June 1941

Eastern Front

Kuchler's 18th Army continues to advance through the shattered Soviet border forces. Elements on the Baltic coast cross the border into Latvia as they drive north.

Manstein's XVI Panzer Corps advances along the road to Kaunas with his forward elements being only 80 miles from the Dvina River, the first objective of the campaign. In an effort to stop the German thrust, Kuznetsov launches a hasty counterattack with elements of the III Mechanized Corps as the Germans cut across their line of maneuver. Poor coordination results in the loss of more than 70 tanks to the counter fire of the LVI Panzer Corps and its Luftwaffe support. After this brief action, Manstein resumes his advance reaching Kedainiai late in the day.

Kuznetsov's order of the previous day, calling for the III and XII Mechanized Corps to move to the aid of the 11th Army, brings Soviet armor into contact with Reinhardt's XLI Panzer Corps near Rasainiai. In an effort to avoid the attention of the ever-present Luftwaffe, Kuznetsov orders his armor to approach in small groups. Unfortunately this means they enter the battle piecemeal, losing advantage of greater numbers. The XII Mechanized suffers particularly heavy losses to the attacks of the 1st Air Fleet as they move down from Siauliai. In a short time, the narrow roads are littered with the wreckage of the Soviet corps, disabled tanks, armored cars and trucks marking the route to the front. The 28th Tank Division is the only unit to engage the Germans, attacking the 1st Panzer Division but suffering heavy losses. The III Mechanized Corps throws its force into the attack from the southeast. With rifle units in support, the III fails to make any gains, losing 40 tanks and an equal number of artillery pieces in heavy fighting with the 6th Panzer Div. As the fighting develops, the XLI Panzer Corps is hard pressed to prevent the Soviet forces from pushing it back through sheer weight of numbers.

As these dramatic events unfold, the infantry of the 16th Army march into the void left by the retreating Soviet 11th Army. Morozov makes the problem on the southern wing of the Northwest Front worse by ordering his army to fall back upon Kaunas and then Ionava. Rear guard units are left behind by the Soviets to slow the German advance. Despite this, Busch's men make steady progress toward the Nieman.

Gen Dmitry Pavlov's West Front struggles under the hammer blows of von Bock's Army Group Center. On the northern flank, after a difficult march through this forest and against stubborn defense from isolated units of NKVD border guards, Hoth's two panzer corps reach the Nieman at midday. Gen Adolf-Friedrich Kuntzen's LXVII Panzer Corps is involved in heavy fighting with Soviet tanks around Alitus, while Gen Rudolf Schmidt's XXXIX Panzer Corps is embroiled in fierce combat around Merech, on the east bank of the Nieman. Soviet tanks from the Varena training gounds launch a ferocious counterattack that erupts into a nasty fight. The Soviets are once again hit hard by a combination of firepower from German ground and air forces. After losing more than 90 tanks, the Soviet division is forced to fall back. The slow advance of the panzers through the forest west of the Nieman allow the infantry to remain close to the armor. Later in the day, as Hoth's panzer corps break free to the east, the infantry consolidates their gains and begin to push farther along the Nieman.

On the right wing of the 3rd Panzer Group, the VIII Corps takes Grodno from the IV Rifle Corps of the 3rd Army. The Soviets launch a counterattack using the XI Mechanized Corps and units of the IV Rifle Corps but they fail to dislodge the Germans. With the disintegration of the Nieman position, Gen V. I. Kuznetsov's 3rd Army is forced to retire to the southwest, away from Gen Vasily Morozov's 11th Army. Because of their divergent withdrawals, a considerable gap forms between the Northwest and West Fronts through which Hoth pushes his armor.

On the southern flank of Army Group Center, Guderian pushes his forces east from Kobrin and Pruzhany toward Slutsk. Bitter fighting erupts against elements of Gen K. D. Golubev's 10th Army who are falling back around Bialystok. To their rear, the Germans invest Brest-Litovsk.

Pavlov decides to bring up his reserves to reinforce his hard-pressed frontier armies. Lt-Gen Piyotor Filatov's 13th Army is ordered to move up to Molodechno. The 13th Army, however, is painfully short of men and even the most basic equipment. Some of the combat units are armed with gasoline bombs, nicknamed 'Molotov cocktails'. On the way to Molodechno the army picks up the remnants of two rifle divisions who had been thrown back from the center. Pavlov, unaware of the real situation, is in the process of placing his meager reserve directly inside the cauldron the Germans are throwing around his front.

The German attack from southern Poland progresses well as units of von Kleist's 1st Panzer Group advances east despite meeting stiff reistance from pockets of Soviet armor scattered throughout the region. Numerous engagements are fought by the German panzer and infantry units as they advance. Gen Mikhail Kirponos, unlike Pavlov, understands the importance of stopping the German armored thrust before it tears his entire front apart, and begins to take effective steps to confront the panzers with this own formidable armored forces. Near Lutsk and Radekhov sporadic tank battles flare up. During the afternoon the 11th Panzer Division takes Berestechko which rips apart the junction of the 5th and 6th Armies enabling the Germans to move up to the Styr River.

Despite the failure of his efforts to stop the German assault, Kirponos continues preparations for an armored counterattack. North and east of Brody and near Radekhove, armor is earmarked for the planned counterattack. Kirponos knows that any unsupported armored attack will fail and he allocates rifle corps from his reserve to support the assault. The IV, IX and XIX Mechanized Corps are ordered to attack immediately while the XV and VIII Mechanized Corps move up to the battle area.

While the panzers are involved in sporadic fighting with Soviet units, the infantry of the 6th and 17th Armies advance on each flank. The 6th Army is advancing through the difficult terrain of the Pripet Marshes north of the 1st Panzer Group. Supporting the advance of the tanks, bitter and costly battles are fought with the 5th Army. To the south, Stuplnagel's 17th Army advances slowly but steadily upon Lvov but fighting the determined rearguard actions of the 26th and 6th Armies who are trying to prevent a major German breakthrough.

As the frontier armies collapse, the Soviets begin organizing the rear. The Central Committee meets and creates the High Command Headquarters, the Stavka. Stalin is the head of the Stavka, which also includes marshals and heads of service. As part of the reorganization of the Soviet command system, the Industrial Evacuation Group is formed. They are tasked with the responsibility of moving any equipment of possible use to the Germans to the east out of range of the enemy. This group will be instrumental in the long-term survival and eventual victory of Soviet forces during the campaign in the east.