He was originally an apprentice from a poor cobbler shop, but because of the storm, he would join the military camp and become a military commander who commanded thousands of troops and horses; he had a straight personality, even untamed, and dared to confront the supreme commander, but the supreme commander Stalin trusted him and relied on the Great Wall; on the Battlefield of the Soviet Union and Germany, he was invincible and invincible, not only regarded by all Soviet soldiers and civilians as a symbol of victory, but also by Supreme Commander Stalin as a fire-saving expert; he fought all his life, and his outstanding military achievements were not only in the eastward direction and swept through the Kwantung Army. And there is a sword to the west, and the great martial arts that have captured the city of Berlin; then who is he? What legendary pasts have he had throughout his life? Why did he receive unanimous praise and common admiration from the Soviet military and civilians, and even the Allied commander-in-chief Eisenhower admired him and regarded him as a model for soldiers and a model for commanders. There are even historians who praise him as one of the outstanding military generals who changed the course of World War II history. So who is this person? In fact, this person is Zhukov, the outstanding commander of the Soviet army, who is praised by the Soviet military and people as the "god of war".
Zhukov
Tips: Click on the text below to learn about the early growth and struggle history of this Soviet god of war during World War II!
He was the son of a shoemaker, and would become a famous Soviet general, and nomonkan defeated the Japanese Kwantung Army in the First World War
<h1 class = "pgc-h-center-line" > the Nazi arrogance and the European war was on the verge of breaking out</h1>
The situation in Europe in 1939 was very bad, and germany's expansionary arrogance was very arrogant. Even the Soviet Union in Eastern Europe could feel the cold of nazi aggression. For the sake of the Soviet Union's own security, Stalin did a lot of work, and he even invited the British and French delegations to Moscow to form an offensive and defensive alliance to jointly deal with the Evil Nazi Empire, but the leaders of the British and French governments pursued an "appeasement policy" and were wary of the Soviet Union and had no sincerity.
On September 1, 1939, a week after the signing of the Soviet-German Non-Aggression Pact, World War II broke out.
The Soviet Union and Germany signed a non-aggression pact
Along the way, the German army, like the possession of the god of war, swept through Poland, blitzed Northern Europe, occupied France, and pointed directly at the English Channel, if there was no strait to block, according to the unstoppable posture of the German army at that time, it was not impossible to destroy the British Empire with one blow. However, the "Battle of Britain" was the front that resisted the advance of the German Third Reich, and since the "Sea Lion Project" was frustrated, Hitler began to concentrate on the vast land in the east.
In that infamous Book of Mein Kampf, Hitler recklessly wrenched to the consequences, even at the cost of war, in order to truly realize the ideals in his book. After the outbreak of World War II, the German army was unstoppable, and after the conquest of all the countries of Western Europe, the Soviet Union, which spanned the eurasian continent, was also doomed.
Stalin and Hitler
< h1 class = "pgc-h-center-line" > the German army marched three ways, and the Soviet army was defeated</h1>
After a considerable period of deliberation and planning, Hitler could not suppress the impulse in his heart, and he wanted to prove once again with practical actions that he was indeed a shameless politician, schemer and careerist who was unscrupulous and shameless.
On June 22, 1941, World War II entered an escalation phase. At about 3 a.m. that day, Germany carried out a military operation called Barbarossa. In this operation, the troops divided into three ways and attacked the Soviet Union.
German armored troops attacking all the way
In the more than two months since the beginning of the war, the sharp three-way German army has advanced in tandem, hitting the Soviet army and losing ground, and collapsing for thousands of miles. Supreme Commander Stalin never imagined that Germany would openly send troops and launch a war against the Soviet Union without Britain completely yielding. It was later recalled that for a week Stalin was demoralized and left alone in a villa on the outskirts of Moscow, refusing to work.
However, Stalin was, after all, an outstanding commander with an iron will, and although the sudden blow would make him panic for a while and cause chaos, it would be difficult to knock him down completely. Soon, the cheering leader gathered the members of his leadership (Budyonny, Voroshilov, Molotov, Timoshenko, Kuznetsov, Zhukov) to discuss how to deal with the Germans and to study ways to break the enemy.
Comrade Stalin, the leader of steel
Under the leadership of Marshal Bork, the German Army Group Center, led the way, made rapid progress, quickly captured Minsk and Smolensk, and the moscow gateway opened; Army Group North, under the leadership of Marshal Loeb, marched forward and surrounded Leningrad; Army Group South, under the command of Marshal Rendsteke, rampaged and soon approached Kiev, the first city in Ukraine. At this time, the southwestern front was in a chaotic and unmotivated position, and the commander of the army group, General Kilbonos, was panicked at the beginning of the engagement and could not achieve effective command. As a result, Stalin once appointed the old Marshal Budyonny and ordered him to fly to Kiev to temporarily command the Soviet army of the Southwestern Front.
