Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov (Russian: Гео́ргий Константи́нович Жу́ков, IPA: [ˈʐukəf]; 1 December [O.S. 19 November] 1896 – 18 June 1974), was a Soviet career officer in the Red Army who, in the course of World War II, played a role in leading the Red Army drive through much of Eastern Europe to liberate the Soviet Union and other nations from the occupation of the Axis Powers and, ultimately, to conquer Berlin. He is the most decorated general officer in the history of the Soviet Union and Russia.
Amongst many notable generals in World War II, G. K. Zhukov was placed at the top due to the number and scale of victories,[1] and his talent in operational and strategic command was recognized by many people.[2] Many famous military leaders in the world such as Bernard Law Montgomery and Dwight David Eisenhower had already recognized Zhukov's great contributions in many important victories in the Second World War.[3] His combat achievements became valuable heritages in humanity's military knowledge, exerting great influence on both the Soviet and the whole world's military theory.[4]
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[show]Early life and career[edit]
Born into a poverty-stricken peasant family in Strelkovka, Maloyaroslavsky Uyezd, Kaluga Governorate (now merged into the town of Zhukov in Zhukovsky District of Kaluga Oblast in modern-day Russia), Zhukov was apprenticed to work as a furrier in Moscow. In 1915, he was conscripted into the Army of the Russian Empire, where he served first in the 106th Reserve Cavalry Regiment (then called the 10th Dragoon Novgorod Regiment).[5][6] During World War I, Zhukov was awarded the Cross of St. George twice, and promoted to the rank ofnon-commissioned officer, for his bravery in battle. He joined the Bolshevik Party after the October Revolution, where his background of poverty became a significant asset. After recovering from a serious case of typhus, he fought in the Russian Civil War over the period 1918 to 1921, serving with the 1st Cavalry Army, among other formations. He received the decoration of the Order of the Red Banner for subduing the Tambov rebellion in 1921.[7]
Peacetime service until Khalkhin Gol[edit]
At the end of May 1923, Zhukov became a commander of the 39th Cavalry Regiment.[8] In 1924, he entered the Higher School of Cavalry,[9] from which he graduated the next year, returning afterward to command the same regiment.[10] In May 1930, Zhukov became commander of the 2nd Cavalry Brigade of the 7th Cavalry Division.[11] In February 1931, he was appointed the Assistant Inspector of Cavalry of the Red Army.[12] In May 1933, Zhukov was appointed a commander in the 4th Cavalry Division.[12] In 1937, he became a commander of the 3rd Cavalry Corps, later of the 6th Cavalry Corps.[12][13] In 1938, he became a deputy commander of the Belarusian Military District for cavalry.[12][14]
Khalkhin Gol[edit]
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. This campaign was an undeclared war that lasted from 1938 to 1939. What began as a routine border skirmish – with the Japanese testing the resolve of the Soviets to defend their territory – rapidly escalated into a full-scale war, with the Japanese pushing forward with an estimated 80,000 troops, 180 tanks, and 450 aircraft.
