Battle of Białystok – Minsk The Battle of Białystok – Minsk was a German strategic operation conducted by the Army Group Centre during penetration of the Soviet border region during the opening stage of Operation Barbarossa lasting from 22 June – 3 July 1941 . Its goal , the encirclement of the Red Army forces around Minsk , was accomplished . All major Russian counter - attacks and break - through attempts failed and the defenders were defeated , allowing for the Wehrmacht to take many Soviet prisoners and to further advance into the Soviet Union at a pace so swift that some believed the Germans had effectively won the war against Russia already . Prelude . Commanded by Field Marshal Fedor von Bock , Army Group Centre was tasked with attacking from Poland through the Białystok - Minsk - Smolensk axis towards Moscow . The Army Group included the 9th and 4th Armies . Its armored forces were Hoth ' s 3rd Panzer Group and Guderian ' s 2nd Panzer Group . The two infantry Armies fielded 33 divisions and the Panzer Armies fielded nine armored divisions , six motorized divisions and a cavalry division . Army Group Center could call upon " Luftflotte 2 " for air support . Facing Army Group Center was the Red Army ' s Western Front commanded by General of the Army Dmitry Pavlov . It included the 3rd , 4th , and 10th Armies along the frontier . The 13th Army was held as part of the Stavka High Command Reserve and initially existed as a headquarters unit only , with no assigned forces . All together , the Soviet Western Front had 25 rifle and cavalry divisions , 13 tank and 7 motorized divisions . The Red Army disposition in Belarus was based on the idea of an aggressive response to a German attack , carrying the war into German - occupied Poland , but suffered from weakness along the flanks , created by the line of demarcation placement following the division of Poland in 1939 . The forward placement of both German and Soviet forces in a double - bulge position enabled both sides to try the double envelopment . It was the OKH that undertook it successfully , severing most of the Soviet Western Front ' s forces from other Soviet fronts in a twin encirclement , centred on Białystok and Navahrudak , to the west of Minsk . Formations . Tanks . On 22 June 1941 , the balance of tanks over the entire area of the Soviet Western Front was as follows . The operation . The Red Army ' s salient which jutted into German occupied Polish territory with its center at Białystok was essential for OKH planning . Beyond Białystok , Minsk was a key strategic railway junction and a defensive position of the main road and rail communications with Moscow . Also caught in the German operation was part of the 11th Army of the Northwestern Front . In the north , 3rd Panzer Group attacked , cutting the 11th Army from Western Front , and crossed the Neman River . The 2nd Panzer Group crossed the Bug River and by 23 June had penetrated 60 km into Soviet territory . The Panzer Groups ' objectives were to meet east of Minsk and prevent any Red Army withdrawal from the encirclement . Operating with the Panzer Groups to encircle the Soviet forces , the 9th Army and 4th Army cut into the salient , beginning to encircle Soviet Armies around Białystok . On 23 June , the Soviet 10th Army attempted a counter - attack in accordance with pre - war planning , but failed to achieve its goals . On 24 June , General Pavlov ordered his operations officer , General Boldin , to take charge of the 6th , 11th Mechanized Corps and 6th Cavalry Corps for a counter - attack towards Hrodna to prevent the encirclement of Red Army formations near Białystok . This attack failed with heavy losses , although it may have allowed some units to escape the western encirclement towards Minsk . In the evening of 25 June , the German XLVII Panzer Corps cut between Slonim and Vawkavysk , forcing Pavlov to order the withdrawal of all troops in the salient behind the Shchara River at Slonim to avoid encirclement . Most formations could not break contact with the Germans , and due to the loss of fuel and transport assets those who could break out , had to withdraw on foot . This withdrawal opened the southern approaches of Minsk . Five days after the invasion on 27 June , the pincer of Guderian ' s 2nd Panzer Group and Hoth ' s 3rd Panzer Group closed east of Minsk . The Panzer Groups had advanced 321 km into the Soviet Union and almost a third of the distance to Moscow . It was a stunning achievement . On 28 June , the 9th and 4th German Armies linked up east of Białystok splitting the encircled Soviet forces into two pockets : a smaller Białystok pocket containing the Soviet 10th Army and a larger Navahrudak pocket containing the 3rd and 13th Armies . Ultimately , in 17 days the Soviet Western Front lost 420 , 000 personnel from a total of 625 , 000 . On 26 June Minsk , the capital of Belarus , fell to the " Wehrmacht " . A second Red Army counter - attack by the 20th Mechanized Corps and 4th Airborne Corps failed to breach the encirclement as well , and by 30 June the pocket was completely closed . The German forces surrounded and eventually destroyed or took prisoner most of the Soviet 3rd and 10th , 13th Armies and part of the 4th Army , in total about 20 divisions , while the remainder of the 4th Army fell back eastwards towards the Berezina River . The " Luftwaffe " s " Luftflotte 2 " helped destroy the VVS Western Front . Some 1 , 669 Soviet aircraft had been destroyed . The " Luftwaffe " lost 276 as destroyed and an additional 208 damaged . After only a week of fighting , the total serviceable strength of " Luftflotte 1 " , " Luftflotte 2 " and " Luftflotte 4 " had been reduced to just 960 machines . Consequences . The Soviet troops trapped in the gigantic pockets continued fighting , and concluding operations resulted in high German casualties . Many Soviet troops escaped due to the lack of German infantry troops ' motor transport that slowed the encirclement process . The Polish institute of National remembrance claims that withdrawing Soviet troops committed regular crimes against the inhabitants of Białystok and its areas , including cases of whole families being executed by firing squads . On conclusion , 290 , 000 Soviet soldiers were captured , and 1 , 500 guns along with 2 , 500 tanks were destroyed , but 250 , 000 Soviet troops managed to escape ( most of the prisoners would be dead within a few months because of inhumane conditions at the POW enclosures ) . The quick advance East created the possibility for the " Wehrmacht " to advance rapidly towards the land bridge of Smolensk , from which an attack on Moscow could be planned . It also created the impression in the OKW that the war against the Soviet Union was already won , within days of its start . Despite this feat , Hitler blamed the panzer generals for leaving gaps in the lines and the panzer generals for their part were deeply frustrated as for almost a week their advance east had been stopped while they closed the pocket and waited for the infantry to catch up . They feared the momentum of the armored offensive would be lost . The Front commander General Pavlov and his Front Staff were recalled to Moscow , accused of intentional disorganization of defense and retreat without battle . They were soon executed by the NKVD because of cowardice and " failure to perform their duties " . Their families were repressed . They were " rehabilitated " in 1956 . An exception to this was Pavlov ' s operations officer , general Ivan Boldin , who had been cut off by the German advance at a forward headquarters in the first days of the invasion and subsequently fought his way back to Soviet lines with over a thousand other soldiers a month and a half later .