That's like 4 or 5 encircled armies. They could've been a huge thorn in German side if left unchecked, the entire Southern front would turn into chaos.
I think Kiev wasn't so important as the Smolensk, where the Germans lost too much precious time (July-September) cleaning Soviet pockets around Mostok and Mogilev.
Easton Butler
Glantz is right. Kiev had no strategic value whatsoever. Moscow was not only the capital of the Soviet Union, but also the most important railroad juncture and a major manufacturing center.
Christopher Gutierrez
>railroad juncture and a major manufacturing center. I keep hearing this but no source
Connor Foster
It's not Kiev that's important, it's the troops forming up there and the exposed salient that's important.
Elijah Sanders
I'm on mobile, but Google "Soviet rail map 1940" or something like that. Also check out the video series "Soviet Storm: World War II In The East". They're on YouTube.
Evan Flores
Guderian's original plan (if I'm remembering right) was to bypass it with Panzers/Mechanized forces and cut it off from its supply/communication while the advancing infantry surrounded and starved it while Guderian's forces pushed towards Moscow supplied by air.
The madman thought he could make it Moscow in several weeks. I wish Hitler had given him the go-ahead, just to see if he could've made it.
Kevin Hall
Glantz also wrote that it was retarded to go straight for Moscow before the Kiev encirclement since you left your southern flank wide open. The front would have been thousands of miles longer and would have given the soviets plenty of room to attack the Germans over extended flank. The Kiev encirclement was the right move, it totally destroyed the Ukraine front and left it wide open all the way to Rostov.
Owen Bennett
>supplied by air. lol
Carson Parker
Not to mention that the defenses were actually weaker after they turned away from Kiev; the Soviets noticed the reassignment of troops and tried to launch a counteroffensive, which was a disaster. If they go straight for Moscow, they probably wouldn't make the attack in the first place.
Brayden James
thanks
Mason Watson
Hitler was wrong to focus on destroying soviet economy and army rather than capturing and holding territory.
Slavs aren't human, they just shit out more meat for the grinder and had most of their industry in the urals.
He should have just grabbed Moscow as soon as he could, and taken out Stalin when he could and used it as a bargaining chip with whatever government replaced him. He could have set up a nationalist Russian puppet government and sealed off the eastern front before it got out of control.
Henry Gutierrez
Official history documentary made by the Russian government (in English). Fastforward to about 34 minutes.
the re-enactment with CGI on this is actually pretty decent
Christian Scott
you lost on your way to /pol/, kid?
Easton Flores
/pol/ loves Slavs, you're thinking of /int/
Colton Edwards
Any strategy that involves resupply by air is a fucking meme. Supplying even one division by air is a fucking gargantuan task.
Eli Powell
>the place that according to the shitlibs on this site are all Putin shill >hating slavs
cyka bylat
Mason King
just build more planes :^)
David Garcia
Of course the bolshevik untermensch would have thrown down their weapons and surrender if those noble prussian clean wermacht boys made a B line to the capital without Hitler's catholic interference