Battles of Rzhev
II./KG 54, the only unit of the "Geschwader" to operate on the front after Barbarossa. From Königsberg, the group transferred to Orsha, to support "Fliegerkorps" VIII in Army Group Centre's sector. On 24 January it attacked the Soviet 39th Army at Mologino in the Battles of Rzhev until late March 1942, interdicting rail traffic in the Kalinin and Toropets sectors. On 5/6 April 1942, it bombed the aircraft engine plant at Rybinsk, north-northeast of Moscow. Operations for May are largely unknown; it took part in security warfare operations near Dorogobuzh on 3 June and armed reconnaissance over Tula on 10/11 June.