July 1941

Eastern Front

With the collapse of its positions south of Tallinn and the rapid advance of the German 18th Army, the 8th Armi begins to dig in around Tallinn. Kuchler quickly moves to invest the city, some 23,000 men having fallen back into Tallinn, while the remnants of the 8th Army fell to Narva, hotly pursued by additional elements of the 18th Army. With the XLI Panzer Corps already across the Luga at Kingisepp, Ivanov has a difficult time trying to fight his way through to Leningrad.

The LXI Rifle Corps attempts to break out of Mogilev, pushing toward Mstislavl and Roslavl. Elements of the XLV Rifle Corps fight their way east across the Sozh and link up with the XIII Mechanized Corps.

With the panzer groups dispersing, Kluge's 4th Panzer Army is disbanded, the headquarters of the 4th Army becoming an active infantry formation once again. This allows the 2nd Army headquarters to take command of those infantry units in support of the 2nd Panzer Group. Effectively, a new German infantry army enters the order of battle.

Kostenko, having regrouped the 26th Army, counterattacks from the Dniepr and crashes into the exposed flank of the 1st Panzer Group between Kiev and Cherkassy. In an effort to fend off this new Soviet thrust, Schwedler's IV Corps marches to the relief of the armor and tackles Kostenko. Ferocious fighting follows, but the Germans easily bring the Soviets to a halt. Bloody battles rage through as Kostenko launches repeated attacks with wave upon wave of infantry, unsupported by either aircraft or armor. On the southern wing of the Southwest Front, the 17th Army launces a concerted attack against the Sovie forces that are becoming compressed in the Uman sector.

As these battles develop, the Stavka instruct Tyulenev to ensure the protection of Odessa and prevent its premature captue by the advancing Rumanian 4th Army. Rear-Adm Zhukov is placed in command of the landward defenses of the port.