Let me add my bits here (awfully late, sorry: Missed this post completely).
Starting out with a (you) well deserved ROFL, looked the guy up:
Could it be he changed his facial hair outift to not ever get confused with Hitler (probably just wore glasses and cut his hair short to avoid that from starters?)?
Joking, of course.
Actually, this part might rather go to personalities: He was - as you stated - the commander of Kursk and Minsks 5th Guards Army, but more importantly he later became first Soviet Field Marshal of all Armoured Troops in February 1944.
I read some stories about his role in Kursk and (especially) Minsk, a more gifted writer here on the forumm might feel to compelled to start a thread at personalities...
Rattler
