Aug. 10, 1961 - Marshal Ivan S. Konev, former supreme commander of East European forces and one of the leading longtime Communists in the armed forces, was announced today as the new commander of Soviet troops in East Germany. Marshal Konev led Red Army forces on the Eastern Front during World War II and was responsible for taking much of Axis-occupied Eastern Europe. In 1956, he was appointed commander of the Warsaw Pact armed forces and led the violent suppression of the Hungarian Revolution. His appointment was the latest move in the tense East-West struggle over divided Berlin. It came three days after Premier Khrushchev threatened to mobilize Soviet reserves and move more divisions to Germany.
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