Maps of World War II 1939-1945

Operation Barbarossa: Invasion of the USSR
June 22 - September 1, 1941

German armed forces achieved strategic surprise and made substantial progress towards their initial objectives. Army Group Center reached Smolensk by July. Large Soviet military forces were surrounded as a result. An operational pause ensued at the center of the front while armored forces from Army Group Center struck south to link up with forces striking northward from Army Group South. This move destroyed a substantial concentration of Soviet armed forces around Kiev.