamamoto |  | Fleet Admiral | Order of the Chrysanthemum | Director of the Imperial Japanese Navy Aviation Bureau | The plane carrying him was shot down in 1943. |
| |
| Commander of the 7 December 1941Attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Japanese Navy 1939–1943. Isoroku Yamamoto, was killed on Bougainville Island when his transport bomber aircraft was shot down by United States Army Air Forces fighter aircraft operating from Kukum Field on Guadalcanal.[1] | |||||||
| Mineichi Koga |  | Fleet Admiral | Order of the Rising Sun | Vice Chief of theImperial Japanese Navy General Staff | Killed in plane crash 1944. | ||
| Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Japanese Navy 1943–1944.[1] | |||||||
| Soemu Toyoda |  | Admiral | Order of the Rising Sun | Commander-in-Chief, 4th Fleet Commander-in-Chief, Kure Naval District | Died in 1957 at the age of 73. | ||
| Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Japanese Navy 1944–1945, Chief of staff of the Navy 1945.[1] | |||||||
| Chūichi Nagumo |  | Admiral | Order of the Rising Sun | Commander-in-Chief, 1st Air Fleet Commander-in-Chief, Sasebo Naval District Commander-in-Chief, Kure Naval District Commander-in-Chief ofCentral Pacific Area Fleet and 14th Air Fleet | Committed suicide in 1944 during the battle of Saipan. | ||
| Torpedo specialist and commander of theCarrier Striking Task Force that attacked Pearl Harbor. Successful raids at Darwin and the Indian Ocean were reversed at the Battle of Midway. Although he had tactical victories in the Guadalcanal campaigns, his battle strength was severely depleted, and was switched to the defence of the Mariana Islands.[1] | |||||||
| Jisaburō Ozawa |  | Vice Admiral | Order of the Sacred Treasure | Commander-in-Chief, Combined Fleet | Died in 1966. | ||
| Replaced Toyoda in 1945 to become commander-in-chief of theJapanese Combined Fleet[1] | |||||||
Army:Korechika Anami
| Armed Force | Name | Highest Rank | Highest Award | Commands | Fate | Theatres / Battles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army | Plaek Phibunsongkhram |  | Field marshal | Order of the Nine Gems | Commander of the Royal Thai Army | Later ousted after the defeat of the Japanese, only to return to power in 1948 and become prime minister until 1957. | |
| Prime Minister and dictator of Thailand during the war, eventually commanding theRoyal Thai Armed Forces during theFrench-Thai War. | |||||||
| Charun Rattanakun Seriroengrit |  | Lieutenant general | Order of the Crown of Thailand | Commander, Phayap Army | Commander of an infantry battalion and took part inthe invasion and occupation of the Shan States in Burma. | ||
| Commander ofPhayap Army during thePacific War. | |||||||
| Armed Force | Name | Highest Rank | Highest Award | Commands | Fate | Theatres / Battles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army | Ion Antonescu |  | Marshal of Romania | Order of Michael the Brave | Prime Minister of Romania Commander-in-Chief ofRomanian Armed Forces | Executed in 1946. | |
| Nicknamed Câinele Roșu ("Red Dog"). Took control of Romania whenCarol II abdicated and established a dictatorship with theIron Guard Party. Got rid of theIron Guard during theirattempted coup in 1941. Acted as Commander-in-Chief of the Romanian Army andConducător of Romania, recapturingBessarabia and northernBucovina, then appointed himself marshal. When his forces were decimated at theBattle of Stalingrad, he started negotiating for peace[citation needed]. His career ended in 1944 when he was arrested byKing Michael, who signed an armistice with the Allies.[1] | |||||||
| Petre Dumitrescu |  | Army General | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves | General Officer Commanding, Romanian Third Army | Died in 1950 after a bout with cancer. | ||
| Commanded theRomanian First Army between 1937 and 1941. Commanded theRomanian Third Army between 1941 and 1944. AfterAdolf Hitler convincedIon Antonescu to continue the war beyond Romania's pre-1940 borders, Dumitrescu then led the Third Army to theCrimea, taking part in theBattle of the Sea of Azov. In 1942 he was made General of the Army, thus becoming Antonescu's second-in-command. TheGerman forces inStalingrad were in dire need of assistance, and the German High Command transferred many of its troops to the besieged city, which meant the Third Army now had fewer troops to defend an increasingly large front. The German Command, however, chose to ignore Dumitrescu's reports about a Soviet troop buildup in the southwest and request for anti-tank weapons, as they did with his repeated suggestions to attack the Sovietbridgehead atKletskaya. After the1944 Romanian coup d'état Dumitrescu turned against Nazi Germany and captured more than 6,000 German prisoners of war. He retired in early September, 1944 after the Romanian Army and the Red Army retookNorthern Transylvania and advanced intoHungary. Dumitrescu was put under house arrest and put on trial forwar crimes by the newcommunist government, but was eventually acquitted because of a lack of evidence. | |||||||
