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 1941

See Volume 3 (Documents), Appendix O, 9.

At precisely the same time he notified Timoshenko of his intentions, Konev also directed his forces to occupy their designated jumping-off positions for the impending offensive:

•	Enemy Situation--forces of 900th MotB and 5th and newly-arrived 35th IDs are defending in the army’s sector.
•	Neighbors – on the right, 30th Army, and, on the left, 16th Army are fulfilling their assigned missions.
•	19th Army’s Mission – regroup and occupy jumping-off positions by 0200 hours on 17 August.
•	Missions of Subordinates:

♦	166th RD – firmly hold on to the Pogorel’tsy, Shestaki 2, Zaria, Priglovo, Zanino 1, Lopatchinka, and Gorbatovskaia 2 sector [25-44 kilometers north of Iartsevo].
♦	91st RD – occupy jumping-off positions along the Gorbatovskaia 2, Dura, and Shuklino line [22-25 kilometers north of Iartsevo] by 0200 hours on 17 August.
♦	50th RD – occupy jumping-off positions along the Turova and Dubrovka line [18-21 kilometers north of Iartsevo] by 0200 hours on 17 August;
♦	89th RD – occupy jumping-off positions along the Dubrovka, Kuz’mino, and Novyi Riadnyi line [15-18 kilometers north of Iartsevo] by 0200 hours on 17 August;
♦	64th RD – occupy jumping-off positions along the Tserkov’ and Novyi Riadnyi, eastern slope of Hill 203.4, and Borodulino line [12-15 kilometers north of Iartsevo] by 0200 hours on 17 August;
♦	101st TD – occupy jumping-off positions along the Prisel’e and Skachikhino line [9-12 kilometers north of Iartsevo] by 0200 hours on 17 August; and
♦	202nd TR – my reserve in the region of the woods 0.5 kilometers northwest of Liada.

•	Special Instructions to All Commanders::

♦	Conduct commanders’ reconnaissances [rekognitsirovka] and organize cooperation between infantry and artillery on the terrain, while paying special attention to cooperation of infantry and artillery at the battalion, company, and battery level.
♦	Move forces exclusively at night and strictly observe maskirovka [camouflage].
♦	Organize active reconnaissance on the night of 16-17 August to determine the enemy’s grouping and capture prisoners in the sectors of 166th, 91st, and 89th RDs.
♦	Submit operational and reconnaissance summaries by 0100, 1300, and 2000 hours daily.¹⁸

Khomenko, the commander of 30th Army, submitted his attack plan for approval at 0550 hours, three hours after Konev, perhaps because of communications problems associated with the long distances between his headquarters and the front’s headquarters. Using what was by now a standard format, his order read:

See Map 75. 30th Army’s area of operations and Volume 3 (Documents), Appendix O, 10.

•	Enemy Situation--defending the Los’mino, Chernyi Ruchei, Staroe Morokhovo, Erkhovo, Staroe Selo, Sechenki, Ol’khovka village, and Torchilovo line opposite the army’s front with forces of 19th and 20th PzDs 106th ID, with tactical reserves at Chichata, Gorodno, and Pavlovshchina, operational reserves at Zviakino, and a motorized division in Dukhovshchina.
•	Neighbors – on the right, the cavalry group, with 50th and 53rd CDs, will penetrate into the enemy’s rear at first light on 16 August and advance along the Evlen’ axis into the Velizh, Demidov, and Dukhovshchina region, and, on the left, 19th Army is attacking toward Dukhovshchina.
•	30th Army’s Mission – 30th Army (250th, 242nd, 251st, and 162nd RDs, 107th TD, and 45th CD, reinforced by 46th MAD, 399th and 542nd CARs, 30th M-13 Btry, 871st ATR, 263rd and 291st Sapper Bns, and 51st Pontoon-Bridge Bn) – while protecting the right flank toward Belyi with 250th RD, attack with the main force at 0800 hours on 17 August toward Shanino, Dorofeevo, and Ponomari to destroy the enemy by decisive operations, exploit success with 45th CD and 107th TD committed into the enemy’s rear to envelop Dukhovshchina from the west, reach the Velitsa River line with its main forces by 19 August, and, after protecting against an attack from the west along the Dubovitsa, Starina, and Verdino line with 242nd and 251st RDs, exploit the attack toward the region northwest of Dukhovshchina.
•	Missions of Subordinates:

