JOUKOV. l'homme qui a vaincu Hitler

Biography about the man who conquered Hitler.

Among several remarkable officers who led Stalin's armies to victory during the Second World War, Marshal Zhukov stands out as the man who conquered Hitler. The collapse of communism led to a windfall for historians in the form of vast archives of the Soviet Union that had formerly been inaccessible. The authors have plunged into a wealth of material, beginning in the old peasant Russia of Czar Nicholas II. They have followed the path of a barely literate soldier buffeted by the great storms of history, the First World War and the Russian revolution of 1917. The young cavalry officer Zhukov proved his mettle during the civil war and miraculously escaped Stalin's bloody purges that weakened the army and decimated its upper echelon officer corps. Then the Second World War broke out, and Zhukov found himself on every major battle front, from the counter-offensive of Moscow in December of 1941 to the victory at Stalingrad, from Kursk to the capture of Berlin. His important role continued after the war, when he was twice relegated to severe disgrace, saved Nikita Khrushchev, and attempted to effect in-depth reforms within the Soviet army. This work reveals the undoubtedly exceptional character of the man and of his actions, but it does not gloss over Zhukov's immense failings, his violence, his shortcomings and his errors, nor the monstrous Stalinist machine of repression he did not hesitate to use to his advantage. Fascinated by the D-Day landings and the «liberators», it is far too easy to forget that World War II was won on the Eastern front. Zhukov was one of its great artisans. The two authors have granted him his rightful place in the military history of the Second World War, at the very forefront. Jean Lopez, founder and current editor of Guerres et Histoire, has carved out his place among historians as the author of several works on the Eastern front, including Koursk : les quarante jours qui ont ruiné la Wehrmacht (Economica, 2008), and Grandeur et misère de l'armée rouge (Éditions du Seuil, 2011). Lasha Otkhmezuri, former diplomat, is an editorial advisor at Guerres et Histoire. He speaks Russian, Georgian, English and French fluently. His contacts in the world of the former USSR have contributed immensely to an original perception of Zhukov and his actions which incorporates a Soviet point of view.