This week in the War, 14–20 July 1941: Barbarossa 3—Hitler turns south

Posted on July 20, 2013 by secondbysecond

Russian civilians constructing anti-tank fortifications west of Moscow, fall 1941 [RIA Novosti archive, image #3500 / B. Vdovenko / CC-BY-SA 3.0, wiki]

Russian civilians constructing anti-tank fortifications west of Moscow, fall 1941 [RIA Novosti archive, image #3500 / B. Vdovenko / CC-BY-SA 3.0, wiki]

This week in the war, on 19 July 1941, Hitler ordered Panzergruppe II and the German Second Army to  turn south and link with Panzergruppe I in a pincer movement to surround Kiev and the Soviet 5th Army.

The manoeuvre was stunningly successful, netted vast territory and half a million prisoners.

Panzergruppe II‘s commander, Heinz Guderian, protested vehemently. The swing south meant abandoning the thrust towards Moscow, putting Operation Barbarossa‘s timetable seriously behind schedule.

By the time the Wehrmacht could resume its advance towards the Soviet capital, Stalin had strengthened the city’s defences. Plus winter was fast approaching.

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