Mogilev , along with its town commander , Generalmajor von Erdmannsdorff , ( later executed by the Soviets for war crimes ) and most of the 12th Infantry Division who had been instructed to defend the town to the last man , fell into Soviet hands on 28 June . During the day both the German XII Corps and XXXIX Panzer Corps ( whose commander , Martinek , was killed that evening in an air attack ) , began falling back towards the Berezina crossings . As the roads were clogged with fleeing civilians and military units , and were also under heavy air attack , progress was slow
war crimes
War crimes of the Wehrmacht
Mogilev Offensive