Georgy Zhukov: Difference between revisions

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Latest revision as of 19:54, 22 August 2025

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{{Short description|Soviet military leader (1896–1974)}}

{{otheruses3|Zhukov}}

{{for|the footballer|Georgy Zhukov (footballer)}}

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{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Georgy Zhukov

| native_name = {{Nobold|{{Lang|ru|Георгий Жуков}}}}

| image = Zhukov-LIFE-1944-1945 cropped.jpg

| image_upright =

| caption = Zhukov in 1944

| office = [[Minister of Defence (Soviet Union)|Minister of Defence of the Soviet Union]]

| term_start = 9 February 1955

| term_end = 26 October 1957

| 1blankname = [[Gensek|First Secretary]]

| 1namedata = [[Nikita Khrushchev]]

| predecessor = [[Nikolai Bulganin]]

| successor = [[Rodion Malinovsky]]{{cisb|Additional positions}}

| office1 = Member of the [[20th Presidium of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|20th]] [[Presidium of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Presidium]] of the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union|CPSU]]

| term_start1 = 27 February 1956

| term_end1 = 29 October 1957

| term_start2 = 9 June 1945

| term_end2 = 21 March 1946

| office3 = [[Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army]]

| term_start3 = 15 January 1941

| term_end3 = 29 July 1941

| predecessor3 = [[Kirill Meretskov]]

| successor3 = [[Boris Shaposhnikov]]

{{cise}}

| birth_date = {{birth date|1896|12|01|df=y}}

| birth_place = [[Zhukov, Kaluga Oblast|Strelkovka]], Russia

| death_date = {{death date and age|1974|06|18|1896|12|01|df=y}}

| death_place = [[Moscow]], Soviet Union

| resting_place = [[Kremlin Wall Necropolis]]

| nickname = Marshal of Victory

| party = [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union|CPSU]] (1917–1957)

| spouse = {{plainlist|

* {{marriage|Alexandra Zuikova|1953|1965|end=div.}}

* {{marriage|Galina Semyonova|1965|1973|end=d.}}}}

| children = 4, including [[Margarita Zhukova|Margarita]]

| awards = {{plainlist|

* [[Cross of St. George (Russia)|Cross of Saint George]] (2)

* [[Hero of the Soviet Union]] (4)

* [[Hero of the Mongolian People's Republic]]

* [[Order of Lenin]] (6)

* [[Order of Victory]] (2)

* [[Order of the October Revolution]]

* [[Order of the Red Banner]] (3)

* [[Order of Suvorov]] (2)}}

| signature = Signature of Georgy Zhukov.svg

| allegiance = {{ubl|[[Russian Empire]]|[[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Russian SFSR]]|{{nowrap|[[Soviet Union]]}}}}

| branch_label = Branch

| branch = {{ubl|[[Imperial Russian Army]]|[[Soviet Red Army]]|[[Soviet Ground Forces]]}}

| serviceyears_label = Service years

| serviceyears = 1915–1957

| rank = [[Marshal of the Soviet Union]] (1943–1957)

| commands = {{plainlist|

* [[Kiev Military District]]

* [[Odessa Military District]]

* [[First Belorussian Front]]

* [[Leningrad Front]]

* [[Soviet Reserve Front]]

* [[Soviet Western Front]]}}

| battles_label = Wars

| battles = {{tree list}}

* [[World War I]]

** [[Brusilov Offensive]]

* [[Russian Civil War]]

** [[Spring Offensive of the Russian Army (1919)|Spring Offensive]]

** [[Tambov Rebellion]]

* [[World War II]]

** [[Soviet–Japanese border conflicts|Soviet–Japanese border conflict]]

*** [[Battle of Khalkhin Gol]]

** [[Great Patriotic War]]

*** [[Operation Barbarossa]]

**** [[Battle of Brody (1941)|Battle of Brody]]

**** [[Yelnya Offensive]]

*** [[Battle of Moscow]]

*** [[Battle of Stalingrad]]

**** [[Operation Uranus]]

*** [[Operation Mars]]

*** [[Siege of Leningrad]]

**** [[Operation Iskra]]

**** [[Operation Polar Star]]

*** [[Battle of Kursk]]

*** [[Operation Bagration]]

*** [[Baltic Offensive]]

*** [[Vistula–Oder Offensive]]

*** [[Battle of Berlin]]

** [[Occupation of Germany]]

* [[Hungarian Revolution of 1956|Hungarian Revolution]]

{{tree list/end}}

| office2 = Military Governor of [[Soviet occupation zone|Soviet Occupied Germany]]

| predecessor2 = Office established

| successor2 = [[Vasily Sokolovsky]]

}}

'''Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov'''{{family name footnote|Konstantinovich|Zhukov|lang=Eastern Slavic}}{{efn|{{langx|ru|Георгий Константинович Жуков}}, {{ipa|ru|ɡʲɪˈorɡʲɪj kənstɐnʲˈtʲinəvʲɪdʑ‿ˈʐukəf|pron|Ru-Георгий_Константинович_Жуков.ogg}}}} ({{OldStyleDateNY|1 December|19 November}} 1896{{spnd}}18 June 1974) was a Soviet military leader who served as a top commander during [[World War II]] and achieved the rank of [[Marshal of the Soviet Union]]. During World War II, Zhukov served as deputy commander-in-chief of the armed forces under leader [[Joseph Stalin]], and oversaw some of the [[Red Army]]'s most decisive victories. He also served at various points as [[Chief of the General Staff (Russia)#Red Army (1921–1946)|Chief of the General Staff]], [[Minister of Defence (Soviet Union)|Minister of Defence]], and a member of the [[Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Presidium of the Communist Party]] (Politburo).

[[Image:Georgij Žukov-1.jpg|thumb|180px|Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov]]

Born to a poor peasant family near Moscow, Zhukov was conscripted into the [[Imperial Russian Army]] and fought in [[World War I]]. He served in the Red Army during the [[Russian Civil War]], after which he quickly rose through the ranks. In summer 1939, Zhukov commanded a Soviet army group to a decisive victory over Japanese forces at the [[Battles of Khalkhin Gol]], for which he won the first of his four [[Hero of the Soviet Union]] awards, and in 1940 he commanded the [[Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina|Soviet invasion of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina]] in Romania. In February 1941, Stalin appointed Zhukov as chief of the General Staff of the Red Army.

'''Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov''', [[Order of the Bath|GCB]] ({{lang-ru|Гео́ргий Константи́нович Жу́ков}}) ({{OldStyleDate|December 1|1896|November 19}}–[[June 18]], [[1974]]), [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] military commander and politician, is considered by many to be one of the most successful field commanders of [[World War II]].

Following the [[Operation Barbarossa|German invasion of the Soviet Union]] in June 1941, Zhukov lost his post as chief of staff after disagreeing with Stalin over the [[Battle of Kiev (1941)|defense of Kiev]]. Zhukov, often in collaboration with [[Aleksandr Vasilevsky]], was subsequently involved in the Soviet actions at [[Siege of Leningrad|Leningrad]], [[Battle of Moscow|Moscow]], [[Battle of Stalingrad|Stalingrad]], and [[Battle of Kursk|Kursk]]. He held the title of deputy commander-in-chief of the armed forces from August 1942, and was promoted to Marshal of the Soviet Union in January 1943. He participated in the planning of [[Operation Bagration]] in 1944, and in 1945 commanded the [[1st Belorussian Front]] as it led the [[Vistula–Oder Offensive]] into Germany, where he oversaw the Soviet victory at the [[Battle of Berlin]]. In recognition of Zhukov's key role in the war, he was chosen to accept the [[German Instrument of Surrender]] and to inspect the [[1945 Moscow Victory Parade]]. He also served as the first military governor of the [[Soviet occupation zone in Germany]] from 1945 to 1946.

==Prewar career==

Born into a [[peasant]] family in Strelkovka, Maloyaroslavets [[Raion]], [[Kaluga]] [[Guberniya]] (now Zhukovo Raion [[Kaluga Oblast]]), Zhukov was apprenticed to work in [[Moscow]], and in [[1915]] was conscripted into the army of the [[Russian Empire]], where he served in a dragoon regiment as a private. During [[World War I]], Zhukov was awarded the [[Cross of St George]] twice and promoted to the rank of non-commissioned officer for his bravery in battle. He joined the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Bolshevik Party]] after the [[October Revolution]], and his background of poverty became an asset. After recovering from [[typhus]] he fought in the [[Russian Civil War]] from [[1918]] to [[1920]], receiving the [[Order of the Battle Red Banner]] for subduing a non-communist (White) incited peasant rebellion.

After the war, Zhukov's popularity caused Stalin to see him as a potential threat.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Roberts |first=Geoffrey |title=The Rise and Fall of a Great Captain. |publisher=Pen and Sword Books |year=2012 |isbn=978-0891414698 |___location=Barnsley, South Yorkshire, United Kingdom |pages=192 |language=en}}</ref> 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 leadership, and in 1955, he was appointed Defence Minister and made a member of the [[Presidium of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Presidium]]. In 1957, Zhukov lost favour again and was forced to retire. He never returned to a top post, and died in 1974. Zhukov is remembered as one of the greatest Russian and Soviet military leaders of all time, along with [[Alexander Suvorov]], [[Mikhail Barclay de Tolly]], and [[Mikhail Kutuzov]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Сто великих полководцев – История.РФ |trans-title=A hundred great military commanders |url=http://100.histrf.ru/commanders/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230325050218/http://100.histrf.ru/commanders/ |website=100.histrf.ru |publisher=Russian Military Historical Society|archive-date=25 March 2023 }}</ref>

By [[1923]] Zhukov was commander of a regiment, and in [[1930]] of a brigade. He was a keen proponent of the new theory of armoured warfare and was noted for his detailed planning, tough discipline and strictness. He survived [[Joseph Stalin]]'s [[Great Purge]] of the [[Red Army]] command in [[1937]]-[[1938|39]].

== Early life and career ==

In [[1938]] Zhukov was directed to command the First Soviet Mongolian Army Group, and saw action against [[Japan]]'s [[Kwantung Army]] on the border between [[Mongolia]] and the Japanese controlled state of [[Manchukuo]] in an undeclared war that lasted from [[1938]] to [[1939]]. What began as a routine border skirmish&mdash;the Japanese testing the resolve of the Soviets to defend their territory&mdash;rapidly escalated into a full-scale war, the Japanese pushing forward with 80,000 troops, 180 tanks and 450 aircraft.

Zhukov was born into a poor peasant family of [[Russians|Russian]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://warheroes.ru/hero/hero.asp?Hero_id=1612|title=Жуков Георгий Константинович|website=warheroes.ru}}</ref> ethnicity in [[Zhukov, Kaluga Oblast|Strelkovka]], [[Maloyaroslavets|Maloyaroslavsky]], [[Kaluga Governorate]] in [[western Russia]], approximately {{Convert|62|mi|km}} east of Moscow.<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last=Roberts |first=Geoffrey |title=Stalin's General: The Life of Georgy Zhukov |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OOxRrfalHJcC&pg=PT49 |publisher=Icon Books |___location=London |date=2012 |pages=11, 244–245 |isbn=978-1-8483-1443-6 |ref={{sfnRef|''Stalin's General''}} |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> His father Konstantin, who had been orphaned at the age of two and then adopted by Anuska Zhukova, was a cobbler.{{sfn|''Stalin's General''|page=12}} His mother Ustin'ya was a peasant laborer. Zhukov was said to resemble his mother, and he believed he inherited his physical strength from her; Ustin'ya was reportedly able to accomplish demanding tasks such as carrying {{convert|200|lbs|adj=on}} sacks of grain over long distances.{{sfn|''Stalin's General''|page=12}} In an era when most members of Russia's poor and working classes completed only two years of schooling, Zhukov completed the three-year primary education course at his hometown school.{{sfn|''Stalin's General''|page=12}} He was then apprenticed to his mother's brother Mikhail as a [[furrier]] in [[Moscow]].{{sfn|''Stalin's General''|page=13}}

While working for his uncle, Zhukov supplemented his education by reading with his cousin Alexander on a wide range of topics, including the Russian language, German language, science, geography, and mathematics.{{sfn|''Stalin's General''|page=13}} In addition, he enrolled in a night school, where he completed courses as the work in his uncle's shop permitted.{{sfn|''Stalin's General''|page=13}} He completed his apprenticeship in 1914 and established his own fur business, which included three young employees under his leadership.{{sfn|''Stalin's General''|page=13}}

This led to the decisive [[Battle of Khalkhin Gol]]. Zhukov requested major reinforcements and on [[August 15]], [[1939]] he ordered what seemed at first to be a conventional frontal attack. However, he had held back two tank brigades, which in a daring and successful manoeuver he ordered to advance around both flanks of the battle. Supported by motorized artillery and infantry, the two mobile battle groups encircled the 6th Japanese army and captured their vulnerable supply areas. Within a few days the Japanese troops were defeated.

