Georgy Malenkov
In the same July 1942, immediately after extraction from Rzhev pocket, Maslennikov reappeared in the South, leading a makeshift defence on the path of Evald von Kleist's troops advancing towards the Caucasus. This appointment is usually credited to Beria, himself engaged in the Caucasus (e.g.); recent studies assert that it was actually administered by Georgy Malenkov, operating separately from Beria, at least in the opening period of the battle.