August 1941

Eastern Front

Tallinn falls to the XXVI Corps after a ferocious struggle. Of 23,000 Soviet soldiers taken out of the city, only 5,000 reach the safety of Kronstadt. 24 of 29 transport vessels are sunk by Keller's 1st Air Fleet and mines in the Gulf of Finland.

On the approaches to Leningrad there is heavy fighting at Kolpino and at Tosno and Mga where the 12th Panzer and 20th Motorized Divisions, supported by 3 infantry divisions, move closer to the Neva.

Leeb orders the encirclement of Leningrad and the capture of the Neva crossings, and the towns of Uritsk, Pulkovo, Pushkin, Kolpino and Ishora. To achieve their targets the German forces are organized into 2 groups, the Krasnogvardievsk Group and the Slutsk-Kolpino Group. The former has the XXXVIII Corps, which has the 1st, 58th, 291st and 254th Infantry Divisions, on the left and the XLI Panzer, which has the 1st and 6th Panzer and 36th Motorized Divisions, in the center, with L Corps, which has the SS Polizei and 269th Infantry Divisions, on the right. The Krasnogvardievsk Group aims to take Krasnogvardievsk, reach the Gulf of Finland and isolate the Soviet forces west of Leningrad.

The Slutsk-Kolpino Groups has the XXVIII Corps with the 121st, 96th and 122nd Divisions and part of the 12th Panzer Division. Its task is to push along the Ishora River and capture Slutsk and Kolpino. To the east, the XXXIX Panzer Corps with the 20th Motorized and the balance of the 12th Panzer Divisions, is to widen the corridor south of Lake Ladoga and then drive east from Sinyavino. The 8th Panzer Division is held in reserve behind the XLI Panzer Corps.

The 30th Army launches a ferocious counterattack east of Velizh aimed at relieving the 22nd Army near Velikiye Luki. Initial attacks penetrate the German lines, enabling Gen Dovator to lead his Cavalry Group on a week-long raid inside German lines.

The 16th, 19th and 20th Armies continue their attacks along the Dukhovschina-Yartsevo line.

Finnish armor moves toward Viipurii, encountering resistance from the hasitly erected Soviet defenses. After a brief battle, the Finnish Southeastern Army captures Viipurii. Later in the day Kivennapa also falls.

After prolonged fighting, the XXXVI Corps reaches the old Russo-Finnish border in the Salla region. German and Finnish forces penetrate 25 miles along the road to Kandalaksha but are halted on the Verman River.