Twelfth Tank Division, like the rest of VIII Mechanized Corps, had spent the first several days of the Great Patriotic War wandering behind the Soviet lines as various levels of the high command issued and countermanded new attack plans. Finally drawn up for battle, having left behind many tanks along the roads thanks to breakdowns and German air attacks, the once-proud divisions prepared to punish the Hitlerite invaders. The attack began with the code phrase "Seven seven seven seven."

Despite a number of inept tactical errors and a lack of artillery support - German air attacks had destroyed the artillery regiment's prime movers - the Soviets managed to fight their way across the Slonovka and establish a bridgehead on its north bank. Slowly they brought their tanks across the rickety repaired bridge and cleared German anti-tank positions from the nearby areas. The advance could continue despite a number of tank losses and the reluctance of some tank crews to move their machines into the open.