Zhukov argued with Stalin
<h1 class = "pgc-h-center-line" > Zhukov was outspoken and Stalin misjudged military intelligence</h1>
On July 29, 1941, Zhukov, who had returned to Moscow by plane from Kiev, urgently asked stalin to report to him on the situation on the front line.
When Stalin asked Zhukov what to do, Zhukov said:
A group army was mobilized from the Western Front to the Southwestern Front
Stalin said:
The Western Front is deployed in Belarus and is Moscow's barrier force, and if you draw out the army in Belarus and strengthen the Ukrainian military, is it not equivalent to weakening Moscow's defensive forces?
By this time Stalin's face was already very ugly. Zhukov explains:
The German Army Group Center will not attack Moscow for the time being, and we can draw 8 divisions from the Far East to strengthen Moscow's defense." Zhukov went on to say: "We should withdraw the Southwestern Front from Kiev, retreat to the east of the Dnieper River, and then join the Central Front and wait for the opportunity to counterattack the Germans advancing all the way."
Stalin pressed the anger and asked:
What about Kiev?
Zhukov said two words in a categorical manner:
abandon.
Stalin thundered and shouted:
Handing Kiev over to the Germans, if you think about it, is nonsense.
Unexpectedly, Zhukov heard the words, did not show weakness, and retorted in person:
Comrade Stalin, if you think that I, the chief of the General Staff, can only talk nonsense, please dismiss me from my post and send me to the front, which may be of some use to the motherland.
Due to differences in operational thinking, Zhukov was eventually relieved of his post as chief of the General Staff, and Stalin appointed him commander of the reserve front.
Zhukov's leisure time
Later, Hitler made a decision to divide the troops in August, and drew the elite strength of Army Group Center to strengthen the strength of Army Group South and besiege Kiev, and this series of divine operations of the German army later confirmed from the other side that Zhukov was indeed an outstanding military commander with strategic vision within the Soviet Army.
As the Southwestern Front resolutely carried out Stalin's erroneous order to hold Kiev, the entire Southwestern Front fell into a desperate situation of sitting still, and the Soviet army was captured 665,000 people in this battle, and the commander of the Southwestern Front, Kilbonos, the chief of staff Tupikov, and the political commissar Bulmishtenko, were killed in the breakthrough, and the commander of the Soviet 5th Army, Potapov, was captured in battle.
Zhukov fought back
Although the Soviet army did not perform well in the early days of the Great Patriotic War, it was by no means without highlights. The exception was Zhukov, the newly appointed commander of the Reserve Front, who, at dawn on 30 August with the strength of 10 divisions of the 24th Army, conducted a successful counter-assault operation against the Germans in the humble part of Yelnya, recapturing the Yelinian salient and advancing 25 kilometers to the west. Although only 50,000 German troops were annihilated in this campaign, after all, this was the only victory of all the Soviet troops since the beginning of the war, so its role in boosting the morale and morale of the army could not be underestimated, and even Stalin personally called to congratulate and thank Zhukov.
The wind knows the grass, and the board is honest. Since the beginning of the war, through the observation of the ability of Soviet generals to command the campaign, such as the defeat of the Kiev army and the Yelinya counter-assault battle, Stalin finally realized that in a critical moment, Zhukov was still relatively reliable. After this, Stalin was full of confidence in Zhukov's military command ability. To paraphrase a popular advertising phrase to express the voice of Grand Marshal Stalin at this time:
< h1 class = "pgc-h-center-line" > Leningrad was in danger, zhukov was in danger</h1>
Zhukov, who had just returned from the front line, had not yet been washed in the dust and had not even breathed, was given a new combat mission. It turned out that the situation was in full swing, and under the attack of the German army wave after wave, there was a danger of defeat and destruction of the city at any time.
Leningrad was the cradle of the Soviet Revolution, the October Revolution broke out in this city, in honor of Lenin, the Soviet government renamed the original St. Petersburg Leningrad. Therefore, Leningrad is no longer a simple industrial city for the Soviet Union, it is also a symbol of the Soviet Red Revolutionary regime. Hitler's eagerness to attack Leningrad was to collapse the will of resistance of all the Soviet military and civilians with the military victory over Leningrad.