At 5 ft 5 in (1.64 m), Zhukov was quite short; [[Marvin Kalb]], who met Zhukov in the 1950s, described him as being as "short as he was wide".<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=2017-10-10 |title=The Night Nikita Khrushchev Gave Me My Nickname |url=https://time.com/4976612/nikita-khruschev-russia-us-ambassador/ |access-date= |magazine=TIME |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/fp_20171109_kalb_russia_transcript1.pdf |title=Transcript: "The Year I Was Peter the Great"; A Brookings Book Club Discussion |last1=Friedman |first1=Thomas |last2=Kalb |first2=Marvin |date=November 9, 2017 |website=Brookings.edu |publisher=Brookings Institution |___location=Washington, DC |access-date=May 22, 2024 |page=9}}</ref>

For this operation Zhukov was awarded the title of [[Hero of the Soviet Union]]. Outside of the Soviet Union, however, this battle remained little-known as by this time [[World War II]] had begun. Zhukov's pioneering use of mobile armour went unheeded by the West, and in consequence the German [[Blitzkrieg]] against [[France]] in [[1940]] came as a great surprise.

=== World War I ===

Promoted to full general in [[1940]], Zhukov was briefly (January - July 1941) chief of the Red Army General Staff before a disagreement with Stalin led to his being replaced by Marshal [[Boris Shaposhnikov]] (who was in turn replaced by [[Aleksandr Vasilevsky]] in 1942). Ironically, this led to a relative non-accountablity of Zhukov's military role in the huge territorial losses during the German 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union thus ensuring his presence "in the wings" for Stalingrad. The question of how much he might have prevented had he held command earlier is still much discussed.

[[File:Zhukov1916.jpg|thumb|upright|Non-commissioned officer Georgy Zhukov, Russian Imperial army, 1916]]

In 1915, Zhukov was conscripted into the [[Imperial Russian Army]], where he served in the 10th Dragoon Novgorod Regiment, and was wounded in action against the Germans at [[Kharkov]].{{sfn|''Stalin's General''|pages=1910–1911}} During [[World War I]], Zhukov was awarded the [[Cross of St. George (Russia)|Cross of St. George]] twice for heroism, and promoted to the [[non-commissioned officer]] ranks in recognition of his bravery in battle.

He joined the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks)]] after the 1917 [[October Revolution]]; his background of poverty became a significant asset in party circles. After recovering from a serious case of [[Epidemic typhus|typhus]], he fought in the [[Russian Civil War]], serving in the Second Cavalry Brigade, commanded by [[Semyon Timoshenko]], which was later absorbed into the [[1st Cavalry Army]], led by [[Semyon Budyonny]]. He completed a cavalry training course for officers in 1920 and received his commission as an officer. He received the [[Order of the Red Banner]] for his part in subduing the [[Tambov Rebellion]] in 1921.<ref>{{in lang|ru}} B. V. Sokolov (2000) [http://militera.lib.ru/research/sokolov2/03.html В огне революции и гражданской войны], in ''Неизвестный Жуков: портрет без ретуши в зеркале эпохи'', Minsk: Rodiola-plus.</ref>

==World War II==

[[Image:Korin Zhukov.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Georgy Zhukov by [[Pavel Korin]], 1945]]

According to his book of memoirs (written after the death of Stalin and during the peak of [[Nikita Khrushchev]]'s Anti-Stalin campaign), Zhukov was fearless in his direct criticisms of Stalin and other commanders after the [[Operation Barbarossa|German invasion of the Soviet Union]] in June [[1941]] (see [[Great Patriotic War]]). Zhukov, according to his own memoirs, alone among Soviet commanders, attempted to convince Stalin that the Kiev region could not be held and would suffer a double envelopement by the Germans. Stalin, who berated Zhukov and dismissed his advice, refused to evacuate the troops in the area. As a result, half a million troops became prisoners when the Germans took Kiev. September 13 to October 6, 1941 Zhukov spent in Leningrad as Commander of Leningrad Front.

=== Interwar period ===

In October [[1941]], when the Germans closed in on Moscow, Zhukov replaced [[Semyon Timoshenko]] in command of the central front and was assigned to direct the defense of [[Moscow]] (see [[Battle of Moscow]]). He also directed the transfer of troops from the [[Russian Far East|Far East]], where a large part of Soviet ground forces had been stationed on the day of Hitler's invasion. A successful Soviet counter-offensive in December [[1941]] drove the Germans back, out of reach of the Soviet capital. Zhukov's feat of logistics is considered by some to be his greatest achievement.

[[File:Georgy Zhukov 3.jpg|thumb|upright|Zhukov as a regimental commander, 1920s]]

[[File:Graduation Photo Leningrad Cavalry School 1925.jpg|thumb|right|Graduates of the Leningrad Higher Cavalry School 1924/25.<br>Sitting in the second row ('''right to left'''): 1. [[Hovhannes Bagramyan|Bagramyan]], 3. [[Andrei Yeremenko|Yeremenko]]. Standing in the third row ('''right to left'''): 1. Zhukov, 5. Rokossovsky.]]

Zhukov quickly advanced through the ranks as the commander of a cavalry troop and squadron, and deputy commander of a cavalry regiment. At the end of May 1923, he was appointed commander of the 39th Cavalry Regiment.{{sfn|Zhukov|2002|pp=79, 90}} In 1924, he entered the Higher School of Cavalry,{{sfn|Zhukov|2002|p=87}} from which he graduated the next year, returning afterward to command the same regiment.{{sfn|Zhukov|2002|p=89}} According to [[Friedrich von Mellenthin]]:

:"It is not generally realized that Zhukov received much of his early training in Germany. Together with other Russian officers, and by arrangement with the [[Reichswehr]], he attended courses at German military schools in the 1920's. For a time he was attached to the cavalry regiment in which Colonel Dingler{{efn|Colonel H. R. Dingler was Chief of Staff (''1a'') of [[3rd Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|3rd Motorized Division]] at [[Battle of Stalingrad|Stalingrad]] in 1942.{{sfn|Mellenthin|1971|p=193}} }} was serving as a subaltern; Dingler has vivid recollections of the uproarious behavior of Zhukov and his companions, and the vast quantities of liquor which they were accustomed to consume after dinner. But in the military sphere it is clear that Zhukov's time was not wasted."{{sfn|Mellenthin|1971|p=223n}}<ref>{{cite report |type=CIA Information Report |title=Subject: Zhukov, Georgi Konstantinovitch, Marshal |date=August 1953 |url=https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP80-00809A000600040366-2.pdf |page=1 |access-date=5 November 2024}}</ref>

He attended the [[Frunze Military Academy]] beginning in 1929, and graduated in 1930.{{sfn|''Stalin's General''|page=49}}

By now Zhukov was firmly back in favour and Stalin valued him precisely for his outspokenness. Stalin's (eventual) willingness to submit to criticism and listen to his generals was a key element in Russia's victory; Hitler, on the other hand, usually dismissed any general who disagreed with him.

In May 1930, Zhukov became commander of the 2nd Cavalry Brigade of the 7th Cavalry Division.{{sfn|Zhukov|2002|p=99}} In February 1931, he was appointed as the Assistant Inspector of Cavalry for the Red Army.<ref name="Garejev_1996">M. A. Gareev (1996) [http://militera.lib.ru/bio/gareev/index.html Маршал Жуков. Величие и уникальность полководческого искусства]. Ufa</ref>

In [[1942]] Zhukov was made Deputy Commander-in-Chief and sent to the south-western front to be in charge of the defense of [[Stalingrad]]. Under the overall command of Vasilievsky, he oversaw the encirclement and capture of the German Sixth Army in [[1943]] at the cost of perhaps a million dead (see [[Battle of Stalingrad]]). During the Stalingrad operation Zhukov spent most of the time in the fruitless attacks in the directions of [[Rzhev]], [[Sychevka]] and [[Vyazma]], known as ''"[[Battles of Rzhev|Rzhev meat grinder]]"'' ("Ржевская мясорубка"). Some historians now question the casualty figures allegedly suffered by the Soviets at Rzhev as being inaccurately high. There is also some new evidence which show the Rzhev operation was a diversion in order to prevent the Germans from successfully breaking the encirclement of Stalingrad.

In May 1933, Zhukov was appointed commander of the 4th Cavalry Division.<ref name="Garejev_1996"/> His career was accelerated by the [[Great Purge]], when thousands of officers were arrested and shot, but those associated with the First Cavalry Army were protected, as they were battling the Japanese on the edges of Manchuria. In 1937, Zhukov became commander of first the [[3rd Cavalry Corps (Soviet Union)|3rd Cavalry Corps]], and later the [[6th Cavalry Corps (Soviet Union)|6th Cavalry Corps]].{{sfn|Zhukov|2002|p=151}} In 1938, he became deputy cavalry commander of the [[Belorussian Military District]].{{sfn|Zhukov|2002|p=158}}

In January [[1943]] he orchestrated the first breakthrough of the German blockade of Leningrad. He was a [[STAVKA]] coordinator at the [[Battle of Kursk]] in July [[1943]], and, according to the memoirs, playing a central role in the planning of the Soviet defensive battle and the hugely successful offensive operations that followed it. Kursk represented the first major defeat of the Germans in summer campaigning weather and has a good claim to be a battle at least as decisive as Stalingrad. Commander of Central Front [[Konstantin Rokossovsky]], however, says that planning and decisions for the Battle of Kursk were made without Zhukov, that Zhukov only arrived to the Central Front just before the battle, did not make any decisions and left soon after beginning of the battle, and that Zhukov exagerates his role in the Battle of Kursk (Source: Военно-исторический журнал, 1992 N3 p.31).

=== Khalkhin Gol ===

[[Image:Marshals.jpg|thumb|300px|Zhukov riding a white horse during the [[Moscow Victory Parade of 1945]]. There is now an equestrian monument to him nearby.]]

In 1938, Zhukov was directed to command the First Soviet [[Mongolian People's Army]], and saw action against Japan's [[Kwantung Army]] on the border between the [[Mongolian People's Republic]] and the Japanese-controlled state of [[Manchukuo]]. The [[Soviet–Japanese border conflicts]] lasted from 1938 to 1939. What began as a border skirmish rapidly escalated into a full-scale war, with the Japanese pushing forward with an estimated 80,000&nbsp;troops, 180&nbsp;tanks and 450&nbsp;aircraft.

These events led to the strategically decisive [[battle of Khalkhin Gol]]. Zhukov requested major reinforcements, and on 20 August 1939, his Soviet offensive commenced. After a massive artillery barrage, nearly 500&nbsp;[[BT-5]] and [[BT-7]] tanks advanced,{{sfn|Coox|1985|p=579}} supported by over 500&nbsp;fighters and bombers.{{sfn|Coox|1985|p=590}} This was the [[Soviet Air Force]]'s first fighter-bomber operation.{{sfn|Coox|1985|p=633}}

Following the failure of Marshal [[Kliment Voroshilov]], he lifted the [[Siege of Leningrad]] in January [[1944]]. Zhukov led the Soviet offensive [[Operation Bagration]] (named after [[Pyotr Bagration]], a famous Russian-Georgian general of the Napoleonic Wars), which some military historians believe was the greatest military operation of World War II. Zhukov led the final assault on [[Germany]] in [[1945]], capturing [[Berlin]] (see [[Battle of Berlin]]) in April. After the fall of Germany Zhukov became the first commander of the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] occupation zone in Germany.

As the most prominent Soviet military commander of the [[Great Patriotic War]], Zhukov inspected the Victory Parade on the [[Red Square]] in Moscow in 1945 while riding a white stallion.

The offensive first appeared to be a typical conventional frontal attack. However, employing a [[pincer movement]], a classic cavalry tactic, two tank brigades were initially held back and then ordered to advance around on both flanks, supported by motorized artillery, infantry, and other tanks. This daring and successful maneuver encircled the [[Sixth Army (Japan)|Japanese 6th Army]] and captured the enemy's vulnerable rear supply areas. By 31 August, the Japanese had been cleared from the disputed border, leaving the Soviets clearly victorious.{{sfn|Coox|1985|p=633}}

General [[Eisenhower]], the supreme Allied commander in the West, was a great admirer of Zhukov and the two toured the Soviet Union together in the immediate aftermath of the victory over Germany.

This campaign had significance beyond the immediate tactical and local outcome. Zhukov demonstrated and tested the techniques later used against the Germans in the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front of the Second World War]]. His innovations included the deployment of [[underwater bridge]]s, and improving the cohesion and battle-effectiveness of inexperienced units by adding a few experienced, battle-hardened troops to bolster morale and overall training.{{sfn|Coox|1985|pp=991–998}}

==Postwar career==

[[Image:ZhukovStalinMaus.jpg|thumb|225px|left|Zhukov and Stalin on the [[Tribune (architecture)|tribune]] of [[Lenin's Mausoleum]]]]

Immediately following the war Zhukov was the supreme Military Commander of the [[Allied Occupation Zones in Germany|Soviet Occupation Zone in Germany]], and became its Military Governor on June 10,1945. A war hero and a leader hugely popular with the military, Zhukov constituted a most serious potential threat to Stalin's dictatorship. As a result, on [[April 10]], [[1946]] he was replaced by [[Vasily Danilovich Sokolovsky]]. In [[1947]] he was sent to command the [[Odessa]] military district, far away from Moscow and lacking strategic significance and attendant massive troops deployment.

