As long as the German capitalists took over these large factories and injected capital and technology, the vast majority of the weapons and supplies needed by Zhang Jun's SS could be obtained from Ukraine. If Poland's production is added, Zhang Jun does not have to worry about having no weapons at all, but is worried that his troops are too small.

Zhang Jun's Army Group South has not encountered any major war in Ukraine since the battle of Odessa, although Stalin ordered to shoot a large number of Ukrainian Soviet generals, but it was counterproductive, Ukrainian soldiers began to flee in large numbers, including officers, the SS did not fight at all, the remaining forces of the Ukrainian side collapsed on their own, and Stalin, who had no choice, ordered the Soviet troops to urgently retreat to Stalingrad, which was considered to have completely abandoned Ukraine.

Zhang Jun arrived at Rostov-on-Don, the railway hub of Ukraine, on May 5, and began to divide 200,000 troops to attack the Baku region of the Soviet Union, and the rest of the troops Zhang Jun all rested in Rostov-on-Don, not that Zhang Jun did not want to attack, it was already 900 kilometers away from the German-Soviet border, and it was unrealistic to rely on truck transportation, Zhang Jun was waiting for the smooth flow of the railway, of course, the new Ukrainian government would also allocate a lot of manpower to help repair the railway. And the Wehrmacht was still brutally strangled under the city of Kiev.

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Of course, the Germans in Kiev did not promote the SS, they believed that the war should be fought by both sides like knights, and the Soviets were even less likely to do it, but instead tried their best to block the news from the direction of Odessa, so as not to shake the morale of the army and the people. Instead, Stalin used all propaganda and coercion to portray the Germans as the embodiment of the devil, so that everyone could resist the German invasion, and Stalin's means combined with the stupidity of the Wehrmacht, Stalin's goal was achieved, and the Kievans were all thrown into the fight against the Wehrmacht.

The German frontal assault and subsequent flank assault split the Soviet Southwestern Front into isolated groups. The 5th Army on the right flank of the front northwest of Kiev fought for about half a month in the fortified area of Koros, pinning down about 10 German divisions with its actions. The counter-assault of the army group on the flank of the German army group, which was directly attacking Kiev, greatly improved the situation of the Soviet Red Army defending the city. Following the instructions of the headquarters of the Supreme High Command, the army group retreated to the newly fortified area north of Kiev. The 6th and 12th armies and the 18th Army, with a total of 20 divisions, fought the left flank of the front southwest of Kiev.

On May 3, 1940, the Germans encircled the group in the Uman area with a two-flank assault. On May 8, 1940, the "Uman Pocket" was eliminated, and the Germans captured 103,000 Soviet Red Army, including Lieutenant General Muzychenko, commander of the 6th Army, and Major General Poniegelin, commander of the 12th Army, and the Germans captured 317 tanks and 858 artillery pieces. Combat operations continued here until May 13, 1940. The failure of these operations greatly complicated the situation at the junction of the Southwestern Front and the Southern Front (the 6th and 12th armies had been relegated to the Southern Front since 25 April 1940 and became their right flank). In the center of the defense were the 37th and 26th armies (the former was formed on the basis of the fortified area of Kiev, and the latter was basically formed by the reserve corps operating south of Kiev).

From May 19 to 29, 1940, the 26th Army attempted to conduct a campaign to disrupt the encirclement maneuver of the 1st German tank group, but only held it back for a few days, and then was forced to retreat under the German assault. German troops rushed to the suburbs of Kiev to Pirogov, Zhuliane, Meshelovka, Khoroyv Forest, as well as to the Forestry Engineering Institute and the Agricultural Academy. However, the counter-assault carried out by the Soviet Red Army made it almost complete to restore the front along the outer perimeter of the fortified area by 15 May 1940. Among the main counterattacks were, the 5th Airborne Brigade stationed at the airport in Juliane (led by Alexander?). Rodimtsev) raided the Germans at night, pushing back the German front by 2-3 km; and the newly formed 37th Army, which in the first half of May 1940 successfully repelled a powerful assault from the southwest by the German heavy group to capture the Ukrainian capital.

Citizens of Kyiv and nearby residents took an active part in the defense of the city. By the decision of the Central Committee of Ukraine**, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Republic and the Council of People's Commissars, the City Defense Command was formed. In a short time, 200,000 Kievans volunteered for the Soviet Red Army.

The stubborn resistance of the Soviet Red Army and repeated counter-assaults delayed the offensive on the left flank of Army Group "South" for a long time, forcing the German High Command to transfer a large part of Army Group "Center" from the direction of Moscow - the 2nd Army (commanded by General Weix) and the 2nd tank group (commanded by General Guderian) to deal with the Southwestern Front.

The German plan was for the 2nd Tank Cluster to cross the Desna River west of Tubitzivsk and advance southward to Romne, behind Kiev; The 2nd Army moved south from Gomel to cover the right flank of the 2nd tank group; The 1st Tank Group attacked north from Kremenchuk on the Dnieper Bend and joined the 2nd Tank Group in the area of Romne and Lokhvica, cutting off the Soviet Red Army on the west bank of the Dnieper River in the area of the Great River Meander; The 17th Army was responsible for pinning down the Soviet Red Army in the Dnieper bend north of Cherkasy, while covering the left flank of the 1st tank group; The 6th Army went east, crossed the Dnieper, entered Kiev, and began to encircle and annihilate this group of Soviet Red Army heavy troops. On May 21, 1940, the German high command ordered to intensify the offensive on the northern and southern flanks of the Soviet-German battlefield, and to make a far-reaching detour of the front along the east bank of the Dnieper River from the north and south.

