The Battle

The Germans held up the Russian advance as best they could, but gradually they were pushed back. The fighting around the built-up areas was particularly fierce, and the attempts by the Russians to build a pontoon bridge whilst under enemy fire were constantly thwarted, resulting in considerable delays to their advance.

It is worth noting that the Russians blew-up the existing bridge at Ulyanousk to stop the Germans counter-attacking over it before realising that they had left their own bridging materials at the rear of the advancing column!

Once the German front-line had been breached the Russians were able to continue their advance, but they were - by now - two days behind schedule.

In the interim the Germans had rushed forward part of the Army Group Reserve - two Panzer Divisions and a Panzer Grenadier Division - and as individual units arrived they were deployed straight into a counter-attack. This halted any further Russian advance.