The Battle of Vyazma-Briansk was a battle fought on the Eastern Front of World War II in 1941, involving the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, and was part of the former's Operation Barbarossa.
The Wehrmacht were victorious. Together with the Battle of Bialystock and the Battle of Kiev, over two million soldiers in the Red Army became German prisoners of war, more than the Germans knew how to deal with. The number of prisoners eclipsed the size of the entire British Army.
Propagandists back in Germany reported on these great successes, but were instructed to tone their reports down after people stopped believing them. (PROSE: Just War)