The beginning of the Great Patriotic War. Defensive battles in Belarus in the summer of 1941 The Battle of Smolensk. The Battle of Moscow 1941-1942 .

During the defensive battles of the summer of 1941, Red Army soldiers and commanders fought hard and, having inflicted damage on the enemy, delayed his advance towards Moscow. During the Battle of Smolensk Army Group "Center" for the first time in World War II was forced to suspend the offensive, and in the Battle of Moscow, the Wehrmacht suffered its first heavy defeat. The "lightning war" plan was thwarted.