Vasilevsky

But all in all, even with the increased striking power of the German units, von Manstein hardly commanded an overwhelming force, given the ten Soviet armies Vasilevsky had hurled into Ukraine.

Deathride John Mosier 2010

Nor did the two Soviet commanders have the experience in directing large battles: Vasilevsky, a senior staff officer whose ascent began after the Terror, was the Soviet counterpart to lackeys like Jodl and Keitel in Berlin.

Deathride John Mosier 2010

Zhukov would direct Mars, the northern offensive, and Aleksandr Mikhaylovich Vasilevsky would direct Uranus, an operation designed to cut off the 6th Army at Stalingrad.

Deathride John Mosier 2010

Vasilevsky was precisely what he required: someone to do his bidding.

Deathride John Mosier 2010

Statistics attesting to the amazing accomplishments of these newly relocated industries promptly appeared, but, as we noted earlier, the discrepancy between the number of tanks available for Zhukov and Vasilevsky and the official Soviet tank production data suggests that these figures are mostly fictional.

Deathride John Mosier 2010

By mid-March both Kharkov and Belgorod had fallen to the Germans and there was very little left of the massive spearhead that Vasilevsky had deployed to envelop Paulus at Stalingrad and then advance to Kharkov.

Deathride John Mosier 2010

Nor did the two Soviet commanders have the experience in directing large battles: Vasilevsky, a senior staff officer whose ascent began after the Terror, was the Soviet counterpart to lackeys like Jodl and Keitel in Berlin.

Deathride John Mosier 2010

But all in all, even with the increased striking power of the German units, von Manstein hardly commanded an overwhelming force, given the ten Soviet armies Vasilevsky had hurled into Ukraine.

Deathride John Mosier 2010

Assuming all went reasonably well with Vasilevsky and Uranus, there would be a fourth planetary operation, Saturn.

Deathride John Mosier 2010

If the Soviet official records are to be believed, Zhukov would have an impressive armored force at his disposal, possibly as many as 2,000 tanks, and in fact, the forces earmarked for Mars were somewhat more powerful than the ones given to Vasilevsky for Uranus.

Deathride John Mosier 2010