Evaluation of the problems inherent in the performance of the BT tanks led to the replacement of their fire-prone petrol (gasoline) engines with [[diesel engine]]s. This battle provided valuable practical knowledge that was essential to the Soviet success in development of the [[T-34]] medium tank used in World War II. After this campaign, veterans were transferred to untested units, to better spread the benefits of their battle experience.{{sfn|Coox|1985|p=998}}

In 1946 seven rail carriages with the furniture which Zhukov was bringing to Russia from Germany were arrested. In 1948 searches were made in Zhukov's appartments in Moscow and in house at Moscow where many goods looted in Germany were taken [http://militera.lib.ru/research/sokolov2/10.html].

For his victory, Zhukov was declared a [[Hero of the Soviet Union]]. However, the campaign—and especially Zhukov's pioneering use of tanks—remained little known outside the Soviet Union. Zhukov considered Khalkhin Gol to be invaluable preparation for conducting operations during the Second World War.{{sfn|Coox|1985|p=996}} In May 1940, Zhukov became an army general, making him one of the eight high-ranking Red Army officers.

After Stalin's death Zhukov was returned to favour and became Deputy Defense Minister ([[1953]]), then Defense Minister ([[1955]]).

== World War II ==

In 1953 Zhukov supported the post-Stalin Communist Party leadership in arresting (and eventually executing) [[Lavrenty Beria]], who at that time was First Deputy Prime Minister and head of the [[MVD]].

=== Before the War ===

==== Pre-war military exercises ====

[[File:Жуков и Тимошенко, 1940 год.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Zhukov and [[Semyon Timoshenko]] in 1940]]

In the autumn of 1940, Zhukov started preparing plans for the [[military exercise]] concerning the defence of the Western border of the Soviet Union. It had been pushed further to the west after the Soviet Union annexed eastern Poland and the Baltic republics.<ref>{{cite book|chapter = Folio 37977. inventory 5, file 564, sheets 32–34|title = Central State Archive of the Red Army|publisher = [[TsAMO RF|TsGAKA]]}}</ref> In his memoirs, Zhukov reports that in this exercise, he commanded the Western or Blue forces—the supposed invasion troops—and his opponent was Colonel General [[Dmitry Pavlov (general)|Dmitry Pavlov]], the commander of the Eastern or Red forces—the supposed Soviet troops. He noted that Blue had 60&nbsp;divisions, while Red had 50&nbsp;divisions. Zhukov describes the exercise as being similar to events that later took place during the German invasion.{{sfn|Zhukov|2002|pp=224–225}}

:''"In this military exercise, I commanded Blue forces representing the Germans, while Pavlov, the commander of Western Military District, commanded the Red forces representing our army [...] After knowing the original documents and the real amount of German forces, when commanding the Blue Forces, I had the attacks developed into three directions, that in the following event the Germans also attacked us in the same manners. The main strikes of us that time was also similar to the main strikes of the Germans later. The army groups built was also nearly similar to the army groups that the Germans formed during the war. [...] Comrade [Stalin] asked why the Blue forces was so powerful, why the original documents of the military exercise allocated too many large forces for the German. He was replied that such forces corresponded to the German capability and the real calculation about the potential forces that the German could unleash after they managed to achieve great superiority on the main axes. That sufficiently showed why the Blue forces could make strong advances during the military exercise.''"<ref>Konstantin Simonov. Notes about the biography of Zhukov. Translated to Vietnamese by Trần Anh Tuấn and published in Vietnam by Publisher of the People's Army in 2004. [https://sachcugiadinh.com/but-ky-ve-tieu-su-giucop/]</ref>

Zhukov, as Soviet defence minister, was responsible for the invasion of [[Hungary]] following the [[1956 Hungarian Revolution|revolution in October, 1956]]. Along with the majority of members of the Praesidium, he urged [[Nikita Khrushchev]] to send troops in support of the Hungarian authorities, and to secure the border with [[Austria]]. However, Zhukov and most of the Praesidium were not eager to see a full-scale intervention in Hungary and Zhukov even recommended the withdrawal of Soviet troops when it seemed that they might have to take extreme measures to suppress the revolution. The mood on the Praesidium changed again when Hungary's new Prime Minister, [[Imre Nagy]], began to talk about Hungarian withdrawal from the [[Warsaw Pact]], and Russia pressed ahead ruthlessly to defeat the revolutionaries and install [[János Kádár]] in Nagy's place.

Russian historian Bobylev noted that the details of the exercises were reported differently by the various participants who published memoirs.<ref name="Bobylev">П. Н. БОБЫЛЕВ "Репетиция катастрофы" // "Военно-исторический журнал" № 7, 8, 1993 г. [http://rkka.ru/analys/kshu/main.htm]</ref> He said that there were two exercises; one from 2 to 6 January 1941, for the North-West direction; another from 8 to 11 January, for the South-West direction.<ref name="Bobylev"/> During the first, Western forces attacked Eastern forces on 15&nbsp;July, but the Eastern forces counterattacked and, by 1 August, reached the original border.<ref name="Bobylev"/>

In [[1957]] Zhukov supported Khrushchev against his conservative enemies, the so-called "[[Anti-Party Group]]" led by [[Vyacheslav Molotov]]. Zhukov's speech to the [[plenum]] of the [[Central Committee]] of the Communist Party was the most powerful, directly denouncing the opponents for their complicity in Stalin's crimes, though it also carried the threat of force: the very crime he was accusing the others of.

At the time, the Eastern forces had a numerical advantage: 51 infantry divisions against 41; 8,811&nbsp;tanks against 3,512—with the exception of anti-tank guns.<ref name="Bobylev"/> Bobylev describes how by the end of the exercise, the Eastern forces did not manage to surround and destroy the Western forces. In their turn, the Western forces threatened to surround the Eastern forces.<ref name="Bobylev"/> The same historian reported that the second game was won by the Easterners, meaning that on the whole, both games were won by the side commanded by Zhukov.<ref name="Bobylev"/> However, he noted that the games had a serious disadvantage since they did not consider an initial attack by Western forces, but only an attack by Eastern forces from the initial border.<ref name="Bobylev"/>

In June that year he was made a full member of the [[Presidium]] of the Central Committee. He had, however, significant political disagreements with Khrushchev in matters of army policy. Khruschev scaled down the conventional forces and the navy, while developing the strategic nuclear forces as a primary deterrent force, hence freeing up the manpower and the resources for the civilian economy.

According to Marshal [[Aleksandr Vasilevsky]], the war-game defeat of Pavlov's Red Troops against Zhukov was not widely known. The victory of Zhukov's Blue Troops was widely publicized, which created a popular illusion of easy success for a preemptive offensive.{{sfn|Vasilevsky|1973|p=24}} On 1&nbsp;February 1941, Zhukov became chief of the Red Army's [[General Staff]].{{sfn|Zhukov|2002|p=205}} He was also elected a candidate member of the [[Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union]] In February 1941, and was appointed a Deputy People's Commissar for Defence in March.

Zhukov supported the interests of the military and disagreed with Khrushchev's policy. Khrushchev, demonstrating the dominance of the Party over the army, relieved Zhukov of his ministry and expelled him from the Central Committee in October [[1957]]. In his memoirs, Khrushchev claimed that he believed that Zhukov was planning a coup against him and that he accused Zhukov of this as grounds for expulsion at the Central Committee meeting. [[Image:Georgij Žukov-poster.jpg|thumb|180px|A propaganda poster depicting Zhukov triumphant over Nazi Germany]]

==== Soviet offensive controversy ====

After Khrushchev was deposed in October [[1964]] the new leadership of [[Leonid Brezhnev]] and [[Aleksei Kosygin]] restored Zhukov to favour, though not to power. Brezhnev was said to be angered when, at a gathering to mark the twentieth of anniversary of victory in the Great Patriotic War, Zhukov was accorded greater acclaim than himself. Brezhnev, a relatively junior political officer in the war, was always concerned to boost his own importance in the victory.

{{see also|Soviet offensive plans controversy}}

From 2 February 1941, as the chief of the general staff, and Deputy Minister of Defense, Zhukov was said to take part in drawing up the "Strategic plan for deployment of the forces of the Soviet Union in the event of war with Germany and its allies."<ref>A. M. Vasilevsky (May 1941) {{cite web|url=http://www.tuad.nsk.ru/~history/Russia/USSR/1936-1941/soobr.htm |title=Соображения по плану стратегического развёртывания сил Советского Союза на случай войны с Германией и её союзниками |access-date=4 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071219152133/http://www.tuad.nsk.ru/~history/Russia/USSR/1936-1941/soobr.htm |archive-date=19 December 2007 }}. tuad.nsk.ru</ref> The plan was completed no later than 15 May 1941, according to a dated document found in the Soviet archives after they were declassified in the 1990s. Some researchers, such as [[Victor Suvorov]], have theorized that on 14 May, Soviet People's Commissar of Defense [[Semyon Timoshenko]] and General Zhukov presented these plans to Stalin for a preemptive attack against Germany through Southern Poland.

Soviet forces would occupy the [[Vistula]] Border and continue to [[Katowice]] or even [[Berlin]]—should the main German armies retreat—or the Baltic coast, should German forces not retreat and be forced to protect Poland and [[East Prussia]]. The attacking Soviets were supposed to reach [[Siedlce]], [[Dęblin]], and then capture [[Warsaw]] before penetrating toward the southwest and imposing final defeat at [[Lublin]].<ref>[[Viktor Suvorov]] (2006). [http://tapirr.com/texts/history/suvorov/pravda/nevezhin.htm Стратегические замыслы Сталина накануне 22 июня 1941 года], in ''Правда Виктора Суворова: переписывая историю Второй мировой'', Moscow: Yauza</ref>

Zhukov remained a popular figure in the Soviet Union until his death in [[1974]]. He was buried with full military honors.

Historians do not have the original documents that could verify the existence of such a plan, and there is no evidence that Stalin accepted it. In a transcript of an interview on 26 May 1965, Zhukov said that Stalin did not approve the plan. But Zhukov did not clarify whether execution was attempted. {{As of|1999}}, no other approved plan for a Soviet attack had been found.<ref>[[Mikhail Meltyukhov|Mikhail I. Meltyukhov]] (1999) ''Упущенный шанс Сталина. Советский Союз и борьба за Европу, 1939–1941''. Moscow</ref>

[[Asteroid]] [[2132 Zhukov]] was named after him. In [[1995]], commemorating Zhukov's 100th birthday, the [[Russian Federation]] adopted the [[Zhukov Order]] and the [[Zhukov Medal]].

On 10 June 1941, Zhukov sent a message to the Military Council of the Kiev Special Military District, after someone, most likely the commander of the Kiev district, [[Mikhail Kirponos]], had ordered troops on the border to occupy forward positions. Zhukov ordered: "Such action could provoke the Germans into armed confrontation fraught with all sorts of consequences. Revoke this order immediately and report who, specifically, gave such an unauthorised order." On 11 June, he sent a telegram saying that his immediate superior, Timoshenko, had ordered that they were to report back by 16 June confirming that the troops had been withdrawn from their forward positions." According to the historian David E. Murphy, "the action by Timoshenko and Zhukov must have been initiated at the request of Stalin."<ref>{{cite book |last=Murphy |first=David E. |title=What Stalin Knew: The Enigma of Barbarossa |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |___location=New Haven, CT |date=2005 |pages=135–136 |isbn=0-300-10780-3}}</ref>

== Contemporary opinion ==

In the post-war Soviet Union truth was often sacrificed for the sake of propaganda, and little critical opinion on Soviet commanders and soldiers ever appeared. Zhukov is a unique example of a Soviet commander who was criticized for his tactics even inside the Soviet Union. This, of course, was directly related to his successes on the political scene in the Kremlin. When he was in favor, he was lauded as a great hero, "Georgy the Victory-Bringer" (a pun: in this way [[Saint George]] is referred to in [[Russian language|Russian]]). When he fell in disfavor, like with the other four-time-[[Hero of the Soviet Union]] Leonid Brezhnev, Zhukov was called a "cannibal marshall" (маршал-людоед). He remains the most controversial Soviet commander to this day, with diametrically opposed opinions published by his peers, military historians, and soldiers and commanders who served under him.

[[David Glantz]] and [[Jonathan House]], American scholars of the Red Army, argue that "the Soviet Union was not ready for war in June 1941, nor did it intend, as some have contended, to launch a preventative war."{{sfn|Uldricks|1999|p=629}} [[Gerhard Weinberg]], a scholar of Nazi foreign policy, supports their view, arguing that [[Adolf Hitler]]'s decision to launch ''[[Operation Barbarossa]]'' was not because of a sense of urgent foreboding, but rather from a "purposeful determination" and he had started his planning for the invasion well in advance of the summer of 1941{{sfn|Uldricks|1999|pp=629–630}}

Zhukov's actual career is as diverse as those opinions. Brutal disregard for the lives of his soldiers often changes to the complete opposite. Zhukov spent more time than most Soviet commanders training his troops for battle, and preparing the battle plans, which often led to significantly lower casualty numbers compared to other Soviet commanders; for example at the Battle of Moscow in the winter of 1941 Zhukov lost 139,586 men, or 13.6% of his total strength - while a comparable operation under General Kozlov lost 39.4% of his men near Kerch. As the war went on, Zhukov's casualties were becoming even lower; while often incredibly high by any other country's standards, for the Soviet Union they were below average. At the [[Battle of Berlin]] Zhukov lost only 4.1% of his men, while [[Konev]]'s forces, that faced weaker German opposition, lost 5%, and at the same time [[Rodion Malinovsky]] lost almost 8% at the [[Battle of Budapest]]{{citation needed}}.

