Kiev's joke

194 1 from the end of August to the end of September, the 33-day battle of Kiev can be said to be the largest panic attack in World War II and the largest panic attack in the history of human war so far. Among them, Germany invested 500 thousand troops and the Soviet Union invested 850 thousand troops. The result of the war was also tragic. The 700,000 elite troops of the Soviet Southwest Army were all surrounded, and the number of people who finally surrendered was as high as 665,000. Hitler had the last laugh, and Stalin could have saved the loss, because zhukov, then the chief of staff of the Soviet Union, had already discovered the strategic intention of the German central army group and the southern army group to completely surround the southwest army of the Soviet Union. Unfortunately, Stalin not only refused to listen, but also said that zhukov was full of nonsense and was demoted in a rage.

Zhukov warned Stalin that the present Soviet Southwest Army was very dangerous. If you don't withdraw quickly, it will easily fall into the triangle pocket of the Germans. If it retreats late, it will be wiped out. The most feasible way is for the Soviet army to attack the German central army group head-on, and let the southwest army retreat quickly to strengthen the defense of the capital Moscow and let the German army outflank from the air. He asked Stalin to order part of the southwest army led by Butioni to withdraw to the east bank of Dnieper River and set an ambush by the river. Most of the troops had to leave the Ukrainian battlefield quickly, and the main force of the Soviet army in the southwest quickly moved to the central defense line to strengthen the defense against Moscow.

Zhukov's meaning is simple. Now we must sacrifice Kiev and even the vast southwest of the Soviet Union, so as to preserve our strength, defend the more important capital Moscow region, and not entangle with the Germans for the gain and loss of Kiev. Stalin and his opponent, Hitler, actually agreed, and they paid more attention to Ukraine's resources and economic value. They believe that if Dyke loses Ukraine, it will lose its granary, then the industrial zone in Donetsk and the oil fields in the Caucasus. Stalin was afraid of losing what Hitler longed for.

Stalin was angry with zhukov's opinion, saying that zhukov was full of nonsense, but zhukov did what he had to do. He said, if I just talk nonsense, please dismiss me as chief of staff. Stalin was so angry that he was demoted to commander of the reserve army. Even when zhukov arrived at the headquarters of the reserve army, he always suggested to Stalin that he must send 13 divisions, 1000 tanks and 500 planes to resist the southward movement of the Second Armored Division of the German Central Army Group, otherwise the Soviet troops in the southwest will come to no good end. Stalin still wouldn't listen. The battle of Kiev was actually carried out according to zhukov's strategic concept, and Stalin's stubbornness led to the total annihilation of the Soviet army. If Stalin had followed zhukov's advice, there would not have been such a big fiasco, and the history of World War II might have been rewritten.