Chronology of World War II

August 1941

Saturday, August 2nd


Eastern Front

The advance guards of Army Group North begin to attack Staraya Russa just south of Lake Ilmen on the right of their drive toward Leningrad.

In the southern sector the Italian Pasubio and Torino Divisions are sent into the line.

NORTHERN SECTOR

Busch's 16th Army fights its way along the southern shore of Lake Ilmen and cuts a salient into the right flank of the 34th Army. The Soviets battle to bar the road to Staraya Russa.

CENTRAL SECTOR

To support the attacks fo the XXIV Panzer Corps around Roslavl, the IX Corps launches its attack from the Oster River.

SOUTHERN SECTOR

After an aruduous march the 11th Panzer Division of the 1st Panzer Group links up with the 101st Jaeger Division of the 17th Army at Dobrianska, southeast of Uman. The 16th Panzer Division also links up with Hungarian troops at Pervomaisk, encircling the 6th and 12th Armies and part of the 18th Army between Uman and Pervomaisk, a total force of over 200,000 Soviet troops. Budenny immediately orders the 26th Army to counterattack toward Boguslav and Zvenigorodka to relieve the pocket. German forces also capture Kirovograd.

The isolation of the Soviet armies around Uman and Smolensk scratched close to a million Soviet soldiers and massive quantities of equipment from the Soviet order of battle. Despite desperated relief attempts, the Red Army effectively has to strike from its strength nearly a third of its original operational strength. However, the sheer scale of the victory was in itself a problem for the Ostheer. Determined Soviet units were able to break out to the east as the Germans found it difficult to seal the pockets with their increasingly overstretched manpower resources. The lack of motorization among German infantry division was clearly evident as the exhausted Landser struggled to cover the vast distanced to catch up with the armored units.
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Occupied France

Fate of Louis Berrier


fate of Louis Berrier
We only know about the fate of Louis Berrier because the Germans chose to make an English version of this poster for use on the Channel Islands.
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United States, Home Front

Rayon, imported mainly from Japan, is rationed.

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United States, Politics

The US and the Soviet Union reach an agreement on Lend-Lease aid which will increase Russia's ability to replace war weapons that have been lost to this point.

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[August 1st - August 3rd]