| Constantin Constantinescu-Claps | Army General | Order of Michael the Brave | General Officer Commanding, Romanian Fourth Army | Died in 1961. | |||
| Commanded 10th Army Corps in 1940, the 11th Army Corps in 1941 and theRomanian Fourth Army between 1941 and 1943. He took part inOperation München and theSiege of Odessa. In the early stages of Operation Barbarossa, GeneralNicolae Ciupercă noted:"General Constantinescu has led the army corps with a lot of competence, causing, indirectly, the withdrawal of the Soviet forces between theDniester River and the Suhoz Lake. I consider him to be a very good army corps commander, who is distinguished by great devotion and precious optimism". He fought later tat theBattle of Stalingrad, where theRomanian armies suffered a crushing defeat. Constantinescu’s 4th Army, was deployed to the south ofStalingrad. Most of these formations were in deplorable shape, with at best 73% of necessary manpower, with the 1st Infantry Division going as low as 25% and an almost nonexistent arsenal of heavy anti-tank guns.[12] In 1943, Constantinescu-Claps was relieved of his assignment and replaced byConstantin Sănătescu. In spite of his high rank, he never received any German medals and was in conflict with the German leadership andConducătorIon Antonescu who merely tolerated him allegedly for his abilities as a general.[13] | |||||||
| Constantin Sănătescu |  | Army General | General Officer Commanding, 4th Army Corps | Died in 1948. | |||
| In 1939 he held the positions of commander of the 8th Army Corps and later that year commander of the Cavalry Corps. He commanded the 4th Army Corps between 1941 and 1943. He stopped thePogrom from Dorohoi against theJews that was launched in 1940. He was promoted to Army Corps General in 1942 and commanded theRomanian Fourth Army between 1943 and 1944. He participated in several meetings with civilians and soldiers close to theRoyal House who planned the overthrow of the Antonescu regime and was a major participant in the1944 Romanian coup d'état, he was also a close friend ofKing Michael I. On the day of the coup, when GeneralDumitru Dămăceanu proposed to move it to 26 August as it's a bath day for the Bucharest Garrison and soldiers will not be prepared in time, Sanatescu is reported to have replied"Dămăceanu, you forget that at Mărăşeşti we won in pijamas, this time we will win naked!". Referring to an event during theBattle of Mărăşeşti inWorld War IAtacul cămășilor albe [ro] where the Romanian Infantry Regiment 32 "Mircea" was forced to fight in white shirts due to a surprise attack by the German Army while they were cleaning their uniforms, Major Ionescu Atanasie desperately ordered a bayonet charge in white shirts that pushed back the German attack. | |||||||
| Gheorghe Avramescu |  | Army General | German Cross in Gold | General Officer Commanding, 10th Division General Officer Commanding, Mountain Corps General Officer Commanding, III Corps General Officer Commanding, VI Corps | Died in 1945. | ||
| Commanded theRomanian Mountain Corps between 1941 and 1943. Commanded theRomanian Fourth Army between 1944 and 1945. At the head of theMountain Corps, he participated inOperation München, theBattle of the Sea of Azov, theCrimean campaign, and theSiege of Sevastopol. After the fall of Sevastopol, his Corps occupiedCrimea. After the Royal Coup, he had many battles with his 4th Army, including theBattle of Turda and theBattle of Debrecen, and was in command at theBattle of Carei, the last engagement of the war within the present borders of Romania.[14] He successfully led the 4th Army in the assault on theZvolen–Banská Bystrica line, in what was the prelude to theBratislava–Brno Offensive inSlovakia. Avramescu complained repeatedly to the Soviets about the lack of supplies to the Romanian Army and impossible tasks as the spearhead of the assaults. He was killed on 3 March 1945 in the car that was transporting him, the other 3 occupants were NKVD officers.[15] According to the official report issued on 23 March 1945 by NKVD headLavrentiy Beria, Avramescu was hit by a bullet through the car's windshield.[16] On the same day, his wife and daughter were arrested and sent toSiberia. His daughter committed suicide; according to Soviet sources, this happened on 6 March 1945.[17] Adela returned to Romania in 1956. | |||||||