Civilians and civilians of Leningrad
Zhukov, who was in danger, of course understood that he had a heavy responsibility, and this defensive task was unusual, and there must be no mistake. On September 13, 1941, Zhukov flew to Leningrad by plane in a hurry, and as soon as he arrived at the Leningrad Military Headquarters, he presented Stalin's handwritten note directly to Marshal Voroshilov, who was supervising the battle, and without much effort, the two successfully completed the handover of work.
Saving soldiers is like putting out a fire. However, there was a matter of priority, and Zhukov, who had just arrived, first informed Stalin and asked the government to immediately allocate the delivery of daily necessities to Leningrad. Because Leningrad at this time had long been besieged by the German army like an iron barrel, if the materials were not transported, the 3 million soldiers and civilians in the city would starve to death.
Transporting materials for Leningrad
In addition, Zhukov used the Soviet Baltic Fleet and its aviation units to strengthen firepower and block the German offensive, and he also mobilized the entire population of the city to dig trenches and delay the enemy's attack. Sailors from the Naval Academy were even recruited to take part in the defense of Leningrad with weapons in hand. In addition, Zhukov entrusted three of his subordinates (Lieutenant General Khozin, Major General Ferjuninsky and Major General Kokopev) to participate in military planning and operational decision-making. He also reorganized the existing command system, with Fekuninsky as deputy commander and Khozin as chief of staff, and also removed major general Ivanov, commander of the 42nd Army, and Major General Serbakov, commander of the 8th Army.
General Zhukov
Zhukov's first order was:
Even if the last man is fought, Leningrad must be defended.
His slogan was:
It is not Leningrad who fears death, but death that fears Leningrad. Never think about what to do if Leningrad is lost, Leningrad cannot be lost!
Under the leadership of General Zhukov, the Leningrad army and the people fought against the enemy, repelled the frenzied attacks of the German army, and crushed the German attempts to capture Leningrad again and again, and finally
Soviet forces in the Battle of Leningrad
< h1 class = "pgc-h-center-line" > Muscovite soldiers approached the city, and Zhu Da general tried to turn the tide</h1>
At the end of September of the same year, the German Army Group Center, which had turned from offensive to defensive, replenished its vitality and began to advance towards Moscow, which was in danger. On the eve of the fall of the army, Zhukov once again played the role of "firefighter", and on October 6, after handing over the task of defending Leningrad to the chief of staff General Khozin, he flew directly back to Moscow to meet the new battle - the defense of Moscow.
It turned out that at the end of September, the German army had begun to implement the "Typhoon" battle plan to attack Moscow. In order to divide and annihilate the main force of the Soviet army in the Vyazma and Bryansk regions, and then to encircle and conquer Moscow before the winter, Hitler really spared no expense, and this time the German Army Group Center gathered a total of 3 army groups and 3 tank groups, as well as the 2nd Air Force, a total of 78 divisions and 1.8 million people.
Stalin gave a combat speech
On 10 October, Zhukov was appointed by Stalin as commander of the newly reorganized Western Front, whose main task was to defend the capital, Moscow. In order to boost the morale of the Soviet army, Stalin even offered to hold a military parade on November 7 to commemorate the "October Revolution", and Zhukov was very much in favor of the leader's proposal. After the relevant deployment was made, the military parade was held as scheduled,
Although the German Army Group Center was huge and fierce this time, it was menacing. In fact, after the "August division", supporting the German army in the north and south, and now regrouping, this time, the German army tossed enough, it can be said that it was exhausted, at this time it has long become the end of the crossbow. Coupled with the arrival of winter, the terrible cold of the Soviet Union made the German soldiers in single clothes miserable, and it was not until December, after the Soviet counterattack, that many German soldiers changed their winter clothes on the icy front.
Mighty Soviet army
Zhukov was a commander with both wisdom and courage and love for soldiers, he paid great attention to the logistics of the army, and in the absence of sufficient troops and logistical support, the legendary commander general did not act rashly. So he sent a report to the High Command, asking Stalin to issue an order for a counteroffensive.
On 5 December, under Zhukov's orders, the Kalinin Front took the lead in turning to the counter-offensive, and in the face of the powerful Offensive of the Soviets, Guderian, the vanguard of the German army and the famous "father of the armored army", decided to abandon the vested positions and retreat to the rear. Let's first look at the results of the victory of the Soviet counteroffensive:
The Defense of Moscow
In the face of the unusually fierce counterattack of the Soviet army, although the German army was driven back 100-350 kilometers, it did not repeat the fate of Napoleon the Great. In addition, the changes in German personnel were remarkable: it is not difficult to see how much the Moscow counterattack commanded by Zhukov was a blow to the Germans.
