during the "Phoney War" period of World War II. He replaced Oberleutnant Werner Eichel. The Staffel belonged to I. Gruppe (1st group) of JG 77, at the time based in Odendorf, preparing for the upcoming Battle of France. During the Battle of Britain on 31 August, Resch made a forced landing in his Messerschmitt Bf 109 E-1 (Werknummer 3642—factory number) following aerial combat with the Royal Air Force (RAF) over the Thames Estuary. On 6 October 1940, Resch was transferred and made Staffelkapitän of 6. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing). He replaced Oberleutnant Werner Lederer in this function who was transferred. The Staffel was subordinated to II. Gruppe of JG 52 which was headed by Hauptmann Wilhelm Ensslen. In consequence, command of his former 3. Staffel of JG 77 passed on to Oberleutnant Karl-Gottfried Nordmann. At the time, the Gruppe was based at Peuplingues near the English Channel and fighting the RAF during the Battle of Britain. II. Gruppe was withdrawn from the Channel Front on 2 November and moved to München Gladbach, present-day Mönchengladbach, on 5 November for a period of rest and replenishment. The Gruppe had also lost its commanding officer, Ensslen, who was killed in action on 2 November. Ensslen was replaced by Hauptmann Erich Woitke. On 22 December, II. Gruppe was ordered to Leeuwarden Airfield where they were tasked with flying fighter patrols along the Dutch North Sea coast. On 15 January 1941, the Gruppe moved to Ypenburg Airfield where they stayed until 10 February. Operation Barbarossa In preparation of Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, II. Gruppe of JG 52, without a period of replenishment in Germany, was ordered to airfields close to the German-Soviet demarcation line. While the Gruppenstab (group headquarters unit) and 4. Staffel were based at Suwałki in northeastern Poland, 5. and 6. Staffel were transferred to a forward airfield at Sobolewo. For the invasion, II. Gruppe of JG 52 was subordinated to the Geschwaderstab (headquarters unit) of Jagdgeschwader 27 (JG 27—27th Fighter Wing). The Geschwader was part of the VIII. Fliegerkorps commanded by Generaloberst Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen which supported the northern wing of Army Group Centre. On 22 June, the German forces launched the attack on the Soviet Union which opened the Eastern Front. That day, Resch claimed his first aerial victory of World War II. He was credited with shooting down a Tupolev