Lehr was still moving forward towards the demarcation line between German and Soviet-owned Poland on 22 June 1941 when Operation Barbarossa began and it missed the first few days of the campaign. By the beginning of July it was under the command of the
9th Army of
Army Group Center, where it participated in the later stages of the
Battle of Białystok–Minsk. By 19 July it was part of the northern wing encircling the
Smolensk Pocket, but it quickly moved north-east to rebuff relief efforts by the Soviet
16th and 30th Armies of the
Western Front. It was pulled off the front line into tactical reserve on 7 August 1941 and remained there for ten days until renewed Soviet attacks caused it to send it back into combat. It was pulled back into reserve on 26 August and remained there until the opening stages of
Operation Typhoon. It stayed in reserve until 6 October when it was released to follow
1st Panzer Division's in its drive to
Kalinin. The Soviets forced the Germans to retreat from Kalinin after a month of heavy fighting and Lehr was placed in reserve on 12 November, where it remained until the Soviet
Winter Counter-Offensive of 5 December forced the Germans to retreat en masse. The brigade, and most of its subordinate units, was formally disbanded on 7 April 1942, but the
900th Infantry Regiment remained in Russia until 28 May 1942 when it too was disbanded, its personnel returning to their original units.
Subordinations ==Notes==