July 1944

Eastern Front

The 1st Shock Army captures Ostrov while the 42nd Army attacks Pskov, the last Russian town still in German hands.

The 2nd Tank Army crosses the Bug near Chelm and pushes on toward the Vistula, separating the 4th Panzer Army from the 2nd Army. The Stavka now orders the 1st Belorussian Front to liberate Lublin by July 26.

The XIII Corps launches a furious attack and after a bloody struggle a small force manages to escape from the pocket. However, the Russians quickly seal the hole in their line. Only a few men survive the hazardous march to reach the XLVIII Panzer Corps.

As the Soviets draw closer to Lvov, the Germans move 3 divisions up to cover the northern approaches to the city.

The steady advance of the Soviet 32nd Army reaches the Finnish border, the Finns having fallen back with heavy losses.

Almost 2 years after taking over as Chief of the Army General Staff, Gen Zeitzler is dismissed. Guderian, once again in Hitler's favor, is appointed in his place. Guderian will hold this post until the final days of the war, being drawn into the unreal atmosphere of the Führer's headquarters. Zeitzler's dismissal has largely been as a result of his advice to withdraw from Belorussian earlier in the campaign, advice hitler did not heed.