Soviet counter-offensive
This was the first time since the German Army began its offensive that it had suffered a crushing defeat, so it can be said that the defense of Moscow not only shattered the myth of the invincibility of the German army, but also declared the bankruptcy of the "blitzkrieg". A German general recalled after the war:
When the Battle of Moscow was lost, we felt that there was no hope of a complete victory over the Soviet Union, and that Germany would lose the war.
The British military historian Sidon even praised the Soviet army as a heroic and tenacious armed force in his book "The Battle of Moscow", and also praised Zhukov as an "extremely talented and energetic figure".
The defeat under Moscow made the German military top brass realize that it was impossible for the German army to launch an all-out offensive on the Soviet-German battlefield. Because from the beginning of the Soviet-German war to the defeat of Moscow, Germany suffered a total of 1.1 million casualties, which was naturally unbearable for Germany, which was already short of soldiers.
< h1 class = "pgc-h-center-line" > the German army pressed the border, Zhukov's clever plan to break the siege</h1>
Stalingrad, formerly known as Tsaritsin, is also known as Volgograd because it is located on the banks of the lower Volga River, and was renamed Stalingrad in honor of the early years when Stalin fought here. Volgograd was an important port on the Soviet Union's inland waterways, a transportation hub in the south of the Soviet Union, and the site of the Stalingrad Tractor Factory, the largest tractor manufacturing plant in the Soviet Union. The don valley and caucasus, south and west of Stalingrad, were important producers of grain, coal and oil in the Soviet Union, and their strategic position was self-evident, and it was for the same reason that Hitler gathered the main forces of the German army here, hoping to take the region through military conquest.
In 1942, on Hitler's advice, the German high command drew up a "Blue Operation" plan to guide the summer military operations of the German army in the south. For ease of movement,
General Manstein was on the front line
The first to act was Manstein's 11th Army, which led the Crimean Campaign in early May and, by July, had captured the Soviet black sea stronghold of Sevastopol. At the same time, the Southwestern and Southern Fronts led by Timoshenko launched the "Battle of Kharkov", but the losses were heavy and the Soviets were defeated.
On July 17, 1942, the Battle of Stalingrad began, and the German general who served the battle was Paulus, who led the 6th Army, a total of 14 divisions of 270,000 people. A month later, the German 6th Army reached Stalingrad. Stalin was in a real hurry, and at the moment of crisis he thought of Zhukov again, and Zhukov and General Vasilevsky thought of a brilliant tactic.
Battle of Stalingrad
Zhukov personally grasped the preparation of the "Uranus Plan" and was responsible for directing the work. After full preparation, the Soviet army launched a counter-offensive on January 10, 1943, the 6th Army was heavily surrounded, and it was difficult to escape with wings, and at such a critical moment, the Mousset Fuehrer also sent a telegram to Paulus, ordering him not to retreat a step back and hold on to help. In Hitler's words, wherever the boots of German soldiers stepped on, it was German territory, and the Nazi flag could not be lowered if it was raised.
However, the 6th Army, which lacked support, was in a desperate situation of lack of clothing, bullets, food and drink, although Marshal Manstein was ordered to lead the Don River Army Group and desperately rushed into the Soviet encirclement, killing a bloody road to rescue Paulus Army, but under the soviet counterattack like a tidal tsunami, the rescue operation ultimately failed. By 1 February, the battle was over, the entire 6th Army was destroyed, Marshal Paulus was captured, and 91,000 German troops surrendered.
Marshal Paulus led the crowd to surrender
The victory in the Battle of Stalingrad is of great significance, he is regarded as the turning point of the European battlefield of World War II, this time the German casualties of 1.5 million, due to the excessive casualties, the German army into the Soviet battlefield is stretched, so the strategic initiative of the Soviet-German battlefield is irreversible to the Soviet side. Throughout the campaign, Zhukov was so great that people began to call Zhukov: Stalin's firefighting hero in the battlefield of World War II.
Kursk tank showdown
< h1 class = "pgc-h-center-line" > the Soviet army swept all the way west, and Nazi Germany surrendered in defeat</h1>
Entering 1943, the whole war situation began to work in the interest of the Soviet Union, not only because at the beginning of the year, through the Battle of Stalingrad, the Soviet army gained the strategic initiative, but also because the overall command ability of the Soviet generals was significantly improved.
