SB-2 bomber in the afternoon. On 25 June, the Gruppe moved to an airfield at Varėna in Lithuania which had previously been occupied by the Soviet Air Forces (VVS—Voyenno-Vozdushnye Sily). Two days later, the Gruppe moved to Maladzyechna, supporting the advance Panzergruppe 3 near Barysaw. Flying from this airfield, Resch claimed an Ilyushin DB-3 bomber shot down on 2 July. Two days later, the Gruppe moved to Sloboda, east of Minsk, before moving to an airfield named Lepel-West at Lyepyel on 5 July. From this airfield, II. Gruppe flew combat air patrols and fighter escort missions to combat areas near Vitebsk and Haradok, supporting Panzergruppe 2 and 3 in their advance to Vitebsk and Polotsk. Here, Resch claimed the destruction of a SB-3 bomber on 7 July. On 12 July, the Gruppe moved to Kamary, an airfield in the western parts of Vitebsk. Resch shot down a SB-2 bomber on 17 July. On 22 July, II. Gruppe advanced to the airfield Andrejewka near Smolensk where it stayed until 5 August. Operating from Andrejewka, Resch shot down another SB-2 bomber on 27 July. II. Gruppe was ordered to relocate to Soltsy, west of Lake Ilmen, on 5 August in support of the 16th Army and Army Group North. Here, the Gruppe supported the fighting south of Lake Ilmen, and the German attacks on Shlisselburg, Leningrad and the Soviet fleet at Kronstadt. Operating from Soltsy, Resch claimed one Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-1 fighter shot down on 16 and 19 August. On 24 August, II. Gruppe was ordered to an airfield at Spasskaya Polist on the river Polist, south of Chudovo and north of Novgorod on Lake Ilmen, supporting the 18th Army in its advance towards the Neva and Lake Ladoga. Resch claimed three MiG-1 fighters while flying from Spasskaya Polist, one on 25 August and two the following day. Since German forces had reached the proximity of Leningrad, II. Gruppe was ordered to Lyuban, approximately to Leningrad and located on the road to Moscow. The Gruppe stayed at Lyuban until 30 September, flying missions to Shlisselburg, Leningrad and Mga. Fighting in this combat area, Resch claimed six aerial victories in September 1941. On 2 September, he was credited with the destruction of a MiG-1 fighter followed by a Polikarpov R-5 reconnaissance bomber on 5 September followed by another MiG-1 fighter on 11 September. The following day, he claimed another MiG-1 fighter, followed by two