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Zhukov, Marshal of the Soviet Union
Non Fiction
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1975
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 19, 2025
This biography of Georgi Zhukov was great. He deserves more acknowledgment from the West for his impressive story as a career soldier and his strategic overlay during World War II. Zhukov's story is a long and enduring one. Like most men of this era, his baptism by fire was attained during World War I. He was a calvary Non-commissioned Officer and was deployed along the Eastern Front. In 1916, while on a reconnaissance mission in Ukraine his horse stepped on a landmine and he was seriously injured, pg. 10
After discharging from the hospital he was sent to a training unit, joined the Red Army (and became a Party member), and remained somewhat stagnant until 1938. He miraculously survived the Stalinist purges on the 1930s only to find himself deployed to Khalkhin-Gol, Mongolia, to lead Soviet-Mongolian forces during the Soviet-Japanese War. As a part of the 1936 mutual assistance pact between Mongolian Peoples' Republic and the Soviet Union, Zhukov displayed tactical heroism and military decisiveness that earned him the military title Hero of the Soviet Union, pgs. 62-76
Zhukov became the leading commander against the invading German forces during Hitler's Pan-Germanism expansion into the Slavic lands, Operation Barbarossa. The large portion of the book details the accounts of his WWII career and his defense of Stalingrad. Zhukov was directly responsible for turning the tide leading the counteroffensive with Baltic, Ukrainian, and Belorussian Fronts to push out the German Wehrmacht. Eventually he and his various commanders organized the Red Army to drive the Germans back to Germany. 'Zhukov and his staff worked on the plans for Vistula-Oder Operation, which would sweep across Poland to Germany.', pg. 292
After the war he rose through the Communist Party ranks, eventually became the Defense Minister, and was forced to retire. He became the victim of bureaucratic Soviet political machine, was labeled 'an apostate from Party norms and even a conspirator' (pg. 451) and relieved of duty while on official business to Albania in 1957.
Overall this was a well-researched and fact-driven narrative about one of the most impressive military commanders in modern history. I would highly recommend it to any fans of history. Thanks!
After discharging from the hospital he was sent to a training unit, joined the Red Army (and became a Party member), and remained somewhat stagnant until 1938. He miraculously survived the Stalinist purges on the 1930s only to find himself deployed to Khalkhin-Gol, Mongolia, to lead Soviet-Mongolian forces during the Soviet-Japanese War. As a part of the 1936 mutual assistance pact between Mongolian Peoples' Republic and the Soviet Union, Zhukov displayed tactical heroism and military decisiveness that earned him the military title Hero of the Soviet Union, pgs. 62-76
Zhukov became the leading commander against the invading German forces during Hitler's Pan-Germanism expansion into the Slavic lands, Operation Barbarossa. The large portion of the book details the accounts of his WWII career and his defense of Stalingrad. Zhukov was directly responsible for turning the tide leading the counteroffensive with Baltic, Ukrainian, and Belorussian Fronts to push out the German Wehrmacht. Eventually he and his various commanders organized the Red Army to drive the Germans back to Germany. 'Zhukov and his staff worked on the plans for Vistula-Oder Operation, which would sweep across Poland to Germany.', pg. 292
After the war he rose through the Communist Party ranks, eventually became the Defense Minister, and was forced to retire. He became the victim of bureaucratic Soviet political machine, was labeled 'an apostate from Party norms and even a conspirator' (pg. 451) and relieved of duty while on official business to Albania in 1957.
Overall this was a well-researched and fact-driven narrative about one of the most impressive military commanders in modern history. I would highly recommend it to any fans of history. Thanks!
August 23, 2025
Voor een biografie stelt dit boek teleur. Tot het einde blijft de auteur een droog feitenrelaas geven van alle afslachtingen in de Tweede Wereldoorlog aan het Oostfront. Sommige mensen vinden dat prima, maar het begon mij vrij snel te vervelen.
