After Operation Barbarossa began on 22 June 1941, Yevdokimov's division was moved forward from the front reserve and assigned to the 13th Army on 24 June after the German breakthrough in the Molodechno region during the Battle of Białystok–Minsk. By 27 June his division was tasked with holding a defensive line along the Viliya River until reserves could come up. The 50th was the only organized division left in the region north of Minsk and conducted a fighting retreat to the Berezina in the following days. At the Berezina crossings, they came under air and tank attack on 5 and 6 July, suffering heavy losses.