Battle of Brody (1941)

Part of the Eastern Front of World War II

Drive of 11 Pz Div during the Battle of Brody

Date	23–30 June 1941
Location	Brody, Soviet Union (then nominally part of Poland until 1945)
Result	German victory

Belligerents

Germany

Soviet Union

Commanders and leaders

Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist

Hyazinth Graf Strachwitz

Mikhail Kirponos

Maksim Purkayev

Ivan Muzichenko

Mikhail Potapov

Strength

750 tanks

3500 tanks

Casualties and losses

Only against 8th Mech. Corps:
~ 200 tanks lost

Heavy: Forces rendered non-operational
8th Mech. Corps:
~ 800 tanks lost

The Battle of Brody (other names in use include Battle of Dubna, Battle of Dubno, Battle of Rovne, Battle of Rovne-Brody) was a tank battle fought between the 1st Panzer Group's III Army Corps and XLVIII Army Corps (Motorized) and five mechanized corps of the Soviet 5th Army and 6th Army in the triangle formed by the towns Dubno, Lutsk, and Brody between 23 and 30 June 1941. It is known in Soviet historiography as a part of the "border defensive battles". Although the Red Army formations inflicted heavy losses on the German forces, they were outmanoeuvred and suffered enormous losses in tanks. Poor Soviet logistics, German air supremacy as well as a total breakdown in Red Army command and control ensured victory for the Wehrmacht despite overwhelming Red Army numerical and technological superiority. This was one of the most intense armoured engagements in the opening phase of Operation Barbarossa and one of the largest tank battles of World War II.

1st Panzer Group, led by Generaloberst Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist, was ordered to secure the Bug River crossings and advance to Rovno and Korosten with the strategic objective of Kiev. It deployed two Corps forward and advanced between Lviv and Rovno in an attempt to cut the Lviv–Kiev railway line, thus driving a wedge along junction point between the Soviet 5th and 6th Armies.

...
Wikipedia