| Vasile Atanasiu |  | Army General | Order of the White Lion | General Officer Commanding, 1st Romanian Army | Died in 1964. | ||
| Commanded the 3rd Army Corps in the liberation ofBessarabia, the battle for thebeachhead ofAlbiţa on thePrut River, the advance to theDniester atTiraspol between 1941 and 1943. Commanded theRomanian First Army in 1945, in the battles on the Czechoslovakian front in theJavorina, between the riversHron andMorava and thereafter inBohemia. | |||||||
| Nicolae Macici |  | Army General | Order of Michael the Brave | ||||
| Commanded the 2nd Army Corps against the Soviets in theDanube Delta duringOperation München, and later advanced towardsOdessa in 1941. Commanded theRomanian First Army between 1941 and 1944. AfterKing Michael's Coup of 23 August 1944, theRomanian First Army was able to hold theCarpathian Mountains passes until Soviet reinforcements arrived. Participated in the advance inTransylvania and joint Soviet–Romanian attack onHungary andSlovakia. | |||||||
| Nicolae Ciupercă |  | Army General | Order of Michael the Brave | ||||
| Served as the Romanian Minister of Defense from 1938 to 1939. Briefly commanded theRomanian Second Army in 1940. Commanded the Romanian Fourth Army between 1939 and 1941. Was a devout anti-communist and would resign from the position of Minister of Defense after coming into conflict withKingCarol II due to a proposal to decrease the budget of the Romanian military. He would later go on to claim this to be an action of corruption by Carol, as the king refused to explain to the general where the missing funds would go. WhenAdolf Hitler convinced RomanianConducătorIon Antonescu to cross theDniester River, Ciupercă was still in command of the 4th Army that would lay siege toOdessa. After the end of the war, Ciupercă joined theanti-communist Graiul Sângelui, the members of the organization sought to facilitate the actions of American airborne troops which they hoped were to land in Romania[18] (seeVin americanii!). Following his the Soviet request to disband Ciupercă said"we will go to prison so it will be known that we did not want Romania to become a republic of the Soviet Union".[18] | |||||||
| Ilie Șteflea |  | Army General | Order of Michael the Brave | ||||
| Commanded theRomanian Fourth Army in 1944. | |||||||
| Mihail Lascăr |  | Army Corps General | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves | Died in 1959. | |||
| Commanded the1st Mixed Mountain Brigade, an elite unit of theRomanian Third Army between 1941 and 1942. Commanded the 6th Division of theRomanian Third Army in 1942. Reorganized the remains of theRomanian Third Army afterOperation Uranus into the Army Corps Lascar and kept fighting encircled.Adolf Hitler noted the bravery of his troops and he became the first foreigner to receive the highest German military award, only 8 other foreigners received the same award. Was taken prisoner after theBattle of Stalingrad and became commander of theRomanian Fourth Army in 1945. In 1947 he founded the football clubAsociația Sportivă a Armatei București nowCSA Steaua București. In 1949 he served as commander of theMilitary Academy in Bucharest. He was then Inspector-General of theRomanian Army until 1950 when he was discharged from active duty. | |||||||
| Ioan Mihail Racoviță |  | Army Corps General | Order of Michael the Brave | General Officer Commanding, Romanian Cavalry Corps General Officer Commanding, Romanian Fourth ArmyMinister of Defense of Romania | Died in 1954. | ||
| Commanded the Romanian Cavalry Corps between 1941 and 1943. With the Cavalry Corps he advanced from Romania to theCaucasus. He participated inOperation München, theBattle of the Sea of Azov and theBattle of the Caucasus. Commanded the Romanian Mechanized Troops between 1943 and 1944. In 1944 and took over the command of the4th Army, which had to be completely rebuilt after theBattle of Stalingrad and participated in defensive battles in Northern Romania against the advancingRed Army. He played an important role in the23 August coup d'état | |||||||