These events led to the strategically decisive Battle of Khalkhin Gol (Nomonhan). Zhukov requested major reinforcements, and on 20 August 1939, his "Soviet Offensive" commenced. After a massive artillery barrage, nearly 500[15] BT-5 and BT-7 tanks advanced, supported by over 500[16] fighters and bombers. This was the Soviet Air Force's first fighter-bomber operation.[17] The offensive first appeared to be a typical conventional frontal attack. However, 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 Japanese 6th Army and captured the enemy's vulnerable rear supply areas. By 31 August 1939, the Japanese had been cleared from the disputed border, leaving the Soviets clearly victorious.[17]
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 of the Second World War. These innovations included the deployment of underwater bridges[18] and improving the cohesion and battle-effectiveness of inexperienced units by adding a few experienced, battled-hardened troops to bolster morale and overall training.[19] 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 engines, and provided extremely valuable practical knowledge that was essential to the success in development of the T-34 medium tank, widely considered the most outstanding all-around general purpose tank of World War II. After this campaign, Nomonhan veterans were transferred to units that had not seen combat, to better spread the benefits of their battle experience.[18]
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 of the Soviet Union itself. Zhukov considered Nomonhan invaluable preparation for conducting operations during the Second World War.[20]
Before World War II[edit]
In June 1940, Zhukov was appointed Commander of the Kiev Military District.[specify] One month before this appointment, the reorganization of the Soviet military rank system had bestowed Zhukov with the rank of Army General, an equivalent of the former rank of "First-Rank Army Commander".[specify]
Bessarabia campaign[edit]
On 9 June 1940, Zhukov was appointed to command the Odessa Military District, and was given the mission of guarding the border at Bessarabia. On 28 June, nearly 500,000 troops of the Southern Front, under his command, drove over the Soviet-Romanian border and claimed Bessarabia. When the Romanians counterattacked, Zhukov deployed the 201st and 204th Paratrooper Brigades, together with the Soviet Marines, and pushed the Romanian troops back. Finally, on 2 September, Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina were incorporated into the newly formed Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic, with a population of 776,000 and an approximate area of 50,762 square kilometres (19,599 sq mi).[21]
Pre-war military exercises[edit]
In the autumn Zhukov started planning border defenses against German aggression. At this time, the Soviet border had moved west due to the annexation of Eastern Poland[22] (pursuant to terms of the "secret protocol" agreement between Germany and Russia).
In his memoirs, Zhukov reported that during this command he was in charge of the "Western" or "Blue" forces (the supposed invasion troops), while his opponent, Colonel GeneralDimitry Pavlov, was the commander of the "Eastern" or "Red" forces (the supposed Soviet troops). This action was part of a huge military exercise intended to gauge the effectiveness of plan of defence of USSR. Zhukov noted that the "Blue Armies" had 60 divisions, while the "Reds" had only 50.
The details of these exercises were reported differently in the memoirs of the various participants (not uncommon for that period). Historian Bobylev reported that two exercises were completed, one on 2–6 January 1941 (for the North-West direction), and another on 8–11 January (for the South-West direction). The conditions of the first exercise explained that "Western" forces had attacked the "Eastern" forces on July 15 (as part of a general assault), but "Eastern" forces counterattacked, and by August 1, had reversed their initial setbacks and reached the original border from where the attack was launched. As the exercise began, "Eastern" forces had the numerical advantage (51 infantry divisions, as against 41 divisions, 9 armored divisions against 3, and 8,811 tanks, as against 3,512), with the exception of numbers of anti-tank guns. Bobylev describes that, by the end of the exercise, the "Eastern" forces did not manage to surround and destroy the "Western" forces, which – in their turn – threatened to surround the "Eastern" forces. The same historian reported that the second exercise/game was won by the "Easterners" – meaning that, basically, both games were won by the side that was commanded by Zhukov.[23] Interestingly, almost at the same time, in December 1940, the German General Staff was holding its own staff games (a series of three games) which were devoted to rehearsing the invasion of the Soviet Union.
