Marshal of Armoured Troops Mikhail Efimovich Katukov (September 17, 1900 - June 8, 1976) (Russian: Михаил Ефимович Катуков) served as a commander of armored troops in the Red Army during and following World War II. He is viewed as one of the most talented Soviet armor commanders.^{[citation needed]}

Mikhail Efimovich Katukov entered the Red Army as a private in 1919. He served during the Russian Civil War, and later served as a tank formation commander before the war. In 1935 he graduated from the Stalin Military Academy.

His most notable command during the German-Soviet War was that of 1st Guards Tank Army which he commanded during the Battle of Kursk, Operation Bagration, the Vistula Oder Operation, and the Battle of Berlin. He also commanded 1st Guards Tank Brigade during the Battle of Moscow, and 3rd Mechanised Corps during Operation Mars.

In the defense of Moscow in 1941, it was Katukov's 4th Tank Brigade, part of the 1st Guards Rifle Corps, that checked the advance of Guderian's Panzergruppe 2 near Tula. To honor this achievement it became the 1st Guards Tank Brigade.