| Gheorghe Mihail |  | Army Corps General | Order of Michael the Brave | ||||
| Commanded the Doburja Army Corps in 1939. In 1948, the newcommunist regime arrested Mihail and took him for questioning. Manuscripts were found in his home that included, in the prosecutor's view, "a multitude of phrases containing insults and slanders addressed to the USSR and the Romanian regime".[19] He was charged with sabotage alongside "a group of landowning saboteurs" and was subsequently accused of "intense activity against the working classes". He was released in 1960. | |||||||
| Constantin Nicolescu |  | Army Corps General | Order of Michael the Brave | Minister of Defense of Romania | Died in 1972. | ||
| Commanded the Bucharest Military between 1941 and 1943. Commanded the 4th Army Corps between 1943 and 1944. Was a major participant inKing Michael's Coup of 1944, and from November 1944 until the abolition of the monarchy in December 1947 served as head of the royal household. | |||||||
| Corneliu Dragalina |  | Army Corps General | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross | Governor-General of Bukovina | Died in 1949. | ||
| Commanded the 6th Army Corps between 1940 and 1943. At the beginning of September, the 6th Corps was assigned to theRomanian Fourth Army, commanded by GeneralConstantin Constantinescu-Claps. Dragalina's 6th Corps troops received the brunt of the Soviet offensive south of Stalingrad. The 6th Corps fell back to the Aksay River, but to no avail. The remnants of the 6th Corps tried to defend a line of villages backed up byRadu Korne's detachment. The losses of the 6th Corps in this operation were catastrophic, with up to 80% in personnel at the 1st, 2nd, and 18th divisions. He demanded and received from the Romanian General Headquarters the authorization to make decisions independently from the German Army. Dragalina later lost his house inTimișoara[20] and was harassed by theSecuritate, but, unlike many other military commanders who had fought on the Eastern Front, he was not arrested. | |||||||
| Ioan Dumitrache |  | Army Corps General | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross | General Officer Commanding, 2nd Mountain Division | Died in 1977. | ||
| Commanded the 2nd Mountain Division nicknamed "Divizia de Cremene" (Flint Division) between 1942 and 1944. His troops (vânători de munte) were recognized as the elite troops of the Romanian Army throughout thecampaign on the Eastern Front.[21] During theBattle of Stalingrad his division continued their offensive towardsAlagir andOrdjonikidze in theCaucasus.[22] Dumitrache's incursion constituted the farthest eastern advance of the Axis powers in the Eastern campaign.[23][22] Following the Red Army's offensive in the Caucasus, surrounding the 13th Panzer Division near Mayramadag, Dumitrache's troops broke through the Soviet forces and allowed the German armored units to pull out. Afterwards, the Axis forces in the Caucasus were put on the defensive, and began to withdraw. During the retreat, Dumitrache took over the command of 4 Romanian Divisions (2 vanatori de munte and 2 regular infantry) and contained the Soviet push south of theSivash Bay. During the last days of the battle for Sevastopol he evacuated with his troops and returned to Romania where he was promoted and placed in the command of theRomanian Mountain Corps. One day afterKing Michael's Coup, the German troops occupiedBrașov, the next day, Dumitrache's Corps retook Brașov, repulsing subsuqent attacks of German and Hungarian troops, and blocked the roads for the Germans retreating northward fromMuntenia. He then participated in the offensive against Hungary. In 1945 he was accused of ordering the killing of 600 prisoners of war atNalchik and arrested on suspicion of war crimes but was cleared of the charges and returned as commander of the Mountain Corps with the approval of Soviet General Ivan Susaikov. In 1949 he was arrested again by theCommunist authorities for presumed war crimes but was released in 1950 due to lack of evidence. | |||||||
| Nicolae Dăscălescu |  | Army Corps General | Order of the Crown (Romania) | General Officer Commanding, 2nd Army Corps | |||