Een biografie over Zjoekov zou juist moeten gaan over het karakter van de maarschalk. Als lezer krijg je in dit boek totaal geen beeld van Zjoekov, buiten het feit dat hij geen vriend van Stalin was. Zijn innerlijke drijfveren komen totaal niet aan de orde, want de auteur is van mening dat troepenbewegingen en namen van militaire eenheden veel interessanter zijn. Dat was al een verouderde manier van schrijven toen de eerste versie van het boek uitkwam.
Er zijn wel enkele lichtpuntjes. De vele foto's tussendoor geven wel een inkijkje in de verschrikkingen van het Oostfront, maar soms vergeet de auteur in te haken op de foto's die daardoor over de pagina's blijven zweven. Daarnaast is de motivatie om het boek te schrijven ook volledig terecht. Zjoekov is - geheel onterecht - in westerse geschiedenisboeken geen eens een voetnoot meer. Alleen is de uitvoering van de biografie helaas niet scherp genoeg.
Kortom, geen aanrader voor wie geïnteresseerd is in het Oostfront of in Zjoekov. Er zullen inmiddels wel betere werken zijn verschenen die echt in gaan op de persoon zelf en een totale oorlog niet zo zwart-wit zien als in dit boek is gepresenteerd.
Een biografie over Zjoekov zou juist moeten gaan over het karakter van de maarschalk. Als lezer krijg je in dit boek totaal geen beeld van Zjoekov, buiten het feit dat hij geen vriend van Stalin was. Zijn innerlijke drijfveren komen totaal niet aan de orde, want de auteur is van mening dat troepenbewegingen en namen van militaire eenheden veel interessanter zijn. Dat was al een verouderde manier van schrijven toen de eerste versie van het boek uitkwam.
Er zijn wel enkele lichtpuntjes. De vele foto's tussendoor geven wel een inkijkje in de verschrikkingen van het Oostfront, maar soms vergeet de auteur in te haken op de foto's die daardoor over de pagina's blijven zweven. Daarnaast is de motivatie om het boek te schrijven ook volledig terecht. Zjoekov is - geheel onterecht - in westerse geschiedenisboeken geen eens een voetnoot meer. Alleen is de uitvoering van de biografie helaas niet scherp genoeg.
Kortom, geen aanrader voor wie geïnteresseerd is in het Oostfront of in Zjoekov. Er zullen inmiddels wel betere werken zijn verschenen die echt in gaan op de persoon zelf en een totale oorlog niet zo zwart-wit zien als in dit boek is gepresenteerd.
February 10, 2012
Difficult to review this book. While there is nothing wrong with it, it stays a bit dull till the very end.
Mostly describing Zhukov's life and work, specially during WWII (better: the Great Patriotic War) and really describing it instead of giving a lot of insight in Zhukovs way of thinking and his relations with the Soviet leaders and Stalin. Only the part after 1945 starts to give you a view of where Zhukov stood in the post-Stalin era and how he worked with Khruchev to guard the Communist ideal when Eastern Europe rose in 1956 (East Germany and Hungary).
That is an interesting part and shows us a different Zhukov from what we thought we knew of him, a real hardliner.
Because there are hardly any biographies of Soviet generals, this one is not that bad.
Mostly describing Zhukov's life and work, specially during WWII (better: the Great Patriotic War) and really describing it instead of giving a lot of insight in Zhukovs way of thinking and his relations with the Soviet leaders and Stalin. Only the part after 1945 starts to give you a view of where Zhukov stood in the post-Stalin era and how he worked with Khruchev to guard the Communist ideal when Eastern Europe rose in 1956 (East Germany and Hungary).
That is an interesting part and shows us a different Zhukov from what we thought we knew of him, a real hardliner.
Because there are hardly any biographies of Soviet generals, this one is not that bad.
