Govorov, Marshal Leonid

1897–1955

   Govorov was the architect of the liberation of Leningrad. An artillery specialist, Govorov had served on the Western Front in the summer of 1941. He experienced the devastation of the German onslaught and emerged to become a tough Commander. He was given command of the 5th Army outside Moscow and took part in the great counterattack of December 1941 which saved the Soviet capital. He was then made Commander of the Leningrad Front and wore down the German troops besieging Leningrad in a protracted offensive lasting over a year. He broke the blockade of Leningrad by hacking a corridor from Lake Ladoga through to Schlüsselburg and shortly afterwards was promoted to Marshal (1944). His Leningrad Front swept over the Baltic states and then, alongside General CHERNYAKHOVSKY’s Front, isolated the remnants of German Army Group North in East Prussia after taking Riga. Govorov was one of the lucky Generals who survived the purges and went on to make a great contribution to the Soviet victory.