 By mid @-@ July , the Germans had advanced within a few kilometers of Kiev below the Pripyat Marshes . The 1st Panzer Group then went south while the 17th Army struck east and trapped three Soviet armies near Uman . As the Germans eliminated the pocket , the tanks turned north and crossed the Dnieper . Meanwhile , the 2nd Panzer Group , diverted from Army Group Center , had crossed the Desna River with 2nd Army on its right flank . The two Panzer armies now trapped four Soviet armies and parts of two others . 