=== The Eastern front ===

However Zhukov's brutality and his desire to achieve success at any cost is undeniable. One of the most often quoted examples is Zhukov's actions during the defense of [[Istra Reservoir]] (Истринское водохранилище). General [[Rokossovsky]], who commanded one of the Armies under Zhukov's command, requested to withdraw to more advantageous positions on November 18th, 1941. Zhukov categorically refused. Rokossovsky then went for help over Zhukov's head, and spoke directly to Marshal [[Boris Shaposhnikov]], Chief of the General Staff, and reviewing the situation Shaposhnikov immediately ordered a withdrawal. Zhukov reacted at once. He revoked the order of the superior officer, and ordered Rokossovsky to hold the position. In the immediate aftermath, Rokossovsky's army was annihilated and the Germans took hold of the strategically important Eastern bank.

==== Germany invades the Soviet Union ====

[[File:RIAN archive 2410 Marshal Zhukov speaking.jpg|thumb|upright|Zhukov speaking in 1941]]

On 22 June 1941, Germany launched [[Operation Barbarossa]], an invasion of the Soviet Union. On the same day, Zhukov responded by signing the "Directive of Peoples' Commissariat of Defence No. 3", which ordered an all-out counteroffensive by Red Army forces. He commanded the troops to "encircle and destroy [the] enemy grouping near [[Suwałki]] and to seize the Suwałki region by the evening of 24 June" and "to encircle and destroy the enemy grouping invading in [the] Vladimir-Volynia and Brody direction" and even "to seize the [[Lublin]] region by the evening of 24 June".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Operation Barbarossa|url=https://codenames.info/operation/barbarossa/|last=Chant|first=Christopher|date=2020|access-date=24 May 2020}}</ref> This manoeuvre failed and disorganized Red Army units were destroyed by the Wehrmacht.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kashuba|first=Steven|title=Destination Gulag|publisher=Trafford Publishing|year=2013|isbn=978-1-4669-8312-0|___location=Bloomington|pages=260}}</ref> Furthermore the subsequent [[Battle of Kiev (1941)|Battle of Kiev]] in September, where over 600,000 Soviet troops were captured or killed, lowered his standing with Stalin. Zhukov subsequently claimed that he was forced by [[Joseph Stalin]] to sign the directive, supposedly written by [[Aleksandr Vasilevsky]],<ref>P. Ya. Mezhiritzky (2002), ''Reading Marshal Zhukov'', Philadelphia: Libas Consulting, chapter 32.</ref> despite the reservations that he raised.{{sfn|Zhukov|2003|p=269}}

When Stalin arrived unannounced at command headquarters on 29 June, demanding to know why he was not being told what was happening at the front, Zhukov courageously told him: "Comrade Stalin, our duty is first of all to help the front commanders and only then to inform you." But when he had to admit that they lost contact with the front commanders in Belarus, Stalin lost his temper and called him "useless".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pleshakov |first1=Constantine |title=Stalin's Folly: The Secret History of the German Invasion of Russia, June 1941 |date=2005 |publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson |___location=London |isbn=978-0-297-84626-0 |page=214}}</ref>

Zhukov's proponents often explain his brutality by the incredible pressure he was under. While pride was certainly a factor in many of Zhukov's decisions, he may well not have been as careless with the lives of his men had he not also been led by fear. Throughout the war Zhukov was put under more scrutiny than any other Soviet commander. The orders of his first major appointment, the defense of Moscow in 1941, were printed in all newspapers accompanied by a large portait of Zhukov - something unprecedented until then. Stalin was making himself very clear. This was the man who'd be held responsible for the outcome. The precarious position occupied by Zhukov is easy to appreciate even for a modern reader. Zhukov's subsequent high-profile appointments left him equally little room for failure. Winning at all costs was not optional.

On 29 July, Zhukov was removed from his post of chief of the general staff. In his memoirs he gives his suggested abandoning of [[Kiev]] to avoid an encirclement as a reason for it.{{sfn|Zhukov|2003|p=353}} On the next day the decision was made official and he was appointed the commander of the [[Reserve Front]].{{sfn|Zhukov|2003|p=353}} There he oversaw the [[Yelnya offensive]], delivering the Red Army's first victory over the Germans. On 10 September, Zhukov was made the commander of the [[Leningrad Front]].{{sfn|Zhukov|2003|p=382}} There he oversaw the [[Siege of Leningrad|defense of the city]].

Many of his battles are examples of some of the most lopsided victories of the second world war, ending with complete annihilation of his opponent. Evidence exists that Zhukov did more to prepare himself and his troops for battle than most other Soviet commanders, thus giving them more of an edge in a fight. However once the battle began, Zhukov's focus was on nothing but victory. As such, he was a typical Soviet commander. His brutality, while more publicized than most, was not at all uncommon. And many Russian historians continue to claim to this day that the outcome is all that matters.

On 6 October, Zhukov was appointed the representative of [[Stavka]] for the [[Reserve Front|Reserve]] and [[Western Front (Soviet Union)|Western Fronts]].{{sfn|Zhukov|2003|p=8}} On 10 October, those fronts were merged into the Western Front under Zhukov's command.{{sfn|Zhukov|2003|p=16}} This front then participated in the [[Battle of Moscow]] and several [[Battles of Rzhev]].

In the popular belief and legends of the front-line soldiers, however, Zhukov is a fatherly figure who cares about his rank and file. He knows the day in and day out hardships of his troops, deeply loves Russia and all the Ivans that rose to its defense. In one anecdote, he dresses as a simple soldier and tries to get a hitch-hike to the front line from passing cars. Officers who did not stop their cars are later reprimanded for their lack of care toward the average Ivan.

In late August 1942, Zhukov was made deputy commander in chief, subordinate only to Stalin, and sent to the southwestern front to take charge of the [[defence of Stalingrad]].{{sfn|Chaney|1996|pp=212–213}}<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Taylor |first=Blaine |date=July 2003 |title=Marshal Georgi Zhukov: Hero of the Soviet Union |url=https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/marshal-georgi-zhukov-hero-of-the-soviet-union/ |magazine=WWII History |___location=McLean, Virginia |publisher=Warfare History Network |access-date=17 February 2025}}</ref> He and Vasilevsky later planned the [[Operation Uranus|Stalingrad counteroffensive]].{{sfn|Chaney|1996|p=224}}{{additional citations needed|date=February 2025}} In November, Zhukov was sent to coordinate the Western Front and the [[Kalinin Front]] during [[Operation Mars]]. In January 1943, he—together with [[Kliment Voroshilov]]—coordinated the actions of the [[Leningrad Front|Leningrad]] and [[Volkhov Front]]s and the [[Baltic Fleet]] in [[Operation Iskra]].<ref name="Gareev_Zhukov_1996">Махмут А. Гареев ''Маршал Жуков. Величие и уникальность полководческого искусства''. М.: – Уфа, 1996.</ref> On January 18, 1943, Zhukov was promoted to Marshal of the Soviet Union.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ziemke |first1=Earl Frederick |last2=Bauer |first2=Magna E. |date=1987 |title=Moscow to Stalingrad: Decision in the East |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yjOxtqM8768C&pg=PA507 |___location=Washington, DC |publisher=Center of Military History, United States Army |page=507 |isbn=978-0-1608-0081-8 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>

== Trivia ==

* In [[Tom Clancy]]'s novel, ''[[Red Storm Rising]]'', a plan for rapid mobilization and attack into Western Europe was named "Zhukov-4."

* An [[Ambassador class starship]] [[USS Zhukov (NCC-62136)]] was mentioned in the American [[science fiction]] television series [[Star Trek: The Next Generation]].

* In the Russian campaign of the computer strategy game [[Empire Earth]] there is a character named Vassili Zhukov. Because there is [[Sergei Molotov|another character]] with the name [[Vyacheslav Molotov|Molotov]], it seems likely that this character was named after the Russian commander.

* Popular culture in Russia traditionally contends that Zhukov himself participated in Beria's arrest at the Kremlin - with one version having him exclaiming "in the name of the Soviet People, you are under arrest, you son of a bitch". Though psychologically gratifying to Russians in the post Stalin/Beria era, the historical accuracy of these accounts remain in doubt.

==== AwardsBattle of Kursk ====

Zhukov was a recipient of numerous awards. In particular, he was four times [[Hero of the Soviet Union]]; besides him, only [[Leonid Brezhnev]] was a four-time hero. Zhukov was one of three double recipients of the [[Order of Victory]]. He was also awarded the Polish [[Virtuti Militari]] with the Grand Cross and Star and the Chief Commander grade of the American [[Legion of Merit]], and was created a [[Order of the Bath|Knight Grand Cross of the Military Division of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath]].

[[File:Жуков и Конев.jpg|thumb|left|Zhukov and [[Ivan Konev]] during the Battle of Kursk, 1943]]

==Memories==

Zhukov was a [[Stavka]] coordinator at the [[battle of Kursk]] in July 1943. He was considered the main architect of the Soviet victory together with Vasilevsky.<ref>{{cite book |last=Roberts |first=Geoffrey |title=Stalin's Wars: From World War to Cold War, 1939–1953 |publisher=Yale University Press |___location=New Haven, CT |date=2006 |pages=159 |isbn=0-300-11204-1}}</ref> According to Zhukov's memoirs, he played a central role in the planning of the battle and the hugely successful offensive that followed. Commander of the Central Front [[Konstantin Rokossovsky]], said, however, that the planning and decisions for the Battle of Kursk were made without Zhukov, that he only arrived just before the battle, made no decisions and left soon afterward, and that Zhukov exaggerated his role.<ref name="ReferenceB">Военно-исторический журнал, 1992 N3 p.&nbsp;31.</ref> A sense of the nature of the beginning of Rokossovsky's famous World War II rivalry with Zhukov can be gathered from reading Rokossovsky's comments in an official report on Zhukov's character:<ref>{{cite book|last=Kokoshin|first=Andreĭ Afanas'evich|title=Soviet Strategic Thought, 1917–1991|year=1998|publisher=MIT Press|page=43}}</ref>

The very first monument to Georgy Zhukov was installed in Mongolia, in memory of the [[Battle of Halhin Gol]]. After the [[collapse of the Soviet Union]] this monument was one of the very few which did not suffer from the backlash of anti-Sovietism in the former [[Communist state]]s.

<blockquote>Has a strong will. Decisive and firm. Often demonstrates initiative and skillfully applies it. Disciplined. Demanding and persistent in his demands. A somewhat ungracious and not sufficiently sympathetic person. Rather stubborn. Painfully proud. In professional terms well trained. Broadly experienced as a military leader... Absolutely cannot be used in staff or teaching jobs because constitutionally he hates them.</blockquote>

==External links==

{{Commons|Георгий Константинович Жуков}}

From 12 February 1944, Zhukov coordinated the actions of the [[1st Ukrainian Front|1st Ukrainian]] and [[2nd Ukrainian Front|2nd Ukrainian]] Fronts.{{sfn|Zhukov|2003|p=205}} On 1 March, Zhukov was appointed the commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front until early May following the ambush of [[Nikolai Vatutin]], its commander, by the anti-Soviet [[Ukrainian Insurgent Army]] near [[Ostroh]].{{sfn|Zhukov|2003|pp=209–217}} During the Soviet offensive named [[Operation Bagration]], Zhukov coordinated the [[1st Belorussian Front|1st Belorussian]] and [[2nd Belorussian Front|2nd Belorussian]] Fronts, and later the 1st Ukrainian Front as well.{{sfn|Zhukov|2003|p=222}} On 23 August, Zhukov was sent to the [[3rd Ukrainian Front]] to prepare for the advance into Bulgaria.{{sfn|Zhukov|2003|p=246}}

*[http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/zhukov1/index.html ''Воспоминания и размышления''] The Memoirs of Georgy Zhukov {{ru icon}}

*[http://www.ordenshop.ru/photjuk.html Zhukov's Awards] {{ru icon}}

*[http://www.suvorov.com/books/ten-pobedy/ ''Shadow of Victory''] and [http://www.suvorov.com/books/slova-obratno/ ''Take Words Back''] books by [[Viktor Suvorov]], highly critical of Zhukov {{ru icon}}

*[http://militera.lib.ru/research/sokolov2/index.html Boris Sokolov. Unknown Zhukov (Соколов Борис Вадимович. Неизвестный Жуков: портрет без ретуши в зеркале эпохи)] {{ru icon}}

=== Surrender of Germany ===

==Additional reading==

==== March on Berlin ====

* Suworow, Viktor. ''Marschall Schukow - Lebensweg über Leichen'', Pour-le-Mérite, Selent, Germany, 2002, 350 pp.

