Battle of Raseiniai

The Battle of Raseiniai (23–27 June 1941) was a tank battle fought between the elements of the 4th Panzer Army and two Soviet Mechanized Corps in Lithuania 75 km northwest of Kaunas in the attempt by the commander of the Northwestern Front to contain and destroy German troops that had crossed the Neman River (Nemunas). The result of the battle was the almost complete destruction of Soviet armoured forces of the Northwestern Front, clearing the wa... more

The Battle of Raseiniai (23–27 June 1941) was a tank battle fought between the elements of the 4th Panzer Army and two Soviet Mechanized Corps in Lithuania 75 km northwest of Kaunas in the attempt by the commander of the Northwestern Front to contain and destroy German troops that had crossed the Neman River (Nemunas). The result of the battle was the almost complete destruction of Soviet armoured forces of the Northwestern Front, clearing the way for the continued German offensive towards the crossings of the Daugava River (Western Dvina). This was one of the major battles during the initial phases of Operation Barbarossa known in Soviet history as the Border Defensive Battles (22–24 June 1941) as part of the larger Baltic Strategic Defensive Operation. Army Group North, commanded by Field Marshal Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb, and staging in East Prussia prior to the commencement of the offensive, was the northern of three Army Groups participating in the invasion of the Soviet Union.... less