In June 1941, Batov was in command of the 9th Separate Rifle Corps, which comprised the 106th and 156th Rifle Divisions and the 32nd Cavalry Division, with a total strength of about 35,000 men. This corps was the only major Red Army formation in the Crimea at the outbreak of Operation Barbarossa, and Batov had arrived at its headquarters in Simferopol just two days earlier. Later in 1941, he was made deputy commander of the 51st Army, and following the evacuation of that army from the Kerch Peninsula he rose again to full command. Although the Crimea had been lost, Batov was exonerated by Stalin.