The Battle of Lutsk - Rovno

Situation

Russian forces in this area belonged to the Kiev Military District, which became the Southwestern Front following the outbreak of hostilities and consisted of the 5th Army defending the Lutsk-Rovno axis and the 6th Army defending the area of Lvov.
The 5th Army was comprised of the 15th and 27th Rifle Corps defending the border regions, each with two Rifle Divisions forward and one in reserve and the 22nd Mechanized Corps, which had deployed one Tank Division, the 44th, well forward and two others, the 19th Tank and 21st Motorized Divisions, well to the rear in the area of Rovno.
The 6th Army also consisted of two Rifle Corps. One, the 6th, was deployed forward in the Lvov area, while the second, the 37th, was deployed well to the rear in the area of Russkaya. The Army was supported by the 4th Mechanized Corps, located at Lvov, which consisted of the 8th and 31st Tank and 81st Motorized Divisions.
The 15th Mechanized Corps, also attached to the Southwestern Front, was located near Brody and consisted of the 10th and 37th Tank and 212th Motorized Divisions.
Other mechanized Corps were located further to the rear, notably the 9th and 19th to the west and the 8th to the south. These Corps would be brought forward during the battle. The area also contained additional units along the Stalin Line, including the 2nd and 4th Fortified Regions and additional border detatchments along the border.
German forces assembled for the attack consisted of the 6th Army and 1st Panzer Group. These consisted of the 27th, 3rd Motorized, 29th, 48th Motorized and 44th Corps. The German attack developed along two principal axes. The first was in north, in the direction of Vladimir Volynski, Lutsk and Rovno and involved the 298th and 44th Infantry and 13th and 14th Panzer Divisions. The second in the south, involved the 75th and 57th Infantry and the 11th Panzer Divisions, towards Dubno and Ostrog. Despite the strong prescence of infantry Divisions, it still took these Divisions several days to reduce the pockets of encircled Russian forces that developed along the border during the early phase of the attack.

The Attack Begins

On the 22nd of June, the German forces thrust along the two principal axes. As the attack developed in the north, the 87th Rifle Division was rapidly reinforced by the 1st Anti Tank Brigade, which formed a defensive screen blocking the road to Lutsk. These two units engaged the lead elements of the 14th Panzer Division, which began to exploit breakthroughs made in the area of Vladimir Volynski. Elements of the 22nd Mechanized Corps were also rushed forward, notably the 41st Tank Division, which had been deployed in the area prior to the opening of hostilities. As the German attack progressed, the 19th and 215th Motorized Divisions also began to move forward, as did elements of the 9th and 19th Mechanized Corps. However, the movement of these units was severely hampered by constant air attacks from the Luftwaffe and the poor terrain in the area. The initial confusion caused by the rapid German advance, also lead to a series of conflicting orders which dissapated the coordination of the Russian attacks.
In the south, the 75th, 57th and 297th Infantry Divisions attacked south and eastwards, opening a gap in the area of Ostrov, which the 11th Panzer Division rapidly exploited in the direction of Kozin. Elements of the 15th Mechanized Corps began to engage German forces in the area of Radeshev, while the 4th Mechanized Corps was involved in fighting in the areas of Rava Russkaia and Peremysl.
On the 23rd, the 13th Panzer Division joined the 14th, in its attack eastwards towards Lutsk. The 215th Motorized and 19th Tank Divisions began to move forward on the northern flank, while the 131st Motorized Division began to establish a defensive line to the north and south of Lutsk. The 35th and 40th Tank Divisions also began to move forward towards positions south of Lutsk. The 299th Infantry Division initiated an attack to the south of Vladimir Volynski, into the rear of the 87th Rifle Division, encirling it and separating it from the 124th Rifle Division. This attack also threatened the positions of the 1st Anti Tank Brigade, forcing it to withdraw east towards Torchin.
In the south, In the south, the 11th Panzer Division was advancing rapidly into the rear of the Russian defences, engaging the forward elements of the 10th and 37th Tank Divisions in the area east of Ostrov. The 37th Tank Division suffered heavy losses and the 10th was forced to withdraw south to the area of Stanislavchik, where it took up new defensive positions. The 15th Mechanized Corps was beginning to concentrate to the north of Brody and the 8th Mechanized Corps also began to move northwards to support the 15th Mechanized Corps in its effort to halt the advance of the 11th Panzer Division.
On the 24th, the 13th Panzer Division reached the River Styr to the north of Lutsk. Counter attacks mounted by the 215th Motorized and 19th Tank Divisions ran into the 14th Panzer Division and were halted with heavy losses. Additional Russian forces continued to assemble, as the 131st Motorized Division occupied defensive positions around Lutsk. The 35th and 20th Tank Divisions began to move forward through Rovno, while the leading elements of the 19th Mechanized Corps began to arrive to the east of the city.
Despite the build up of additional forces, the 14th Panzer Division continued to make good progress and separated the 22nd Mechanized Corps from its supporting rifle forces, while the 111th Infantry Division advanced to the south of the 135th Rifle Division, pinning it against the the 13th Panzer Division on its northern flank.
In the south, the 36th Rifle Corps was moving east to bolster defensive positions in the area of Dubno and the lead elements of the 8th Mechanized Corps were arriving to the west of Brody. To the southwest of Dubno, the 11th Panzer Division was racing towards the city, inflicting heavy losses on the 37th Tank Division near Kozin.