♦	250th RD (with 2nd Bn, 542nd CAR, 12th Mortar Bn [less 1 company], and a battery of 871st AR) – protect the positions you occupy, prevent an enemy penetration toward Belyi, and prepare to attack in the general direction of Dubovitsa.
♦	242nd RD (with 1st Bn, 392nd CAR)--while protecting the Orlovo, Staroe Morokhovo, and Novoe Morokhovo line with one RR, attack toward Erkhovo and Churkino with two RRs to destroy the enemy, with the immediate mission of reaching the Rekta River at Staroe Sochnevo, and subsequently develop the attack in the general direction of Starina [35 kilometers north of Dukhovshchina].
♦	251st RD (with two battalions of 392nd CAR, one company of 12th Mortar Bn, two batteries of 871st AR, and one company of 51st Pontoon-Bridge Bn) – while blocking the enemy center of resistance in the Staroe Selo region with two battalions, attack toward Shelepy and Pominki with the main forces, with the immediate mission of reaching the Staroe Sochnevo and Khadobuzha line, and subsequently prepare to develop the attack in the general direction of Verdino.
♦	162nd RD (with 542nd CAR, less one battalion, a battery of 871st ATR, and one company of 263rd Sep. Sapper Bn) – destroy the opposing enemy by attacking with the main forces toward Gordienki, Sechenki, and Maloe Repino, with the immediate mission to reach the Khadobuzha and Staroe Selo line, and subsequently prepare to develop the attack toward Ponomari.
♦	107th TD – conduct a secondary attack toward Bol’shoe Repino, Novoselki, and Petrovo Selo with one RR, and, after concentrating your main forces in the Novovysokoe Farm region by 0400 hours on 17 August, while following 251st RD’s main forces from the Nekliudovo and Staroe Selo line, 2 kilometers northeast of Dorofeevo, penetrate with 45th CD into the enemy’s rear to envelop Dukhovshchina from the west, and subsequently prepare to develop the attack toward the region northwest of Dukhovshchina.
♦	45th CD – concentrate in the Kvoktushino, Pod’ezzhalovo, and Lakashevo region and be prepared to penetrate from the Nekliudovo and Staroe Selo line with 107th TD to attack into the enemy’s rear and envelop Dukhovshchina from the west. The commander of 45th CD is entrusted with overall command of the penetration group.
♦	Reserve (one battalion of 134th RD and the tank battalions of 250th, 242nd, and 251st RDs) – concentrate in the forested region 0.5 kilometers south of Podzaitsevo by 0400 hours on 17 August and prepare to move toward Lelimovo, Sopino, and Mikhailovshchina.
♦	Artillery – be ready at 0400 hours on 17 August to fire a 45-minute artillery preparation. Missions:

⋄	Destroy enemy firing points along the forward edge during the artillery preparation;
⋄	Suppress enemy centers of resistance, mortar batteries, and artillery;
⋄	Protect our infantry and tanks on the main axes of 162nd and 251st RDs, and fire a barrage to a depth of one kilometer;
⋄	Prevent counterattacks by enemy tanks and infantry from Iakovtsevo and Gorodno;
⋄	Prevent enemy reserves from moving from the Grivets and Pavlovshchina region; and
⋄	Protect the successful advance of infantry and tanks into the depths, while constantly supporting by fire and maneuver.

•	Air Forces. Missions:

⋄	Conduct repeated raids against the Zviagino Farm, Shilovichi, and Pavlovshchina regions and in the Iakovtsevo, Novosechnevo, Shelepy, Shanino, Maloe Repino, Gorodno, and Punino regions to destroy enemy reserves after first light;
⋄	Attack the march-routes Vorontsovo, Bor, and Prechistoe and Bol’shoe Repino, Voropaevo, Shilovichi, and Dukhovshchina with smoke rounds to paralyze the enemy movements and the approach of enemy reserves from the west;
⋄	Conduct reconnaissance in the Prechistoe and Dukhovshchina and Budnitsa, Shchuch’e, and Prechistoe regions; and
⋄	Protect the army’s main forces from the air.¹⁹