MOSCOW, KIEV or LENINGRAD? Decision that determined the outcome of WW2, 20.8.41 - SS Div REICH Pt 21

In late summer it seemed to the soldiers of the SS Division Reich that after resting after a long period of almost constant combat, they'd finally spearhead the advance towards Moscow which would end the war.

18.8.1941

The process of being relieved begins with the coming of darkness. A heavy thunder storm opens up and makes the experience throughly unpleasant. Wet as dogs we arrive to a nearby town not far from the front. Since we’ll be staying the night, we lay everything out in front of large open fireplaces to dry. The following morning we are up early and head in the direction of Westniki bei Roslawl.

20.8

At dawn we arrive to our destination and, being responsible for organizing our living accommodations for the area around Smolensk, I move on ahead and prepare for the arrival of the unit. The Company follows at 900 hrs. About 20 KM to the north east of Smolensk we find an appropriate area containing various villages where we set up camp for the 2nd Battalion. The 8th Company sets up its tents on top of a cleared hill next to a village and all the vehicles are parked in dilapidated barns and empty stalls. The weather is beautiful, however still exceedingly hot.

Since the nearby fields are ready for harvest and there are few men around to do the work, the battalion commander orders us to help organize and harvest the wheat fields. The residents of the villages are brought together and experience for the first time the efficiency German methods of organizing work. The work schedule is set up and each village is to receive 10 kg of flower each day for the work. The villagers have trouble understanding the tradeoff since the work they’d always done in the collective farms was not paid back in any kind of meaningful way. Once understood however they worked hard all the while singing and laughing as if there was no war going on around them. Our men were also happy to be involved in doing work that was non-related to the war. Within 10 days the entire harvest is brought in.

During these days it’s been possible to get a better understanding of the Russian people. There are youths that had been receiving German language lessons that can be communicated with and much of our time together is spent talking. In the evenings after the days work is finished we begin holding discussions related to political ideologies. The initial mistrust we’ve been able to overcome and the stereotypes they have of us are ridiculous.

For example, one of the young women was asked what she thought of the German soldiers. Her answer was that they were generally liked because they always seemed happy and were often singing and laughing. There was however something that they didn’t understand and only after some gentle convincing did one of the women open up. “Why don’t the German soldiers come in the evening to be with the young Russian women? Don’t they . . do that?” My answer, that German soldiers only go with German women, confused them. They contemplated the meaning for a long time in silence. The following morning one of them asked to see a photograph of a German woman. The photo I showed was an instant sensation and was passed around among the women. One named Katja exclaimed that she wanted to learn German as quickly as possible and then to move to Germany to work and so, one day, be able to look like a German woman.

Since the beginning of Barbarossa, the German Wehrmacht had gained much territory in the Soviet Union but the enemy’s ability to resist had not been broken. In fact there were indications that its strength was growing. On August 19-20th, with summer coming to an end, the German High Command was at a crossroads. Their three main options were to take Leningrad which would allow the German and Finnish forces to link up and secure the entire northern front. They could then continue the advance to the south east into the central regions without the danger of being outflanked.

Their second option was to advance on Moscow. Some believed that taking the Soviet capital would end the war. Moscow was also the central hub of their rail network and its elimination would certainly cause logistical chaos for the enemy on all fronts.

Option 3 was to win a decisive battle to the south around Kiev which would open up the Crimea, endanger the industrial region of the Donez and put the oil rich Caucasus region within striking distance.

During these days of rest, it’s understandable that the close proximity of Kurt’s regiment Der Führer to the Minsk - Moscow highway indicated that the German High Command was preparing for the final push on Moscow and that the SS Division “Reich” would play a central role. Surely, as a precondition, the elements of the division that had remained to the south would soon be arriving.

Little did they know the decision had been made and on August 20th orders were arriving that would send the division south.