(Stavka) Reserve. The 19th Army was forming up at Vitebsk, while the 16th Army was arriving at Smolensk. In Soviet histories, the great Battle (Srazheniye) of Smolensk (10 July – 10 September 1941) is divided into the following phases and operations: Smolensk Defensive Operation (10 July – 10 August 1941) Smolensk Offensive Operation (21 July – 7 August 1941) Rogechev-Zhlobin Offensive Operation (13–24 July 1941) Gomel-Trubchevsk Defensive Operation (24 July – 30 August 1941) Dukhovschina Offensive Operation (17 August – 8 September 1941) Yelnia Offensive Operation (30 August – 8 September 1941) Roslavl-Novozybkov Offensive Operation (30 August – 12 September 1941) The German OKH lists the following operations around Smolensk: Battle of Smolensk (8 July – 5 August 1941) Defensive battle near Smolensk and Yelnya (26 July – 1 October 1941) Battle of Roslavl (1–9 August 1941) Battle of Krichev and Gomel (9–20 August 1941) Battle of Velikiye Luki (22–27 August 1941) The operation Phase One: The encirclement battle, and the first Soviet counterattacks Prior to the German attack, the Soviets launched a counter-offensive; on 6 July, the 7th and 5th Mechanized Corps of the Soviet 20th Army attacked with about 1,500 tanks near Lepiel. The result was a disaster, as the offensive ran directly into the anti-tank defenses of the German 7th Panzer Division and the two Soviet mechanized corps were virtually wiped out. On 10 July, Guderian's 2nd Panzer Group began a surprise attack over the Dnieper, his forces overran the weak 13th Army and by 13 July, Guderian had passed Mogilev, trapping several Soviet divisions. His spearhead unit, the 29th Motorised Division, was already within of Smolensk. The 3rd Panzer Group had attacked, with the 20th Panzer Division establishing a bridgehead on the eastern bank of the Dvina river, threatening Vitebsk. As both German panzer groups drove east, the 16th, 19th and 20th armies faced the prospect of encirclement west of Smolensk. From 11 July, the Soviets tried a series of concerted counter-attacks. The Soviet 19th Army and 20th Army struck at Vitebsk, while the 21st and the remnants of the 3rd Army attacked against the southern flank of 2nd Panzer Group near Bobruisk. Several other Soviet armies also attempted to counter-attack in the sectors of the German Army Group North and Army Group South. This effort was apparently part of an attempt to implement the Soviet prewar general defense plan. The Soviet attacks managed to slow