Tehran meeting the Big Three
In July 1943, Zhukov led the Soviet army and the German army led by Manstein in the Battle of Kursk, the largest tank war in human history. The Germans lost another 500,000 men, 1,000 tanks, and another 1,000 aircraft, and after this battle, the Germans completely lost the initiative in the Soviet-German battlefield. Because at the same time, the Anglo-American Allies had landed on the Italian mainland, Mussolini stepped down, and the Axis power group broke off. And in November of the same year,
The Soviets used Katyusha rockets
In August 1943, Zhukov led the Soviet army in the Battle of the Dnieper River, and in November, liberated Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, which had been occupied by the Germans for two years. In June 1944, Zhukov led the Soviet army in the Belorussian Campaign, which not only liberated Minsk, but also expelled the German army from all of Belarus. By the end of 1944, the Anglo-American Allies had liberated Paris and begun to brew military plans to advance into the German mainland, and the Soviet Union began to gather forces and launch an offensive against eastern Germany.
Soviet soldiers planted the red flag in the Reichstag
In February 1945, Berlin was under attack by The Anglo-American Allies and the Soviets, and Hitler was naturally not willing to lose. At this point, the European war was over, and the Soviet-German war was over. Zhukov received his third "Hero of the Soviet Union" medal for the Battle of Berlin.
Germany surrendered
< h1 class = "pgc-h-center-line" > the Red Square military parade is unlimited, and the marshal after the war is lonely</h1>
Throughout World War II, Zhukov led soviet troops from Moscow all the way west to the capture of Berlin, the German homeland. His genius art of war command was unanimously recognized and affirmed by the whole army, so that after the war, Zhukov became the first hero of the Soviet Union, whose prestige was almost comparable to that of Grand Marshal Stalin; one thing was particularly interesting and intriguing. In order to celebrate the victory in the Great Patriotic War, the Soviet government decided to hold a grand military parade on June 24 of that year. As is customary, during the parade, the reviewers must ride on horses. At that time, Stalin was already 66 years old, and with many years of hard work for the country, his physical condition was not good, and he could not withstand the bumps brought about by horseback riding.
Zhukov inspects the troops
In desperation, Stalin had no choice but to let marshal Zhukov, who had made outstanding achievements, parade on his behalf, and after the parade, Zhukov still stood in the middle of the parade platform and gave a warm speech to the officers of the three services and the people watching the parade. Throughout the parade, Zhukov was full of vigor and made the most of the limelight, while the great leader Stalin on the side became an entourage and a superfluous foil. This also became the most glorious highlight of Zhukov's life.
People often say: where there are people, there are rivers and lakes. Zhukov's upright character also made him too many enemies, and it is said that in his later years, only Marshal Bagramyan, Marshal Rokossovsky and Marshal Vasilevsky were still in contact with him; in addition, Marshal Zhukov had a personal relationship with the Allied commander-in-chief, General Eisenhower, and it was rumored that after the war, Eisenhower even used his connections to smuggle Coca-Cola to Zhukov. In the late period of Stalin's rise to power in the Soviet Union, Zhukov was unjustly punished with demotion, dismissal, and expulsion for "negligence" and "pride in merit."
Zhukov and The Anglo-American generals in Berlin
By the time of Khrushchev, Zhukov, though briefly making a comeback, was soon relieved of his duties. After Brezhnev came to power, Zhukov's situation improved, but he basically did nothing in the political and military circles, and Zhukov was depressed and very lonely in his later years. On June 18, 1974, Zhukov, a famous general of the generation who had been silent for many years and had made great achievements in defending the Soviet Union, finally completed his 78-year, ups and downs and extraordinary life.
Zhukov was on the front line
<h1 class = "pgc-h-center-line" > the historical clouds have faded and will be remembered by future generations</h1>
Looking back on the past, Zhukov's contribution to World War II is naturally self-evident; Zhukov's outstanding military achievements cannot be erased. Tao Li does not speak, and the next is a mystery. Today we are pleased to see that the passage of time has not drowned out the historical merits of this talented commander. The Nobel laureate in literature Sholokhov called Zhukov a genius commander comparable to the famous Russian general Suvorov.
Marshal Zhukov and General Patton
Justice is in the hearts of the people, and the Russian people today have not forgotten this Marshal of the Soviet Union who made outstanding contributions during World War II, because history is written by the people. Those heroes who have made great sacrifices and great contributions to their own national compatriots will never be forgotten by history and future generations, and the glorious achievements of these national heroes will always inspire future generations to continue to forge ahead.
At this point, I conclude with a quote from Admiral Eisenhower, Marshal Zhukov's close friend:
When the sacrificial soldiers arrive in heaven, they will surely receive another medal of honor, the Zhukov Medal, which will be cherished by everyone who appreciates the bravery, vision, perseverance and determination of the soldiers.
Eisenhower and Zhukov
After reading, don't forget to follow, like, favorite, share and retweet support authors. Follow the account: History exploration, wonderful content continues to update. With this article, I would like to commemorate the 76th anniversary of the victory of the Russian Great Patriotic War and the 76th anniversary of the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War!