THE BATTLE FOR KYIV
In the pre-war period, a dense defensive line consisting of pillboxes was built along the entire western border of the USSR. In the foreign press, this defensive line was called the “Stalin Line,” but in the Soviet Union it was never called by that name. Such fortified areas were built from Ukraine to the Baltic states. The immense length of the border made it impossible to create a dense network of pillboxes. The pillboxes themselves were usually small and could house one to three machine guns. They lacked gun turrets, and in their place were the turrets of obsolete tanks.
In 1939, the USSR acquired a new border, and the Stalin Line was mothballed. Only shortly before the outbreak of war did it begin to be restored. After its first defeats in the Great Patriotic War, the Red Army retreated to the Stalin Line, hoping to hold off the enemy there. Manstein’s troops were the first to encounter the fire of these cannons and machine guns. In 1940, he broke through the Maginot Line and encircled British forces at Dunkirk. Special assault groups were assigned to destroy Soviet fortifications. These included an infantry detachment, an engineer detachment with a TNT charge, and a flamethrower. A cannon or StuG-3 self-propelled assault gun was often added.
German soldiers developed a tactic for breaching such defenses. Initially, the assault group would approach the Soviet pillbox closely, then use a TNT charge or cannon to breach the door and fire a stream of flamethrower fire.
On July 8, Nazi tanks broke through the Novohrad-Volynskyi Fortified Region (UR) and reached the Zhitomir Highway leading to Kyiv. Four days later, the Germans reached the city of Berdichev. On the morning of July 9, 1941, Nazi troops broke through to Zhitomir. Kleist was now advancing on Kyiv, planning to capture it with the 3rd Motorized Corps. A mortal threat loomed over the city. The Soviet command was amassing its last reserves: paratroopers, tank crews left without tanks, and NKVD units. The first battle at the walls of Kyiv took place a few days later, when German troops broke through along the Zhitomir highway to the Irpen River. But the Nazi tanks were unable to advance further, as all the bridges had been blown up. The last barrier for the enemy was the Kiev Fortified Region (KiUR). It stretched for 80 kilometers and included 250 different pillboxes.
The Germans’ next objective was to break through the Letychiv Fortified Region, which covered the approaches to Vinnytsia. It stretched for 125 kilometers and included 347 pillboxes. But in just one day, German troops destroyed all the pillboxes, making further defense of the Letichev fortified area futile.
Soon, Mikhail Semyonovich Budyonny sent a request to the Supreme Command Headquarters for permission to retreat the 6th and 12th Armies from the Letichev fortified area, lest they be encircled. He received permission a day later. According to the plan, these armies were supposed to reach Kyiv near Bila Tserkva, but the Nazi breakthrough to Kyiv proved fatal. As a result, on August 3, 1941, the encirclement near Uman closed, trapping 100,000 Soviet soldiers. Most of these soldiers and officers died of hunger and disease in one of the first concentration camps established in the USSR, the so-called Uman Pit. The lull near Kyiv did not last long. By the end of July, infantry from the German 6th Army, along with heavy artillery, had already approached the city. A surprise attack by the 6th Army from the south of the KiUR forced the Soviet troops to retreat under enemy pressure. But some pillbox defenders performed true feats of courage, remaining in their positions even while encircled to cover the retreating Red Army units.
Pillbox No. 131 near the village of Kreminishche repelled fierce Nazi attacks. Vasily Petrovich Yakunin commanded the garrison. Ultimately, the pillbox door was blown open, followed by the hatch leading to the lower floor. All soldiers were killed.
Pillbox No. 127 prevented the Germans from crossing the river for three days and three nights. Their machine gun only fell silent when they ran out of ammunition. When the Nazis blew the door open, they rescued five Red Army soldiers, three of whom were still alive.
On August 4, another attack followed. The Germans managed to break through the left flank of the KiUR defenses and reach the second line of defense. German General Franz Halder wrote that German troops were losing 1,600 men per day.
Meanwhile, the Red Army lost 2,200 men in the battle for Kyiv from August 3rd to 5th. Militiamen were also among Kyiv’s defenders. They were well armed but poorly trained. Some hadn’t even received military documents. They often brought passports and party membership cards to headquarters after the battle.
Heavy fighting for the second line of defense erupted on August 6th, 1941. According to eyewitness accounts, German infantry attacked in conjunction with assault guns. Soon, the second line was breached, and the Nazis reached Kyiv’s suburbs, such as Pirogovo, Myshelovka, and the Goloseevsky forest.
General Rodimtsev’s 5th Airborne Brigade held a defensive position near Zhulyany Airport. That night, after an artillery barrage, the paratroopers launched a heroic attack in full force. The paratroopers, dressed in flight uniforms, stunned the Nazis and heroically drove them from their trenches. It was they who delayed the enemy advance.
By this time, the Soviet command had already managed to bring fresh divisions from the rear into the city. They trained in the rear and were ready to immediately enter the battle.
The newly formed Soviet 27th Army launched a counteroffensive and, through fighting, managed to recapture numerous settlements and relieve the pillboxes that had been under attack for several days. Thanks to the new reinforcements, the second line of defense was restored.
Despite the fighting taking place on the front line, the Soviet city of Kyiv enjoyed a peaceful life. There were no problems with electricity or food. Shops, theaters, the circus, and the cinema were open. Residents believed that the city could be held.
On August 30, 1941, the Germans crossed the Dnieper River near Kremenchuk and established the Kremenchuk bridgehead. At this time, Guderian’s 2nd Panzer Army was advancing toward Kyiv and the Kremenchug salient. Eremenko’s tank division attempted to halt the Nazi advance, but failed. Guderian soon reached the town of Romny, far behind Kyiv’s defenders. Stavka, fearing a repeat of the disaster at Uman, refused permission to withdraw from the city.
That night, German tanks were able to cross the Dnieper River via a pontoon bridge to the Kremenchug bridgehead. By morning, they had already set off. Soviet intelligence failed to track such a rapid tank advance. On September 13, Kleist and Guderian’s tanks met at Lokhvitsa, and on September 14, 1941, the encirclement was complete. More than 532,000 Red Army soldiers were trapped within the encirclement. Only on September 16th did Soviet Commander Kirponos, who had previously requested permission to withdraw, receive the order. The 21st Army was breaking out of encirclement toward Romny, the 5th and 37th Army toward Lokhvitsa. Behind them, the 25th Army withdrew in the other direction. At 10:40 PM on September 17th, the order to withdraw from the city was received. On September 18th, the Southwestern Front headquarters began to leave Kyiv.
During the night of September 18th-19th, Kyiv was abandoned!
On September 19th, all bridges were blown up by Soviet troops.
Thus ended the defense of Kyiv! The fighting between the encircled armies in the Kyiv fortified region lasted until September 26th. The encircled Red Army soldiers fought to the last drop of blood. Only 20,000 men managed to escape the encirclement.
On September 24th, the NKVD blew up buildings on Khreshchatyk, including the Children’s World and the Circus. These buildings housed the German government. Fires burned for four days.
The Nazis blamed the fires on the Jews. On September 28, the Nazis ordered all Jews to gather on Degtyarevska Street, taking their documents and valuables with them. On September 29, tens of thousands of Kyiv residents arrived at the designated location and, under escort from German soldiers, marched to the Babi Yar ravine. There, everyone was ordered to undress, taken down, and shot with two machine guns.
On September 29 and 30 alone, the Nazis executed 333,771 people here. For exactly two years after that, people of various nationalities were brought here. Between 150,000 and 200,000 people were shot in these two years!
Such Nazi atrocities must never be forgotten.
“Stalin Line,”
THE BATTLE FOR KYIV
Babi Yar
