Timoshenko, Semyon Konstantinovich (1895–1970)

Soviet general in World War II; he was an old companion of Stalin and one of the few people he was prepared to trust.

After commanding a sector in the Winter War against Finland 1939–40 he became Commissar of Defence. When the German invasion took place 1941 he took command of the West Front but was too late to do more than delay the German advance. Transferred to the Southwest Front he mounted a powerful but mistimed offensive to recapture Kharkov which was soundly defeated by the Germans who then swept him aside and advanced to Stalingrad and the Caucasus. Timoshenko was then moved to a less active area for a short time before being assigned to Moscow to work on strategic planning for the rest of the war.