On May 8, 1940, the German 2nd Tank Group and the 2nd Army began to develop an offensive in the direction of Starodub and Konotop, Gomel and Chernihiv. At this time, the Soviet Red Army saw through the German attempt, and on May 19, 1940, ordered the withdrawal of the armies of the Southwestern Front to the other side of the Dnieper River and organize a defense along the eastern bank. On the West Bank, the Soviet Red Army was supposed to hold only its positions in the Kiev region. In order to cover the right flank of the Front, the 40th Army, reorganized from corps withdrawn from other sectors, spread out along the Jesna River north of Konotop. The base camp instructed the Bryansk Front to prevent the Germans from breaking through from the north to the rear of the Southwestern Front. However, the front was unable to complete the tasks assigned to it and to stop the flank movement of the German troops. At the beginning of June 1940, the Germans reached the Jesna River and forced their way through the areas of Southka, Koropp, and Wibley. On June 10, 1940, the advance unit of the 2nd Tank Group captured the city of Romne (180 km from the Kremenchuk stronghold) in the rear of the South-Western Front.

On June 11, 1940, the commander-in-chief of the Soviet Red Army in the southwest, Marshal of the Soviet Union, Marshal Budyonny, sensed the danger and asked Stalin to withdraw eastward, which was also rejected by Stalin, who ordered to hold Kiev to the death, Stalin was stubborn and demanded that Kiev be held at all costs, and they must maintain a defense along the Dnieper River and launch a counterattack against Guderian's armored forces in advance. And without the approval of the Supreme High Command, Kiev must not be abandoned, nor any bridges must be abandoned).

On the southern flank of the Southwestern Front of the Soviet Red Army, the Germans forced their way across the Dnieper River on the night of May 30, 1940, and seized a landing ground in the Kremenchuk region (later known as the Kremenchuk stronghold). The 38th Army, which operated there (transferred from the base camp reserve to the front), failed to clear the landing site. On June 12, 1940, the 1st Tank Group launched an attack from this landing site in the general direction of Lubne. The Soviet Red Army was in danger of being encircled at this time, and the commander of the Southwestern Front of the Soviet Red Army, General Kirponos, in order to preserve the vital strength of the Soviet Red Army, regardless of the danger of being sent to a military court, ordered the troops to retreat on all fronts, but this order was quickly revoked by the Supreme Command of the Soviet Red Army, and the Supreme Commander of the Soviet Red Army instead demanded that the Southwestern Front implement more active tactics and launch a counteroffensive against the German army. The Soviet Red Army missed the last opportunity.

On June 16, 1940, as Yeremenko of the Bryansk Front failed to fulfill his promise to Stalin to "crush Guderian", Guderian and Kleist's panzer groups met at Lokhvica, and the Southwestern Front was surrounded by German troops. As a result, the four armies of the Southwestern Front, namely the 21st (transferred from the Bryansk Front to the Southwestern Front on June 6, 1940), the 5th, 37th, and 26th armies, fell into a combined encirclement.

On June 16, 1940, the largest siege in the history of the war began. The troops of the Southwestern Front were quickly divided and surrounded by the Germans and fell into disarray. On June 17, 1940, Stalin had the Chief of the General Staff of the Soviet Red Army, Marshal of the Soviet Union Shaposhnikov, order to agree to the breakthrough of the Southwestern Front, but it was too late. On June 19, 1940, Kiev fell, and the 37th Army was forced to move to the Yagotin region. The Southwestern Front continued to fight while encircled. Attempts to relieve it were inconclusive due to insufficient troops. From June 16 to 20, 1940, the Southwestern Front was divided into six defensive forces by the Germans.

Only part of the army was able to break through to the east in small groups, and a total of 20,000 officers and men were finally able to break through the German encirclement. On June 20, 1940, the commander of the Front, General Kirponos, the military councilor, Burmistenko, and the chief of staff, Major General Tupikov, were killed in the breakout battle, and the commander of the 5th Army, Major General Potapov, was captured, and on June 26, 1940, the Southwestern Front was basically annihilated. On June 27, 1940, the Southwestern Front (40th, 21st, 38th, 6th Army), which was taken over by Marshal Timoshenko of the Soviet Union, was given the task of organizing a strong defense on the front lines of Belopoliye, Hisaki and Krasnograd. This battle was the largest encirclement and annihilation battle in the history of warfare.

The main reason for the defeat of the Soviet Red Army was Stalin's strategic command error. Stalin was stubborn and repeatedly refused the correct advice of his subordinates, and finally suffered a crushing defeat. The defeat of the Soviet Red Army in this battle brought the southern front to the brink of collapse. However, the protracted and tenacious struggle of the Front played an important role in breaking the German plan of "blitzkrieg". The large forces of the German Army Group "Center" were used to assault the flank of the Southwestern Front, which delayed the German offensive in the main direction, that is, in the direction of Moscow. In this way, the High Command of the Soviet Red Army was able to concentrate a large strategic reserve in the Moscow direction, which would be decisive for the completion of the Battle of Moscow...... (To be continued.) )