The 20th Panzer Division's first combat action was in Army Group Center where it participated in the opening stages of Operation Barbarossa and remained in the front echelon of attack during the series of advances on Minsk, Smolensk and up until Operation Typhoon and the failed attack on Moscow. From there, it remained on the central front until July 1943. As part of the northern spearhead commanded by Walter Model during the battle of Kursk, men from the 20th were involved with clearing anti-tank mines on the night of July 4-5, as well as being part of the first wave of attack the following morning. The rest of 1943 was spent in a long retreat between Orel, Gomel, Orsha, and Vitebsk. At the beginning of 1944, along with the entirety of forces on the Eastern front, the 20th Panzer Division spent a hard winter of defensive fighting in the Polotsk, Vitebsk, and Bobrusik areas. In May of that year, it was rushed to the southern sector of the front to participate in operations inside the area around Cholm. Having suffered heavy losses during the Soviet's Operation Bagration, the division was sent to Romania for refitting in August, 1944.