Counter Attack at Dubno

On the 25th, the 13th and 14th Panzer Divisions secured Lutsk and continued their drive towards Rovno. The remnants of the 22nd Mechanized Corps had withdrawn eastwards and were reinforcing the positions of the 27th Rifle Corps, whose 131st Motorized and 135th Rifle Divisions had established a defensive line to the east and north of the city.
Further east, elements of the 19th and 9th Mechanized Corps were assembling in the area of Rovno and preparing to mount a counter attack, in an attempt to halt the advance of the 11th Panzer Division.
In the south, the 8th Mechanized Corps 12th and 34th Tank Divisions were clearing the hills to the south of Brody, in preparation for a counter attack to the northeast, against the 11th Panzer Divisions southern flank. As the 11th Panzer Division continued eastwards, the 16th Panzer Division followed in its wake to fill the gap behind it.
On the 26th, the counter attack by the 9th and 19th Mechanized Corps opened. It immediately suffered from a lack of coordination, as each Corps attacked with a reinforced detachment. The 35th, 20th, 40th and 43rd Tank Divisions advanced to the southwest towards Dubno. Elements of the 40th Tank Division managed to cut the main road running between Lutsk and Dubno to the north of the city, while the 43rd Tank Division reached the city's outskirts.
Despite this initial success, the bulk of the 11th Panzer Division had already moved past the city and so eveaded the advancing Russian armor. German forces responded rapidly to the counter attack, by turning the 13th Panzer Division southwards into the flank of the Russian attack. The 75th, 111th and 299th Infantry Divisions also moved to the south to drive Russian forces away from the 11th Panzer Divisions line of communications.
In the south, the 15th Mechanized Corps continued to provide a blocking screen as the 8th Mechanized Corps opened its attack. Its 34th Tank Division and elements of the 12th Tank Division advanced northwards, cutting the main road between Dubno and Brody. This forced the 16th Panzer Division to wheel round and attack the 34th Tank Division in the area of Kozin, in order to clear the road. The 57th Infantry Division also moved forward into the path of the 12th Tank Division, to the west of Ostrov, but the Division also had to watch its rear as elements of the encircled 124th Rifle Division were still there and moving eastwards.
On the 27th, the attack in the north by the 9th and 19th Mechanized Corps began to falter. The lead elements of the attack were fairly widely spread and the 13th Panzer Division, advancing southwards down the main road from Lutsk, struck the open flank and defeated one unit after another, forcing them to withdraw eastwards. The 13th Panzer Division then turned eastwards and advanced towards Rovno, cutting off elements of the 43rd Tank Division around Dubno. Meanwhile, the 11th Panzer Division had continued its rapid advance and siezed a crossing over the River Vilya at Ostrog.
In the south, the attack continued, with the 12th and 34th Tank Divisions being joined by the 7th Motorized and 14th Cavalry Divisions, all of whom advanced northeastwards, across 16th Panzer Divisions rear, into the area west of Dubno. The 34th Tank Division penetrated to within 5km of Dubno, where it was unable to penetrate the defenses of the 111th Infantry Division, which had followed in the wake of the 13th Panzer Division. The 7th Motorized Division also made good progress, until it ran into the 16th Panzer Division to the east of Kozin. The 75th Infantry Division had also moved rapidly south and was attacking the main force of the 12th Tank Division to the east of Ostrov.
On the 28th, the 13th Panzer Division reached the area of Rovno, but found itself without infantry support, following the Infantry Divisions movements south to contain the attack developing in the Dubno area. Further west, German infantry Divisions, the 262nd, 297th and the 9th, had formed a protective screen running westwards from Ostrov, in order to hold the 15th Mechanized Corps at bay. In the north, Russian forces had reorganized, with elements of the 9th and 22nd Mechanized Corps occupying a defensive line from the north of Lutsk, down towards Rovno.
In the south, the 34th and elements of the 12th Tank Divisions were still fighting to the west of Dubno, while the majority of the other armored formations to the north of the city were attempting to withdraw. The newly arrived 5th Mechanized Corps, had finally managed to stop the advance of the 11th Panzer Division at Ostrog, while elements of the 37th Rifle Corps were reinforcing the beleagured defensive line to the south of Brody.

German Success

By the 29th, Russian forces were beginning to run short of both fuel and ammunition, which seriously reduced their offensive capability. The 13th Panzer Division, followed by the 25th Motorized Division, began to advance eastwards out of Rovno, while elements of the 40th, 43rd Tank and 228th Rifle Divsions were still attempting to retreat eastwards, to the west and south of the city.
In the south, the 57th Infantry and 16th Panzer Divisions had cut off the 34th and elements of the 12th Tank Divisions to the north of Ptitch, while the 75th Infantry Division attacked between the remainder of the 12th Tank Division and the 14th Cavalry and 7th Motorized Divisions.
Further west, the 9th Panzer Division, which had assembled to the north of Lvov, had begun to advance eastwards. It penetrated the positions of the 3rd Cavalry Division and then cut behind the 8th and 10th Tank Divisions, threatening to encircle the entire 15th Mechanized Corps. This attack prompted the remnants of the Russian 6th Army to begin a general withdrawal to the south. The encircled forces in the Dubno area, the 34th and elements of the 12th Tank Divisions, also attempted to fight their way out to the south.

For a full and in depth account of the battles on the Lutsk - Rovno axis, read The Initial Period of War on the Eastern Front by David Glantz. See the sources page for details.