On 1 February Zhukov became Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army.[10]
Controversy about a plan for war with Germany[edit]
From 2 February, as the Chief of the General Staff, and Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR, Zhukov took part in drawing up the "Strategic plan for deploying of the Soviet Union in the case of war with Germany and its allies."[24] The plan was completed no later than 15 May 1941. In this document, one paragraph states:
Germany is mobilizing most of its army to the border and actively building its reserves. That fact warns us that a surprise attack may take place. In order to prevent this, I suggest it is necessary to take the strategic initiative against the Third Reich in any case, including forestalling the enemy and deploying a pre-emptive offensive against the German units when we definitely verify the time when they will attack. We must ensure they have no time to prepare in order to create an advantage in combat power.[citation needed]
Some researchers conclude that, on 14 May, Soviet Minister of Defense Semyon Timoshenko and Zhukov suggested to Joseph Stalin 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, Deblin, and then captureWarsaw before penetrating toward the southwest and imposing final defeat at Lublin.[25]
Historians do not have the original documents that could verify the existence of such a plan, or whether Stalin accepted it. In a transcript of an interview on 26 May 1965, Zhukov stated that Stalin did not approve the plan. However, Zhukov did not clarify whether execution was attempted. As of 1999, no other approved plan for a Soviet attack had been found.[26]
During 1930–1940, with the approval of Soviet leaders, Soviet artists and writers created fictitious works about a Red Army invasion of German territory. Such approval may have caused a misunderstanding that the offensive had been accepted. This misunderstanding was exploited by extremists, who believed that the Soviet Union should attack. Consequently, many people argued that Stalin had ruled it out. However, the Soviet counter-blows against the German invasion seem to have been some kind of preemptive offensive deployment.[27][28] Zhukov did not mention such plans in his memoirs.[29] According to MarshalAleksandr Vasilevsky, the war-game defeat of Pavlov's Red Troops against Zhukov was not known widely, but the victory of Zhukov's Red Troops against Kulik was widely propagandized, thus creating a popular illusion about easy success for a preemptive offensive.[30]
Zhukov predicted that the Soviet-German war could not be avoided and that the Red Army needed to build independent motorized and tank units to satisfy the new conditions of the expected war. His suggestions, however, were not accepted by Soviet leaders. When war broke out, the harsh reality of the battlefield painfully proved the correctness of most of Zhukov's ideas about the role of tanks and motorized units in modern warfare.[31]
World War II[edit]
See also: Eastern Front (World War II)
First struggles[edit]
See also: Operation Barbarossa
On 22 June 1941, Germany invaded the USSR. As a General Chief of Staff, Zhukov requested Stalin to promulgate No. 1 Directive (at 0:25 AM on 22 June). At 7:15 AM, he requested the Soviet Supreme Command to promulgate No. 2 Directive about general mobilization in all USSR territories.[32] At 1:00 PM, Stalin ordered him to fly to the headquarters of the Southwestern Front to monitor the tactical situation. At 11:50 PM, Stalin ordered Deputy General Chief of Staff N. F. Vatutin to prepare Directive No. 3, which ordered the deployment of all Soviet forces in a counteroffensive. As Zhukov explains in his memoirs, he called Moscow from Tarnopol to object to Stalin's decision, as Stalin didn't know the full situation. However, Vatutin replied that Stalin had already made the decision, leaving Zhukov no choice but to sign the Directive.[33] The careless and premature counteroffensive failed badly, and the Western and Northwestern Fronts suffered heavy casualties. Meanwhile, the Southwestern Front, guided by Zhukov, managed to considerably slow the German offensive.[34]
Kiev and Yelnya[edit]
As the Chief of the General Staff, Zhukov and his colleagues reasoned that after intensive movements, the German Panzers (tanks) would need time to be refitted. Thus they would not strike directly at Moscow, but at more vulnerable Soviet positions. For example, Zhukov believed that the Germans would attack on the Central Front, then from that position, launch a strike toward the right flank of the Southwestern Front at Kiev. From these conclusions, Zhukov suggested an audacious plan: moving the troops guarding the west of the Moskva River to the Central Front. He advocated abandoning Kiev, and retreating to the East of the Dnepr River to avoid encirclement and destruction. The Western Front would clear the German forces at the Yelnya salient, preventing the Germans from using Yelnya as a bridgehead for a Moscow offensive.[35]
