Stalin took control after the death of Vladimir Lenin in January 1924.
He inherited a military full of czarist era officers most of whom joined the Bolsheviks
and supported the October Revolution in 1917. However as time went on Stalin became paranoid
of many of these senior officers. Throughout the 1930s he held three purges two being massive in
the fact that he eliminated the best and brightest military minds in the country.
That fact would come back to haunt him and the Soviet Union as World War II broke out.
However there were a relative few officers who despite being sent to gulags and not killed
as well as those who never became targets, rose to the occasion to serve their nation well and win
the Second World War. One of these was Marshall of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov. "Sad
day Soldier." "Yes sir." "Sad day." "All right what's a war hero got to do got some lubrication around here?"
Who was Georgy Zhukov and how did he escape the purges? When thousands of other senior
officers fell from grace and were murdered all through Stalin's reign what made him different?
Hello I'm Colin Heaton, former soldier Marine Corps scout sniper, history professor, historian and book
author and we will answer these questions and other issues on this segment of Forgotten History.
Born on 1 December 1896 to a poor peasant family in Strelkovka Malo Yaroslavsky, Kaluga Governorate
in central Russia. He had little formal education but he completed three years of primary education.
He was then apprenticed to his mother's brother Mikhail as a furrier in Moscow.
But the young Georgie was hungry for knowledge and while working for his uncle
Zhukov supplemented his education by reading with his cousin Alexander on a wide range of
topics. He self-studied the Russian and German languages, science, geography, mathematics, and
had a love of history. He also enrolled in a night school where he completed courses
as the work in his uncle's shop permitted. He finally completed his apprenticeship in 1914
and then established his own fur business which included hiring three young employees.
The following year Zhukov was conscripted into the Imperial Russian Army and fought in
World War I and he served in the 10th Dragoon Novgarod Regiment and was wounded in action
against the Germans at Kharkiv. He was awarded the Cross of Saint George twice and promoted to
non-commissioned officer ranks in recognition of his bravery in battle. By 1917 when Russia withdrew
from the war he was a Sergeant First Class at the age of 21 or E7 in the U.S rank table.
During 1917 he joined the Bolshevik Party after the October Revolution where his peasant roots
were a positive factor given the Marxist mantra of class struggle. What made him stand out was
his intellect and education, which he played down. Intellectuals were not the most trusted people in
the fledgling communist country. After surviving a serious bout of typhus he then served in the
Red Army during the Russian Civil War serving in the 2nd Cavalry Brigade. He was a highly
competent soldier and rose through the enlisted ranks and completed the cavalry training course for
officers in 1920 and received his commission. He then received the Order of the Red Banner for his
part in subduing the Tambov Rebellion in 1921. In May 1923 he was assigned as commander of the
39th Cavalry Regiment as a 27 year old major and he graduated from the Higher School of Cavalry
in 1925. He then attended the Frunze Military Academy beginning in 1929 and graduated in 1930
near the top of his class. In May 1930 Zhukov became commander of the 2nd Calvary Brigade
of the 7th Cavalry Division. In February 1931 he was appointed as the Assistant Inspector of
Cavalry for the Red Army. His promotions were quite rapid. In May 1933 Zhukov was appointed commander
of the 4th Cavalry Division with the rank of major general at the age of 37. His career was
accelerated by the Great Purge and he moved up the ranks as thousands of officers were arrested and
shot, but those associated with the 1st Cavalry Army, his unit, were protected from Stalin. In 1937
Zhukov became commander of the 1st Battalion, 1st Regiment, 3rd Cavalry Corps and later the 6th
Cavalry Corps in total. In 1938 he became Deputy Cavalry Commander of the Belarusian Military
District with the rank of lieutenant general at age 39. in 1938 Zhukov commanded the First Soviet
Mongolian Army Group and saw action against Japan's Kwantung Army on the border between the Mongolian
People's Republic and the Japanese-controlled state of Manchukuo. This conflict lasted from
1938 to 1939 and escalated from sporadic border skirmishes into a full-scale war with the Japanese
pushing forward with an estimated 80,000 troops 180 tanks and 450 aircraft. The Japanese forces
commended by Lieutenant General Michataro Komatsubara were poised to invade along a wide front
spearheaded by a center thrust. Zhukov's aerial reconnaissance told him what he wanted to know.
