About the book: 2020 / Hero of the Soviet Union, Army General Nikolai Fedorovich Vatutin is rightfully one of the most talented commanders of the Great Patriotic War. He made a huge contribution to the development of the theory and practice of counter-offensive, encirclement and defeat of large enemy groups, the implementation of quick and decisive maneuver of troops, the actions of mobile groups of the front and army, and the organization of stable and active defense. His name is inextricably linked with the victories of the Red Army at Stalingrad and on the Kursk Bulge, during the crossing of the Dnieper and the liberation of Kyiv... It is no coincidence that Vatutin was called “the general of the offensive,” “the general of victory.” And the German military leaders, who experienced the strength and power of Vatutin’s blows, dubbed him a grandmaster. Upon learning of Vatutin’s death, the Inspector General of the Wehrmacht tank forces, Heinz Guderian, said to Hitler’s chief adjutant: “I congratulate us all. This news is equivalent to a message about victory in a big battle... It is very dangerous to have such an opponent».