The Southland Times TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23,1941. The Fall of Kiev

Southland Times, Issue 24547, 23 September 1941, Page 4

The Southland Times TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23,1941. The Fall of Kiev

THE FALL of Kiev is the most serious reverse suffered by the Russians since their country was invaded. This city of 850,000 inhabitants, linked to Moscow by a new strategic highway, is a valuable prize for the enemy. Although it is the capital of the Ukraine it is not situated near the centre of the province, and cannot be said to dominate the industrial region. It stands on the edge of the wheat country, at the upper end of the province, and guards the outer ring of the defence system. The Germans made it one of their earliest objectives. Ten weeks ago they claimed to be “before Kiev.” At that time they were held for a fortnight in the Jitomir zone, and it was only after several drives against the city had failed that they were able to complete a movement which was probably intended to be one of the first victories of the war. According to an Italian report, the defence collapsed through “complete exhaustion.” There can be little doubt that the civil population endured severe privations; but if conditions were as bad as the Italians allege the Red Army could scarcely have carried out an orderly evacuation. Before the city was abandoned the Russians applied their scorched earth policy with devastating effect. So far, however, there is nothing in the news to suggest that the city has been made uninhabitable; it may have to be admitted that the Germans have obtained winter quarters for their troops on the southern front. They have also removed the danger of flank attacks in the two main sectors of the south, where the enemy appears to be pressing slowly forward.

The Germans are already some distance east of Kiev. On the right flank they claim to have reached the Sea of Azov, which might mean that the land approaches to the Crimea are seriously threatened. Further north they have crossed the Dnieper at several points, and according to a High Command communique these forces are linking up with columns that crossed the Desna in a thrust south-east from Gomel. The fighting here is described by the Germans as “the battle of encirclement,” and it is possible that large Russian forces have been isolated. But now that Kiev has fallen the next objective for the Germans is almost certain to be Kharkov. This city is nearly as large as Kiev; it controls the rail communications between Moscow and the Crimea, and protects the great industrial region of the Donetz basin. The Germans set out to capture Kiev, Leningrad and Moscow in the first few weeks of the war. It has taken them three months to seize the first of these strongholds. But they are at the gates of Leningrad, and if the northern and southern keys of the outer defence zone are both grasped by the invaders the position of Moscow will at once become critical. The Russians are still valiantly counterattacking on the central sector; but they do not appear to have succeeded in causing any large diversion of German troops. Nevertheless, the Red Army has suffered no vital loss of co-ordination, in spite of the confused strategic picture; and its morale seems to be amazingly high. In the absence of reliable information about the supply position it is difficult to estimate Russia’s capacity for a long resistance. But the loss of Kiev is at least a dramatic endorsement of the warnings against complacency that are now being heard in London.