Who was Georgy Zhukov?

Georgy Zhukov (1896-1974) was a Marshal of the Soviet Union and the most prominent Red Army commander of the Second World War. He defended Moscow, helped turn Stalingrad and Kursk, and led the final assault on Berlin in 1945.

What was Zhukov's role at Stalingrad?

Zhukov helped plan Operation Uranus, the November 1942 counteroffensive that encircled and ultimately destroyed the German Sixth Army at Stalingrad, one of the decisive turning points of the war.

Did Zhukov capture Berlin?

Yes. In 1945 Zhukov commanded the final Soviet assault on Berlin, fighting through the city to Hitler's bunker, and accepted the German surrender on behalf of the Soviet Union.

Why did Zhukov fall out of favour?

His wartime fame made Stalin wary of a popular rival, and Zhukov was sidelined after 1945. He returned as defence minister after Stalin's death but was dismissed by Khrushchev in 1957.

What was the Battle of Khalkhin Gol?

In 1939 Zhukov led a decisive Soviet victory over Japan at Khalkhin Gol on the Mongolian border, an early sign of his talent for large mechanised operations.

What was Zhukov's role in the defence of Moscow?

In late 1941 he took charge of the crumbling front before Moscow and organised the defence and counter-attack that stopped the German drive on the Soviet capital.

It is the Russian term for military deception. Zhukov used it to hide the scale and timing of his offensives, notably before the counter-stroke at Stalingrad.

Was Zhukov the greatest Soviet general?

He is the most celebrated Soviet commander of the Second World War, associated with the key victories from Moscow to Berlin, though he worked alongside other very capable generals.

Georgy Zhukov: the marshal who took Berlin

Georgy Zhukov was the Soviet Union's foremost soldier of the Second World War, the commander sent wherever the crisis was greatest. From the gates of Moscow to the ruins of Berlin, he was present at the turning points of the war on the Eastern Front, and he ended it by taking Hitler's capital.

From peasant to marshal

Zhukov was born on 1 December 1896 in the village of Strelkovka¹, into a poor peasant family. Conscripted into the army in the First World War, he joined the Red Army and rose through its ranks. In 1939 he won a decisive victory over the Japanese at Khalkhin Gol² on the Mongolian border, a battle that made his name and taught him the massed use of tanks and artillery he would later wield against Germany.

The great battles of the East

When Germany invaded in 1941, Zhukov became Stalin's troubleshooter. He organised the defence that halted the Germans before³ Moscow and drove them back, the Wehrmacht's first great defeat. He helped plan the counteroffensive that trapped and destroyed the German⁴ Sixth Army at Stalingrad, and coordinated the Soviet effort at Kursk in 1943, often called the largest tank battle in history, after which Germany could only retreat.

Map of the Soviet winter counteroffensive of 1941 to 1942 — US Military Academy atlas map of the Soviet winter offensive, 5 December 1941 to 7 May 1942, with an inset of the Moscow sector where Zhukov's Western Front drove the Germans back. Public domain

Wherever the front was breaking, Stalin sent Zhukov.

Berlin

In 1945 Zhukov led the enormous offensive that drove into Germany, and commanded the final assault on⁵ Berlin, fighting street by street to Hitler's bunker. On behalf of the Soviet Union he accepted the German surrender.³ He was one of the most decorated commanders in Soviet history, four times Hero of the Soviet Union.

Legacy

After the war Zhukov's fame made him a rival in Stalin's eyes⁵, and he was sidelined. He returned to prominence after Stalin's death and served as defence minister, before being dismissed in 1957⁵. He died in Moscow on 18 June 1974.⁵ He is remembered as the general who did more than any other to win the war on the Eastern Front.

Soviet and British commanders walking in front of the Brandenburg Gate — Zhukov and Konstantin Rokossovsky walk with Field Marshal Montgomery at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin on 12 July 1945, when Montgomery decorated Soviet commanders. British War Office photograph. Public domain

Meet the others in the greatest military commanders in history, or read his final victory in full at the Battle of Berlin.

How Zhukov fought

Zhukov made his name organising huge, meticulously planned operations that used the Soviet Union's vast resources to overwhelming effect.

Mass and materiel. He concentrated enormous numbers of men, tanks, guns and aircraft at the chosen point to smash through German defences.
Deep planning. His great offensives were prepared in detail, with careful timing, deception and logistics behind them.
Deception, or maskirovka. He hid the scale and timing of his attacks, as before the counter-offensive that trapped a German army at Stalingrad.
Defence in depth. At Kursk in 1943 he prepared layered defences that absorbed and blunted the German assault before the counter-attack.
Relentless pressure. Once an offensive began he pushed hard to keep the enemy off balance and deny them time to recover.

From Khalkhin Gol to Berlin

1896Born into a peasant family in a village southwest of Moscow, in Kaluga province.
1939Wins a decisive victory over the Japanese at Khalkhin Gol on the Mongolian border.
1941Organises the defence of Moscow that halts the German advance on the capital.
1942Helps plan Operation Uranus, the counter-offensive that surrounds the German army at Stalingrad.
1943Oversees the Soviet defence and counter-attack at the Battle of Kursk.
1945Leads the final assault on Berlin and accepts the German surrender on the Soviet behalf.

The road to Berlin

Zhukov was the Soviet Union's troubleshooter, sent to the most critical fronts of the war. He steadied the defence of Moscow in 1941, helped design the trap that destroyed a German army at Stalingrad, held the line at Kursk, and finally commanded the vast offensive that stormed Berlin in 1945.

Map of Central Europe showing the last Allied and Soviet advances of 1945 — US Military Academy atlas map of the final operations in Central Europe, 19 April to 7 May 1945, including the Soviet drive that encircled and stormed Berlin. Public domain

See how he stands among the war's commanders in our guide to the greatest battles of the Second World War and the greatest military commanders in history.

Victory and its aftermath

Zhukov's fame became a problem. Wary of a popular war hero, Stalin sidelined him after 1945. He returned to prominence as Defence Minister under Khrushchev, only to be dismissed again in 1957. Yet he remained, for most Russians, the soldier who had led them to victory.

Zhukov decorating Montgomery with a medal as officers look on — Zhukov pins the Soviet Order of Victory on Field Marshal Montgomery in Frankfurt on 10 June 1945, at the height of the fame that soon made Stalin wary of him. US Office of War Information photograph. Public domain

Which commander shares your instincts? Try our Which Commander Are You quiz.

Sources and notes

Numbered notes in the text point to the works below.

Wikipedia, “Georgy Zhukov” ↩
Otto Preston Chaney, Zhukov (University of Oklahoma Press, 1971). ↩
Geoffrey Roberts, Stalin's General: The Life of Georgy Zhukov (Random House, 2012). ↩ a b
Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Operation Uranus” ↩
Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Georgy Zhukov summary” ↩ a b c d

Georgy Zhukov

At a glance