Eastern Front #11 The Battle for Kyiv Begins

Last time we spoke about how the Germans had underestimated the Soviets. General Fedor von Bock’s forces captured Smolensk, yet the Red Army, led by Marshal Semyon Timoshenko, fiercely defended their territory, demonstrating an unexpected resilience despite heavy losses. Struggles for control intensified around Kyiv, as logistical issues plagued the Germans. Their supply lines grew thinner, causing unrest among troops facing devastating casualties. Amidst desperate counteroffensives, the Soviets mobilized millions, revealing the vastness of their manpower and determination. By mid-August, German command recognized a grim truth: they had underestimated the "Russian colossus." What started as a confident assault evolved into a prolonged struggle where victory was no longer assured. The Germans were stretched thin, while the Soviets regrouped, heralding a change in the tides of war that would resonate through the Eastern Front.

This episode is The Battle for Kyiv Begins

Well hello there, welcome to the Eastern Front week by week podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about world war two? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel you can find a few videos all the way from the Opium Wars of the 1800’s until the end of the Pacific War in 1945. 

The Red army was exhausted as she entered her third week of being invaded by Nazi Germany. However she was striking back where she could, and little by little it seemed like she was chipping at the armor of the allegedly invincible Wehrmacht. We left off last week with Army Group North advancing towards Leningrad while also attacking Vatutin. Meanwhile Guderian began a turn southwards as the Red Army frantically tried to fill gaps in their lines north of Kyiv. In June, the Soviet Air Force, known as the VVS, suffered a devastating setback. Throughout July, their operations were able to continue, but only due to their reserve aircraft and the Luftwaffe's challenge in covering such a vast front. Although the vast majority of this reserve was made up of old planes, sheer numbers allowed the Soviet Airforce to continue the fight and cover most of the front. On August 7th, they launched a long-range bombing mission targeting the heart of Nazi Germany, Berlin, the political center of the Third Reich. In a desperate bid to halt Army Group North's advance, the Soviet military committed all available resources. The Soviet Naval Staff devised a daring strategy, determining that their best chance of success lay in launching Ilyushin DB-3T torpedo bombers from a small island off the coast of Estonia, nestled in the Baltic Sea.

Strategists calculated that if the twin-engine bombers were loaded with approximately 3,000 kilograms of fuel and no more than 750 kilograms of bombs, they could undertake an 1,800-kilometer round trip to Berlin with 10-15% of reserve fuel remaining. However, this approach meant the pilots would lack the extra fuel necessary for evasive maneuvers when facing German defenses, including anti-aircraft fire and intercepting fighters. The only viable option was to fly at high altitudes in a straight line both to and from their targets, which significantly compromised the accuracy of their bombardments. Tactical precision was, however, not the primary goal of the Berlin raid.

On August 2nd, fully loaded Soviet DB-3T bombers set off from the makeshift airfield to test the feasibility of using such an airstrip. The test revealed that skilled pilots could indeed take off under such challenging conditions. Then, on the night of August 4th, five Soviet aircraft embarked on a reconnaissance flight over Berlin, departing from the island airstrip. The Germans had established a formidable anti-aircraft perimeter that extended 100 kilometers around their capital, complete with powerful spotlights capable of illuminating an area of 6,000 cubic meters. Remarkably, the Soviet planes successfully traversed Berlin without detection. The pilots were now ready for an audacious bombing raid.

On the evening of August 7th, 1941, fifteen Ilyushin DB-3T torpedo bombers from the Baltic Fleet ascended into the sky, heading straight for the German capital. With Soviet fighters lacking the range to escort them, altitude became their sole defense. Surprisingly, the German military did not anticipate such a mission originating from the Soviet Union. In fact, despite previous small-scale bombing raids by the British, Nazi propaganda perpet