July 1941

Eastern Front

The Soviets reinforce their defenses on the Litsa River. The Germans have abandoned their attack for the moment.

Reinhardt's XLI Panzer Corps enters Pskov. Soviet losses are severe as the XLI Rifle Corps fights a bitter defensive action around the town. Sobennikov orders the armor of the I Mechanized Corps to support the hard-presssed rifle forces, but under Luftwaffe attacks the tanks have a rough time moving into battle.

Army Group Center destroys the bulk of the Soviet forces trapped in the Minsk pocket. The 10th, 3rd, 4th and part of the 13th Armies have all been destroyed, but cadres of each unit have fought their way east, so that newly formed armies can be created to fight another day. Already the 13th and 4th Armies are in the process of being reformed and have elements in the line.

Soviet losses during the frontier battle in Belorussia have been disastrous. 290,000 prisoners have been taken with 2,500 tanks and 1,500 artillery pieces being destroyed or captured. It is estimated that 22 rifle divisions and 7 tank divisions have been wiped from the Soviet order of battle, along with 6 mechanized brigades. Thousands of Soviet soldiers, possibly as many as 100,000, have been killed during the fighting. Total Soviet losses are estimated to be in the region of half a million men. When considering that at the beginning of the battle the West Front numbered 630,000 men, the defeat has been colossal.

To the east, the Germans continue their advance in spite of all that Timoshenko has tried to throw in their way. The XXXIX Panzer Corps is involved in heavy fighting near Vitebsk, but maneuvers successfully to strike the flanks of the 22nd and 20th Armies. Just as the attack hits the Soviet line, Koniev's 19th Army moves up running headlong into the Germans. The leading German troops push into Vitebsk become involved in furious street battles with Koniev's fresh troops. The fighting leaves the greater part of the city in ruins with fires raging out of control in many of its historic buildings. Sebezh falls to flanking elements of the LVII Panzer Corps, which breaks free from the Dvina while Polotsk falls after a protracted battle with the 22nd Army.

At Senno the V and VII Mechanized Corps attack repeatedly but fail to break through the junction of the 2nd and 3rd Panzer Groups.

The 16th Panzer Division overcome the rearguards of Muzychenko's 6th Army at Starokonstantinovka, while the 11th Panzer is involved in heavy fighting at Berdichev.

Kirponos, still aware of the importance of halting the German armor on the road to Kiev, begins a new counterattack in an effort to halt the German advance and close the gap between the 5th and 6th Armies. The 5th Army counterattacks with the XL, IX, XIX and XXII Mechanized and XXXI Rifle Corps to the northwest of Kiev but meets strong resistance from the III Panzer Corps and the infantry of the 6th Army. The bulk of these Soviet units has been severely worn down by the fighting during June, the XXII Mechanized having just 20 tanks left and the IX only 64 tanks.