Person1896 – 1974
Georgy Zhukov
Marshal of the Soviet Union who directed the defence of Moscow, the Stalingrad counter-offensive and Kursk, and took Berlin
Where they went
4 related events
- 1
Breaking the non-aggression pact, Germany launched a surprise invasion of the Soviet Union. It drove to the gates of Moscow but was halted by winter and a Soviet counter-attack.
- 2
German and Soviet forces fought for more than five months in the streets of Stalingrad on the Volga. The Soviets encircled and forced the surrender of the German Sixth Army, turning the tide of the war in the east.
- 3
Germany attacked the Kursk salient but was stopped by deep Soviet defences. The largest tank battle in history, it handed the initiative on the Eastern Front to the Soviet Union.
- 4
Soviet forces took Berlin and Hitler killed himself. Germany surrendered unconditionally on 8 May, ending the war in Europe (VE Day).
People who appear alongside
- Adolf Hitler1889 – 1945
Nazi leader and Führer of Germany (1934–1945) who started the Second World War and perpetrated the Holocaust; he killed himself as Berlin fell
- Joseph Stalin1878 – 1953
General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party who ruled the USSR from the late 1920s until his death, led the war against Germany and drew Eastern Europe into the Soviet bloc
Themes this person appears in
- World War II1939 – 1945
From the invasion of Poland to the surrender of Japan — the largest war in human history, across Europe, Asia and the Pacific