The Gap

As the 14th Panzer Division punched through and rushed past the Soviet defenses on the Bug River, a gap opened between the 24th and 262nd Infantry Divisions of the 17th Army. The Soviets surprised the Germans with their tenacity, inflicting …

1941-06-23

AtB03

As the 14th Panzer Division punched through and rushed past the Soviet defenses on the Bug River, a gap opened between the 24th and 262nd Infantry Divisions of the 17th Army. The Soviets surprised the Germans with their tenacity, inflicting heavy losses on the Germans. The 296th Infantry Division was brought forward to close the hole and stabilize the line. Elements of the 520th Infantry Regiment must root out Soviet forces, some hidden, and secure the road to the north.

Przemysl, Poland

The Battle of Białystok–Minsk was a German strategic operation conducted by the Wehrmacht's Army Group Centre under Field Marshal Fedor von Bock during the penetration of the Soviet border region in the opening stage of Operation Barbarossa, lasting from 22 June to 9 July 1941. The Army Group's 2nd Panzer Group under Colonel General Heinz Guderian and the 3rd Panzer Group under Colonel General Hermann Hoth decimated the Soviet frontier defenses, defeated all Soviet counter-attacks and encircled four Soviet Armies of the Red Army's Western Front near Bialystok and Minsk by 30 June. The majority of the Western Front was enclosed within, and the pockets were liquidated by 9 July. The Red Army lost 420,000 men against Wehrmacht casualties of somewhat over 12,157. The Germans destroyed the Soviet Western Front in 18 days and advanced 460 kilometers into the Soviet Union, causing many to believe that the Germans had effectively won the war against the Soviet Union.

Wikipedia: Battle of Biaystok-Minsk

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