July 1942

Eastern Front

Chuikov's 64th Army continues to fight on around the confluence of the Don and the Chir. Desperate fighting rages as the men at the front try to halt the German attacks, while the men in the rear make every effort to escape. With the front crumbling, the 64th is ordered to fall back over the Don. As they withdraw, the bridge at Nizhne Chirskaya is prematurely destroyed, trapping substantial elements of the army on the west bank.

Fighting to the south intensifies as the 1st Panzer smashes the 12th and 37th Armies aside and thrust south. Inside Rostov the Soviets withdraw under heavy attack and by nightfall have given up the city.