During the Soviet-German War, why did the Soviet Union ignore the capture of 665,000 officers and men in Kiev?

Before the outbreak of the Soviet-German war, Nazi Germany made careful preparations. Hitler, who was impressed by the cold winter in the Soviet Union, originally planned to attack in May 194 1. However, Mussolini's "disappointing" attack on Greece was frustrated and he had to turn to Germany. After solving the Balkan region, the attack was postponed until June 22nd.

Germany declared war on the Soviet Union, and 3.5 million Germans from north, central and south suddenly launched an attack. "Blitzkrieg" once again launched a fierce offensive, with manstein in the North Road attacking 320 kilometers in four days and guderian in the Middle Road penetrating 600 kilometers in eight days. However, the progress of South Road is not satisfactory. What happened?

Germany invaded the Soviet Union.

A prominent part that is not harmonious.

In the direction of the German three-way assault, the southern army group is relatively weak. However, both the total number of troops, the combat quality of troops and advanced weapons and equipment far exceed the Soviet Union. Strangely, instead of showing the power of "blitzkrieg" in the battle, the progress was weak and the steps were difficult.

First of all, Stalin's key defense. Ukraine is rich in resources and is a grain-producing area of the Soviet Union, while Kiev is the capital of Ukraine, as well as the industrial base and transportation center of the country. In other words, losing it means losing the whole Ukraine, which will greatly weaken the military strength of the Soviet Union.

Stalin

As the supreme ruler, he knew what the survival of Kiev meant, and he was convinced that the main strategic direction of the German army was Ukraine. So the troops deployed in the southern line are the strongest. Before the war broke out, the Southwest Army commanded by General Kirponos had 870,000 men, more than 4,500 tanks and 1600 fighters.

Second, proper tactical command. Admiral Kolppo North is an excellent tactician. He knows German blitzkrieg tactics very well. He adopted deep echelon defense in defense deployment, and built a large number of bunkers, anti-tank trenches and artillery support points on the defense line, which made the attacking opponents suffer a lot.

Soviet troops in Kiev are digging trenches.

Of course, Ukraine's dense rivers and swamps have become natural barriers to stop opponents. Let the German armored cluster, which is good at quick assault, suddenly have no advantage, and must always guard against the impact of the Soviet Union on its flank. Only a few kilometers can be advanced every day, and the distance from the middle armored cluster is getting bigger and bigger, forming an inverted triangle projection with the overall attack line, which is extremely "harmonious".

This "prominent part" of disharmony has aroused great concern of both the Soviet Union and Germany.

The huge gap on the front has aroused great concern in zhukov. Once the opponent is inserted into its rear to form an encirclement, the Southwest Army will face extinction. So, he suggested to Stalin to give up Kiev, withdraw his effective force to Moscow, and keep the strongest army, but it was rejected.

Inconsistent "prominent part"

At the same time, budyonny, commander-in-chief of the Southwest Army, kept a clear head. He suggested quitting twice, but both were rejected. In the name of passively avoiding war, he was removed from office and Timoshenko took over the command. Zhukov's insistence caused Stalin's boredom, and the post of Chief of Staff was removed from his post and reduced to commander of the reserve army.

The Soviet Union and Germany launched a continuous and fierce battle around Kiev. 200,000 residents participated in the construction of fortifications, and 65,438+10,000 militiamen went to the front. They stubbornly resisted and waited for an opportunity to counter-charge, destroying the enemy's effective strength and resisting the German attacks again and again. As everyone knows, a crisis is quietly coming to them.

Stalin

Due to the obvious backwardness of the southern army group, the gap between the fronts has also been opened. Hitler was keenly aware that this was the best time to destroy the effective forces in the region, but his decision was also opposed by his subordinates, especially guderian, who suggested leaving Kiev alone and taking Moscow.

However, the "big officer killed people", the stubborn Hitler ordered guderian's 2nd Tank Army to go south and outflank the Soviet rear. Facing the tactical intention of the German army, General Kolppo North thought that the Soviet army could not enter a desperate situation, so he risked being sent to a military court and ordered a full retreat without authorization.

Hitler and guderian.

Although this move allowed 65,438+10,000 Soviet troops to escape from hell, the Soviet troops in the encirclement were not as good as the mechanized Germans, and missed the best opportunity to retreat. In the end, the Southwest Army was encircled and almost completely annihilated. 655,000 Soviet troops became prisoners, and even Khrushchev almost became a ghost under the knife of the Germans.

This battle, which lasted for two months, became the biggest panic attack in the history of human war. This victory amazed everyone, and made Hitler more confident in his command ability and felt that he was a military genius. Since then, the second class of World War I has thrown off those professional soldiers and personally commanded the entire Eastern Front campaign.

Germans in Kiev

So, why did Stalin insist on not retreating?

First, we overestimated the strength of the southwest army. In his view, they can be said to be the strongest in the Soviet army and have the ability to compete with their opponents. And judging from the effect of defense at the beginning of the campaign, they did persist for a long time; At the same time, strict orders can motivate soldiers to fight to the death.

The cruel reality is that the gap between the Soviet Union and Germany in equipment is too great. Soviet tanks were exhausted from the beginning and there was no reserve. Without the cover of individual weapons and armored forces, they launched a "futile" charge on their opponents, and their morale collapsed even faster.

Soviet militia went to the front.

The second is to emphasize "space for time". The offensive momentum of the German Central Army Group is very strong, and its flank is just exposed in front of the southwest army. If we adopt more harassment tactics and take the initiative to attack its logistics supply line, we can slow down the opponent's advancing speed and buy time for establishing a new defense line in the rear.

More importantly, sticking to Kiev is of great political significance. Because, from the beginning of the war, the United States and Britain were very worried about how long the Soviet Union could last under the blitzkrieg offensive. If this country dies as quickly as Poland and France, their next life will not be easy. They hoped that the Soviet Union would stick to it.

The Soviet Union kept fighting back.

Stalin believes that Kiev's persistence shows how to embody the superiority of the values of the great eastern countries, that is, to show its determination and strength to persist in fighting in front of the world and the United States and Britain. At the same time, I also hope to win assistance from the United States. In fact, the Soviet Union won this victory, and American aid played an important role.

The right and wrong of the battle of Kiev has always been a hot topic, but it is undeniable that it did achieve the goal of "exchanging space for time", dragging local opponents for two months and leading the Germans through the cold winter. what do you think? Welcome to leave a message for discussion.

References: World War II and the whole history of World War II.

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