On 16 November, he became commander of the 1st Belorussian Front which took part in the [[Vistula–Oder offensive]] and the [[Battle of Berlin]].{{sfn|Zhukov|2003|p=259}} He called on his troops to "remember our brothers and sisters, our mothers and fathers, our wives and children tortured to death by Germans&nbsp;... We shall exact a brutal revenge for everything". More than 20&nbsp;million Soviet soldiers and civilians died as a result of the war. In a reprisal for atrocities committed by German soldiers against Soviet civilians in the eastward advance into Soviet territory during Operation Barbarossa, the westward march by Soviet forces was marked by brutality towards German civilians, which included looting, burning and systematic rapes.<ref>William I. Hitchcock, ''The Bitter Road to Freedom: A New History of the Liberation of Europe'' (2008) pp.&nbsp;160–161.</ref>

Zhukov was chosen to personally accept the [[German Instrument of Surrender]] in Berlin.{{sfn|Zhukov|2003|p=332}}

==Reference==

* Pavel N. Bobylev, ''Otechesvennaya istoriya'', no. 1, 2000, pp. 41-64

== Post-war service ==

{{start box}}

{{succession box|

=== Soviet occupation zone ===

title=[[Minister of Defence of Soviet Union]]|

[[File:Allies at the Brandenburg Gate, 1945.jpg|thumb|From left to right: [[Vasily Sokolovsky|Sokolovsky]], Zhukov, [[Bernard Montgomery|Montgomery]] and [[Konstantin Rokossovsky|Rokossovsky]] at the [[Brandenburg Gate]]]]

before=[[Nikolai Bulganin]]|

After the German capitulation, Zhukov became the first commander of the [[Soviet occupation zone in Germany]]. On 10 June 1945, he returned to Moscow to prepare for the [[1945 Moscow Victory Parade]]. On 24 June, Stalin appointed him commander in chief of the parade. After the ceremony, on the night of 24 June, Zhukov went to Berlin to resume his command.{{sfn|Shtemenko|1989|pp=566–569}}

after=[[Rodion Malinovsky]]|

years=[[1955]]&ndash;[[1957]]|

In May 1945, Zhukov signed three resolutions to improve living standards in the Soviet occupation zone:

* 11 May: resolution 063 – provision of food

* 12 May: resolution 064 – restoration of the public services sector

* 13 May: resolution 080 – provision of milk supplies for children

Zhukov requested the Soviet government to transport urgently to Berlin 96,000&nbsp;tons of grain, 60,000&nbsp;tons of potatoes, 50,000&nbsp;cattle, and thousands of tons of other foodstuffs, such as sugar and animal fat. He issued strict orders that his subordinates were to "hate Nazism but respect the German people,"<ref>{{Cite book|last=Tibbetts|first=Jann|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lsHLDAAAQBAJ&q=georgy+zhukov+%22hate+Nazism+but+respect+the+German+people,&pg=PT382|title=50 Great Military Leaders of All Time|date=2016|publisher=Vij Books India |isbn=978-93-85505-66-9|language=en}}</ref> and to make all possible efforts to restore and maintain a stable living standard for the German population.<ref>Grigori Deborin (1958). [http://publ.lib.ru/ARCHIVES/D/DEBORIN_Grigoriy_Abramovich/_Deborin_G.A..html Вторая мировая война. Военно-политический очерк], Moscow: Voenizdat, pp.&nbsp;340–343.</ref>

=== Inter-allied diplomacy ===

[[File:Montgomery receives Order of Victory HD-SN-99-02756.JPG|thumb|Zhukov sharing a toast with Eisenhower, Montgomery and other Allied officials, June 1945]]

From 16 July to 2 August, Zhukov participated in the [[Potsdam Conference]] with the fellow representatives of the Allied governments. As one of the four commanders of the Allied occupational forces, Zhukov established good relationships with his new colleagues, General [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]], Field Marshal [[Bernard Montgomery]], and Marshal [[Jean de Lattre]], and the four frequently exchanged views about such matters as the sentencing, trials, and judgments of war criminals, geopolitical relationships between the Allied states, and how to defeat Japan and rebuild Germany.

Eisenhower developed a good relationship with Zhukov and it proved beneficial in resolving differences in post-war occupational issues.<ref>{{cite book |last=Clark |first=Douglas E. |title=Eisenhower in Command at Columbia |publisher=Lexington Books |___location=Lanham, MD |year=2013 |pages=33 |isbn=978-0-7391-7836-2}}</ref> Eisenhower's successor, General [[Lucius D. Clay]], also praised the Zhukov–Eisenhower friendship, and commented: "The Soviet–America relationship should have developed well if Eisenhower and Zhukov had continued to work together."{{sfn|Axell|2003|p=356}} Zhukov and Eisenhower went on to tour the Soviet Union together in the immediate aftermath of the victory over Germany.{{sfn|Chaney|1996|pp=346–347}} During this tour Eisenhower introduced Zhukov to [[Coca-Cola]]. As Coca-Cola was regarded in the [[Soviet Union]] as a symbol of [[American imperialism]],<ref name=NYT>{{cite news|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/15/business/viewpoints-a-brief-history-of-coca-colonization.html|title=Viewpoints; A Brief History of Coca-Colonization|author=[[Mark Pendergrast]]|date=15 August 1993|access-date=12 September 2012}}</ref> Zhukov was apparently reluctant to be photographed or reported as consuming such a product. Zhukov asked if the beverage could be made colourless to resemble vodka. A European subsidiary of the Coca-Cola Export Corporation delivered an initial 50 cases of [[White Coke]] to Marshal Zhukov.

=== Decline of career ===

[[File:Маршал Советского Союза Г.К. Жуков на первомайском параде в Свердловске.jpg|thumb|Zhukov at a post-war 1 May parade in Sverdlovsk, between 1948–1950]]

Zhukov was not only the supreme military commander of the [[Soviet occupation zone in Germany]], but became its military governor on 10 June 1945. He was replaced with [[Vasily Sokolovsky]] on 10 April 1946. After an unpleasant session of the main military council—in which Zhukov was accused of egoism, disrespect to his peers, and of political unreliability and hostility to the Party Central Committee—he was stripped of his position as commander in chief of the [[Soviet Army]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Boterbloem|first=Kees|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nda8n7s8o3oC&pg=PA477|title=Life and Times of Andrei Zhdanov, 1896–1948|date=2004-03-01|publisher=McGill-Queen's Press – MQUP|isbn=978-0-7735-7173-0|pages=477|language=en}}</ref>{{sfn|Spahr|1993|pp=200–205}}

He was assigned command of the [[Odessa Military District]], far from Moscow and lacking in strategic significance and troops. He arrived there on 13 June 1946. Zhukov suffered a heart attack in January 1948, spending a month in the hospital. In February 1948, he was given another secondary posting, this time command of the [[Urals Military District]]. [[Peter G. Tsouras]] described the move from Odessa to the Urals as a relegation from a "second-rate" to a "fifth-rate" assignment.<ref>{{cite book|author=[[Peter G. Tsouras|Tsouras, P.G.]]|title=''Changing Orders: The evolution of the World's Armies, 1945 to the Present''|url=https://archive.org/details/changingordersev00tsou|url-access=registration|publisher= Facts on File|date=1994|isbn= 0-8160-3122-3|pages=[https://archive.org/details/changingordersev00tsou/page/43 43–44]}}</ref>

Throughout this time, security chief [[Lavrentiy Beria]] was supposedly trying to topple Zhukov. Two of Zhukov's subordinates, Marshal of Aviation [[Alexander Novikov]] and Lieutenant-General [[Konstantin Telegin]], were arrested and tortured in [[Lefortovo Prison]] at the end of 1945. After Stalin's death it was claimed that Novikov was allegedly forced by Beria into a "confession" which implicated Zhukov in a conspiracy.<ref>Kornukov, A. M. [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0JAP/is_6_9/ai_72703615] (Chief Marshal of Aviation AA. Novikov – His 100th Birthday) Warheroes.ru. Retrieved on 8 July 2019.</ref> In reality, Novikov may have been encouraged to point the finger at Zhukov because he saw Zhukov's membership at the investigation commission of the [[Aviators Affair]]—a purge of the [[Soviet aircraft]] industry following accusations that, during the war, the fighter planes had been of poor quality—in which Novikov was implicated, as instrumental to his downfall.<ref name=":0" /> Regardless, in a conference, all generals except [[GRU (G.U.)|GRU]] director [[Filipp Golikov]] defended Zhukov against accusation of misspending. During this time, Zhukov was accused of [[Soviet plunder|unauthorized looting of goods]] confiscated by the Germans, and of [[Bonapartism#Marxism|Bonapartism]].<ref name=":1" /><ref>I. S. Konev (1991) [http://www.warheroes.ru/hero/hero.asp?Hero_id=1612 Записки командующего фронтом] (Diary of the Front Commander). Voenizdat. Moscow. pp. 594–599. Warheroes.ru. Retrieved on 12 July 2013.</ref>

In 1946, seven rail carriages with furniture that Zhukov was taking to the Soviet Union from Germany were impounded. In 1948, his apartments and house in Moscow were searched and many valuables looted from Germany were found.<ref>[[Boris Vadimovich Sokolov]] (2000) ''Неизвестный Жуков: портрет без ретуши в зеркале эпохи''. (Unknown Zhukov), Minsk, Rodiola-plyus, {{ISBN|985-448-036-4}}.</ref> In his investigation Beria concluded that Zhukov had in his possession 17&nbsp;golden rings, three gemstones, the faces of 15&nbsp;golden necklaces, more than {{convert|4|km|spell=in|sp=us}} of cloth, 323&nbsp;pieces of fur, 44&nbsp;carpets taken from German palaces, 55&nbsp;paintings and 20&nbsp;guns."<ref name="u119">{{cite web |title=Жуков Георгий Константинович |url=http://hrono.ru/biograf/bio_zh/zhukov_gk.php |access-date=2025-01-28 |website=ХРОНОС. ВСЕМИРНАЯ ИСТОРИЯ В ИНТЕРНЕТЕ |language=ru}}</ref> Zhukov admitted in a memorandum to Zhdanov:<blockquote> "I felt very guilty. I shouldn't have collected those useless junks and put them into some warehouse, assuming nobody needs them any more. I swear as a Bolshevik that I would avoid such errors and follies thereafter. Surely I still and will wholeheartedly serve the Motherland, the Party, and the Great Comrade Stalin."<ref>Военные архивы России. – М., 1993, p.&nbsp;244.</ref></blockquote>

When learning of Zhukov's "misfortunes"—and despite not understanding all the problems—Eisenhower expressed his sympathy for his "comrade-in-arms."<ref>''The New York Times'', 29 July 1955.</ref> In February 1953, Stalin relieved Zhukov of his post as Commander of the Urals Military District, recalling Zhukov to Moscow. It was thought Zhukov's expertise was needed in the [[Korean War]]; however, in practice, Zhukov received no orders from Stalin after arriving in Moscow. On 5 March 1953, at 09:50, Stalin died of a stroke. Following Stalin's passing, Zhukov's life entered a new phase.{{sfn|Axell|2003|p=356}}

=== Relationship with Stalin ===

[[File:Парад Победы на Красной площади 24 июня 1945 г. (23).jpg|thumb|Zhukov with Stalin and [[Semyon Budyonny]] during the Soviet Victory Parade of 1945]]

During the war, as the chief of staff and deputy supreme commander, Zhukov had hundreds of meetings with Stalin, both private and during [[Stavka]] conferences. Consequently, Zhukov understood Stalin's personality and methods well. According to Zhukov, Stalin was a bold and secretive person, but he was also hot-tempered and skeptical. Zhukov was able to gauge Stalin's mood: for example, when Stalin drew deeply on his tobacco pipe, it was a sign of a good mood. Conversely, if Stalin failed to light his pipe once it was out of tobacco, it was a sign of imminent rage.<ref>G. K. Zhukov. ''Reminiscences and Reflections''. vol.&nbsp;2, pp.&nbsp;139, 150.</ref> His outstanding knowledge of Stalin's personality was an asset that allowed him to deal with Stalin's outbursts in a way other Soviet generals could not.{{sfn|Axell|2003|p=280}}

Both Zhukov and Stalin were hot-tempered, and both made concessions necessary to sustain their relationship. While Zhukov viewed his relationship with Stalin as one of a subordinate–senior, Stalin was in awe and possibly jealous of Zhukov. Both were military commanders, but Stalin's experience was limited to a previous generation of non-mechanized warfare. By contrast, Zhukov was highly influential in the development of contemporary combined operations of highly mechanized armies. The differences in their outlooks were the cause of many tempestuous disagreements between the two of them at Stavka meetings. Nonetheless, Zhukov was less competent than Stalin as a politician, highlighted by Zhukov's many failures in politics. Stalin's unwillingness to value Zhukov beyond the marshal's military talents was one of the reasons why Zhukov was recalled from Berlin.{{sfn|Chaney|1996}}

Significant to their relationship as well was Zhukov's bluntness towards his superior. Stalin was dismissive of the fawning of many of his entourage and openly criticized it.{{sfn|Shtemenko|1989|p=587}} Many people around Stalin—including Beria, Yezhov, and Mekhlis—felt obliged to flatter Stalin to remain on his good side.{{sfn|Vasilevsky|1973|p=62}} Zhukov remained obstinate and argumentative, and did not hesitate to publicly contradict Stalin to the point of risking his career and life. Their heated argument about whether to abandon Kiev due to the Germans' rapid advance in summer of 1941 was typical of Zhukov's approach.<ref>A. I. Sethi. ''Marshal Zhukov: The Great Strategician''. New Delhi: 1988, p. 187.</ref> Zhukov's ability to remain skeptical and unwavering at giving in to pressure did garner him the respect of Stalin.

