Editing Nikolai Kuznetsov (admiral) (section)

===The Second World War===
Kuznetsov played a crucial role during the first hours of the war – at this pivotal moment, his resolve and blatant disregard for orders averted the destruction of the [[Soviet Navy]].{{cn|date=January 2025}} By June 21, 1941, Kuznetzov was convinced of the inevitability of war with Nazi Germany. On the same day [[Semyon Timoshenko]] and [[Georgy Zhukov]] issued a directive prohibiting Soviet commanders from responding to "German provocations". The Navy, however, constituted a distinct ministry ([[narkomat]]), and thus Kuznetsov held a position which was technically outside the direct chain of command. He utilized this fact in a very bold move.{{cn|date=January 2025}}

Shortly after midnight on the morning of June 22, Kuznetsov ordered all Soviet fleets to battle readiness. At 3:15 am that same morning, the [[Wehrmacht]] began [[Operation Barbarossa]].{{sfn|Kirchubel|2007|pp=33–34}} The Soviet Navy was the only branch of the military in the highest state of combat readiness at the start of the initial German push.{{cn|date=January 2025}}

In the following two years, Kuznetsov's primary concern was the protection of the Caucasus from a German invasion. Throughout the war, the [[Black Sea campaigns (1941–44)|Black Sea remained the primary theater of operations for the Soviet Navy]]. During the war years Kuznetsov honed Soviet methods of [[Amphibious warfare|amphibious assault]]. A notable subordinate in the Black Sea and in command of the Azov Flotilla was [[Sergey Gorshkov|S.G. Gorshkov]] who would later succeed him as Commander-in-Chief of the Navy.  In May 1944 he was given the rank of Admiral of the Fleet – a newly created position initially equated to that of a four-star general. In the same year, Kuznetsov was given the title of [[Hero of the Soviet Union]]. On May 31, 1945, his rank was equated to the rank of [[Marshal of the Soviet Union]] with a similar insignia. In August 1945, he took part in [[Operation August Storm]] in the [[Far East]], helping to provide functions for the Soviet Navy fleet for Commander-in-Chief of USSR Forces in the Far East [[Marshal of the Soviet Union|Marshal]] [[Aleksandr Vasilevsky]].{{cn|date=January 2025}}