| Commanding the 2nd Army Corps between 1941 and 1945. His Corps was present at theBattle of Stalingrad and was overrun by numerical superior forces duringOperation Uranus. The remnants of the Corps were withdrawn to Romania to be rebuilt and to protect the northern border. AfterKing Michael's Coup on 23 August 1944, the 2nd Corps turned against its former German allies, took 10,500 prisoners, and participated in the advance inTransylvania as part of theFourth Army under command of generalGheorghe Avramescu. When Avramescu was eliminated by theNKVD he became the new commander of theRomanian Fourth Army, under the command of Soviet generalRodion Malinovsky, he fought in theBratislava–Brno Offensive and thePrague Offensive. In 1946, he was put on trial as a war criminal, but the court dismissed the accusations and cleared his name, he was further harassed until 1951, when he was thrown in theJilava Prison for "agricultural sabotage". | |||||||
| Gheorghe Manoliu | Army Corps General | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross | General Officer Commanding, 4th Mountain Division | Died in 1974. | |||
| Commanded the 4th Mountain Division between 1940 and 1942. Was promoted in 1943 and commanded the 4th Army Corps. | |||||||
| Emanoil Bârzotescu |  | Army Corps General | Order of the Crown (Romania) | General Officer Commanding, 1st Division General Officer Commanding, 6th Corps | Died in 1968. | ||
| Commanded the1st Infantry Division between 1940 and 1942. Retired in 1942 and was recalled in 1945. Commanded the 6th Crops Area in 1945. He was arrested 1950, and sent to forced labor camps (Saligny,Peninsula,Midia) along theDanube–Black Sea Canal. | |||||||
| Ilie Cretulescu |  | Army Corps General | Order of the Crown (Romania) | General Officer Commanding, 4th Army Corps | |||
| Commanded the 4th Army Corps in 1940. | |||||||
| Dumitru Coroamă |  | Army Corps General | Order of Michael the Brave | General Officer Commanding, 4th Army Corps | |||
| Commanded the 4th Army Corps in 1941 and 1944. In the interwar was a member of theIron Guard but despite his commitment to the revolutionary ideology of the Guard, he was well-liked byKingCarol II, and in 1937 became commander of theRoyal Palace garrison. This allowed him to sabotage Carol's attempt to use Palace troops against the Guard. DuringCorneliu Zelea Codreanu's arrest, Coroamă was expected to present Carol with a memorandum on behalf of Codreanu. Coroamă himself claimed that the initiative was curbed byHoria Sima, who did not want Codreanu alive.[24] When Antonescu informed Carol that the Iron Guard wanted a new king, Antonescu also commented that the government"cannot count on the commanders, and especially not on General Coroamă, who has switched completely toward the Iron Guard."[25] When the Iron Guard marched for the royal palace, General Coroamă refused to comply with the royal order of shooting down Guardists who marched in front of the Palace.[26] According to several period witnesses, his resistance persuaded Antonescu to follow suit, and allowed for a bloodless transition.[27] Antonescu was poorly impressed by Coroamă's inaction, telling Coroamă"You sir were the king's trusted man. If these were your ideas, then you shouldn't have accepted such an appointment." In the aftermath of Carol II's forced abdication, Coroamă was mistrusted and marginalized byConducătorIon Antonescu. Like other Guardists, Coroamă was dissatisfied with Antonescu's regime, or "National Legionary State". Under the command of the4th Army Corps inIași, he witnessed the clashes between Antonescu and his Guard colleagues, peaking during theLegionary Rebellion of 1941. Coroamă took a moderate stance, refusing to side with the Iron Guard and his mediation helped Antonescu to restore order in Iași without bloodshed. According toNazi German diplomatic cables, he did so because he feared that theSoviet Union would profit from the unrest and invade Romania. Later in 1941, asNazi Germany and Romania opened anEastern Front against theSoviet Union, Coroamă advised against continuing the offensive beyondBessarabia. In 1944, he was one of the Romanian generals prepared to support Germany duringOperation Spring Awakening, however, he switched his allegiance in support of theRoyal Coup and worked to consolidate a national network ofanti-communist resistance groups. | |||||||
| Mihail Cămărașu |  | Army Corps General | Order of the Crown (Romania) | General Officer Commanding, 7th Army Corps | |||
| Commanded the 7th Army Corps between 1941 and 1943. | |||||||
| Ioan Sion | Division General | Order of Michael the Brave | Died during theBattle of Stalingrad | ||||
