Last time we spoke about Day 3 of Operation Barbarossa, the encirclement of Bialystok-Minsk. The relentless German advance caught the Soviet forces off guard. As Army Group Center surged forward, equipped with nearly 1,500 Luftwaffe aircraft, they aimed to encircle Soviet armies. They swiftly captured vital positions, overcoming initial defenses with shocking ease. However, despite early successes, logistical challenges began to stifle their momentum, revealing cracks in their operational capabilities. The Soviet response, though disorganized, showcased unexpected resilience as they regrouped and launched counterattacks. The chaos within Soviet command hindered coordinated efforts, resulting in heavy losses during futile counteroffensives. Ultimately, the Germans achieved a substantial operational victory, encircling massive Soviet forces at Bialystok-Minsk, one of the largest encirclements in military history. The clash at Bialystok-Minsk marked a turning point in the campaign, revealing the grim realities of warfare and setting the stage for future confrontations as the Eastern Front unfolded. This episode is: Day 4 Operation Barbarossa: Chaos in Ukraine Well hello there, welcome to the Easter 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.  Well hello again, we are now in day four of Operation Barbarossa. In this podcast we are going to now focus on Army Group South, who find themselves in a large campaign in Ukraine. Conquering Ukraine was critical to not just Operation Barbarossa, but Germany’s entire war plans. A critical challenge for the motorized supply system of operation barbarossa was the availability of fuel. Just nine days before the campaign began, Halder was informed of Germany’s oil reserves. He was warned that "fuel supplies will be exhausted by autumn," with aviation fuel projected to drop to half and regular fuel down to only a quarter of what was needed. Diesel and heating oil would be at just half of the required levels. Since the planning stages of Operation Barbarossa, the Wehrmacht’s operations department had been monitoring the declining oil stocks. They tried to advocate for economic goals, particularly focusing on the Soviet oil-producing region in the Caucasus. This meant that part of Army Group South needed to advance towards the Donets region and then on to Krasnodar and Maykop-Grozny. In line with these objectives, the War Economic Staff sent a request to the 17th Army back on June 12, urging the swift occupation of the oil-rich region of Drogobycz in Galicia. However, Halder rejected this request, writing in his diary the next day: "Political Questions I refuse to allow economic considerations to influence the operational direction." This not only underscored the urgency of Germany’s fuel shortage, according to the War Economic Staff, but also highlighted Halder’s commitment to his operational strategy, dismissing objectives he deemed unrelated to defeating the Soviet Union. Such thinking would prove detrimental to the German war effort.  Army Group South was backed by the 4th Air Fleet under Colonel General Löhr, which included the 4th and 5th Air Corps. This Air Fleet was equipped with approximately 392 light bombers and 248 fighters. Among these aircraft were the Ju-87 Stukas, the Lu