Hello, and thank you for listening to The History of World War II podcast, episode

137, No Good Deed, Army Group Center.

Minsk had fallen.

Now it was time to continue on, on East by Northeast, and make for the next major target,

the small lensk.

But first, the way had to be cleared by capturing the land bridge, if you will, of the open area

in between VipTesk and Orshah to the west of small lensk.

But there was still the matter of the Stalin line.

But considering the still forming defensive lines before them, and the sheer size of the

area, Bok, the Army Group Center commander, knew he had to keep his two Panzer groups in

his possession.

But the other army groups needed help, the help of Panzers.

And keep in mind, there were no reserves to draw upon.

In time, everyone who mattered in Berlin would say at one point in the near future, that

this was the most important decision of the whole war.

Who should receive some of Army Group Center's tanks?

Leave of Army Group North or Roonstead of Army Group South.

Because the idea was to make the best decision in regards to keeping this conflict for all

the size of European Russia, a short war.

But on the other side, the Stavka was making its decisions in terms of surviving and ultimately

winning a long drawn out war.

After all, Soviet Russia had the men.

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