On the eastern Moscow front, the Russian Moscow Garrison Command had deployed two army corps here. Originally, more troops had been stationed here, but as the fighting within Moscow grew increasingly tense, the Russian forces had no choice but to transfer units from here to reinforce the city battlefield. Now, only the 24th Infantry Army and the Guard 1st Army Corps remained.
However, these two Russian army corps were simply unable to withstand the German military's fierce assault.
On June 19, the German 61st Mechanized Infantry Division, 63rd Infantry Division, and 64th Infantry Division launched a savage attack on the Russian 73rd Infantry Division under the 24th Infantry Army.
After less than two hours of fighting, the Russian 73rd Infantry Division was crushed, and its main force was encircled. Lieutenant General Rakutin, commander of the Russian 24th Army Corps, hurriedly ordered the Russian 140th, 228th, and 255th Infantry Divisions to rush to their aid. But midway there, those three infantry divisions were besieged by the German 151st Mechanized Infantry Division, 153rd Infantry Division, 154th Infantry Division, 161st Mechanized Infantry Division, 163rd Infantry Division, and 164th Infantry Division.
After a day of fierce fighting, the Russian 73rd Infantry Division was annihilated. The main forces of the Russian 140th, 228th, and 255th Infantry Divisions were also wiped out. Although the participating units were still putting up stubborn resistance, they were not far from annihilation themselves.
The two remaining infantry divisions of the Russian 24th Infantry Army—the 335th and 341st Infantry Divisions—came under attack from the German 171st Mechanized Infantry Division, 173rd Infantry Division, and 174th Infantry Division. These two divisions likewise could not withstand the assault of the German military's elite troops.
Behind the German military's elite forces were hundreds of thousands of troops from the Ukrainian 6th Army Corps, Hungarian 7th