Stalin's General (50 page)

15
G. K. Zhukov,
Vospominaniya i Razmyshleniya
(Moscow: APN, 1969). An English translation was published as
The Memoirs of Marshal Zhukov
(London: Jonathan Cape, 1971).

16
G. K. Zhukov,
Vospominaniya i Razmyshleniya
, 2 vols. (Moscow: APN, 1974). This edition was published in English as G. Zhukov,
Reminiscences and Reflections
, 2 vols. (Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1985).

17
“V Poslednii Put': Pokhorony Marshala Sovetskogo Souza G. K. Zhukova,”
Pravda
, June 22, 1974.

18
V. Suvorov,
Ten' Pobedy
(Donetsk: Harvest, 2003), pp. 17, 26.

19
G. K. Zhukov,
Vospominaniya i Razmyshleniya
, 3 vols., 10th and 11th eds. (Moscow: APN, 1990–1992). Both these editions italicize the material previously excluded. According to Otto Preston Chaney's count the tenth edition added 125 pages to previous editions and the eleventh a further thirty-five pages: O. P. Chaney,
Zhukov
, rev. ed. (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1996), p. 527.

20
The files of Zhukov's Lichnyi Fond (personal file series) may be found in RGVA. There are c. 190 files consisting of manuscripts and materials relating to his memoirs, speeches, articles, correspondence, and personal memorabilia (F. 41107, Ops. 1–2). The archive also houses a series of Zhukov files on the battle of Khalkhin-Gol (F. 32113, Op. 1).

  1
Unless otherwise stated, the biographical information contained in this chapter is derived from the first three chapters of Zhukov's memoirs: G. Zhukov,
Reminiscences and Reflections
, vol. 1 (Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1985) (hereafter: Zhukov,
Reminiscences
). This 1985 English translation of the revised Russian edition of Zhukov's memoirs published in 1974 is the one that will be referred to throughout the book. Note that Zhukov celebrated his birthday on December 2 and this was the date recorded in many Soviet reference works. This was because when Zhukov was born the Julian calendar was still used in Russia, which at that time was twelve days behind the Gregorian calendar used by other countries. In the twentieth century the gap between the two calendars widened to thirteen days. In 1918 the Bolsheviks adopted the Gregorian calendar, which meant everyone had to change their birthdays. Many, like Zhukov, added thirteen days rather than the twelve they should have.

  2
V. Daines,
Zhukov
(Moscow: Molodaya Gvardiya, 2005), p. 9.

  3
M. Zhukova,
Marshal Zhukov—Moi Otets
(Moscow: Izdanie Sretenskogo Monastyriya, 2005), p. 25. Another source gives Zhukov's mother's age as twenty-nine when she married Konstantin.

  4
Zhukov,
Reminiscences
, vol. 1, p. 19.

  5
M. Zhukova,
Marshal Zhukov
, p. 34.

  6
A. N. Buchin,
170 000 Kilometrov s G. Zhukovym
(Moscow: Molodaya Gvardiya, 1994), pp. 29–30.

  7
See his daughter Era's memoir “Otets” in
Marshal Zhukov: Polkovodets i Chelovek
, vol. 1 (Moscow: APN, 1998), p. 30.

  8
Zhukov,
Reminiscences
, vol. 1, p. 24.

  9
Cited by A. Axell,
Marshal Zhukov: The Man Who Beat Hitler
(London: Pearson, 2003), p. 2.

10
E. Zhukova, “Interesy Ottsa,” in
Marshal Zhukov: Polkovodets i Chelovek
, vol. 1, pp. 47–48. An analysis of Zhukov's surviving books and his annotations of them may be found in V. S. Astrakhanskii, “Biblioteka G. K. Zhukova,”
Arkhivno-Informatsionnyi Bulleten'
, no. 13, 1996.

11
Marshal Zhukov: Moskva v Zhini i Sud'be Polkovodtsa
(Moscow: Glavarkhiva Moskvy, 2005), pp. 21–22.

12
G. K. Zhukov,
Vospominaniya i Razmyshleniya
, 11th ed., vol. 1 (Moscow: APN, 1992), p. 64 (hereafter: Zhukov,
Vospominaniya
). This, the eleventh Russian edition of Zhukov's memoirs, will be referred to throughout the book. It is the fullest published version of Zhukov's memoirs. This exchange was omitted from the version published in the Soviet era. Bolshevik (i.e., communist) policy was to oppose the war and seek the overthrow of the tsarist government, whereas Zhukov's statement indicated that his politics at the time were patriotic rather than socialist. Later in life Zhukov always maintained that he had fought in four wars on behalf of his country: the First World War, the Russian Civil War, the war with Japan in Mongolia in 1939, and the Second World War.

