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| August, 1941: Zhukov, Guderian and the race to Kyiv |
| 2025-08-21 |
| [YouTube] Kings and Generals is presenting a weekly summary of WWII in the east, or the west, depending on your point of view, roughly corresponding to the actual evens for that week in 1941. Very cool, IMMHO: Kings and Generals historical animated documentary series on the Eastern Front of World War II continues with the largest invasion in history - Operation Barbarossa. Previously we have covered Berlin bombing raids by the VVS, Hoth’s battle for Velikiye Luki, Manstein’s counterattack near Lake Ilmen, Zhukov’s assault on the Yelna Salient ( • Berlin Bombed by the Soviets and Hitler's ... ). In this episode of our Eastern Front Week-by-Week series, we dive into the fourth week of August 1941. Following Hitler’s orders, Guderian’s panzers turned south to link up with Army Group South, aiming to trap hundreds of thousands of Soviet soldiers in Ukraine. The Bryansk Front, under Eremenko, rushed to block the advance, while the Southwestern Front faced the looming threat of encirclement around Kyiv. We examine the staggering Red Army losses by late August—over 1.4 million dead, nearly 900,000 prisoners of war, and the destruction of every mechanized corps. From the grim fate of Soviet POWs to the desperate breakout at Velikye Luki and the defense of Leningrad’s approaches, this episode highlights the brutality and scale of the conflict. At Smolensk, Zhukov regrouped his forces to prepare another strike, while in the north, German panzers severed Leningrad’s last rail link. Meanwhile, Kleist crossed the Dnipro in the south, threatening to close the trap on Kyiv. The choices of Stalin, Hitler, and their commanders would decide the fate of millions. |
| Posted by:badanov |