Last time we spoke about how the Germans had underestimated the Soviets. General Fedor von Bock’s forces captured Smolensk, yet the Red Army, led by Marshal Semyon Timoshenko, fiercely defended their territory, demonstrating an unexpected resilience despite heavy losses. Struggles for control intensified around Kyiv, as logistical issues plagued the Germans. Their supply lines grew thinner, causing unrest among troops facing devastating casualties. Amidst desperate counteroffensives, the Soviets mobilized millions, revealing the vastness of their manpower and determination. By mid-August, German command recognized a grim truth: they had underestimated the "Russian colossus." What started as a confident assault evolved into a prolonged struggle where victory was no longer assured. The Germans were stretched thin, while the Soviets regrouped, heralding a change in the tides of war that would resonate through the Eastern Front.

This episode is The Battle for Kyiv Begins

Well hello there, welcome to the Eastern Front week by week podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about world war two? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel you can find a few videos all the way from the Opium Wars of the 1800’s until the end of the Pacific War in 1945. 

The Red army was exhausted as she entered her third week of being invaded by Nazi Germany. However she was striking back where she could, and little by little it seemed like she was chipping at the armor of the allegedly invincible Wehrmacht. We left off last week with Army Group North advancing towards Leningrad while also attacking Vatutin. Meanwhile Guderian began a turn southwards as the Red Army frantically tried to fill gaps in their lines north of Kyiv. In June, the Soviet Air Force, known as the VVS, suffered a devastating setback. Throughout July, their operations were able to continue, but only due to their reserve aircraft and the Luftwaffe's challenge in covering such a vast front. Although the vast majority of this reserve was made up of old planes, sheer numbers allowed the Soviet Airforce to continue the fight and cover most of the front. On August 7th, they launched a long-range bombing mission targeting the heart of Nazi Germany, Berlin, the political center of the Third Reich. In a desperate bid to halt Army Group North's advance, the Soviet military committed all available resources. The Soviet Naval Staff devised a daring strategy, determining that their best chance of success lay in launching Ilyushin DB-3T torpedo bombers from a small island off the coast of Estonia, nestled in the Baltic Sea.

Strategists calculated that if the twin-engine bombers were loaded with approximately 3,000 kilograms of fuel and no more than 750 kilograms of bombs, they could undertake an 1,800-kilometer round trip to Berlin with 10-15% of reserve fuel remaining. However, this approach meant the pilots would lack the extra fuel necessary for evasive maneuvers when facing German defenses, including anti-aircraft fire and intercepting fighters. The only viable option was to fly at high altitudes in a straight line both to and from their targets, which significantly compromised the accuracy of their bombardments. Tactical precision was, however, not the primary goal of the Berlin raid.

On August 2nd, fully loaded Soviet DB-3T bombers set off from the makeshift airfield to test the feasibility of using such an airstrip. The test revealed that skilled pilots could indeed take off under such challenging conditions. Then, on the night of August 4th, five Soviet aircraft embarked on a reconnaissance flight over Berlin, departing from the island airstrip. The Germans had established a formidable anti-aircraft perimeter that extended 100 kilometers around their capital, complete with powerful spotlights capable of illuminating an area of 6,000 cubic meters. Remarkably, the Soviet planes successfully traversed Berlin without detection. The pilots were now ready for an audacious bombing raid.

On the evening of August 7th, 1941, fifteen Ilyushin DB-3T torpedo bombers from the Baltic Fleet ascended into the sky, heading straight for the German capital. With Soviet fighters lacking the range to escort them, altitude became their sole defense. Surprisingly, the German military did not anticipate such a mission originating from the Soviet Union. In fact, despite previous small-scale bombing raids by the British, Nazi propaganda perpetuated the belief among German citizens that there was no threat from the East, insisting that the Soviet Air Force had been decimated following Operation Barbarossa. The idea of a Soviet bombing raid on Berlin in the summer of 1941 seemed almost unfathomable to the German military leaders and Nazi officials.

At that time, Berlin's streets were illuminated by the warm glow of apartment windows and streetlights, as blackouts were not enforced. The clear night of August 7th allowed the Soviet bombers to navigate directly toward the heart of the city. Approaching their targets from an altitude of 7,000 meters, the bombers encountered no anti-aircraft fire, and the searchlights remained dormant. As the bomb bay doors swung open, over 11,000 kilograms of bombs cascaded through the night sky, raining down upon central Berlin. With their loads released, the aircraft, now significantly lighter, turned to return to Estonia. The stillness of the night at 7,000 meters was suddenly shattered by the explosion of anti-aircraft shells. Miraculously, the Soviet bombers returned unscathed, accomplishing their mission. Initially, the German propaganda machine claimed that British RAF planes had conducted the raid, reporting six downed aircraft. This narrative was quickly refuted by newspapers in the UK, forcing the German government to reluctantly concede that it was, in fact, Soviet aircraft that had struck Berlin.

While the bombing raid caused no notable damage to the German capital, the Kremlin celebrated it as a major victory over the enemy, mirroring the triumphant spirit witnessed the following year when the U.S. executed the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo. In both instances, such bold strikes represented a crucial morale boost for populations that had only experienced defeat at the hands of Axis powers up to that point. The Soviet Union continued its bombing missions against Berlin, but the German defenses thereafter became ever more vigilant in preparation for the VVS bombers. The second raid, executed on August 10th, echoed a similar fate. This time, twenty-six bombers took off with a mission to strike Berlin. Of those, only six made it to the city, and tragically, just two returned to base. Nevertheless, this series of operations highlighted the VVS's resilience and growing power, a testament to their ability to conduct missions deep into enemy territory, even amidst adversity.

Throughout the early weeks of the war, the Luftwaffe struggled to recover from even the relatively mild losses it had sustained. As the conflict expanded, new aircraft production was being stretched thin across three theaters of operation. In the Mediterranean and Africa, the demand for air support grew increasingly critical as Italian forces began to falter, while British forces intensified their assaults on Axis shipping routes. If you want to hear a 10 podcast rundown of the entire Africa Campaign, might I interest you over at the Pacific War Channel for the video version or Echoes of War for the audio only version. Me and my co-host Gaurav go through the entire campaign with a lot of detail on the issue of logistics, honestly it was a fun and great series!

Now Back in Germany, the British Bomber Command initiated a campaign targeting industrial sites since the summer of 1940, during the height of the Battle of Britain. Initially, these bombing raids inflicted only minimal damage on German infrastructure and morale. It wasn’t until 1942, with the launch of the combined bomber offensive, that British attacks began to seriously threaten German capabilities. However, even at this early stage, the presence of Bomber Command’s operations required the Luftwaffe to divert fighters and anti-aircraft installations that could have been deployed elsewhere. This constant need for defensive resources added pressure on the Luftwaffe, making it increasingly difficult to maintain a balanced and effective response across all fronts.

On the Eastern Front, the conflict was intensifying as the Soviet Air Force began to recover from the initial shock of invasion. The Red Army demanded more air support across broader fronts than ever before, pushing the limits of their already strained resources. As the front lines advanced, the Air Corps found themselves moving squadrons further away from their well-equipped bases. The forward airfields they established were often little more than dirt strips, making supply logistics a daunting challenge for the Luftwaffe, just as it was for the army. In the vast, undeveloped areas where they were forced to operate, spare parts, fuel, and even medical attention for pilots and crew members became increasingly scarce. By the third week of August, as the assault on Leningrad intensified, the 1st and 8th Air Corps had been conducting nonstop missions for weeks. They targeted VVS airfields and rail lines leading into the city, provided crucial close air support, and attempted to disrupt concentrations of