Georgia k zhukov biography of alberta

In the s he played a crucial role in Bolshevik party politics. Georgi Zhukov was born to a peasant family in Kaluga Province, where he was appprenticed in the fur trade at the age of eleven. Then, in , he was conscripted into the Imperial Army, serving well enough to merit a promotion to the rank of non-commissioned officer.

Nevertheless, he was cautious enough to change sides as soon as the Russian Revolution ended, entering the Red Army in , and the Communist Party the following year. A zealous student of military history and tactics, he distinguished himself during the Russian Civil War , and continued to carry out his responsibilities with the same conscientiousness after he was posted to the Belorussian Military District during the s.

Having proved himself to be an impressive officer, he was sent to the Frunze Military Academy, from which he graduated in Thereafter, when sent back to the Belorussian Military District, he advanced rapidly under the sponsorship of Gen. Semyon K. Timoshenko, under whom he had served in the civil war.

By JOSEPH FRAZIER WALL, Grinnell College.

Stalin's purges of military leaders in passed Zhukov by, and he was sent to the Far East, where he acquitted himself well in border skirmishes with sizable Japanese forces. Zhukov's skill impressed Joseph Stalin , and he was chosen over several senior generals in early to become chief of the general staff. When the Germans invaded the Soviet Union that year, Zhukov quickly proved his merit, first racing to Leningrad in September to halt the German threat and then returning to save Moscow from almost certain German capture.

He was promoted to first deputy commander in chief, an office second only to Stalin's, then, in he was named a marshal of the Soviet Union. It was generally agreed that Zhukov was a difficult leader.

Georgiy Zhukov's Statistical Analysis.

Many of his fellow generals found him arrogant and high-handed, and ruthless enough to sacrifice thousands of military lives to achieve success. However, everyone acknowledged that his military feats were astounding. In , with the success of his armor battle at Kursk, even the German military effort was blunted.