| Commanded the 1st Armored Division between 1939 and 1942. Was known for fighting with his troops. Personally destroyed a Soviet tank by sneaking around, climbing it and throwing a grenade inside it. Died during theBattle of Stalingrad. He was posthumously promoted and awarded theOrder of Michael the Brave. | |||||||
| Aurel Aldea | Division General | No Awards | General Officer Commanding, 11th Infantry Division, Infantry Division in April 1939 | ||||
| Commanded the 11th Infantry Division in 1938 and 4th Infantry Division in April 1939. Forced into retirement by Marshal Ion Antonescu in 1941. Major participant inKing Michael's Coup of 1944. Major participant in anti-communist armed resistance between 1945 and 1946. | |||||||
| Radu Korne |  | Division General | Order of the Crown (Romania) | General Officer Commanding, 6th Motorized Roșiori Regiment, 8th Cavalry Division, 1st Armored Division | |||
| Commanding the 6th Motorized Roșiori Regiment between 1939 and 1942. The 8th Cavalry Division at theBattle of Stalingrad and 1st Armored Division in 1944. At the request of the Soviet Union, his division was disbanded in 1944 and he was arrested in his words"like a common burglar". In prison, he wrote a letter toConstantin Sănătescu, where he deplored the fact that so many of the Romanian senior officer corps were being dismissed en masse, while others were being arrested or harassed, after having fought in war as ordered by the king. He concluded his letter by asking,"Why are the prisons being filled with the most devoted soldiers of the country?". He was released in 1945 at the insistence of Constantin Sănătescu with the approval of Soviet General Vladislav Vinogradov, and retired from the army the next month. After the war he was investigated by theBucharest People's Tribunal for "anti-Soviet propaganda" but was found not guilty. In 1948 his son, Mihai, managed to escapeCommunist Romania and settled in France. He was arrested by theSiguranța Statului secret police for "conspiracy against state security," and sent toJilava Prison. | |||||||
| Nicolae Cambrea |  | Division General | Order of Michael the Brave | General Officer Commanding, 5th Infantry Division | |||
| Commanded the 5th Division in 1942. Became a Soviet prisoner of war but the following year joined his captors and became General Officer Commanding of the Tudor Vladimirescu Division made of Romanian pro-Soviet volunteers from former prisoners of war, which earned him the nickname "Red General". | |||||||
| Dumitru Dămăceanu |  | Brigadier General | Order of Michael the Brave | General Officer Commanding, 10th Roșiori Cavalry Regiment General Officer Commanding, Capital Military Command | Died in 1978. | ||
| Commanded the 10th Cavalry Regiment between 1941 and 1942. Chief of Staff in Bucharest Military between 1942 and 1944. Major participant inKing Michael's Coup of 1944 where he organized and coordinated the military actions and resistance in Bucharest. AfterKing Michael's forced abdication on 30 December 1947 and the complete Communist takeover of Romania, Dămăceanu was removed from the army. During the early 1950s he was degraded, arrested, tried and sentenced to serve time in prison. | |||||||
| Leonard Mociulschi |  | Brigadier General | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross | Died in 1979. | |||
| Commanded the1st Mixed Mountain Brigade, an elite unit of theRomanian Third Army between 1940 and 1941. Commanded the3rd Mixed Mountain Brigade between 1942 and 1943. In 1948, he was arrested by theCommunist authorities inCodlea and sent without trial to penal colonies at theDanube–Black Sea Canal. | |||||||
| Corneliu Teodorini |  | Brigadier General | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves | Died in 1976. | |||
| Commanded the 6th Cavalry Regiment. Was one of the only 8 foreign recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and the lowest ranking general to be a recipient of the award for his actions during theKerch–Eltigen Operation in 1943, where he pushed back the Red Army twice. AfterKing Michael's Coup, Teodorini joined the "Army Resistance Group", an organization that included generals Aurel Aldea, Dumitru Coroamă, Constantin Sănătescu, Gheorghe Mihail, Leonard Mociulschi, Nicolae Rădescu and others aroundKing Michael I seeking to prevent the communist takeover of the Romanian Army. | |||||||
| Navy | Horia Macellariu |  | Rear Admiral | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross | Commander-in-Chief, Black Sea Fleet | Died in 1989. | |
