Senior army commanders specifically asked for Gorshkov to lead the Danube Flotilla. He took it through the Jassy-Kishinev offensive, the Dniester crossings, the Danube Delta, and operations toward Belgrade and Budapest. Promotion to vice admiral and command of the Black Sea Fleet's active squadron followed in 1944. This sequence shows why his later amphibious and riverine doctrine rested on repeated joint operations rather than abstract theory alone.
Notable Point · 53:51-55:25
Army commanders requested Gorshkov for the Danube offensive
Zhukov and other army leaders wanted a proven fighter to turn the Danube Flotilla into an effective operational formation.