Zhukov was the dominant figure in the Red Army during World War II even though his actual job title varied from day to day. Serving as a senior General Staff representative from the Stavka, Zhukov moved from one critical sector to the next, serving as advisor, coordinator and de facto front commander as required. There is no doubt that Zhukov played a critical role in salvaging the critical situation in the autumn of 1941 and leading the Red Army to an amazing reversal of fortunes in 1942–43 and eventual victory in 1944–45. However, Zhukov's methods were brutal and contributed to massive Soviet casualties, while he continued to keep his hand in political affairs as well. As the most recognized Soviet soldier of World War II, Zhukov's post-war fall from grace was precipitous and it was not until the fall of the Soviet Union that his reputation was restored. This book presents a analysis of Zhukov's military career, highlighting the strategies and tactics that made him such as successful military leader.

Widely regarded as the most accomplished general of World War II, the Soviet military legend Marshal Georgy Zhukov at last gets the full-scale biographical treatment he has long deserved. A man of indomitable will and fierce determination, Georgy Zhukov was the Soviet Union’s indispensable commander through every one of the critical turning points of World War II. It was Zhukov who saved Leningrad from capture by the Wehrmacht in September 1941, Zhukov who led the defense of Moscow in October 1941, Zhukov who spearheaded the Red Army’s march on Berlin and formally accepted Germany’s unconditional surrender in the spring of 1945. Drawing on the latest research from recently opened Soviet archives, including the uncensored versions of Zhukov’s own memoirs, Roberts offers a vivid portrait of a man whose tactical brilliance was matched only by the cold-blooded ruthlessness with which he pursued his battlefield objectives. After the war, Zhukov was a key player on the geopolitical scene. As Khrushchev’s defense minister, he was one of the architects of Soviet military strategy during the Cold War. While lauded in the West as a folk hero—he was the only Soviet general ever to appear on the cover of Time magazine—Zhukov repeatedly ran afoul of the Communist political authorities. Wrongfully accused of disloyalty, he was twice banished and erased from his country’s official history—left out of books and paintings depicting Soviet World War II victories. Piercing the hyperbole of the Zhukov personality cult, Roberts debunks many of the myths that have sprung up around Zhukov’s life and career to deliver fresh insights into the marshal’s relationships with Stalin, Khrushchev, and Eisenhower. A remarkably intimate portrait of a man whose life was lived behind an Iron Curtain of official secrecy, Stalin’s General is an authoritative biography that restores Zhukov to his rightful place in the twentieth-century military pantheon.

The complete and unredacted autobiography by Stalin’s star general, chronicling his many campaigns throughout WWII. At Moscow, Leningrad, Stalingrad, Kursk and Berlin—as well as virtually all the principal battles on the Eastern Front during the Second World War—Georgy Zhukov played a major role. He was Stalin’s pre-eminent general throughout the conflict, and he chronicled his brilliant career as he saw it in this essential text. Here, Zhukov reveals intriguing insights into who he was, both as a man and as a commander. He also delves into the military thinking and decision-making at the highest level of the Soviet command—making this volume essential reading for anyone studying the conflict in the east. This edition of the memoirs, which were first published in heavily censored form, features an introduction by Professor Geoffrey Roberts in which he summarizes the additional material omitted from previous editions. He also provides, in an appendix, a translation of Zhukov’s account of the 1953-7 period as well as an interview with Zhukov that has previously not been available in English.

The second volume of Georgy Zhukov's memoirs begins with the desperate defense of Moscow in the late fall and winter of 1941 and continues through more than three years of war. Covers Stalingrad, Leningrad, Kursk, the final offensive into Germany and Berlin, and more Important insights into Stalin's decision-making, based on hundreds of personal meetings

Virtually the entire Soviet effort on the Eastern Front of World War II bears the stamp of Georgy Zhukov, chief of staff of the Red Army and deputy supreme commander under Stalin. The first volume of his memoirs covers Zhukov's peasant childhood, his prewar military career, and the first phase of World War II. Fascinating self-portrait of one of the most remarkable generals of the twentieth century Indispensable source for the Eastern Front, including the early battles for Kiev, Smolensk, and Leningrad

Memoirs of a Soviet military commander in the course of World War II.

This account of four of World War II's most colossal battles presents these epic conflicts from the perspective of the man largely responsible for Russia's most decisive victories during the Patriotic War.

No World War II Soviet military leader has received more attention in the current revision of Soviet history than Georgii Konstantinovich Zhukov. When the recent policy of glasnost allowed publication of Zhukov's original memoir and release of secret material on his relationships with Stalin and Khrushchev, the true story of the Soviet Union's most renowned soldier began to emerge. The name Zhukov is intimately connected with a series of victorious land battles that changed the course of World War II: the defense of Moscow and Leningrad, the staggering defeat of the Germans at Stalingrad, the recapture of Khar'kov, and the battle for the Ukraine. Although hated by many in the high command for his "Stalin style" of leadership, Zhukov's successes captured the popular imagination and he became a Soviet hero. Zhukov was disgraced by the vindictive Stalin in 1946 and although he returned to favor following Stalin's death, he was forced into early retirement soon after Khrushchev came to power. Until his death in 1974, the old soldier tried to ensure that his version of the great events in which he played a key role would be available to historians. But this was not to be: his memoir was highly censored by the Soviet hierarchy, and personal jealousies isolated the aging hero and made him a target of unjust criticism. William Spahr, an expert on Soviet military policy, has carefully examined Zhukov's uncut memoir and other new Soviet material which he has translated, and presents the first truly balanced and accurate biography of this great soldier. Filling in the missing pieces of the puzzle, Spahr sheds new light on Zhukov's brilliant career and his place in Soviet history.

Marshal Georgy Zhukov is one of military history's legendary names. He played a decisive role in the battles of Moscow, Stalingrad and Kursk that brought down the Nazi regime. He was the first of the Allied generals to enter Berlin and it was he who took the German surrender.He led the huge victory parade in Red Square, riding a white horse, and in doing so, dangerously provoking Stalin's envy. His post-war career was equally eventful – Zhukov found himself sacked and banished twice, and wrongfully accused of disloyalty. However, he remains one of the most decorated officers in the history of both Russia and the Soviet Union. Since his death in 1974, Zhukov has increasingly been seen as the indispensable military leader of the Second World War, surpassing Eisenhower, Patton, Montgomery and MacArthur in his military brilliance and ferocity. Making use of hundreds of documents from Russian military archives, as well as unpublished versions of Zhukov's memoirs, Geoffrey Roberts fashions a remarkably intimate portrait of a man whose personality was as fascinating as it was contradictory. Tough, decisive, strong-willed and brutal as a soldier, in his private life he was charming and gentle. Zhukov's relations with Stalin's other generals were often prickly and fraught with rivalry, but he was the only one among them to stand up to the Soviet dictator. Piercing the hyperbole of the Zhukov personality cult, Roberts debunks many of the myths that have sprung up around Zhukov's life, to deliver fresh insights into the marshal's relations with Stalin, Khrushchev and Eisenhower. A highly regarded historian of Soviet Russia, Roberts has fashioned the definitive biography of this seminal 20th-century figure.