World War II Database

On the morning of 3 Nov 1943, 4th Panzer Army stationed in Kiev awoke to a massive Russian bombardment. Unable to halt the invasion, Kiev was taken by Russian troops in the following two days. When Russian troops entered Kiev on 5 Nov 1943, they found a city destroyed by the combination of the German invasion years ago, the Russian invasion that just took place, and the scorched Earth tactic deployed by the fleeing German troops. The ancient regional capital suffered 7,000 buildings, including 1,000 factories, plundered or destroyed by the German troops. 200,000 civilians were killed during the course of the war, and 100,000 sent to concentration camps during the occupation. What resulted was a city with only 80,000 survivors, a mere 20% of its prewar size.

Erich von Manstein of the German 4th Panzer Army was able to convince Adolf Hitler to release the 48th Panzer Corps to perform a counterattack, though his request for the 40th was rejected. The German troops drove forward, but were halted by the 7th Guards Tank Corps near Fastov. Similar scenarios played out all around Kiev with German troops fighting bravely but unable to halt the Russian juggernaut. The Germans caught their break with the arrival of the 48th Panzer Corps containing the elite 1st SS Panzer Division, retaking Brusilov and Zhitomir, two towns that the Russians had just recently liberated in the past days. Large-scale tank battles ensued with heavy casualties on both sides over the course of the following month.

On 5 Dec, the 48th Panzer Corps launched a surprise attack northward from Zhitomir while the 13th Corps, reinforced with 2nd Fallschirmjäger Division, attacked eastward. This maneuver threatened to surround the 60th Russian Army. To relieve the situation, Moscow sent the 1st Tank Army and the 18th Army as reinforcements. With fresh troops, the Russians were able to halt the German offensive and retake Brusilov.

Though the Russians emerged victorious, the Russian troops failed their important objective of enveloping Army Group South. Nevertheless, they were able to deal heavy damage to the 4th Panzer Army, and the morale boost for gaining Ukraine was substantial.

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Visitor Submitted Comments

1. Anonymous says:
   2 Oct 2006 02:48:05 PM
   
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2. Anonymous says:
   2 Oct 2006 02:54:19 PM
   
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4. KievBOy says:
   5 Sep 2009 02:19:39 AM
   
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