World War II footage showing Wehrmacht operations in Ukraine during Operation Barbarossa in mid-1941. In September 1941, the largest encirclement in military history took place in Kiev, where around 660,000 Soviet soldiers were captured. To achieve this victory, Hitler diverted armored divisions that had originally been aimed at attacking Moscow. This move delayed the offensive on the Soviet capital, giving the Red Army valuable time to reorganize its forces. As a result, the Battle of Kiev beca