| Führer und Reichskanzler (“Leader and Reich Chancellor”) Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945) during his visit to Generalfeldmarschall Gerd von Rundstedt’s (December 12, 1875 – February 24, 1953) Army Group South headquarters in Ukraine. The same day, The Battle of Smolensk ended according to Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH). On August 5, Generalfeldmarschall Fedor von Bock (December 3, 1880 – May 4, 1945) reported that a total of 309,000 prisoners had been captured during the Battle of Smolensk at all. This number later increased to 350,000. Thus, only about 50,000 Red Army soldiers from the encircled 16th and 20th armies escaped from the “cauldron” by August 7. Hitler stayed with Army Group South Headquarters for a few hours. Chief Operations Officer of German Army Group Center Major General Henning von Tresckow (January 10, 1901 – July 21, 1944) began to plan an assassination attempt after Hitler’s visit. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1711.jpg |
| Image Size | 81.08 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 465 x 700 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | August 5, 1941 |
| Location | |
| City | Poltava |
| State or Province | Ukraine |
| Country | Soviet Union |
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| Record Number | |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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