German army reconnaissance aircraft spotted the first Soviet formations in the vicinity of the 16th Panzer Division on the morning of 26 June. By this date the division had already progressed beyond the German-Soviet demarcation line and had suffered numerous losses due to mechanical failures caused by the dusty roads. "Panzer-Regiment" 2 was ordered to engage the Soviet T-26 tanks which were supported by strong infantry units. In the resulting battle Strachwitz was wounded in his left arm, but he remained with his unit. The heavy counter-attack was repulsed and the bridgehead over the Bug River, held by the division's motorcycle battalion ("Kradschützen-Bataillon" 16), was secured. The logistics system could not keep up and his regiment was not resupplied until 28 June. His unit first encountered the T-34 and a few KV-1 and KV-2 tanks the following day. These tanks had stronger armour and outgunned his Panzer III tanks. Only with the support of the 8.8 cm Flak artillery, deployed in an anti tank role, were they able to repulse the Soviet forces.