July 1941

Eastern Front

The 4th Panzer Group steps up the attack from the Dvina but encounters difficult terrain which slows the advance. Rather than pushing directly along the main railway axes, the German panzers are trying to break across country. This tactic falls flat, however, in heavily wooded and marshy terrain. Despite these difficulties though, the Soviet 8th, 27th and 11th Armies are again crumbling with the front command at Pskov losing contact with its combat units.

General resistance in the Bialystok pocket ends, with only small fanatical pockets continuing to hold out against the 9th and 2nd Armies. The greater part of the Soviet 3rd and 10th Armies have been destroyed, while remnants of the 13th and 14th Armies continue fighting outside the pockets. The Luftwaffe launch crushing attack against the few remaining active units inside the cauldron, inflicting heavy casualties upon the disorganized forces.

On northern wing of the main combat line the 19th Panzer Division forces a crossing of the Disna against determined opposition. The bulk of the 3rd and 2nd Panzer Groups are fighting along the Berezina, while the infantry of the 9th and 2nd Armies, relesed from the fighting around Minsk, march to their support.

Smirnov's 18th Army falls back before Schobert's 11th, pulling its flank back upon Libkany and Khotin as the XI Corps extends its bridgehead across the Prut. Northeast of Kishinev and near Beltsy, the 9th Army is ordered to destroy the XXX and LIV Corps bridgeheads across the Prut at Jassy and Stefanesti. Strong counterattacks by the XLVIII Rifle and the II Mechanized Corps are beaten off after fierce fighting. The story here is the same as in the northern Ukraine and Belorussia. Disorganized armored and infantry attacks are launched piecemeal only to be repelled by superior German firepower and air support. As a result, the Soviet casualties are severe.

Stalin makes hif first public broadcast to the nation since the German offensive began on June 22, calling upon the Soviet people to fight the Nazi aggressor and lead a Patriotic War against the Germans in defense of the 'Holy Soviet' motherland. By using such nationalist tones, Stalin skilfully sweeps the people of Russia into support for the war, gaining their loyalty despite the general, if secretive, unpopularity of his regime. Many people, especially those from ethnic areas such as the Ukraine and the Baltic states, remain unmoved by his plea, seeing the German invasion as an opportunity to throw off the yoke of Soviet domination and oppression. During his speech, Stalin admits that the provinces of Lithuania and western Belorussia have been lost to the Germans, whose attack was a treacherous betrayla of the 1939 Non-Aggression Pack. Furthermore, he assures the nation of support from the USA and Great Britain, while also calling for the formation of partisan bands in the occupied territories and the implementation of a scorched earth policy as the Germans continue to advance. Partisan forces begin to gather in order to fight the Nazis at the front and rear.

In an additional order, all males between the ages of 16 and 60 are called up for military service and women between 18 and 50 become eligible to serve the state. Behind the scenes, Stalin begins to reorganize the Stavka and the GKO.