a variety of support roles was realised. ZG 1 was to reform, this time with a Stab and three gruppen, common in most Luftwaffe wings. ZG 1 began operations in the Soviet Union in the winter 1941/42, though combat operations did not occur until after 1 January 1942. I./ZG 1 was reformed from I./SKG 210 in January 1942. Stab and I./ZG 1 was assigned to support Army Group South, under Luftflotte 4. The combat units were to support the German defence on the Mius River after their defeat in the Battle of Rostov in December 1941. The Bf 110, which had not succeeded as a fighter aircraft, had been converted to the fighter-bomber role in the Battle of Britain. The type was a success in the night fighter role, neccessating the withdrawal of the Bf 110 from the Eastern Front in late 1941. The need to counter Red Army advances in early 1942 saw a number of night fighter units reconverted back to ground attack units—I. and II./NJG 4 became ZG 26 and their deployment to the Eastern Front weakened the night fighter force. II./ZG 1 was transferred to Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen's Fliegerkorps VIII to support Army Group Centre and help it defend against the enormous Soviet counter-offensive following the Battle of Moscow. The Bf 110 Zerstörer pilots were hated by Soviet soldiers for their destructive effect. In the winter battles the roads had been cleared, often leaving huge mountains of snow on either side. Congested columns of men and vehicles proved vulnerable to strafing attacks. German pilots described the appalling effects; Oberleutnant Johannes Kiel remarked they "saw the snow becoming stained red by all the blood." The operations were not without cost to the Germans. II./ZG 1's commanding officer, Hauptmann Rolf Kaldrick killed on 3 February 1942 along with another crew when Soviet MiG-3 fighters intercepted them. The Bf 110 units lost two of their Knight's Cross holders within a week. Kaldrack became the first Zerstörer pilot to receive the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross. In the last five days of February 1942 five II./ZG 1 aircraft were shot down. The 120 IAP (Independent Fighter Regiment) were responsible for the majority of these losses. In late March, early April 1942, I./ZG 1 was pulled off the frontlines to rest and recuperate. I. and II./ZG 1 returned to the Eastern Front under Luftflotte 4 to support Army Group