Confident over the previous day’s successes in 19th Army’s sector, even Lukin’s 20th Army continued its attacks on 23 August and reported on these actions after nightfall: The report claimed, “The enemy’s 263rd ID, numbering no more than 3,000 men, is defending the Suborovka, Vishniaki, Pogubilka, Klemiatino, and Iakovlevichi front [24 kilometers south to 28 kilometers south-southeast of Solov’evo] with all three regiments in a single line,” and informed the Western Front that, “229th, 153rd, 161st, and 129th RDs will continue their attack at 1030 hours on 24 August and fulfill the missions assigned to them by Order No. 58 by day’s end.”²²

See Volume 3 (Documents), Appendix O, 40.

Capping what was clearly a good day for both Timoshenko and 19th Army, shortly after nightfall the obviously jubilant front commander issued a general order to all of the Western Front’s armies heaping praise on 19th Army for its unprecedented accomplishments over the past four days:

See Volume 3 (Documents), Appendix O, 51.

Order No. 03/op to the Forces of the Western Front

23 August 1941 Operating Army

Comrade Red Army men, commanders, and political workers!

It has been four days since our 19th Army went over to the offensive against the German-Fascist forces. As should be expected, the initial blow has inflicted a serious defeat on the overextended enemy. The forces of 19th Army, and especially the Red Army men, commanders, and political workers of 64th and 50th Rifle Divisions and 101st Tank Division’s 202nd Tank Regiment, showed themselves to be valorous soldiers of our Red Army. Over the three days of battle, they crushingly defeated the Fascist 161st Infantry Division, seized its artillery, smashed its headquarters, seized maps and combat orders, and slaughtered no fewer than three thousand soldiers and officers.

The enemy tried to halt the advance of our forces on 21 and 22 August. He committed large forces of tanks and motorized infantry and attacked our units with great independence. But the days of easy enemy victories have already passed. The German-Fascist forces already know this. The glorious 64th and 50th Rifle Divisions – the leaders of our front, and the valiant 47th Aviation Division and its 61st and 215th Assault and 129th Fighter Regiments, destroyed the Fascists’ tanks and forced the Fascists to retreat in disorder. The enemy lost up to 130 tanks, more than 100 trucks, many guns, ammunition, and thousands of dead and wounded.

I order:

The commander of 19th Army and the commander of the Air Forces to give state awards to all Red Army men, pilots, commanders, and political workers who distinguished themselves in combat and also to the units and formations that distinguished themselves.

Comrade Red Army men, commanders, and political workers! Comrade infantrymen, artillery men, tankists, cavalrymen, and pilots of the Western Front!

If 19th Army and the pilots of 47th Aviation Division alone inflicted a serious defeat on the enemy, then we will increase this success tenfold with the efforts of all of the forces of the front and strike an even more shattering blow against the enemy.

Comrades! The strength of the Fascists has been sapped. They cannot withstand our general decisive pressure. Move decisively forward. Deny the enemy either a break or a minute’s rest, and do not let him collect himself. Be stoic to the end. Forward to victory!

Read this order in all companies, batteries, aviation and cavalry squadrons, commands, and headquarters.

The commander of the Western Front, Timoshenko

The member of the Military Council of the Western Front.²³

Although Timoshenko’s laudatory order was indeed justified, and it certainly raised the morale of Red Army soldiers throughout the entire Western Front, it was also at least a bit premature. Within a matter of hours, a deep foreboding began enveloping the previously happy Marshal of the Soviet Union, as he finally realized he was engaged in a deadly game of cat and mouse. And his foreboding was worsened by the ever-clearer realization that he was now losing the game.

What prompted this new wave of impending doom was, at first, a trickle of unsettling reports indicating that all was not well on the extreme right wing of his seemingly victorious front. The 22nd Army barely mentioned the possible problem in its evening report on 22 August, when it simply noted that, “186th RD was attacked at 0600 hours on 22 August by the enemy 110th ID, supported by artillery and mortars, which captured Bardino, Sopki, and Dreki, and enemy sub-machine gunners penetrated into Slonovo.” However, this report quieted Timoshenko’s concerns by claiming, “Measures are being taken to liquidate the enemy penetration.” The quiet, however, was only temporary because, by midday on 23 August, 22nd Army’s neighbors began describing a German attack in 22nd Army’s sector that was far most serious than “local attacks” against just one of its divisions.

See Map 96. 22nd Army’s area of operations.

The clearest evidence of a growing crisis in 22nd Army’s sector was embedded in an order Maslennikov issued to his 29th Army at 1430 hours on 23 August. The order began by describing what could only be portrayed as a major breech in 22nd Army’s defenses, “According to information about the fighting in 22nd Army’s sector, at least an enemy panzer division has penetrated toward Velikie Luki from the west, and forward reconnaissance subunits (up to 10 tankettes and infantry) have been detected in the vicinity of Kun’ia Station, Artemovo Platform, and Gruzdovo [27-35 kilometers east of Velikie Luki] on the morning of 23 August 1941. A threat is being created to 22nd Army’s rear area and 29th Army’s flank.” Worse still, Maslennikov added, “An enemy grouping with active offensive intentions remains in the Khlebanikha and Borok region [24-26 kilometers west-northwest of Il’ino and 37 kilometers southwest of Staraia Toropa] and in the Liubovitsy and Selishche sector [25 kilometers west-northwest of Il’ino and 35 kilometers south-southwest of Staraia Toropa] on the southern bank of the Dvinka River on 29th Army’s right flank.”

See Volume 3 (Documents), Appendix O, 52.

After providing this alarming context, the 29th Army’s commander described his army’s situation and the measures he was taking to meet the new threat:

See Map 83.