13
Zhukov,
Reminiscences
, vol. 1, p. 43.

14
Ibid., p. 49.

15
RGVA, F. 41107, Op. 1, D. 86, L. 5.

16
Zhukov,
Reminiscences
, p. 52.

17
M. von Hagen,
Soldiers in the Proletarian Dictatorship: The Red Army and the Soviet Socialist State, 1917–1930
(Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1990), p. 39.

18
Daines,
Zhukov
, p. 28.

19
V. Krasnov,
Zhukov: Marshal Velikoi Imperii
(Moscow: Olma-Press, 2005), pp. 18–19. In his memoirs he confused this chronology by the inaccurate claim that candidate membership of the party did not exist when he joined on March 1, 1919.

20
B. V. Sokolov,
Georgy Zhukov: Triumf i Padeniya
(Moscow: Ast, 2003), p. 44.

21
These documents may be found in Krasnov,
Zhukov
, pp. 24–31.

22
Zhukov,
Reminiscences
, vol. 1, pp. 85–87.

23
E. Zhukova, “Otets,” in
Marshal Zhukov: Polkovodets i Chelovek
, p. 30.

  1
Zhukov,
Reminiscences
, vol. 1, p. 75.

  2
On the Red Army during the interwar period: J. Erickson,
The Soviet High Command: A Military-Political History, 1918–1941
, 3rd ed. (London: Frank Cass, 2001); M. von Hagen,
Soldiers in the Proletarian Dictatorship: The Red Army and the Soviet Socialist State, 1917–1930
(Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1990); R. R. Reese,
Stalin's Reluctant Soldiers: A Social History of the Red Army, 1925–1941
(Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1996); R. R. Reese,
Red Commanders: A Social History of the Soviet Army Officer Corps, 1918–1991
(Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2005); S. W. Stoecker,
Forging Stalin's Army: Marshal Tukhachevsky and the Politics of Military Innovation
(Boulder, Colo.: Westview, 1998); W. J. Spahr,
Stalin's Lieutenants: A Study of Command Under Stress
(Novato, Calif.: Presidio, 1997); L. Samuelson,
Plans for Stalin's War Machine: Tukhachevskii and Military-Economic Planning, 1925–1941
(London: Palgrave, 2000); and D. R. Stone,
Hammer and Rifle: The Militarization of the Soviet Union, 1926–1933
(Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2000).

  3
J. Stalin,
Leninism
(London: Allen & Unwin, 1942), p. 366.

  4
In my interview with her in Moscow in April 2010, Zhukov's daughter Era said that in the Zhukov household Stalin was neither worshipped nor denigrated.

  5
Zhukov,
Reminiscences
, vol. 1 p. 97.

  6
Ibid., p. 98.

  7
V. A., Afanas'ev,
Stanovlenie Polkovodcheskogo Iskusstva G. K. Zhukova
(Moscow: Svyatigor, 2006), p. 22.

  8
A number of these documents are reproduced in V. Krasnov,
Zhukov: Marshal Velikoi Imperii
(Moscow: Olma-Press, 2005), p. 44ff.

  9
A. L. Kronik, “Molodost' Marshala,” in I. G. Aleksandrov (ed.),
Marshal Zhukov: Polkovodets i Chelovek
(Moscow: APN, 1988), p. 66.

10
Zhukov,
Reminiscences
, vol. 1, p. 107.

11
K. Rokossovsky,
A Soldier's Duty
(Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1970), p. 84. On Rokossovsky: R. Woff, “Rokossovsky,” in H. Shukman (ed.),
Stalin's Generals
(London: Phoenix, 2001).

12
I. K. Bagramyan,
Tak Shli My k Pobede
(Moscow: Voenizdat, 1988), p. 7. On Bagramyan: G. Jukes, “Bagramyan,” in Shukman (ed.),
Stalin's Generals
.

13
Zhukov,
Reminiscences
, vol. 1, p. 108.

14
Ibid., pp. 109–13.

15
I. Mastykina,
Zheny i Deti Georgiya Zhukova
(Moscow: Komsomol'skya Pravda, 1996). This booklet contains Mastykina's interviews with Zhukov's daughters and others that were originally published in the newspaper
Komsomol'skya Pravda
, June 7, 1996, August 23, 1996, August 30, 1996, and October 4, 1996.

16
Afanas'ev,
Stanovlenie Polkovodcheskogo Iskusstva G. K. Zhukova
, p. 33.

17
On the development of Soviet military doctrine before the Second World
War: M. R. Habeck,
Storm of Steel: The Development of Armour Doctrine in Germany and the Soviet Union, 1919–1939
(Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 2003); S. Naveh,
In Pursuit of Military Excellence: The Evolution of Operational Theory
(London: Frank Cass, 1997); H. Fast Scott and W. F. Scott (eds.),
The Soviet Art of War
(Boulder, Colo.: Westview, 1982); and S. J. Main, “The Red Army and the Future War in Europe, 1925–1940,” in S. Pons and A. Romano (eds.),
Russia in the Age of Wars, 1941–1945
(Milan: Feltrinelli, 2000).

