The largest encirclement of troops in history is said to have taken place during which WWII battle of 1941?

The First Battle of Kiev was the German name for the operation that resulted in a very large encirclement of Soviet troops in the vicinity of Kiev during World War II. This encirclement is considered the largest encirclement in the history of warfare (by number of troops). The operation ran from 7 August to 26 September 1941 as part of Operation Barbarossa, the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union. In Soviet military history, it is referred to as the Kiev Strategic Defensive Operation, with somewhat different dating of 7 July – 26 September 1941.

Much of the Southwestern Front of the Red Army was encircled but small groups of Red Army troops managed to escape the pocket, days after the German panzers met east of the city, including the headquarters of Marshal Semyon Budyonny, Marshal Semyon Timoshenko and Commissar Nikita Khrushchev. Kirponos was trapped behind German lines and killed while trying to break out.

The battle was an unprecedented defeat for the Red Army, exceeding even the Battle of Białystok–Minsk of June–July 1941. The encirclement trapped 452,700 soldiers, 2,642 guns and mortars and 64 tanks, of which scarcely 15,000 escaped from the encirclement by 2 October. The Southwestern Front suffered 700,544 casualties, including 616,304 killed, captured or missing during the battle. The 5th, 37th, 26th, 21st and the 38th armies, consisting of 43 divisions, were almost annihilated and the 40th Army suffered many losses.

More Info: en.wikipedia.org

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20 Comments

Mark Yakabuski

I thought it would’ve been Stalingrad but when the options came up, I guess not. Kiev makes sense.

dmarkc

Apparently, enough were left for a second battle.

Marianne

Mark Yakabuski, Stalingrad was my first thought but that wasn't until 1942, and thinking about the movement of troops, Kiev was definitely the choice.

Wyla Reedy

I Must have woke up on the wrong side of the bed. The questions seem unusually difficult today.

Char

Thanks majority I'm not into all wars just know about a few from roundabout ways.

James Parrillo, with Christine

Chris Braid, Good for you! I did not. Thank you, Christine, James's wife

teresab

I thought the option of the battle of 42nd Street was a curious one. I'd known about the fighting on Crete during WW2 with New Zealanders and Australians fighting the Germans. I never knew the battle in this theatre of war had this particular name.

Carl Belken

Mark Yakabuski, I was thinking the same thing. Had Stalingrad been ann option I'd have clicked on it.

Richard G Schwartz

Interesting never heard of this battle.

Nicholas Miernicki

Oh yeah, with a moron like Budyonny, a good buddy of Stalin, in charge, disaster was always but a step away. After Kiev, even Stalin wouldn't let Budyonny command anymore troops in battle. Timoshenko, on the other hand, was very good and would prove it through out the war. Khrushchev was a political hack, but, also a realist.

Nicholas Miernicki

Another glorious example of Stalin "Not one step back!" doctrine. They knew they were being enveloped and requested permission to withdraw while there was still time. Stalin, "NO!" Of course, on the other hand, this battle probably saved Moscow, as the German Army Group Center, had most of its panzer divisions diverted for this battle. By the time they could refit and begin the advance on Moscow anew, it was too late in the season and they no longer possessed the combat power to get the job done. And when the German generals realized taking Moscow was no longer possible, they requested permission to retreat back to a more logical defensive stance. Now it was Hitler's turn to say "NO!", but, the Red Army's winter offensive drove them back to those positions anyway and a bit farther, too.