Favorite tank general

For me, it was Nikolai Vatutin. He was responsible for operations in Ukraine and in the North (during the early stages of Operation Barbarossa) during WW2. Army Group North under Erich Von Manstein was attempting to spearhead the northern regions of the USSR (and were attempting to reach Leningrad), however were forced on the defensive (the entire Army Group North, that is) as Nikolai Vatutin attempted to encircle them. This attack gave the Soviets time to fortify Leningrad while the Germans were unable to strike Leningrad at this point of time. During this time, it was the season of summer. The weather conditions would've made attacking for the Germans to be easier. While these results were great, the performance of the Red Army during these attacks were somewhat poor. Vatutin overestimated the troops and had overly ambitious objectives. Not to mention, Vatutin failed to assess the difficult terrain. Altogether this risky attack resulted in heavy casualties, but were able to provide the Red Army time to build defenses. Unlike most Soviet generals of the early stages of Operation Barbarossa, Vatutin was one that favored going on the offensive (while others favored defensive operations, obviously)

This is only one of the first major battles of Nikolai Vatutin. He would go on to achieve many military victories such as the Liberation of Kiev, the first ever large encirclement of Soviet forces, and other victories. Even today, he is widely praised by both Eastern(?) and Western historians for his unique tactics. His tactics continued to influence the Red Army's tactics.