Changes

Drafted into the Russian army in 1915, he joined the [[Red Army]] in 1918 and became a noted cavalry officer; during the [[Russian Civil War]] he also met and became a friend of [[Stalin]], which was to help protect him in subsequent decades. In early 1940 he was made commander of Soviet troops fighting [[Finland]], reversing the disastrous early Soviet conduct of that war and forcing the Finns to sue for peace in March 1940. Appointed Peoples Commissar for Defense, he started a modernisation and mechanisation programme for the Red Army. In June 1941 [[Germany]] attacked the [[Soviet Union]] and Timoshenko was placed in charge of the central front; he is credited with preserving his forces to successfully defend [[Moscow]] in late 1941. In May 1942 he led a Soviet assault on [[Kharkov]] which had limited success, and he was unable to prevent the German advance on [[Stalingrad]] in the summer and autumn of 1942.

Drafted into the Russian army in 1915, he joined the [[Red Army]] in 1918 and became a noted cavalry officer; during the [[Russian Civil War]] he also met and became a friend of [[Stalin]], which was to help protect him in subsequent decades. In early 1940 he was made commander of Soviet troops fighting [[Finland]], reversing the disastrous early Soviet conduct of that war and forcing the Finns to sue for peace in March 1940. Appointed Peoples Commissar for Defense, he started a modernisation and mechanisation programme for the Red Army. In June 1941 [[Germany]] attacked the [[Soviet Union]] and Timoshenko was placed in charge of the central front; he is credited with preserving his forces to successfully defend [[Moscow]] in late 1941. In May 1942 he led a Soviet assault on [[Kharkov]] which had limited success, and he was unable to prevent the German advance on [[Stalingrad]] in the summer and autumn of 1942.

He was replaced by Marshal [[Georgi Zhukov]] as the prime front line commander, but was subsequently given honorific appointments.

He was replaced by Marshal [[Georgi Zhukov]] as the prime front line commander, but was subsequently given honorific appointments.