| Commanded theRoyal Romanian Navy's Black Sea Fleet between 1941 and 1944. He presided over a significant enlargement of the Romanian Black Sea Fleet, most notably the commissioning of the Romanian-built submarinesMarsuinul and her smaller sister shipRechinul, the former being the most powerful and modern Axis submarine in theBlack Sea.[28][29] The evacuation of theCrimea in April–May 1944 was the most complex and extensive operation of the Romanian Navy during the Second World War. From 15 April to 14 May, numerous German and Romanian warships escorted many convoys betweenConstanța andSevastopol. Axis ships transported, under constant attacks from Soviet aircraft and shore artillery, over 30,000 troops. Of these, 18,000 were transported by Romanian ships. In total, Romanian and German convoys evacuated over 113,000 Axis troops from the Crimea. No Romanian Navy warships were lost during the evacuation. Macellariu's successful conduct of the evacuation and the achievements obtained by the Romanian warships under his command, in combat and number of Axis troops evacuated, earned him the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. After the23 August 1944 coup which put Romania on the side of theAllies, the situation became uncertain. German Vice AdmiralHelmuth Brinkmann had orders to hold Constanța at all costs. However, after a face-to-face meeting with Macellariu, he was persuaded to make an orderly retreat and avoid an unnecessary bloodshed. In 1948, Macellariu was arrested by the communist authorities and incarcerated atJilava Prison. After a trial, he was sentenced to hard labor for life for high treason, a sentence subsequently reduced to 25 years. | |||||||
| Armed Force | Name | Highest Rank | Highest Award | Commands | Fate | Theatres / Battles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army | Ferdinand Čatloš | .jpg) | Major General | General Officer Commanding, Field Army Bernolák | Was briefly imprisoned, set free in 1948, died in 1972. | ||
| Slovakian Minister of Defence and Chief General Staff. | |||||||
| Armed Force | Name | Highest Rank | Highest Award | Commands | Fate | Theatres / Battles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army | Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim |  | Marshal of Finland | Grand Cross of the Order of the Cross of Liberty | Commander-in-Chief of the Finnish Defence Forces | Succeeded Risto Ryti as President of Finland. Died in 1951 | |
| Was Commander-in-Chief of Finnish army during World War II. Organised the Mannerheim Line in the Karelian Peninsula.[1] | |||||||
| Karl Lennart Oesch |  | Lieutenant General | Mannerheim Cross | Commander, II Corps | Died in 1978 | ||
| An influential Finnish general.II Corps andIII Corps of the Finnish ground forces were under his command at the end of theContinuation War. | |||||||
| Ruben Lagus |  | Lieutenant General | Mannerheim Cross | Commander, Finnish Armoured Division | Died in 1959. | ||
| Commanded theFinnish Armoured Division (Panssaridivisioona) during theLapland War. | |||||||
| Erik Heinrichs |  | General | Mannerheim Cross | Commander, III Corps | Died in 1965. | ||
| Commanded theArmy of Karelia and theArmy of the Isthmus. | |||||||
| Vilho Nenonen |  | General | Mannerheim Cross | Died in 1960. | |||
| He was extremely influential in the development of the Finnish Army's artillery. The trajectory calculation formulas he developed are still in use today by modern artillery. | |||||||
| Paavo Talvela |  | General | Mannerheim Cross | Commander, IV Corps | Died in 1973. | ||
| He commanded theFinnish III Corps in the Winter War from February 1940 to the end of the Winter War. | |||||||
| Armed Force | Name | Highest Rank | Highest Award | Commands | Fate | Theatres / Battles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army | Aung San |  | Major General | Order of the Star of the Revolution | Leader of theThirty Comrades | Arranged for the establishment of Burmese independence, assassinated under mysterious circumstances in 1947. | |
| Led theBurma National Army and theAnti-Fascist Organisation. | |||||||
| Armed Force | Name | Highest Rank | Highest Award | Commands | Fate | Theatres / Battles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army | Roman Shukhevych |  | General | Gold Cross of Combat Merit First Class, the Cross of Merit in gold | Supreme Commander of theUkrainian Insurgent Army | Died fightingNKVD forces inLviv in 1950. | |
| Supreme commander of theUkrainian Insurgent Army. | |||||||
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