He was born in 1 December 1896 in Joukov, Kaluga Oblast, Russia.
He was dead in 18 June 1974 in Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union.
Youth
Born in a family of peasants in Strelkovka, Kaluga province, he is first apprentice furrier in Moscow.
First World War In 1915, he was enlisted as a soldier in the Novgorod Dragoons Regiment, decorated the Cross of St. George on two occasions, promoted to the rank of noncommissioned officer for his bravery in battle.
The ascent
He joined the Communist Party after the October Revolution, where his modest origins became an asset. After a healing of typhus, he fights during the civil war, receiving the order of the red banner for having mastered a peasant revolt.
Noticed for his meticulousness, discipline and rigor, he quickly obtained advancement: in 1923 he commanded a regiment, and in 1930, a brigade. In 1931, he obtained his diploma at the military academy of Frunze.
A staunch supporter of new ways of fighting with tanks, he survived the massive and sinister major purges of the military leadership set up by Stalin in the 1930s, perhaps because he left the dangerous environment of Moscow , First as an observer during the Spanish Civil War, then as the commander of the first Mongolian Soviet Corps.
After his request of August 15, 1939, he received substantial reinforcements, composed of seasoned troops during the operations against the Siberian natives, at the beginning of the decade. They are also abundantly provided with modern equipment, transported by the vital railway of the Trans-Siberian Railway. It can provoke the decisive battle of Halhin Gol on August 20, during which he led a conventional frontal attack by his infantry and the Mongolian troops, keeping in reserve two tank brigades equipped with BT-5 Char tanks. Once the enemy is well hung, he causes these rapid troops to execute a wrapping by the two wings. Supported by motorized artillery and infantry, the two mobile battle groups encircle the Japanese 6th Army and capture Japanese refueling depots. In a few days Japanese troops were forced to flee, abandoning many prisoners and most of their equipment. This battle is considered by the Russians as a rematch of the debacle of 1905 and Zhukov is rewarded with the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. He then participated in the Winter War against Finland.
Second World War
Promoted to the rank of general in 1940, he was briefly head of the Stavka, before a disagreement with Stalin made him replace in June by Marshal Boris Chapochnikov, himself giving way to Alexander Vasilevsky in November.
He was first sent to the rescue of Voroshilov, who organized the defense of Leningrad, encircled by German and Finnish troops. But in October 1941, he was recalled to replace Semyon Tymoshenko, at the head of the central front and to direct the defense of Moscow. It organizes the repatriation of the troops of the Far East, following the assurance of Japanese non-intervention. This logistical work - considered by some as its greatest achievement - enables it to create a strategic reserve composed of elite troops. He launched the counter-attack in early December, thus avoiding the fall of the city that seemed inescapable.
In 1942 he was made a delegate of the commander-in-chief and sent to the southern front to save Stalingrad, supervising the capture of the sixth German army in 1943 at the cost of one million victims. He imposed an iron discipline on it. It is even said that during a review of the troops he lodged a bullet in the head of one man in 10. In January 1943 he organized the supply of Leningrad through the German blockade. He surrendered to General Vatutin the command during the battle of Kursk. After the failure of Marshal Voroshilov, he broke the siege of Leningrad in January 1944, then led the Soviet offensive Bagration of 1944, which liberates almost all of Belarus.
He participated in the final assault on Germany in 1945, capturing Berlin in April, at the head of the first front of Belarus. It was he who received the capitulation of Germany for the USSR. He then took command of the three fronts of the Far East, to launch the August 1945 offensive against Japan in Manchuria, the operation "August storm", involving 1.5 million men and 5 000 tanks, which stops at the end of a week, following the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, soon followed by the Japanese surrender.
Post-war
He became the first governor of the Soviet occupation zone of Germany. However, too popular in the eyes of Stalin, he was demoted in 1947 to command the military district of Odessa. After Stalin's death in 1953, he became a delegate of the Minister of Defense and then Minister. He supported Nikita Khrushchev in 1957, and in June of that year he became a full member of the Central Committee. Precisely four months later, he is relieved of his ministry and left the central committee by Khrushchev.
It was not until after his departure in 1964 that he appeared again in public. Leonid Brezhnev and Aleksei Kossyguin brought Joukov back in favor of the Soviet leaders, but without any real power. Until his death in 1974, he was regarded as an important figure in the Soviet population. It is cremated with military honors. In 1995, for the commemoration of its 100th anniversary, the Russian Federation created the Zhukov Order and the Zhukov Medal.
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