fight “without artillery support. The shells sent for the battalion guns did not fit our 76 mm guns. There were no hand grenades.” On 5 September Volkhov Front's penetration increased to , at the furthest point, thus leaving only to the Neva River. Attempts to capture Sinyavino and the adjacent heights met very heavy resistance and failed. On the flanks, the Soviet forces captured the German strong points at Workers Settlement 8 and Mishino on 3 September, and Voronovo on 7 September. However no more ground was gained after this day in the penetration sector. To try to break the stalemate, the third echelon troops (2nd Strike Army) were used, but German flanking counterattacks forced a halt to the offensive. On 7 September the Volkhov front pulled back two divisions from the 8th Army and replaced them with a fresh division and a tank brigade to achieve further advance. Stalemate, 10–20 September The battle turned into a stalemate with neither side gaining any ground despite several attempts to renew the offensive. Between 10 and 19 September there was no major change in the front line. The Soviet side was waiting for reinforcements and air support, hoping to advance the that separated it from the Leningrad Front in the next few weeks, but reinforcements took time. Having halted the Soviet advance, the German forces now aimed to defeat it. Manstein, who was appointed by Hitler to be in charge of all German forces in the sector, aimed to cut off the bulge formed by the Soviet advance. However, the initial counterattack on 10 September failed with heavy losses, encountering extensive minefields and artillery and mortar fire. Manstein decided to build up forces for a two-pronged attack, while local German counterattacks checked the Soviet attempts to advance. German counter-offensive, 21 September – 15 October The main German counter offensive began on 21 September. Six divisions participated in the attack, with 121st Infantry Division attacking from the north, 30th Army Corps' 24th, 132nd and 170th Infantry Divisions from the south and 3rd Mountain and 28th Light Infantry Divisions mounting holding attacks. The 5th Mountain Division suffered heavy casualties in the last ten days and did not play a big role in the counteroffensive. The counterattacking German were facing the same problems as the Soviet forces had faced in the previous month. Advance in difficult terrain overcoming the defensive positions was very slow and