However, Stalin wouldn't approve the abandonment of Kiev. On the night of July 29, during a violent argument, Stalin stated that the reasoning for abandoning Kiev was "nonsense." Despite knowing of Stalin's hot-headed temperament, Zhukov replied angrily: "If you think the Chief of the General Staff talks nonsense, then I have no business here. I ask that you relieve me from the post of Chief of the General Staff and send me to the front. There, apparently, I shall be of greater use to the country."[36]
Zhukov's "wish" was granted and he was appointed Commander of Reserve Front.[37] However, Stalin kept Zhukov as a member of the Soviet High Command Stavka. Arriving at his new post, Zhukov commanded the Reserve Front on the successful Yelnya Offensive, inflicting heavy casualties and clearing the Germans from Yelnya. The German casualties included the powerful and well-equipped Grossdeutschland regiment, which was almost annihilated.[35]
While commanding the Reserve Front, Zhukov tracked events on other fronts. On 19 August 1941, he noted the German II Panzer Army changing their direction southward, to Glukhov, Chernigov, Konotop, and Lokhvitsa. Zhukov sent Stalin a telegram predicting that the Germans would assault the rear of the Southwestern Front, with the aim of encircling it (in what the Germans called a "Kesselschlacht" or "cauldron battle") and destroying it. This, he predicted, would secure the southern flank of German Center Army Group, and would enable the Germans to attack Donbass. If the Soviet troops were defeated, and German gains consolidated, the bulk of the German army would be able to attack Moscow in strength. Zhukov recommended that a strong force be established at the Glukhov – Chernigov – Konotop line in order to forestall this possibility.[38] Just as Zhukov predicted, the Germans executed this offensive on 5 September. Unfortunately for the USSR, insufficient forces, the passivity of generals F. I. Kuznetsov and A. I. Yeriomenko and the lateness of Stalin's retreat orders, the Southwestern Front was encircled and completely demolished.[39][40]
Siege of Leningrad[edit]
On 30 August, German forces cut the strategic Leningrad-Moscow railroad and severed other connections to Leningrad. Stalin told his staff, at a meeting with his military commanders, "Leningrad may be lost—the situation is hopelessly bad there." Zhukov was present and was summoned by Stalin for a private discussion that had a significant impact on the course of the war. Zhukov and Stalin agreed that Leningrad and its surrounding territory were absolutely critical to avoid losing the war, and therefore, that everything became strategically related to the defense of Leningrad and given first priority—including the Red Army and Navy operations in Karelia and Northern Russia, partisan guerrilla resistance in Novgorod and the Leningrad area, control over Lake Ladoga and the Svir River, the seaports of Murmansk and Arkhangelsk that were receiving significant British, Canadian, and American help through Arctic convoys, and the evacuation of civilians, millions of whom were trapped in the encircled city and its suburbs.[41][42][43][44]
Stalin ordered Zhukov to save Leningrad by any means, because if the city fell, 11% of the national economy and the invaluable wealth of the Hermitage Museum and the palaces of the Russian tsars from Peter the Great onwards would be in the hands of the enemy. German forces could unite with the small, but tough, motivated and skilled Finnish forces. These combined forces could quite possibly drive through Northern Russia and attack Moscow, which might well win the war for Germany.
At that time, German forces had already cut the important Moscow railroad, and the Finnish forces north of Leningrad had attacked and obliterated the roads connecting Leningrad to the logistically important seaports of Murmansk and Arkhangelsk. These developments had potentially dire consequences for both Leningrad and Moscow, which were highly dependent on the British, Canadian and American supplies. On 10 September 1941, following the encirclement of Leningrad, Zhukov was made the commander of the Leningrad Front.[45]
In an important clandestine surveillance operation, Zhukov and his staff flew over Lake Ladoga and landed on the partially destroyed airstrip of Rzhevka Airport, in Leningrad. Zhukov found the huge city and its suburbs, which had a population of 3.5 million, flooded by 460,000 refugees from the Nazi-occupied provinces. Shortages of food and munitions were critical, and the situation as a whole was dire. In order to save this strategically and psychologically important city and its important Navy base, Zhukov had to accomplish three tasks:
- Stop the offensive before it entered Leningrad city proper
- Protect the civilians that were fleeing the besieged city and its suburbs
- Reorganize the joint command and civilian resistance to prepare for a lengthy siege
Zhukov ordered the executions of several inadequate officers, thus strengthening the siege perimeter. To bolster resistance, Zhukov organized a special armed regiment that was empowered to shoot anyone who retreated from the perimeter. He also ordered the laying of dense minefields and the deployment of artillery batteries in all critical directions, and redeployed some fifty thousand Navy men from the Baltic Fleet, creating additional infantry and helping to reinforce the regular land-based contingents.
