Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovsky was a highly decorated hero of World War I and the Russian civil war. In 1937, he commanded the 7th Cavalry Division, his career was on the rise but then came Stalin’s Great Purge. Like so many other Soviet commanders at the time, Rokossovsky was arrested and accused of treason by the NKVD secret police.

One thing you need to know about the NKVD is that they did not Bleep around. They were well-trained professionals in interrogating and torturing techniques.

In NKVD prisons, Rokossovsky was brutally tortured. For three years. They beat him up, broke his ribs, pulled off his finger nails, … the whole nine yards.

Then they offered him an easy way out: If he could just sign a (false) confession statement, they’d have him executed immediately, put him out of his misery real quick. After weeks and months of unbearable sufferings, plenty of prisoners took this deal. But not Rokossovsky, he did not sign shit. They locked him up and tortured him again. And again. And again.

Then they offered him another deal: If he would just inform on his colleagues, give them some names of the “traitors” in his unit, they’d release him. Rokossovsky still did not tell them shit.

He also had to endure 2 mock executions where he was taken out at night to the shooting grounds. But even when facing the firing squad, he still refused to sign the false confession or inform on his colleagues.

After nearly 3 years in prison, Rokossovsky was released in March 1940. The Red Army at the time was going through a period of rapid expansion but lacked competent commanders to fill its command posts (most of the best and brightest had been executed in Stalin’s Purge). Being a talented and experienced surviving commander, Rokossovsky was returned to the command of the 5th Cavalry Corps at the rank of Colonel.

He then quickly rose to more senior command. In 1941, he was put in charge of the 16th Army which played a crucial role in defending Moscow against the powerful German offensive code-named Operation Typhoon. The following year, Rokossovsky commanded the Don Front at the battle of Stalingrad and was solely responsible for crushing the encircled Paulus’s 6th Army. In July 1943, he commanded the Central Front and defeated Walter Model’s armoured assault at the northern sector of the Kursk Salient. In June 1944, he orchestrated Operation Bagration - also known as D-Day in the East, which resulted in the total annihilation of German Army Group Centre. For this brilliant victory, he gained the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union.

Heart of stone





A dirty slap from a soldier man will make most of us confess to rape sef

Respect

what a soldier

From a disgraced officer arrested for treason and cruelly tortured, to the highest ranking commander of the Red Army, Rokossovsky’s entire life is an illustration of sheer willpower and discipline.

Addendum:

Why did Rokossovsky continue to serve in the Red Army even after he had been imprisoned and tortured? Why didn’t he run away? Or even better: Why didn’t he take revenge on Stalin and the NKVD? Since so many have asked in the comment, I’ll try to answer it here:

Rokossovsky had millions of troops, thousands of tanks and guns at his disposal. He was a Front Commander, a Marshal of the Red Army. But the NKVD was NOT part of the Red Army. Even a Marshal could not touch the NKVD. In the Caucasus, Lavrenty Beria - the feared NKVD Chief, had threatened to 'break the back' of a commander for even suggesting that NKVD troops should go under army command.

Each Soviet Front and Army had an NKVD detachment which controlled all the communication and closely monitored all movements of the Front/Army commanders. This NKVD detachment only answered to Beria, and Beria only answered to Stalin. This Beria-Stalin gang was not to be trifled with, they had arrested and executed 3 out of 5 Soviet Marshals during the Purge. Stalin had even made it clear to Rokossovsky that the 1937 accusations still hung over him. Beria, in particular, didn’t like the fact that he got out of his prison alive.

So, if Rokossovsky even so much as thought about running away or seeking revenge, Stalin and Beria would know and stop him before he could move an inch. In short, Rokossovsky had 2 options:

1. Pretend the 3 years in prison was just a bad dream, put it behind and move on, do a good job as a commander, serve his country, climb up the military ladder and stay alive. He may even be remembered as one of the greatest generals of World War 2.

Or

2. Run away from … or worse … TRY to take revenge on Stalin and the NKVD, fail for sure, branded as traitor, get himself and his family killed, and all his sufferings in prison would have been in vain. He could have just sign the false confession and saved himself a lot of sufferings.

Surprisingly, Rokossovsky actually knew better than a few armchair generals and made the wise choice.

Not taking rash actions and staying alive takes more willpower and larger balls than doing stupid shit and getting oneself killed.

I'm just like him

Stoic breed!