During the Battle of Khalkhin Gol Zhukov requested reinforcements and air support, and
on 20 August 1939 his Soviet offensive commenced. Zhukov unleashed a massive rolling barrage
of artillery sending nearly 500 BT-5 and BT-7 tanks with infantry supported by over 500 fighters and
bombers. From the Japanese perspective it seemed that Zhukov was launching a standard frontal attack
which the Japanese would use a flanking maneuver to counter. But Zhukov held back two tank brigades.
He waited for the Japanese to commit to their double development and then Zhukov ordered
the tanks to advance around on both flanks supported by motorized artillery, infantry
and aircraft. This extremely risky maneuver successfully encircled the Japanese Sixth Army
and captured their vulnerable rear supply areas. Thousands of Japanese were killed or captured.
By 31 August the Japanese had been completely destroyed clearing the border and establishing
Zhukov as a competent commander, and by 1939 as Zhukov was given command of an entire army group.
his tactical insights allowed him to maximize his limited resources and win decisive victories
His first major success was the decisive battle over the Japanese forces of Khalkhin Gol for
which he received the first of his four Heroes of the Soviet Union Awards, but he would continue such
an incredible history. In February 1941 Zhukov was appointed as Chief of the Red Army's General Staff
but following the German invasion of the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941 Zhukov lost this position.
At this time Soviet People's Commissar of Defense Simyon Timoshenko and General Zhukov
presented their plans to Stalin for a preemptive attack against Germany through southern Poland. As
the German Army Group North under Field Marshall Wilhelm Ritter or "Knight" or "Sir" von Leeb pushed
toward Leningrad as Zhukov organized the defense of that city. He stalled the Germans which began a
siege lasting from September 8, 1941 to January 27, 1944, the longest siege in modern history.
Likewise as Army Group Center under Field Marshal "Ritter" Fedor von Bock also like Leeb a World War
I recipient of both a knighthood and the Pour le Merit closed on Moscow. Zhukov's tactical
genius in summing up his opponent, seeing his weakness and understanding his own limitations
saw the Germans stalled within viewing range of the Kremlin in December 1941. They never advanced
farther. His next challenge was the defense of Stalingrad on the Volga River. Army Group South
under Field Marshal Erich von Manstein tackling the Caucuses and Ukraine was a formidable force. When
the Sixth Army under Colonel General Friedrich von Paulus reached the city by September 1942
Stalin issued his orders. Sent to tackle the problem Zhukov's genius was quite evident; and
defensively he was so. And he and Marshall Kliment Voroshilov planned the counter-offensive and
Stalin was impressed. Their plan saw the Germans and their allies encircled resulting in the 250,
000 man force reduced to 96,000 living soldiers who surrendered with von Paulus between 31 January
and 3 February 1943. The same result would occur during Zhukov's preparing the defenses prior to
the Battle of Kursk from July to August 1943. His tactical defensive mind assured that the
Germans would never advance past his belts of defenses. However Zhukov was to prove that he was
equally talented in planning and commanding offensive operations. Following the strategic
victory at Kursk Zhukov took the offensive. He became as popular among the Western Allies
and very well known to the point that he made the cover of Life magazine in the United States.
He participated in planning several major offensives the most important being Operation Bagration
launched in April 1944. This operation only ended when the Soviets captured Berlin in May 1945.
In 1945 Zhukov commanded the First Belorussian Front. He took part in the Vistula-Oder Offensive
and the Battle of Berlin which resulted in the defeat of Nazi Germany and the end of the war.
In Europe the recognition of Zhukov's role in the war he was chosen to accept the German
instrument of surrender and inspect the Moscow Victory Parade of 1945. After the war Zhukov's
success and popularity caused Joseph Stalin to see him as a potential threat. Stalin stripped him of
his positions and relegated him to military commands of little strategic significance.
After Stalin's death in 1953 Zhukov supported Nikita Khrushchev's bid for Soviet leadership.
In 1955 he was appointed as defense minister and made a member of the Presidium.
In 1957 Zhukov again lost favor and was forced to retire. Of all the Allied commanders Zhukov
was the most feared and respected by the Germans. This was clearly expressed after the war by
Luftwaffe and post-war General Joseph Kammhuber. Quote, "Often times the general staff would get
together and certain operations and situations would be discussed. Hitler was very concerned
by two enemy generals, Patton and Zhukov and for good reason," end quote. Another perspective
was from Lieutenant General Hans Baur. Quote, "Hitler was obsessed with Zhukov. He saw him as
the man above all others who had bested his best generals and caused him so many problems," end quote.
Marshal Georgy Zhukov retired with his second wife Galina Alexandrovna Semyonova and died on 18
June 1974. We hope you enjoyed this segment of Forgotten History. Please click like and subscribe
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