Konev, Ivan Stepanovich, 1897-1973, Soviet field marshal. In World War II he reconquered (1944-45) Ukraine and S Poland from the Germans, took Silesia, and participated in the conquest of Czechoslovakia and the capture of Berlin. He became (1945) military governor of the Soviet occupation zone in Austria and (1946) commander in chief of Soviet ground forces. From 1955 to 1960 he commanded the unified military forces set up by the Warsaw Treaty. In 1961-62 he headed Soviet forces in East Germany.

(born Dec. 28, 1897, Lodeino, near Veliky Ustyug, Russia—died May 21, 1973, Moscow, Russia, U.S.S.R.) Soviet general in World War II. When the Germans invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, Konev led the first counterattack of the war. He defeated Heinz Guderian's advance on Moscow and halted large German forces in 1942 and 1943. In 1944 his army was the first to march onto German soil; with the forces of Georgy K. Zhukov, it captured Berlin. After the war he served as commander in chief of Soviet ground forces (1946–50) and later of Warsaw Pact forces (1955–60).

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