October 1942

Eastern Front

The fighting in Stalingrad has settled down into stable positions, the 62nd Army having broken up the German attack despite consierable losses. The fresh divisions of the VIII Corps have been bloodied in the bitter street fighting as Paulus pressed home his attack without skill, using sheer firepower and weight of numbers to blast a way through to the Volga.

The condition of the Luftwaffe in the south begins to cause concern. The 4th Air Fleet has been operating along an extensive sector from the Don and the Caucasus. Combined, the IV and VIII Air Corps number only 970 aircraft at the end of October, of which barely 590 are operational.

The newly created IV Mechanized Corps under Gen Volskii, with the XXXVI, LIX and LX Tank Corps, begins to deploy in the Beketovka salient.