From the beginning of Operation Barbarossa on 22 June 1941, Arkhipov fought in the Battle of Brody and the First Battle of Kiev. From August he commanded the 10th Tank Regiment of the 10th Tank Brigade, and in December became brigade deputy commander. Appointed commander of the 109th Tank Brigade, forming in Voronezh, in April 1942, Arkhipov led it as part of the 16th Tank Corps of the Bryansk Front in defensive battles west of Livny during June and July, during which it was surrounded for three days. In mid-August, the 109th was relocated to the Stalingrad Front, participating in counterattacks on German troops who broke through to the Volga northwest of Stalingrad in the Kotluban region with the 1st Guards Army, then in defensive battles in the sector. With the beginning of Operation Uranus, the brigade fought in the Vertyachy sector. In January 1943, the 109th was sent to the Central Front, fighting in attacks toward Fatezh and Krasny Sevsk.