Kammala jumla mai zuwa: A cikin 1941, yayin Operation Barbarossa, Heinrici ya yi aiki a Rundunar Sojoji ta 4 a karkashin Günther von Kluge a matsayin babban kwamandan rundunar sojojin XXXXIII a lokacin yakin Białystok <unk> Minsk, yakin Kiev da yakin Moscow. Ya karɓi Knight's Cross na Iron Cross a shekara ta 1941. A ƙarshen Janairu 1942, an ba Heinrici umurnin rundunar soja ta 4. A ranar 24 ga Nuwamba, 1943 an ba shi lambar yabo ta Oak Leaves zuwa ga Knight's Cross don jagorancinsa a lokacin yakin basasa.
Yaƙin Orsha, lokacin da Sojoji na 4 suka ɗauki matsayi na tsaro kusa da yankin Orsha a Belarus, na ɗan lokaci ya dakatar da ci gaban Yammacin Yammacin da Janar Vasiliy Sokolovsky ke jagoranta. A lokacin da Sojoji na 4 suka janye, ya yi asara mai yawa a kan Red Army. Waɗannan nasarorin sun ba da gudummawa sosai ga sunan Heinrici a matsayin ƙwararren mai kare kansa. Daga baya a shekara ta 1943 ya ƙi yin biyayya ga umurnin da aka ba shi na halaka birnin Smolensk da wuta kafin sojojin Jamus su janye, kuma an kore shi daga mukaminsa na ɗan lokaci a matsayin kwamandan.