During the period September through October, Zhukov launched a series of attacks and counterattacks, with the purpose of harassing and wearing out the German and Finnish forces who held the siege perimeter to the north and south. One of these deadly counteroffensives stopped the enemy forces after they had penetrated the defense lines near the seaport of Leningrad, just two miles from the Kirov Plant which was building KV heavy tanks. With intense fire support from land- and sea-based artillery batteries, the counteroffensive effectively stopped the attack in that sector.[46] Zhukov's brutal and unceasing efforts produced results—the attack was stopped in its tracks, and the fierce battle was transformed into a deadly siege. The city was saved, and thus Hitler's plan to win the war outright using this strategy failed. An outraged Hitler—together with Wilhelm Keitel—visited Finland on 4 June 1942, meeting with Finnish president Ryti and the commander of the armed forces of Germany's (nominal) ally Finland (Mannerheim), after which they renewed their joint attack on Leningrad. Subsequently, Mannerheim again visited with Führer Hitler and members of his top leadership (including Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler and Reichsmarschall and Luftwaffe Commander Hermann Göring) in Germany on 27–28 June about the situation. However, all sides in this battle were exhausted by this time, lacking the combat power, equipment, and logistics to push the campaign to a decisive conclusion. The battle of Leningrad lasted until January 1944, making it the single most deadly and one of the most cruel sieges in human history.
Zhukov was present in the city during only parts of the siege, secretly flying in and out when he and Stalin felt his presence was absolutely required. He nevertheless constantly oversaw the efforts against the Wehrmacht's 900-day-long siege and its related operations, including defensive preparations and operations, the evacuation of about 1.5 million civilians, the movement of various important industries and their equipment and materials away from the city and reorganizing the entire front after the failure of the 2nd Shock Army in 1942, Operation Iskra in 1943, the Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive in 1944 and other operations around the besieged city.[47][48][49]
Battle of Moscow[edit]
After Leningrad stabilized, Zhukov was sent to the Reserve Front on 8 October 1941. At that time, the USSR's situation was critical: the Battle of Moscow was taking place, and nearly the entire Soviet Western Front was being encircled in what eventually became a huge "cauldron battle" at in the Rzhev–Vyazma salient, where it was estimated that some 775,000 Soviet personnel were lost.[50] Its commander, S. M. Budyonny, wasn't even present at headquarters and the officers in the High Command didn't seem to know what was happening at the front. An enraged Zhukov was thus forced to go to the front lines himself to grasp the battlefield situation, and then to search for Budyonny.[51] To unify the operations of the huge numbers of Soviet forces, he sent a suggestion to Stalin that the Reserve and the Western Fronts be merged. After that, Zhukov became the de facto leader of the forces defending the Soviet capital city.
