Leningrad - The Advance of Panzer Group 4, 1941

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This account of Panzer Group 4's advance was written by Walter Charles de Beaulieu, chief of staff of Panzer Group 4. Published in German in 1961, this is the first English translation. Beaulieu not only gives a detailed account of the Panzer Group's advance, but also offers an assessment of the fighting, an examination of how Panzer Group 4's operations were affected by the limitations imposed on Army Group North, and the lessons that can be learnt from its experiences in the Baltic States. He concludes with a discussion of whether Leningrad could ever have been taken. Includes 10 maps.

Panzer Group 4, which included LVI Panzer Corps and XLI Panzer Corps, was to lead the way. By the end of the first day the group had pushed 70 kilometers into enemy territory in June 1941. Red counterattacks on their unprotected flanks slowed them down, resulting in the tank battle of Raseiniai, but the group managed to capture Dunaburg on the Western Dvina on June 26, with a bridgehead established shortly thereafter. The group then pushed northeast through Latvia to the Stalin Line. In mid-July Hoepner was preparing to push the last 100 kilometers to Leningrad, however Leeb, commander of the army group, had other plans for the group and the advance did not continue for several more weeks.