August 28, 2016
This is a very good book. A minor problem I have is that the author makes Zhukov seem infallible. It seems everything he does is right and his views are always correct. In that sense, I wonder if I'm reading propaganda. I know the book was written before Soviet archives were more fully made available to the public, but the book barely touches on Operation Mars, which was a major offensive aimed against the Germans in the Rzhev area at the same time Operation Uranus, the Stalingrad Offensive, was going on. Mars was a disaster and Zhukov was fully behind it. Lastly, I found the book after World War II was over to be a bit dull. Political intrigue does not interest me very much.
Overall, this is an enjoyable book.
Overall, this is an enjoyable book.
August 17, 2012
Balanced biography of one of the twentieth century's greatest Generals.
The rise to fame and Great Patriotic War is better paved than his role and isolation in his later years
A must for Russian history buffs
The rise to fame and Great Patriotic War is better paved than his role and isolation in his later years
A must for Russian history buffs
June 10, 2019
This is an amazing biography and provides fascinating insight into the Soviet war effort during WWII under the rule of Stalin. I would give this book more than 5 stars if that were possible. Generals being arrested for the mere suspicion of disloyalty to Stalin and hundreds of thousands of ordinary people too. If you are interested in WWII and also the history of the Soviet Union then you will certainly enjoy this book very much.
March 1, 2016
Dosta toga sam saznao iz ove knjige. Preporuka za sve ljubitelje WW2!
January 25, 2022
Great biography on a great, highly influential man.
Great biography on Georgi Zhukov, the man most responsible for the Soviet Union’s victory over Germany on the Eastern Front in WW2. The book gives the reader a great sense of Zhukov’s life, career, achievements and struggles, especially politically later in life. In so doing it is also a thorough examination of military strategy, organisation and innovation, especially as practiced by the Soviet Union.
As Zhukov was involved in almost every major Soviet campaign and battle of the 1930s and WW2 including Khalkhin Gol, Leningrad, Moscow, Stalingrad and Berlin and also because of his close proximity to the Soviet leaders of the mid-20th century – Stalin, Khrushchev, Brezhnev – the book is also a history of the Soviet Union. We see the political machinations and insecurities and how easy it was for anyone of any ability or standing to fall foul of them.
A very well researched book, by most accounts as accurate as possible, which is quite a feat considering the subject. The Soviets had a habit of rewriting history, including the history of people, as they fell in and out of favour. They also censored any memoirs, making even autobiographies subject to political manipulation and bias. In writing this book Otto Preston Chaney had to verify the accuracy of many sources including Zhukov’s own memoirs and filter in and out information. Quite the task and one which is succeeded admirably at.
The only negative is that the book can be a bit dry at times. I much preferred the military strategies and events to the political machinations so the post-WW2 period did drag a bit for me. Other than that, an excellent piece of research and writing.
Great biography on Georgi Zhukov, the man most responsible for the Soviet Union’s victory over Germany on the Eastern Front in WW2. The book gives the reader a great sense of Zhukov’s life, career, achievements and struggles, especially politically later in life. In so doing it is also a thorough examination of military strategy, organisation and innovation, especially as practiced by the Soviet Union.
As Zhukov was involved in almost every major Soviet campaign and battle of the 1930s and WW2 including Khalkhin Gol, Leningrad, Moscow, Stalingrad and Berlin and also because of his close proximity to the Soviet leaders of the mid-20th century – Stalin, Khrushchev, Brezhnev – the book is also a history of the Soviet Union. We see the political machinations and insecurities and how easy it was for anyone of any ability or standing to fall foul of them.
A very well researched book, by most accounts as accurate as possible, which is quite a feat considering the subject. The Soviets had a habit of rewriting history, including the history of people, as they fell in and out of favour. They also censored any memoirs, making even autobiographies subject to political manipulation and bias. In writing this book Otto Preston Chaney had to verify the accuracy of many sources including Zhukov’s own memoirs and filter in and out information. Quite the task and one which is succeeded admirably at.
The only negative is that the book can be a bit dry at times. I much preferred the military strategies and events to the political machinations so the post-WW2 period did drag a bit for me. Other than that, an excellent piece of research and writing.
August 2, 2024
Great to read about the general most responsible for winning WW2
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews