1941 battle resulting in a large encirclement of Soviet troops in the vicinity of Kiev during World War II
The largest encirclement by troop count in military history, resulting in the destruction of the Soviet Southwestern Front in 1941.
Key Facts
- Duration
- 7 July – 26 September 1941
- Troops encircled
- 452,700 soldiers
- Total Soviet casualties
- 700,544 soldiers
- Killed, captured, or missing
- 616,304 soldiers
- Divisions nearly annihilated
- 43 divisions
- Soldiers who escaped pocket
- 15,000 soldiers
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Operation Barbarossa, the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union launched in June 1941, drove German forces deep into Soviet territory. The Soviet Southwestern Front, commanded by Mikhail Kirponos, was ordered to hold Kiev despite the risk of encirclement, leaving it exposed to a double envelopment by German armored forces advancing from north and south.
From 7 July to 26 September 1941, German forces executed a massive encirclement east of Kiev, trapping the bulk of the Soviet Southwestern Front. Some 452,700 soldiers, 2,642 guns and mortars, and 64 tanks were caught in the pocket. Commander Kirponos was killed attempting to break out, while only around 15,000 troops managed to escape before the pocket was closed.
The battle inflicted 700,544 total casualties on the Soviet Southwestern Front, which had to be rebuilt almost from scratch. The five encircled armies were largely annihilated, gravely weakening Soviet defenses in the south. It remains the largest encirclement by troop count in the history of warfare and was described by historians as the Red Army's greatest single disaster of the war.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
1 belligerent
Mikhail Kirponos, Semyon Budyonny, Semyon Timoshenko, Nikita Khrushchev.