18
On Tukhachevsky: S. Naveh, “Tukhachevsky,” in Shukman (ed.),
Stalin's Generals
.

19
Zhukov,
Reminiscences
, vol. 1, pp. 137–39.

20
Erickson,
The Soviet High Command
, p. 800.

21
Afanas'ev,
Stanovlenie Polkovodcheskogo Iskusstva G. K. Zhukova
, p. 22.

22
Marshal Zhukov: Moskva v Zhizni i Sud'be Polkovodtsa
(Moscow: Glavarkhiva Moskvy, 2005), pp. 48–49.

23
In the 1980s it was reported that Rokossovsky had said in a private conversation with two Soviet journalists that Zhukov had not so much been promoted as removed from the position of brigade commander following complaints from his subordinates that he was too strict and too rude (N. G. Pavlenko, “Razmyshleniya o Sud'be Polkovodtsa,”
Voenno-Istoricheskii Zhurnal
, no. 10, 1988, p. 17). The conversation with Rokossovsky reportedly took place in summer 1966 at a time when Zhukov had yet to be fully rehabilitated following his isolation during the Khrushchev era. Relations between the two men were still at a low ebb because of Zhukov's belief that Rokossovsky had collaborated with the Khrushchevites in their minimizing his role during the Great Patriotic War.

24
A. M. Vasilevsky,
A Lifelong Cause
(Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1981), pp. 485–86. On Vasilevsky: Jukes, “Vasilevsky,” in Shukman (ed.),
Stalin's Generals
.

25
Krasnov,
Zhukov
, pp. 74–76.

26
Zhukov,
Reminiscences
, vol. 1, p. 119.

27
Ibid., pp. 136–39.

28
Ibid., p. 141, 162.

29
L. F. Minuk, “Komandir Divizii” in
Marshal Zhukov: Polkovodets i Chelovek
, vol. 1 (Moscow: APN, 1998), pp. 100–15.

30
The two daughters' memoirs may be found in ibid. See also the following interview with them: “Papa Chetverok ne Lyubil. Dnevnik Smotrel Pridirchivo,”
Izvestiya
, December 1, 2006. (I am grateful to Professor Stephen White for a copy of this article.)

31
Zhukov,
Reminiscences
, pp. 171–74.

32
M. Fainsod,
How Russia Is Ruled
(Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1963), p. 479.

33
On Stalin's prewar purge of the Red Army, see R. R. Reese, “The Impact of the Great Purge on the Red Army,”
The Soviet and Post-Soviet Review
, vol. 19, nos. 1–3, 1992, and R. R. Reese, “The Red Army and the Great Purges,” in J. A. Getty and R. T. Manning (eds.),
Stalinist Terror: New Perspectives
(Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1993); O. F.
Suvenirov,
Tragediya RKKA, 1937–1938
(Moscow: Terra, 1998); P. P. Wieczorkiewicz,
Lancuch Smierci: Czystka w Armii Czerwonej, 1937–1939
(Warsaw: RYTM, 2001); and A. A. Pechenkii,
Voennaya Elita SSSR v 1935–1939gg: Repressii i Obnovlenie
(Moscow, 2003).

34
The literature on the Great Terror is vast. A good documentary collection is: J. Arch Getty and O. V. Naumov (eds.),
The Road to Terror: Stalin and the Self-Destruction of the Bolsheviks, 1932–1939
(New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1999).

35
Zhukov,
Reminiscences
, vol. 1, p. 171.

36
Zhukov
Vospominaniya
, vol. 1, chap. 6 passim.

37
Cited by O. P. Chaney,
Zhukov
, rev. ed. (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1996), pp. 54–55.

38
In the early 1990s evidence was published that Zhukov himself had made at least one accusation against a purge victim. However, it transpired the “G. Zhukov” named in the supposedly incriminating evidence was another Zhukov. See W. J. Spahr,
Zhukov: The Rise and Fall of a Great Captain
(Novato, Calif.: Presidio, 1993), pp. 234–35.

  1
The text of most of Voroshilov's order is reproduced in V. Krasnov,
Zhukov: Marshal Velikoi Imperii
(Moscow: Olma-Press, 2005), p. 98. The original order, together with a number of other documents cited by Krasnov, was on display at an exhibition on Khalkhin-Gol in RGVA in Moscow in April 2010.