"This book offers the first in-depth account of this critical battle, which began on 24 June 1941, just two days into Operation Barbarossa, Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union. Author Victor Kamenir describes the forces arrayed against each other across that eighteen-hundred-square-mile-triangle in northwestern Ukraine. Providing detailed orders of battle for both Wehrmacht and Red Army Forces and contrasting the strengths and weaknesses of the Soviet and German tanks, he shows how the Germans slowly and decisively overwhelmed the Russians, apparently opening the way to Moscow and the ultimate defeat of the Soviet Union. And yet, as Kamenir's account makes clear, even at this early stage of the Russo-German war the Soviets were able to slow down and even halt the Nazi juggernaut. Finally, the handful of days gained by the Red Army did prove to have been decisive when the Wehrmacht attack stalled at the gates of Moscow in the dead of winter, foreshadowing the end for the Germans. " -- From the publisher.

Part 1. Opposing forces. German plans, dispositions, and organization -- Soviet military on the eve of war -- Dispositions of Kiev Special Military District -- Organization and strength of Kiev Special Military District -- Creeping up to war -- part 2. The border battle. We are under attack! What should we do? June 22 -- Creaking to the sound of the guns, June 22 -- Hold what you've got! June 23-24 -- Piecemeal forward, June 25 -- Battle for Dubno, June 26-27 -- Continue mission, June 28 -- Fall back to the old border, June 29-30 -- The last convulsion, July 1-2.