Georgi Konstantinovich Zhukov was born 1896 in a small village of Strelkova south of Moscow, Kaluga Province, and like an immense majority of the peasant population his family were desperately poor. He lived in an old house, in the middle of the village, with one room and two windows, he also was able to attend a nearby school. At aged 10 young Georgi was sent to Moscow to find work with his uncle as an apprentice furrier and found the working conditions severely harsh under the Czarist autocracy. His childhood was ended working twelve-hour days and sleeping on the factory floor.
The Great War of 1914 for Zhukov was a welcomed relief and in 1915 the nineteen year-old received his conscripted call-up papers and was posted to a cavalry squadron. By 1916 his aptitude and ability had him selected for non-commissioned officer training. In his recorded memoirs he pointed to the problem within the Russian Imperial Army that the majority of aristocratic generals and officers neglected their troops and had little understanding, or esprit connection, with the ordinary peasant soldiers. He had been decorated for his bravery, and been wounded too, by March 1917 as the revolution, and change of government, swept away the old monarchist order. His poor working class background supported the change for the better and became a member of the Communist Party. Then upon contracting typhus he returned home for convalescence and it wasn't until late 1918 that he returned to military service with what was now named the Red Army. During the ensuing civil war Zhukov through self-determination and self-education showed he was a competent leader and rose quickly through the ranks of the newly formed Soviet military forces. And in 1923 he became a commander of a horse cavalry regiment. He gained a reputation for planning in detail, iron-will discipline and strictness. His potential was obvious to his superiors and, as well as, his command duties, he continually went on training courses.
The Invasion of Russia by Napoleon and Hitler had many similarities. Napoleon's invasion to Russia took place in June 1812 and Hitler's invasion to Russia June 22, 1941 they both occurred during the early summer, Napoleon and Hitler's target was to capture Moscow. They both expected a quick victory ...
Conflict Assessment Task 2 Campaign or Battle Analysis: World War Two The Battle of Stalingrad 1. Identify significant events During the Second World War, Stalingrad was one of the largest industrial centres, producing tanks, mortars, heavy guns and automatic weapons for Russia. Stalingrad...
Introduction Joseph Stalin was born Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili in the village of Gori, in the Russian province of Georgia, on Dec. 21, 1879. His father was a shoemaker with a penchant for drunkenness, who left Gori when Stalin was young to seek employment in the city of Tiflis. Thus Joseph's mother, Yekaterina, made the more profound impact on his life--it was she who directed his education, first in the local Gori Church School and then, thanks to a scholarship, at the Tiflis Theological Seminary. There, she hoped, he would train to become a priest. Instead, the young Stalin bec...