== Political career ==

=== Arresting Beria ===

After Stalin's death, Zhukov returned to favor, becoming Deputy Defence Minister in 1953. He then had an opportunity to avenge himself on Beria. With Stalin's sudden death, the Soviet Union fell into a leadership crisis. [[Georgy Malenkov]] temporarily became First Secretary. Malenkov and his allies attempted to purge Stalin's influence and personality cult; however, Malenkov himself did not have the courage to do this alone. Moreover, [[Lavrentiy Beria]] remained dangerous. The politicians sought reinforcement from the powerful and prestigious military men. In this matter, [[Nikita Khrushchev]] chose Zhukov because the two had forged a good relationship, and, in addition, during World War II, Zhukov had twice saved Khrushchev from false accusations.{{sfn|Vasilevsky|1973|p=137}}<ref>Sergei Khrushchev (1990). ''Khrushchev on Khrushchev. An Inside Account of the Man and His Era'', Little, Brown & Company, Boston, pp. 243, 272, 317. {{ISBN|0316491942}}.</ref>

On 26 June 1953, a special meeting of the [[Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Politburo]] was held by Malenkov. Beria came to the meeting with an uneasy feeling because it was called hastily—indeed, Zhukov had ordered General [[Kirill Moskalenko]] to secretly prepare a special force and permitted the force to use two of Zhukov's and Defence Minister [[Nikolai Bulganin]]'s special cars (which had tinted windows) in order to safely infiltrate the [[Kremlin]]. Zhukov also ordered him to replace the [[Ministry of Internal Affairs (Soviet Union)|MVD]] Guard with the guard of the Moscow Military District.

Finally, Khrushchev suggested expelling Beria from the Communist Party and bringing him before a military court. Moskalenko's special forces obeyed.<ref name="S. Moskalenko. 1990">K. S. Moskalenko (1990). ''The arrest of Beria''. Newspaper Московские новости. No. 23.</ref>{{sfn|Afanasyev|1989|p=141}}

Zhukov was a member of the [[military tribunal]] during the Beria trial, which was headed by Marshal [[Ivan Konev]].<ref name="AP1955-1">Associated Press, 9 February 1955, reported in ''The Albuquerque Journal'' p. 1.</ref> On 18 December 1953, the Military Court sentenced Beria to death. During the burial of Beria, Konev commented: "The day this man was born deserves to be damned!" Then Zhukov said: "I considered it as my duty to contribute my little part in this matter."<ref name="S. Moskalenko. 1990"/>{{sfn|Afanasyev|1989|p=141}}

=== Minister of Defense ===

[[File:RokossowskiZhukov.jpg|thumb|210px|Zhukov (right) with [[Polish Minister of Defense]] [[Konstantin Rokossovsky]] (center) and [[Ivan Konev]] in Warsaw, 1955]]

When Bulganin became premier in 1955, he appointed Zhukov as Defense Minister.<ref name="AP1955-1"/> Zhukov participated in many political activities. He successfully opposed the re-establishment of the [[Political commissar|Commissar]] system, arguing that the Party and political leaders were not professional military men, and thus the highest power should fall to the army commanders. Until 1955, Zhukov had both sent to and received letters from Eisenhower. Both leaders agreed that the two superpowers should coexist peacefully.<ref name=Eisen>[[John Eisenhower]] (1974). ''Strictly Personal''. New York. p. 237, {{ISBN|0385070713}}.</ref> In July 1955, Zhukov—together with Khrushchev, Bulganin, [[Vyacheslav Molotov]] and [[Andrei Gromyko]]—participated in a Summit Conference at [[Geneva]] after the USSR signed the [[Austrian State Treaty]] and withdrew its army from the country.

Zhukov followed orders from the then Prime Minister [[Georgy Malenkov]] and Communist Party leader Khrushchev during the invasion of Hungary following the [[Hungarian Revolution of 1956]].<ref>Johanna Granville (2004) [https://books.google.com/books?id=RkaWTipqnecC ''The First Domino: International Decision Making During the Hungarian Crisis of 1956''], Texas A & M University Press, {{ISBN|1-58544-298-4}}</ref> Along with the majority of members of the [[Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Presidium]], he urged Khrushchev to send troops to support the Hungarian authorities and to secure the Austrian border. Zhukov and most of the Presidium were not, however, eager to see a full-scale intervention in Hungary. Zhukov even recommended the withdrawal of Soviet troops when it seemed that they might have to take extreme measures to suppress the revolution.

The mood in the Presidium changed again when Hungary's new Prime Minister, [[Imre Nagy]], began to talk about Hungarian withdrawal from the [[Warsaw Pact]]. That led the Soviets to attack the revolutionaries and to replace Nagy with [[János Kádár]]. In the same years, when the UK, France, and Israel invaded Egypt during the [[Suez Crisis]], Zhukov expressed support for Egypt's right of self-defense. In October 1957, Zhukov visited Yugoslavia and Albania aboard the {{sclass|Chapayev|cruiser}} ''Kuibyshev'', attempting to repair the [[Tito–Stalin split]] of 1948.{{sfn|Spahr|1993|pp=235–238}} During the voyage, ''Kuibyshev'' encountered units of the [[U.S. Sixth Fleet]] and "passing honours" in the form of full salvos were exchanged between the vessels.

=== Fall from power ===

[[File:Георгий Константинович Жуков в военной форме.jpg|thumb|upright|Zhukov, {{circa|1960}}]]

On his 60th birthday, in 1956, Zhukov received his fourth [[Hero of the Soviet Union]] title—making him the first person to receive the honour four times. The only other four-time recipient was [[Leonid Brezhnev]], who never rose above modest military rank and received all of his four Hero of the Soviet Union medals for his birthday as part of his overall cult of personality and love for medals, titles, and decorations. Despite his general lack of political ability, Zhukov became the highest-ranking military professional who was also a member of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. He further became a symbol of national strength, the most widely esteemed Soviet military hero of World War II. Zhukov's prestige was even higher than the police and security agencies of the USSR, and thus rekindled concerns among political leaders.

Going even further than Khrushchev, Zhukov demanded that the political agencies in the Red Army report to him before the Party. He demanded an official condemnation of Stalin's crimes during the [[Great Purge]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2012}} He also supported the political vindication and rehabilitation of [[Mikhail Tukhachevsky]], [[Grigoriy Shtern]], [[Vasily Blyukher]], [[Alexander Yegorov (soldier)|Alexander Yegorov]] and many others. In response his opponents accused him of being a Reformist and [[Bonapartist]]. Such enviousness and hostility proved to be the key factor that led to his later downfall.{{sfn|Spahr|1993|p=391}}

The relationship between Zhukov and Khrushchev reached its peak during the [[20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union]] (CPSU) in 1956. After becoming the First Secretary of the Party, Khrushchev moved against Stalin's legacy and criticised his personality cult in a speech, "[[On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences]]". To complete such startling acts, Khrushchev needed the approval—or at least the acquiescence—of the military, headed by Minister of Defense Zhukov.

At the [[plenary session]] of the [[Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Central Committee of the CPSU]] held in June 1957 Zhukov supported Khrushchev against the "[[Anti-Party Group]]", that had a majority in the Presidium and voted to replace Khrushchev as First Secretary with Bulganin. At that plenum, Zhukov stated: "The Army is against this resolution and not even a tank will leave its position without my order!".{{sfn|Afanasyev|1989|pp=151–152}} In the same session the "Anti-Party Group" was condemned and Zhukov was made a member of the Presidium.

His second fall was more sudden and public even than his first. On 4 October 1957, he left on an official visit to Yugoslavia, and Albania.{{sfn|Chaney|1996|pp=444–445}} He returned to Moscow on 26 October, straight to a meeting of the Presidium, during which he was removed from that body. On 2 November, the Central Committee convened to hear Zhukov being accused of 'non-party behaviour', conducting an 'adventurist foreign policy', and sponsoring his own personality cult. He was expelled from the Central Committee and sent into forced retirement at age 62. The same issue of the ''[[Krasnaya Zvezda]]'' that announced Zhukov's return also reported that he had been relieved of his duties.{{sfn|Spahr|1993|p=238}} According to many researchers, Soviet politicians—including Khrushchev himself—had a deep-seated fear of "powerful people".{{sfn|Afanasyev|1989|p=152}}{{sfn|Chaney|1996|pp=453–455}}

== Later life ==

=== Retirement ===

[[File:Георгий Константинович Жуков на отдыхе в Сочи.jpg|thumb|upright|Zhukov on holiday in [[Sochi]]]]

After being forced out of the government, Zhukov stayed away from politics. Many people—including former subordinates—frequently paid him visits, joined him on hunting excursions, and exchanged reminiscences. In September 1959, while visiting the United States, Khrushchev told President Eisenhower that the retired Marshal Zhukov "liked fishing". Zhukov was actually a keen [[aquarist]].<ref>{{Cite journal|title= Erinnerungen an Ornithologen, die ich kannte| journal=J. Ornithol.|volume=139| pages=325–348| year=1998| author=Nowak, Eugeniusz| issue=3| doi=10.1007/BF01653343| s2cid=28973619|language=de}}</ref> In response, Eisenhower sent Zhukov a set of [[fishing tackle]]. Zhukov respected this gift so much that he is said to have exclusively used Eisenhower's fishing tackle for the remainder of his life, referring to Soviet fishing tackle as "substandard".<ref>Korda, M. (2008) Ike: An American Hero</ref>

After Khrushchev was deposed in October 1964, Brezhnev restored Zhukov to favor—though not to power—in a move to use Zhukov's popularity to strengthen his political position. Zhukov's name was put in the public eye yet again when Brezhnev lionised Zhukov in a speech commemorating the Great Patriotic War. On 9 May 1965, Zhukov was invited to sit on the tribune of the Lenin Mausoleum and have the honour of reviewing the parade of military forces in [[Red Square]].{{sfn|Axell|2003|p=277}}

Zhukov had begun writing his memoirs, ''Memories and Recollections'', in 1958. He now worked intensively on them which, together with steadily deteriorating health, served to worsen his [[heart disease]]. It would take another decade until publication after Zhukov clashed constantly with [[Mikhail Suslov]], the Communist Party's Chief Ideologue and Second in Command in charge of Censorship, who demanded many revisions and removals, particularly his criticisms of Stalin, Voroshilov, Budyonny and Molotov. After Brezhnev came to power, Suslov made further demands to exaggerate Colonel Brezhnev's role in WWII by glorifying the little known and strategically unimportant Battles of [[Malaya Zemlya]] and [[Novorossiysk]] as a decisive turning point in the Eastern Front, both of which Zhukov refused to do.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Thelman|first=Joseph|date=December 2012|title=The Man in Galoshes|url=https://jew-observer.com/istoriya/chelovek-v-galoshax/|access-date=28 February 2021|website=Jew Observer}}</ref> In December 1967, Zhukov had a serious stroke. He was hospitalised until June 1968, and continued to receive medical and rehabilitative treatment at home under the care of his second wife, Galina Semyonova, a former officer in the Medical Corps. The stroke left him paralysed on his left side, his speech became slurred and he could only walk with assistance.

His memoirs were published in 1969 and became a best-seller. Within several months of the date of publication of his memoirs, Zhukov had received more than 10,000 letters from readers that offered comments, expressed gratitude, gave advice, or lavished praise. Supposedly, the Communist Party invited Zhukov to participate in the [[24th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union]] in 1971, but the invitation was rescinded.{{sfn|Spahr|1993|p=411}}

=== Death ===

[[File:Kremlin Wall Necropolis - Zhukov, Georgy.jpg|thumb|Zhukov's grave in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis ]]

Zhukov died in [[Moscow]], [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Russian SFSR]] on 18 June 1974 at age 77 after suffering a [[stroke]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=1974-06-19 |title=Marshal Riukov is Reported Dead |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/06/19/archives/marshal-zhukov-is-reported-dead-soviet-hero-led-army-into.html |access-date=2023-09-24 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> His body was cremated and his ashes were buried at the [[Kremlin Wall Necropolis]] alongside fellow generals and marshals of the Soviet Union during his funeral.<ref>{{Citation |title=State funeral of Soviet Hero Marshal Zhukov in Moscow_Похороны Жуков | date=15 January 2017 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjoA0T-nL8I |access-date=2023-08-20 |language=en}}</ref>

In 1995, an equestrian statue of Zhukov was erected in front of the [[State Historical Museum]].<ref>{{cite news|last = Williams|first = C. J.|date = 2 May 1995|title = At Last, a Soviet Hero Gets Respect: Marshal Georgi Zhukov was demoted twice after leading victorious World War II forces. Now he is being honored with a medal, a monument and a museum.|url = https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-05-02-wr-61272-story.html|newspaper = [[LA Times]]|access-date = 23 July 2019|df = dmy-all}}</ref>

== Family ==

; Father

: Konstantin Artemyevich Zhukov (1851–1921); a shoemaker

; Mother

: Ustinina Artemievna Zhukova (1866–1944); farmer from a poor family

; Siblings

: 1. Maria Konstantinovna Zhukova (1894–1954)

: 2. Alexei Konstantinovich Zhukov (born 1901); died prematurely

; Spouses

: [[File:Г.К. Жуков с женой Александрой Диевной. 1920-е годы.jpg|thumb|Alexandra Dievna Zhukova, the Russian wife of Marshal Zhukov]]1. Alexandra Dievna Zuikova (1900–1967); common-law wife since 1920; married in 1953; divorced in 1965; died after a stroke

: 2. Galina Alexandrovna Semyonova (1926–1973);<ref>Tony Le Tissier (1996). ''Zhukov at the Oder: The Decisive Battle for Berlin''. London, p. 258, {{ISBN|0811736091}}.</ref> married in 1965; medical corps officer, at [[Burdenko]] hospital; specialized in therapeutics; died of breast cancer

; Children

: 1. Era Zhukova (born 1928); by Alexandra Dievna Zukova

: 2. [[Margarita Zhukova]] (1929–2010); by Maria Nikolaevna Volokhova (1897–1983)

: 3. Ella Zhukova (1937–2010); by Alexandra Dievna Zukova

: 4. Maria Zhukova (born 1957); by Galina Alexandrovna Semyonova

== Legacy ==

[[File:Dmitry Medvedev in Mongolia August 2009-3.jpg|thumb|Russian president [[Dmitry Medvedev]] and Mongolian president [[Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj]] visit the monument to Georgy Zhukov in Ulaanbaatar, near the Zhukov Museum in Zhukov Street ({{Langx|mn|Жуковын гудамж}}) in memory of the [[Battle of Khalkin Gol]].]]

The first monument to Georgy Zhukov was erected in [[Mongolia]], in memory of the [[Battle of Khalkin Gol]]. After the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]], this monument was one of the few that did not suffer from anti-Soviet backlash in former [[Communist state]]s. There is a statue of Zhukov on horseback as he appeared at the 1945 victory parade on [[Manezhnaya Square, Moscow|Manezhnaya Square]] at the entrance of the Kremlin in Moscow. Another statue of Zhukov in Moscow is located on Prospekt Marshala Zhukova. A statue of Zhukov is located in the town of Irbit, in the Sverdlovsk Oblast. Other statues of Zhukov are found in Omsk, Irkutsk and Yekaterinburg.

A [[minor planet]], [[2132 Zhukov]], discovered in 1975, by Soviet astronomer [[Lyudmila Chernykh]], is named in his honour.<ref>{{cite book |last=Schmadel |first=Lutz D. |title=Dictionary of Minor Planet Names |page=173 |edition=5th |year=2003 |publisher=Springer Verlag |___location=New York |isbn=3-540-00238-3}}</ref> In 1996, Russia adopted the [[Order of Zhukov]] and the [[Zhukov Medal]] to commemorate the 100th anniversary of his birthday.

Nobel laureate [[Joseph Brodsky]]'s poem ''On the Death of Zhukov'' ("Na smert' Zhukova", 1974) is regarded by critics as one of the best poems on the war written by an author of the post-war generation.<ref>Shlapentokh, Dmitry. [https://archive.today/20130103035128/http://www.highbeam.com/library/docfree.asp?DOCID=1G1:18583351&ctrlInfo=Round20:Mode20b:DocG:Result&ao= The Russian boys and their last poet.] ''The National Interest''. 22 June 1996 Retrieved on 17 July 2002</ref> The poem is a stylization of ''The Bullfinch'', [[Gavrila Derzhavin|Derzhavin]]'s elegy on the death of [[Generalissimo Suvorov]] in 1800. Brodsky draws a parallel between the careers of these two famous commanders. [[Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn]] re-interpreted Zhukov's memoirs in the short story ''Times of Crisis''.

In his book of recollections,<ref>Zhukov, G. K. (2002) [http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/zhukov1/10.html ''Воспоминания и размышления''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201126103803/http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/zhukov1/10.html |date=26 November 2020 }}. Olma-Press.</ref> Zhukov was critical of the role the Soviet leadership played during the war. The first edition of {{lang|ru-Latn|Vospominaniya i razmyshleniya}} was published during [[Leonid Brezhnev]]'s premiership only on the conditions that criticism of Stalin was removed, and that Zhukov add a (fictional) episode of a visit to Brezhnev, ''[[politruk]]'' on the Southern Front, to consult on military strategy.<ref>[[Mauno Koivisto|Koivisto, Mauno]] (2001) ''Venäjän idea'', Helsinki. Tammi.</ref>

In 1989, parts of previously unpublished and [[Censorship in the Soviet Union|censored]] chapters from Zhukov's memoir were published by ''Pravda'', which his daughter said had been hidden in a safe until they could be published. The excerpts included criticism of the 1937–1939 purges for annihilating "[M]any thousands of outstanding party workers" and stated that Stalin had played no role in directing the war effort, although he often issued orders devised by the general staff as if they were his own.<ref>{{cite news|title=Soviets Print Excerpts of Attack by Zhukov on Stalin's War Role |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/01/21/world/soviets-print-excerpts-of-attack-by-zhukov-on-stalin-s-war-role.html|access-date=20 March 2018|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=21 January 1989}}</ref>

Appraisals of Zhukov's career vary. For example, historian Konstantin Zaleski claimed that Zhukov exaggerated his own role in World War II.<ref>[http://www.hrono.info/biograf/zhukov.html Залесский К. А. Империя Сталина. Биографический энциклопедический словарь. Москва, Вече, 2000; Жуков Георгий Константинович. Хронос, биографии] {{in lang|ru}}</ref> Marshal [[Konstantin Rokossovsky]] said that the planning and decisions for the Battle of Kursk were made without Zhukov, that he only arrived just before the battle, made no decisions and left soon after.<ref name="ReferenceB"/>

Zhukov also received many positive comments, mostly from his Army companions, from the modern [[Russian Army]], and from his Allied contemporaries. General of the Army [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] stated that, because of Zhukov's achievements fighting the Nazis, the [[United Nations (World War II)|United Nations]] owed him much more than any other military leader in the world. "The war in Europe ended with victory and nobody could have done that better than Marshal Zhukov—we owed him that credit. He is a modest person, and so we can't undervalue his position in our mind. When we can come back to our Motherland, there must be another type of Order in Russia, an Order named after Zhukov, which is awarded to everybody who can learn the bravery, the far vision, and the decisiveness of this soldier."<ref>Eisenhower, Dwight D. (1948) ''Crusade in Europe'', New York.</ref>

[[File:RR3009-0040R Г. К. Жуков.jpg|thumb|Zhukov depicted on a 1990 [[Soviet ruble]] commemorative coin]]

Marshal of the Soviet Union Aleksandr Vasilevsky commented that Zhukov is one of the most outstanding and brilliant military commanders of the Soviet military forces.{{sfn|Vasilevsky|1973|p=568}} Major General Sir Francis de Guingand, chief of staff of Field Marshal [[Bernard Montgomery]], described Zhukov as a friendly person.<ref>de Guingand, Francis (1972). ''Generals at War''. London.</ref> [[John Gunther]], who met Zhukov many times after the war, said that Zhukov was more friendly and honest than any of the other Soviet leaders.<ref>Gunther, John (1958). ''Inside Russia Today''. New York.</ref>

John Eisenhower—son of Dwight Eisenhower—claimed that Zhukov was really ebullient and was a friend of his.<ref name=Eisen /> Albert Axell in his work "Marshal Zhukov, the one who beat Hitler" claimed that Zhukov was a military genius like [[Alexander the Great]] and [[Napoleon]]. Axell also commented that Zhukov was a loyal communist and a patriot.<ref name="bbc">[http://www.bbc.co.uk/vietnamese/worldnews/story/2005/05/printable/050508_zhukov.shtml The general who defeated Hitler]. 8 May 2005. BBC Vietnamese {{in lang|vi}}</ref> At the end of his work about Zhukov, Otto Chaney concluded: "But Zhukov belongs to all of us. In the darkest period of World War II his fortitude and determination eventually triumphed. For Russians and people everywhere he remains an enduring symbol of victory on the battlefield."{{sfn|Chaney|1996|p=483}}

In Russia, Zhukov is often credited with having said to Konstantin Rokossovsky in Berlin in 1945: "We have liberated them, and they will never forgive us for that."<ref>{{cite web |title=«Мы их освободили, и они нам этого никогда не простят», – пророческая фраза маршала Победы Георгия Жукова|trans-title=“We have liberated them, and they will never forgive us for that,” – the prophetic phrase of Victory Marshal Georgy Zhukov |url=http://gazeta-delovoy-mir.ru/2021/06/10/stepan-korolkovkhranitel-mayaka-16-593-po/ |website=gazeta-delovoy-mir.ru |access-date=26 October 2021 |language=ru |date=10 June 2021}}</ref>

==In popular culture==

Zhukov has been portrayed by the following actors:

* Fedor Blazhevich in ''[[The Vow (1946 film)|The Vow]]'' and ''[[The Fall of Berlin (film)|The Fall of Berlin]]''

* [[Mikhail Alexandrovich Ulyanov|Mikhail Ulyanov]] in ''[[Stalingrad (1990 film)|Stalingrad]]'', ''[[Liberation (film series)|Liberation]]'', ''[[Battle of Moscow (film)|Battle of Moscow]]'', and ''[[Take Aim (film)|Take Aim]]''

* [[Vladimir Menshov]] in ''[[The General (1992 film)|The General]]'' and ''[[Liquidation (miniseries)|Liquidation]]''

* Valeriy Grishko in ''[[White Tiger (2012 film)|White Tiger]]''

* [[Jason Isaacs]] in ''[[The Death of Stalin]]''

''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' producers named an ''Ambassador''-class starship after Zhukov, which was mentioned or made an appearance on several episodes of the series.

== Decorations ==

[[File:Dmitry Medvedev in Mongolia August 2009-2.jpg|thumb|[[Russian President]] [[Dmitry Medvedev]] laying a wreath at a monument to Zhukov in [[Ulaanbaatar]], while on a [[state visit]] to Mongolia in August 2009]]

[[File:Marshal Zhukov Depicted on Kursk Memorial - Prokhorovka - Russia.JPG|thumb|Marshal Zhukov depicted on façade of Victory Memorial, [[Prokhorovka]], Russia]]

Zhukov was the recipient of many decorations. Most notably he was awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union four times. The medals of the only other four-time recipient, [[Leonid Brezhnev]], were the result of self-awarding as birthday gifts.

Zhukov was one of only three recipients to receive the [[Order of Victory]] twice. He was also awarded high honours from many other countries. A partial listing is presented below.

=== Imperial Russia ===

{| class="wikitable"

|[[Cross of St. George (Russia)|Cross of St. George]], 3rd class

|-

|[[Cross of St. George (Russia)|Cross of St. George]], 4th class

|}

=== Soviet Union ===

{| class="wikitable"

|[[Hero of the Soviet Union]] (29 August 1940, 29 July 1944, 1 June 1945, 1 December 1956)

|-

|[[Order of Victory]] (Serial No. 1, 10 April 1944 and Serial No. 5, 30 March 1945)

|-

|[[Order of Lenin]] (16 August 1936, 29 August 1939, 21 February 1945, 1 December 1956, 1 December 1966, 1 December 1971)

|-

|[[Order of the Red Star]] (1921)

|-

|[[Order of the October Revolution]] (22 February 1968)

|-

|[[Order of the Red Banner]] (31 August 1922, 3 November 1944, 20 June 1949)

|-

|[[Order of Suvorov]], 1st class (Serial No. 1, 28 January 1943 and Serial No. 39, 28 July 1943)

|-

|[[Medal "For the Defence of Stalingrad"]]

|-

|[[Medal "For the Defence of Leningrad"]]

|-

|[[Medal "For the Defence of the Caucasus"]]

|-

|[[Medal "For the Defence of Moscow"]]

|-

|[[Medal "For the Liberation of Warsaw"]]

|-

|[[Medal "For the Capture of Berlin"]]

|-

|[[Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945"]]

|-

|[[Medal "For the Victory over Japan"]]

|-

|[[Jubilee Medal "Twenty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945"]]

|-

|[[Jubilee Medal "XX Years of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army"]]

|-

|[[Jubilee Medal "30 Years of the Soviet Army and Navy"]]

|-

|[[Jubilee Medal "40 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"]]

|-

|[[Jubilee Medal "50 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"]]

|-

|[[Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin"]]

|-

|[[Medal "In Commemoration of the 250th Anniversary of Leningrad"]]

|-

|[[Medal "In Commemoration of the 800th Anniversary of Moscow"]]

|-

|Honorary weapon – sword inscribed with golden national emblem of the Soviet Union

|}

=== Foreign ===

{| class="wikitable"

|[[Hero of the Mongolian People's Republic]] ([[Mongolian People's Republic]], 1969)

|-

|[[Order of Sukhbaatar]] (Mongolian People's Republic, 1968, 1969, 1971)

|-

|[[Order of the Red Banner (Mongolia)|Order of the Red Banner]] (Mongolian People's Republic, 1939, 1942)

|-

|[[Medal "30 years of the Victory in Khalkhin-Gol"|Medal "30 Years of the Victory in Khalkhin-Gol"]] (Mongolian People's Republic)

|-

|[[Medal "50 Years of the Mongolian People's Revolution"]] (Mongolian People's Republic)

|-

|[[Medal "For the Victory over Japan" (Mongolia)|Medal "For Victory over Japan"]] (Mongolian People's Republic)

|-

|Medal "50 Years of the Mongolian People's Army" (Mongolian People's Republic)

|-

|[[Order of the White Lion]], 1st class ([[Czechoslovakia]])

|-

|[[Military Order of the White Lion]], 1st class (Czechoslovakia)

|-

|[[Czechoslovak War Cross 1939–1945|War Cross 1939–1945]] (Czechoslovakia)

|-

|[[Virtuti Militari]], 1st class ([[Poland]])

|-

|[[Order of Polonia Restituta]], 1st class (Poland)

|-

|[[Order of Polonia Restituta]], 3rd class (Poland)

|-

|[[Cross of Grunwald]], 1st class (Poland)

|-

|[[Medal "For Warsaw 1939–1945"]] (Poland)

|-

|[[Medal "For Oder, Neisse and the Baltic"]] (Poland)

|-

|[[Orders, decorations, and medals of Bulgaria|Medal "25 Years of the Bulgarian People's Army"]] ([[People's Republic of Bulgaria|Bulgaria]])

|-

|[[Orders, decorations, and medals of Bulgaria|Medal "90th Anniversary of the Birth of Georgi Dimitrov"]] (Bulgaria)

|-

|Garibaldi Partisan Star ([[Italy]], 1956)

|-

|Grand Cross of the [[Order of Merit (Egypt)|Order of Merit]] ([[Egypt]], 1956)

|-

|Grand Officer of the [[Legion d'Honneur]] ([[France]], 1945)

|-

|[[Croix de guerre 1939–1945|Croix de guerre]] (France, 1945)

|-

|Honorary Knight Grand Cross, [[Order of the Bath]], (military division) ([[UK]], 1945)

|-

|Chief Commander, [[Legion of Merit]] ([[United States]], 1946)

|-

||[[Order of Freedom (Yugoslavia)|Order of Freedom]] ([[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]], 1956)

|-

|[[Medal of Sino-Soviet Friendship]] ([[China]], 1953 and 1956)

|}

== Notes ==

{{notelist}}

== References ==

=== Citations ===

{{reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===

{{Refbegin|30em}}

* {{cite book

|editor-last = Afanasyev

|editor-first = Y. N.

|date = 1989

|title = There Is No Other Way

|language = ru

|___location = Moscow

|publisher = [[Progress Publishers]]

|oclc = 495955198

}}

* {{endcite box}}book

|last = Axell

|first = A.

|date = 2003

|title = Marshal Zhukov: The Man Who Beat Hitler

|___location = London

|publisher = [[Pearson Longman]]

|isbn = 978-0582772335

}}

* {{cite book

|last = Chaney

|first = O. P.

|date = 1996

|title = Zhukov

|edition = revised

|___location = Norman

|publisher = [[University of Oklahoma Press]]

|isbn = 978-0806128078

}}

* {{cite book

|last = Coox

|first = A. D.

|author-link = Alvin Coox

|date = 1985

|title = Nomonhan: Japan Against Russia, 1939

|publisher = [[Stanford University Press]]

|isbn = 978-0804711609

}}

* {{cite book

|last = Isaev

|first = A. V.

|date = 2006

|title = Zhukov: The Last Argument of the King

|language = ru

|___location = Moscow

|publisher = Yauza Publishing

|isbn = 978-5699165643

|url-access = registration

|url = https://archive.org/details/georgiizhukovpos00isae

}}

* {{cite book <!-- {{sfn|Mellenthin|1971|p= -->

|last = Mellenthin

|first = F. W. von

|author-link= Friedrich von Mellenthin

|title = Panzer Battles: A Study of the Employment of Armor in the Second World War

|others = Translated by H. Betzler. Edited by L. C. F. Turner

|place = New York

|publisher = Ballantine Books

|lang = en

|date = 1971

|orig-date = 1956

|url = https://archive.org/details/panzerbattlesstu0000mell_l8y2/

|url-access = registration}}

* {{Cite book

|last=Roberts

|first=Geoffrey

|title=Stalin's General: The Life of Georgy Zhukov

|publisher=Random House

|year=2012

|___location=New York

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EKznAgIoIZIC&q=shtern+&pg=PA80

|isbn=978-0679645177}}

* {{cite book

|last = Shtemenko

|first = S. M.

|author-link = Sergei Shtemenko

|date = 1989

|title = General Staff during the War

|language = ru

|___location = Moscow

|publisher = [[Voenizdat]]

|isbn = 978-5203004918

}}

* {{cite book

|last = Spahr

|first = W. J.

|author-link = William J. Spahr

|date = 1993

|title = Zhukov: The Rise and Fall of a Great Captain

|___location = Novato

|publisher = [[Presidio Press]]

|isbn = 978-0891414698

}}

* {{cite journal

|last = Uldricks

|first = T. J.

|date = 1999

|title = The Icebreaker Controversy

|journal = [[Slavic Review]]

|volume = 58

|issue = 3

|pages = 626–643

|doi = 10.2307/2697571

|jstor = 2697571

|s2cid = 153701270

}}

* {{cite book

|last = Vasilevsky

|first = A. M.

|author-link = Aleksandr Vasilevsky

|date = 1973

|title = A Lifelong Cause

|language = ru

|___location = Moscow

|publisher = [[Progress Publishers]]

|oclc = 988160134

}}

* {{cite book

|last = Zhukov

|first = G. К.

|date = 1973

|title = The Memoirs of Marshal Zhukov

|___location = London

|publisher = [[Jonathan Cape]]

|isbn = 978-0224619240

}}

* {{cite book

|last = Zhukov

|first = G. K.

|date = 2002

|title = Memories and Reflections

|language = ru

|volume = 1

|___location = Moscow

|publisher = Olma Press

|isbn = 978-5224031955

}}

* {{cite book

|last = Zhukov

|first = G. K.

|date = 2003

|title = Memories and Reflections

|language = ru

|volume = 2

|___location = Moscow

|publisher = Olma Press

|isbn = 978-5224031979

}}

* {{cite book | last = Zhukov | first = Georgi | title = Marshal Zhukov's Greatest Battles | publisher = Harper & Row | date = 1969 | ___location = New York }} (in English, edited & commentary by [[Harrison E. Salisbury]])

{{Refend}}

== Further reading ==

* {{cite book

|last = Goldman

|first = S. D.

|date = 2013

|title = Nomonhan, 1939: the Red Army's victory that shaped World War II

|___location = Annapolis

|publisher = [[Naval Institute Press|NIP]]

|isbn = 978-1591143390

}}

* {{cite book

|last = Hill

|first = A.

|date = 2017

|title = The Red Army and the Second World War

|___location = Cambridge

|publisher = [[Cambridge University Press|CUP]]

|isbn = 978-1107020795

}}

* {{cite book

|last= Zhukov

|first=Georgi K.

|title = Reminiscences and Reflections

|trans-title=Воспоминания и размышления

|lang=en

|orig-date = 1974

|date = 1985

|place = Moscow

|publisher=Progress Publishers

|others=Translated by Vic Schneierson (vol. 1) and others

}}&nbsp;[https://archive.org/details/zhukovvol2 Vol. 1] • [https://archive.org/details/zhukovvol1 Vol. 2]

== External links ==

{{wikiquote}}

{{commons category}}

* ''Reminiscences and Reflections'', two-volume English-language translation of Zhukov's memoirs by [[Progress Publishers]], 1985: [https://archive.org/details/zhukovvol1 Volume 1], [https://archive.org/details/zhukovvol2 Volume 2]

* [https://www.net-film.ru/en/found-page-1/?search=qzhukov Georgy Zhukov Newsreels] at [https://www.net-film.ru/en Net-Film Newsreels and Documentary Films Archive]

* {{OL author|OL6194777A}}

* {{Internet Archive author|sname=Georgy Zhukov}}

* [https://www.relicsww2.net/georgy-zhukov-wwii-marshal-of-the-soviet-union/ Georgy Zhukov – WWII Marshal of the Soviet Union] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201142440/https://www.relicsww2.net/georgy-zhukov-wwii-marshal-of-the-soviet-union/ |date=1 February 2022 }}

* {{PM20|FID=pe/016080}}

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{{20th Presidium of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union}}

[[Category:1974 deaths|Zhukov, Georgy]]

{{Battle of Stalingrad|People}}

[[Category:Heroes of the Soviet Union|Zhukov, Georgy]]

{{Marshals of the Soviet Union}}

[[Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Bath|Zhukov, Georgy]]

{{Soviet Defence Ministers}}

[[Category:Marshals of the Soviet Union|Zhukov, Georgy]]

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[[Category:Soviet politicians|Zhukov, Georgy]]

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[[Category:Recipients of the Legion of Merit|Zhukov, Georgy]]

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{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhukov, Georgy}}

[[cs:Georgij Konstantinovič Žukov]]

[[Category:1896 births]]

[[de:Georgi Konstantinowitsch Schukow]]

[[esCategory:Georgi1974 Zhúkovdeaths]]

[[Category:People from Kaluga Oblast]]

[[eo:Georgij Konstantinoviĉ Ĵukov]]

[[Category:People from Maloyaroslavetsky Uyezd]]

[[fa:گئورگی ژوکوف]]

[[Category:Russian Orthodox Christians from Russia]]

[[fr:Georgi Konstantinovich Joukov]]

[[Category:Bolsheviks]]

[[hr:Georgij Žukov]]

[[Category:Candidates of the Presidium of the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union]]

[[id:Georgy Zhukov]]

[[Category:Members of the Presidium of the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union]]

[[he:גאורגי קונסטנטינוביץ' ז'וקוב]]

[[Category:Candidates of the Central Committee of the 18th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)]]

[[ka:ჟუკოვი, გეორგი]]

[[Category:Candidates of the Central Committee of the 19th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union]]

[[nl:Georgi Zjoekov]]

[[Category:Members of the Central Committee of the 19th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union]]

[[ja:ゲオルギー・ジューコフ]]

[[Category:Members of the Central Committee of the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union]]

[[no:Georgij Zjukov]]

[[Category:Ministers of defence of the Soviet Union]]

[[pl:Gieorgij Żukow]]

[[Category:First convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union]]

[[pt:Georgy Zhukov]]

[[Category:Second convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union]]

[[ro:Gheorghi Jukov]]

[[Category:Third convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union]]

[[ru:Жуков, Георгий Константинович]]

[[Category:Fourth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union]]

[[sl:Georgij Konstantinovič Žukov]]

[[Category:Marshals of the Soviet Union]]

[[sr:Георгиј Жуков]]

[[Category:20th-century Russian memoirists]]

[[fi:Georgi Žukov]]

[[Category:Soviet memoirists]]

[[sv:Grigorij Zjukov]]

[[Category:Frunze Military Academy alumni]]

[[vi:Georgi Konstantinovich Zhukov]]

[[Category:Russian military personnel of World War I]]

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[[Category:Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War]]

[[uk:Жуков Георгій Костянтинович]]

[[Category:Soviet military personnel of World War II]]

[[zh:朱可夫]]

[[Category:Russian people of World War II]]

[[Category:Heroes of the Soviet Union]]

[[Category:Recipients of the Order of Lenin]]

[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner]]

[[Category:Recipients of the Order of Suvorov, 1st class]]

[[Category:Recipients of the Order of Victory]]

[[Category:Recipients of the Marshal's Star]]

[[Category:Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France)]]

[[Category:Recipients of the Cross of St. George]]

[[Category:Recipients of the Czechoslovak War Cross 1939–1945]]

[[Category:Recipients of the Military Order of the White Lion]]

[[Category:Recipients of the Order of Polonia Restituta (1944–1989)]]

[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Grunwald, 1st class]]

[[Category:Recipients of the Virtuti Militari (1943–1989)]]

[[Category:Chief Commanders of the Legion of Merit]]

[[Category:Commanders with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta]]

[[Category:Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour]]

[[Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of the White Lion]]

[[Category:Grand Crosses of the Virtuti Militari]]

[[Category:Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath]]

[[Category:Burials at the Kremlin Wall Necropolis]]