One of the significant events of World War II is the battle of 1941 for Kiev. The defense of the city lasted from July to September and claimed many lives. In documents, this event is called the Kiev strategic defensive operation.
Despite the heroism of Soviet soldiers and local residents, many strategic misses were made. Subsequently, they led to tragic events for which hundreds of thousands of people had to pay their own lives.
Beginning of the End
For the first time Kiev was attacked at the very beginning of the war. It was June 22, 1941 that German bombers dropped their bombs on him at dawn. Thus began the Great Patriotic War. In less than a month, the Germans will come close to the city.
The buildings of the railway station, aircraft factory, military airfield and others, including residential buildings, were affected by the air raid. Most people did not even realize that the war had begun. For them, these were regular exercises that were intensively conducted by the Soviet troops for more than a year.
From that moment, the city began to prepare for defense. A defense line of Kiev was created, which was a strip of 200 bunkers. Before them ditches were built against tanks and infantry. Near the city, another line of pillboxes and ditches was created. All these works were carried out by more than 160 thousand residents of Kiev and the surrounding villages.
On June 23, mobilization points were opened in the city. 200 thousand people were called up, that is, a fifth of the inhabitants of Kiev. According to eyewitnesses, young people sought to get to the front for a war with the Germans. This patriotism was not broken by the multiple repressions and denunciations that took place in the 30s and again resumed due to the war.
The beginning of the Kiev defensive operation is considered to be July 11, when the forces of the Wehrmacht reached the Irpen River. It was located 15 kilometers west of the city. The operation lasted 70 days.
Event participants
In order to understand who carried out the attack on the city and who carried out the defense of Kiev, it is worth looking at the table.
| Aggressor side | Side of defense |
State | Germany | USSR |
Troop name | Wehrmacht | Red Army |
Groups of participating troops | Army "South", "Center", 2nd Tank | Southwestern Front, Pinsk Flotilla, combined arms armies |
Command | Field Marshal Rundstedt | Colonel General Kirponos, Rear Admiral Rogachev, Marshal of the USSR Budyonny |
German plans in July 1941
The German command expected to seize the Donbass and Crimea before the onset of winter. It was also important to capture Leningrad to unite with the Finnish troops. The heroic defense of Kiev could prevent them from realizing these goals.
According to one of the directives, Hitler ordered that the southeastern section was not just taken. The most important task was to prevent the withdrawal of large enemy forces inland, and to destroy them on the western bank of the Dnieper.
July-August fighting: disastrous decisions
To the west of Kiev stood the South Army. It was opposed by the SWF, which surpassed the enemy in the number of soldiers and technical equipment. But there was a significant lack of experience. The Soviet army lacked initiative commanders, and the Germans perfectly maneuvered and skillfully surrounded the enemy.
Along with the battles, the evacuation of the population was carried out . However, she was disorganized. Often, representatives of the authorities took their families with a lot of luggage, which greatly outraged ordinary residents. For these purposes, even trucks were used, which were sorely lacking at the front.
The heroic offensive of the army of General Vlasov allowed the situation to be stabilized for a short time. On August 10, thanks to him, a suburb of Kiev was liberated. This infuriated the German Fuhrer, who was determined on August 8 to hold a parade on Khreshchatyk. However, the success of the Red Army did not last long.
German plans for August
The heroic defense of Kiev forced the German command to change their plans. Hitler believed that it was much more important to capture not Moscow, as Franz Halder thought , but the southern territories of the USSR. Before winter, Hitler wanted to take control of Crimea, the coal and industrial regions of Donbass, and also block the route of oil delivery from the Caucasus to the Soviet troops.
In addition to Halder, Heinz Guderian did not agree with Hitler's decision. He personally tried to convince the Fuhrer not to stop the attack on Moscow, but his arguments did not affect the decision of the Wehrmacht commander in chief. Thus, parts of the Center group were deployed south on August 24, and the offensive on Moscow was suspended.
USSR plans in August
Stalin feared for Moscow. He understood that military operations would soon shift in this direction. The same was confirmed by intelligence. According to early August, German troops were supposed to attack Moscow through Bryansk.
But Stalin did not know that Hitler would decide to sharply change his plans and send additional forces to the south.
The fighting in late August: a belated retreat
On August 21, Hitler signed the directive. She had a decisive influence on the subsequent course of the war. It consisted in the fact that the main forces of the Wehrmacht transferred their strike from Moscow to the south, that is, to Kiev, Crimea and Donbass.
Despite the fact that both military and civil defense of Kiev existed, the situation became catastrophic. At the same time, the command did not allow the surrender of the capital, fearing the reaction of Stalin, who forbade it to be done.
As a result, the SWF was completely surrounded by Germans. On the night of September 18, Moscow decided to retreat. However, time was lost, as a result, not all units were able to get out of the ring. About 700 thousand soldiers were captured and killed. The same fate befell General Kirponos, as well as 800 officers and generals who led the front.
The defense of Kiev was failed. The Soviet troops, retreating, in a hurry still managed to undermine all four bridges across the Dnieper. At the same time, civilians and military personnel were walking along them at that moment. The city power station and water supply system were disabled. Thousands of bags of food were thrown into the water. All these actions doomed the remaining residents (about 400 thousand people) to starvation in the occupied city.
The Germans entered the city on September 19. The next day, executions of Jews began, and thousands of local residents began to be taken to work in Germany. This went on for three years.
Results and consequences of the operation
The territorial defense of Kiev was not able to withstand the forces of the Wehrmacht. The defeat was a heavy blow to the Soviet army. In addition to the huge number of casualties, more than 4 thousand guns, mortars, tanks, aircraft were lost.
The unsuccessful defense of Kiev opened the Wehrmacht to the east. Further events unfolded lightning fast. The Germans captured more and more new territories.
Timeline of the capture of eastern and southern lands:
- October 8 - the Sea of Azov;
- October 16 - Odessa region;
- October 17 - Donbass;
- October 25 - Kharkov;
- November 2 - Crimea (Sevastopol fell into blockade).
There were several positive points in this bloody defeat. First of all, German troops deployed from Moscow made it possible for the Soviet command to prepare for its defense. The attack on Leningrad was also suspended to create a closer ring around it. Thus, the Kiev defensive operation did not leave time for the Germans to capture Moscow.