July 1941

Eastern Front

Dietl renews his attack on the Litsa line. Initial gains secure a minor bridgehead across the river, but the 52nd Rifle Division then manages to contain the German attack. Heavy fighting will continue along the river line for the next two weeks with any further gains by the Germans.

Manstein's LVI Panzer Corps stalls in the difficult terrain between the Velikaya River and Lake Ilmen. After two gruelling days, the entire corps is forced to backtrack to Ostrov. Reinhardt's XLI Panzer Corps continues to maneuver in the Luga area but is unable to cross the river.

Hoth's 3rd Panzer Group, together with Strauss's 9th Army, unleashes a new assault, pushing the LVII Panzer Corps north of Polotsk and Nevel in order to strike at those Soviet forces Hitler believes are building up at Velikiye Luki. As it happens, however, this is nothing more than Ershakov's 22nd Army re-forming after its costly seried of battles along the line of the Dvina River. The XXXIX Panzer Corps simultaneously advances from Vitebsk in the direction of Smolensk.

Guderian's 2nd Panzer Group successfully throws its full weight into the attack across the Dniepr and forces back Remezov's 13th Army Elements of the XLVI and XLVII Panzer Corps force the river at Shklov and Kopys, while the XXIV Panzer exploits its already established bridgehead in the direction of Roslavl.

Potapov's 5th Army continues to fight on in isolation around Korosten, being heavily engaged with the infantry of the German 6th Army. Bitter fighting rages close to Novgorod Volynsky as the Soviet counterattacks continue. The 13th Panzer Division of the III Panzer Corps, being followed closely by the 25th Motorized and 14th Panzer Divisions, reach the Irpen River 10 miles west of Kiev, but is inexplicably halted by an order from Hitler.

Muzychenko's 6th Army continues holding the line from Berdichev to Ostropol in an effort to slow the German advance, while the 26th and 12th Armies fight determinedly on the line Ostropol to Bar. Between the 5th and 6th Armies the bulk of Kleist's 1st Panzer Group pushes east through a 40 mile void.

With the situation at the front increasingly desperate, the Stavka sets about raising a new Front of Reserve Armies under the command of Lt-Gen I. A. Bogdanov. This new formation will consist of the yet to be raised 29th, 30th, 24th, 28th, 31st and 32nd Armies and will be arrayed on a long line running north to south before Moscow, the 29th, 30th, 24th and 28th Armies in the first echelon, the remainder in the second.