After a brief period, Zhukov established communication links with the encircled Soviet troops of the Western Front. After analyzing the situation and pointing out strengths and weaknesses of the German troops surrounding them, he gave specific instructions to their commanders and political personnel. Unable to break the Kessel (Ger. "kettle", or encirclement area), the surrounded Soviet troops did manage to strengthen their positions under Zhukov's leadership. Their efforts to some extent wore out some German units and thereby reduced the overall striking power of the offensive.[51]
On 15 November, the Germans launched another attack on Moscow. At Krasnaya Polyana (Красная поляна) and Kryukovo (Крюково), northwest of the capital, the Germans advanced to about 20 km from Moscow.[50] Zhukov recognized an important error in the German plan—while the German forces seemed to attack aggressively from both their flanks, those in the center remained relatively inactive. From this observation, Zhukov made a rather daring decision: he ordered the repositioning of many of his centrally located battle forces to reinforce his two flanks. With this tactical change, the Soviets stopped several German attacks with few losses among their reserve troops. Later on, these better-rested reserve forces played an important role in the counteroffensive.[51]
Zhukov reasoned that the Germans would realize that this tactical scheme was problematic and would begin to attack in the now-weakened center. Zhukov therefore ordered the remaining forces in the center to prepare for an offensive. Just as he had predicted, the Germans began to attack the central sector troops. The Soviet preparations, however, managed to stop the German offensive.[51]
After intense fighting, Moscow remained under Soviet control, while the German forces were exhausted and had lost equipment and supplies, a critical weakness given the long logistical tail. Although the Soviet combat forces were in no way superior compared to their German foes,[52][53] Zhukov decided to launch his counteroffensive. On 1 December Zhukov was coordinating the Western, Bryansk, and the Kalinin Fronts preparatory to the counteroffensive. On 6 December the Soviet forces began a massive assault. After two months of bloody and brutal fighting, the Soviets pushed their German foes between 100 and 250 km away from Moscow—in some areas, up to 400 km—and had taken approximately 582,000 German soldiers out of action.[54] This battle in 1941 was the first time up to that point in World War II that the German army had been defeated in a large-scale battle involving millions of soldiers.
Ultimately, Operation Barbarossa failed. Perhaps most importantly, the great Soviet stand, counterattack, and ultimate victory at Moscow convinced the Allies that they could win.[55] Zhukov received widespread accolades as the "savior of Moscow". Even Stalin heaped praise on Zhukov:
The Motherland and the Party will never forget the action of the Soviet commanders in the Great Patriotic War. The names of the victorious generals who saved the Motherland will forever be engraved in the honorary steles placed at the battlefields. Amongst these battlefields, there is one battlefield with exceptional meanings, and that is the great one at Moscow. And the name of Comrade Zhukov, as a symbol of victory, will never be apart from this battlefield.—I.V. Stalin[56]
Rzhev sector and Operation Mars[edit]
In February 1942, the psychological benefits of the Soviet victory at Moscow had started to dissipate as Germany began transferring large numbers of reinforcements to the Eastern Front. Although lacking large numbers of reinforcements and with limited supplies, Zhukov ordered attacks to proceed. Due to the impatient action of the Kalinin Front, its 33rd Army, the 1st Guards Cavalry Army, and the 4th Paratrooper Army were surrounded by the Germans at the Rzhev-Vyazma salient. Two relieving operations were able to rescue most of the 1st Guards Cavalry, the 4th Paratrooper Army, and parts of the 33rd Army. Nevertheless, losses were very high—some 194,000 soldiers were dead, wounded or captured, comprising just over half of the troops who were initially encircled.[57] While some Soviet generals claimed that these offensives were unnecessary, the German General Kurt von Tippelskirch countered:
There appeared a difficult situation in the Rzhev-Sychevka direction during the first months of this year. The Russians nearly destroyed our first defensive line. This breakthrough was only stopped when we kept three Panzer divisions and some infantry units at this place – according to the plan, these units should have been deployed to the south. With regard to tactics, the Germans were successful as they managed to mend the hole in this direction, but the Russians received a greater strategical profit when they managed to detain a large amount of German troops at this place and to prevent them from reinforcing the main battlefield.—Kurt von Tippelskirch[58]
At the end of 1942, Operation Mars began. It was concurrent with the first phase of Operation Uranus, but it was not prepared by Zhukov, nor did he command the operation. At that time, Zhukov was carrying out his task as Deputy Commander-in-Chief and Representative of General Headquarters at Stalingrad. He only coordinated the forces at Rzhev during the later half of this operation, again as the "firefighter" who conducted the rescue tasks for the encircled Soviet forces there. Mars was a tactical failure because, despite inflicting considerable losses, the Soviets could not encircle and eliminate the German 9th Army. Within 25 days, Soviet losses were some 215,000 KIA (killed in action), WIA (wounded in action), and POWs (prisoners of war), while 1,315 important pieces of armor (i.e. tanks and self-propelled artillery pieces) were destroyed or lost. The average casualties per day that were sustained in these engagements were even higher than those suffered at the much more famous Battle of Stalingrad.
