June 1941

Eastern Front

The 3rd Motorized Division crosses the Dvina south of the 8th Panzer's bridgehead, consolidating the crossing at Daugavpils. Following his victory at Rasainiai, Reinhardt also moves forward rapidly. In spite of Soviet rearguard actions, the XLI Panzer pushes as quickly as it can across country for the Dvina at Jekabpils. The broken XII Mechanized Corps attempts to erect defensive position on the Musha River.

With the LVI Panzer Corps already installed on the Dvina, Hitler begins to meddle in the affairs at the front, ordering the XLI Panzer Corps to move up to the river behind the LXVI Panzer Corps. Krustpils is the be seized at the same time by the infantry of the 18th Army. Leeb, realizing the futility of this order, 'accidentally' fails to change Reinhardt's axis of advance and so he continues on to Jekabpils.

On the left wing of Army Group North, the 18th Army penetrates deeper into the Baltic States, but elements are still held up at Libau. Repeated attacks are repelled and artillery bombardment fails to dislodge the garrision. Farther inland, the infantry of the 16th Army mops up in the rear of the 4th Panzer Group but remains far behind the panzers.

As the Soviet defenses crumble, Timoshenko orders Kuznetsov to pull his armies back upon the 27th Army positions along the Dvina.

The final nail is hammered into the coffin around the West Front as the 2nd and 3rd Panzer Groups link up near Minsk. The meeting of the two German panzer groups seal Pavlov's fate as the greater part of the 3rd, 10th, 4th and 13th Armies are cut off between Bialystok and Minsk. There are three Soviet groups inside the pocket, two, each of 6 divisons, at Bialystok and Volkovysk consisting in the main of Kuznetsov's 3rd and Golubev's 10th Armies while the third, larger group of 15 divisions, is situated between Novgrudock and Minsk and consists of other elements of the 3rd Army, most of Filatov's 13th Army na dpart of Korobkov's 4th Army plus other miscellaneous units that Pavlov has thrown into the inferno. Pavlov orders that the line of the Berezina be held at all costs. The loss of Slutsk continues the collapse of the 4th Army.

Around the perimeter of the pocket, the infantry of the 9th and 4th Armies march hard as they consolidate the gains made by the panzers. Fierce attacks are launched against the thin corridor connecting the Soviet pockets around Bialystok and Volkhvysk, with heavy casualties being inflicted upon the Soviet units.

As the disaster unfolds, Timoshenko orders Budenny to move his headquarters forward to Smolensk, taking Lukin's 16th Army under his command. The 16th is at Smolensk. The 24th and 28th Armies are also ordered to form up to the rear, about 100 miles east of the reserve line.

The Soviet attack toward Dubno from the northeast with the XIX Mechanized and XXXVI Rifle Corps is completely disrupted when the Luftwaffe arrives over the battlefield to pound the attacking forces. The IX Mechanized attempts to coordinate its attack with the XIX, but in heavy fighting loses contact with its neighbor. A mobile group of the VIII Mechanized strikes from the southwest and succeeds in breaking through the German defenses, advancing as fast as it can toward Dubno. The attack is held up, however, by air attacks and intense fire from the 16th Panzer Division. With Soviets jabbing at the flanks of the 1st Panzer Group, in the center Weitersheim's XIV Panzer Corps continues its bitter battle with the 16th Army near Shepetovka.

On the northern wing of the army group, Reichenau's 6th Army attacks deep into the positions of the 5th Army. On the southern wing, Stuplnagel's 17th Army moves closer to Lvov, and the withdrawal of Muzychenko's 6th and Kostenko's 26th Armies begins. As the XLIX Mountain and LII Corps provide diversionary attacks to the south, the IV Corps attempts to storm the city with its 5 divisions, forcing the defenders of the city to decide between certain destruction or defeat. The 6th Army begins the abandonment of its positions.

Hungary declares war on the Soviet Union claiming Soviet aircraft had bombed the frontier.