ORDER OF BATTLE // June 23, 1941
Battle of Raseiniai
Estimated force strength by side, with confidence labels per surviving record.
Forces engaged
2 sides catalogued · combined 984–994 estimated
Reich allemand
235–245
Medium-confidence figure
Union soviétique
749
Medium-confidence figure
Battle context
The Battle of Raseiniai was fought in Lithuania in the opening days of Operation Barbarossa, pitting elements of the German 4th Panzer Group against the Soviet 3rd and 12th Mechanized Corps roughly 75 km north-west of Kaunas. Despite a significant Soviet numerical advantage in armor — 749 vehicles against between 235 and 245 German tanks — the Red Army suffered overwhelming losses, with 704 of its armored vehicles destroyed or captured. The Soviet effort to contain and destroy the German forces that had crossed the Neman River failed completely, leaving the German advance unimpeded.
‹ Full battle dossierSources (14)
Monograph
Barbarossa Derailed: The Battle for Smolensk 10 July – 10 September 1941. Volume 1: The German Advance, The Encirclement Battle, and the First and Second Soviet Counteroffensives, 10 July-24 August 19
→ Open sourceMonograph
Barbarossa to Berlin: A Chronology of the Campaigns on the Eastern Front 1941 to 1945
→ Open sourceMonograph
KV-1 & 2 Heavy Tanks 1939–45
Monograph