HSG Dangerous Information - Combat Mission: Barbarossa to Berlin

28 June 1944 Lepel, Russia Once the German High Command realized what was happening they sent units to re-establish the line. One of the units sent was the 5th Panzer Division. This division had seen heavy fighting with Army Group North and had been resting for twelve days getting replacements. As the Division moved south it had no idea where the Red Army was. For that matter, nobody in the German Command knew where the Red Army was. So, the Division Commander, Major General Karl Decker, ordered his Recon Battalion to find the Red Army. The Soviets were in much the same shape, as the German's, with regards to the information about where their enemy was. The Germans had just disappeared. There seemed to be nothing in front of them, but, open, and more importantly, unoccupied space. With his forces streaming past recently abandoned German defensive positions, the Commander of the 5th Guards Tank Army, was pushing the 29th Tank Corps forward as fast as he could. The 29th Tank Corps was moving blindly forward into the unknown. The Commander of the 29th Tank Corps sent his Recon units forward as well. He had to know where the Germans would stop retreating and make a stand. They would find each other on the outskirts of Lepel just to the north north-east of Borisov. Usually Recon units are in the business of gathering information and leaving the fighting to other units. They can fight and defend themselves if need be, but, for the most part, they gather information and live to tell about it. Both Recon commanders were seasoned veterans, aggressive, and spoiling for a fight. A firefight ensued between the two forces. The Soviet unit was driven from the field by the mobility and firepower of the German force. The German force took significant losses in achieving their victory