30 Facts About Vasily Chuikov

Vasily Chuikov is best known for commanding the 62nd Army which saw heavy combat during the Battle of Stalingrad in the Second World War and for being the commanding general to receive the surrender of the German troops defending Berlin.

At the outbreak of the Second World War, Vasily Chuikov commanded the 4th Army during the Soviet invasion of Poland, and the 9th Army during the Winter War against Finland.

In March 1942, Vasily Chuikov was recalled from China to defend against the German invasion of the Soviet Union.

Vasily Chuikov personally accepted the unconditional surrender of German forces in Berlin on 2 May 1945.

Vasily Chuikov was twice awarded the titles Hero of the Soviet Union and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross by the United States for his actions during the Battle of Stalingrad.

Later the same year, an older brother arranged for Vasily Chuikov to be recruited into the Red Guards.

In October 1918, Vasily Chuikov saw active service when he was sent to the Southern Front as a deputy company commander to fight against the White Army.

Vasily Chuikov carried this war wound for the rest of his life, and it eventually led to septicaemia breaking out in 1981, causing a nine-month illness and finally his death.

Vasily Chuikov left his regiment in 1921 to continue his studies at the Frunze Military Academy, from which he graduated in 1925.

Vasily Chuikov traveled extensively in southern China and Sichuan, became fluent in Chinese, and gained a deeper understanding of Chinese politics and culture.

In 1929, during the China Eastern Railway Incident, Vasily Chuikov was forced to leave China after the Soviet Union broke diplomatic relations with the Republic of China on 13 July.

The Soviet Far Eastern Army defeated the Northeastern Army of Zhang Xueliang, and Vasily Chuikov participated in negotiations that restored Soviet control of the China Eastern Railway.

Vasily Chuikov commanded the 4th Army in the Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939.

Vasily Chuikov commanded the 9th Army in the Russo-Finnish War of 1940.

In December 1940, Vasily Chuikov was appointed the chief Soviet military representative to the Republic of China and adviser to Chiang Kai-shek, the Nationalist leader, in Chongqing.

Stalin told Vasily Chuikov to prioritize support for Nationalists over the Chinese Communists so as to ensure Chinese unity against Japan.

Vasily Chuikov arrived in China with a large supply of Soviet armaments for the Nationalist Army, including tanks, artillery, fighter and bomber aircraft, and trucks.

On 11 September 1942, General Vasily Chuikov was summoned to South Western Front Headquarters to discuss the defense of Stalingrad.

Vasily Chuikov arrived in Stalingrad on 11 September 1942 and occupied Hill 102.24 where he set up his command post, and immediately set about preparing the defense of Stalingrad proper.

Along the front from Kuporosnoye and Orlovka to Rynok, General Vasily Chuikov defended against a German main thrust advancing from the northwest and directed at both Gumrak Airfield as well the train station in the center of the town, and a second additional German strike-force advancing from the southwest directed against Olshanka and the grain elevator.

The determination that Vasily Chuikov instilled in his men enabled the 62nd Army to defend the city against all odds.

Vasily Chuikov had witnessed firsthand the blitzkrieg tactics the Wehrmacht had used to sweep across the Russian steppe, so he used the Germans' carpet-bombing of the city to draw panzer units into the rubble and chaos, where their progress was impeded.

In interviews in 1943, Vasily Chuikov said he was not informed of the Operation Uranus counter-offensive but could sense one was being planned.

Vasily Chuikov then commanded the 8th Guards as part of 1st Belorussian Front and led its advance through Poland.

On 1 May 1945, Vasily Chuikov, who commanded his army operating in central Berlin, was the first Allied officer to learn about Adolf Hitler's suicide, being informed by General Hans Krebs who had come to Vasily Chuikov's headquarters under a white flag.

Krebs, under orders from Goebbels, sought conditions for surrender more favorable to the Germans, which Vasily Chuikov had no authority to grant and so rejected any terms.

Vasily Chuikov appeared in the documentary film Berlin, directed by Yuli Raizman.

Vasily Chuikov served as the Chief of the Civil Defense from 1961 until his retirement in 1972.

In 1969, Chuikov led the Soviet delegation attending the funeral of Dwight D Eisenhower.

Vasily Chuikov was a major consultant for the design of The Motherland Calls, a memorial on Mamayev Kurgan commemorating the Battle of Stalingrad, and was buried there after his death on 18 March 1982, at the age of 82.