South in Operation Blue, Hitler's offensive towards the Soviet Caucasus oilfields near Baku on the Caspian Sea. 71 Bf 110s were operational from a total of 108. III./ZG 1, with 7. Staffel of Zerstörergeschwader 2 (ZG 2—2nd Destroyer Wing) attached, was also assigned to the air fleet by 27 July 1942. On 10 June 1942, ZG 1, with ZG 2 and other Luftwaffe units began "Operation Wilhelm" to establish staging areas for Operation Blue near Volchansk. On the first day alone, 20 German aircraft were lost in the ground support role—10 belonged to ZG 1 and ZG 2. By 20 July, Luftflotte 4's number of serviceable aircraft shrank by 45 percent. ZG 2 had to be removed from combat and handed its remaining Bf 110s to ZG 1. At the time of the withdrawal, both heavy fighter wings could muster only 86 combat ready Bf 110s between them. For the battles on the Don bend, ZG 1 was assigned to Kurt Pflugbeil's IV Fliegerkorps in support of Army Group A. In August 1942, ZG 1 supported close air support to Army Group A in the advance south to the Caucasus. On 2 September ZG 1 were attacking areas to the north west of Stalingrad, near Kotluban. Here, they were intercepted by Yak-1s from the 220 IAD and lost three crews, while their opponents suffered one loss. The Red Air Force provided fierce resistance throughout the battles. During the advance southward, ZG 1 set up a night fighter unit in September 1942, named 10(Nacht) Staffel which produced the successful Josef Kociok. II. Gruppe pilot Rudolf Scheffel emerged as one of ZG 1's purportedly successful anti-tank pilots; he claimed five aircraft shot down and ten times the number of tanks. Scheffel was awarded the Knight's Cross on 29 October 1942. Hans Peterbus from II./ZG 1 was awarded the decoration on 25 November for 18 aircraft shot down, 26 on the ground, and 19 tanks destroyed. I./ZG 1 was given credit for 44 aircraft, 41 tanks, 15 locomotives, 11 artillery guns, and 157 trucks destroyed. The Red Army Operation Uranus turned the tide in the Battle of Stalingrad. ZG 1 was ordered to perform escort fighter roles from their base in Tatsinskaya, for Junkers Ju 52 transports supplied the encircled Axis armies but were not successful. ZG 1 opened the Operation Winter Storm, an attempt to relive the trapped armies, by attacking the