Some of the most desperate fighting in the Second World War took place along the Eastern Front in Russia. There, the Germans pushed far into Russia before ultimately being driven back and defeated by the Red Army. Though it cost the Russian people millions of lives, their victory along the Eastern Front was one of the great moments in their history and in the history of the war. It was largely responsible for bringing Hitler's "Thousand Year Reich" to an early close. If any one person was responsible for the eventual success of the Russians along the Eastern Front, it was Georgy Zhukov.
Georgy Zhukov was born in into a peasant family in 1896. He was conscripted to fight in the Russian Imperial Army during World War I, but quickly became a non-commissioned officer and later a full officer. His choice to ally himself with the communist Red Army during the Russian Civil War proved to be an extremely wise decision. After serving in the calvary during the civil war, he was given command of a regiment and then a brigade in 1930. By this time, he had witnessed firsthand how the failures of the Russian army in World War One could be attributed to their use of outdated military technology and strategies. He therefore became an outspoken advocate of using armored vehicles as the backbone of the army.
In 1938, Zhukov was given command of the First Soviet Mongolian Army Group and waged an undeclared war with Japan from 1938 to 1939. For his success in defeating the Japanese, he was awarded the title "Hero of the Soviet Union." He was made chief-of-staff in charge of the army in 1940, but was replaced before the German invasion of Russia in 1941.
By the time the Germans reached Stalingrad, however, things were desperate and Stalin again turned to Zhukov to defend the key cities of Stalingrad and Moscow. Zhukov was successful and defeated the Germans at Stalingrad, Kursk, Moscow, and Leningrad. He continued driving the Germans back until he got to Berlin itself. By the time the war was over, Zhukov was supreme commander of the Soviet Occupational Force and was popularly known as the "man who never lost a battle."
Stalin became jealous of Zhukov's popularity, however. The sight of Zhukov riding a white horse in front of thousands of cheering Russians in Red Square made Stalin fear that Zhukov had become a potential rival. Stalin therefore demoted him and assigned him to a regional post within the Soviet Union for "trying to take too much credit for Russia's success in the war." Zhukov remained marginalized until Stalin died in 1953. After that, he served as the First Deputy Minister of Defense and on the Executive Committee of the Communist Party. His career ended in 1957 when he was accused of putting the military before the party.
Zhukov's life illustrates the tragedy of Stalin's Soviet Union that no one, including those who made extraordinary contributions to the Russian people, was safe from Stalin's whim. It also illustrates, however, that even Stalin was somewhat vulnerable to public opinion and that he could not simply do whatever he wanted without impunity. If he did have that power, it is unlikely that Zhukov would have survived the post-war demotion.