M. A. Gareev used Stavka orders to claim that Mars' goal was to lure the German forces to the Rzhev sector, preventing them from reinforcing Stalingrad. Thus, it ensured the success of Uranus and the Soviet offensives in the south. Indeed, according to Gareev, "there is not any convincing reason to say that Operation Mars was a failure, or was the greatest failure of Marshal Zhukov, as David Glantz and other Western scholars have described".[59]
Glantz quoted A. V. Isaev about Operation Mars:
Aside from causing the influences about the local events of the fronts in November and December 1942, "Operation Mars" also influenced the fighting situation in 1943. In the winter of 1942, the 9th Army of General Walther Model was tightly pinned against the Rzhev salient. And in summer 1943, this Army was so exhausted that it could not be used in Operation "Citadel".—A. V. Isaev[60]
Also, according to Vladimir Chernov and Galina Yaroslavovna, Glantz and other Western historians paid too much attention to Zhukov and forgot the fact that he did not participate in this offensive, as since the late August 1942 he had already stopped commanding the Western Front and went to Stalingrad area to guide the Soviet forces there.[61]
Battle of Stalingrad and Operation Uranus[edit]
In late August 1942 Zhukov was made Deputy Commander-in-Chief and sent to the Southwestern Front to take charge of the defence of Stalingrad.[62] In October 1942, Zhukov and Vasilevsky planned the Stalingrad counteroffensive[63]named "Operation Uranus", which was noted as "having a clarified mission, a daring idea, and an extensive scope, which made everybody pay attention to it".[56] The counteroffensive was launched on 19 November and four days late with the encirclement of the entire German 6th Army (the single largest Nazi troop formation at the time). After two more months of desperate fighting, the demoralized and decimated Sixth Army surrendered on 2 February. Zhukov was the coordinator of the Southeastern and the Stalingrad Fronts while Vasilevsky coordinated the Southwestern and Don Fronts. At Stalingrad, the Wehrmacht lost over 200,000 men, while another 91,000 were taken prisoner; of whom only 6,000 returned to Germany in 1955. On the battlefield were buried 140,000 soldiers and officers (not counting the tens of thousands of Nazi soldiers who were killed in the kessel during the 73 days of encirclement). Due to his great skill in planning and commanding large forces, Zhukov was awarded the 1st Order of Suvorov (together with Vasilevsky, N.N. Voronov, Vatutin, Andrey Yeryomenko, and K. K. Rokossovsky). Noteworthy, however, was the "No. 1" engraved distinctly on the medal that was given to Zhukov.[56]
Breaking the siege of Leningrad[edit]
In January 1943 Zhukov (with Kliment Voroshilov) coordinated the actions of the Leningrad Front and Volkhov Front, in accord with the Baltic Fleet, in Operation Iskra. This led to the partial breaking of the German lines at the perimeter of the Leningrad siege, where a narrow passage was opened between the German armies stationed there and the shore of Lake Ladoga. This path allowed the delivery of food and munitions by the "Road of Victory" railroad. The Germans knew of its importance, however, and intensively bombarded it, costing the lives of over 300,000 defenders. The siege continued for another year, until 27 January 1944, when the besieging forces were driven back from the city in theLeningrad-Novgorod Strategic Offensive. Even so, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet granted Zhukov the rank Marshal of the Soviet Union on 18 January 1943. He was the first field commander that was granted this rank during World War II.[64]
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