was not always adequate. On 25 July for example, 4./StG 2 lost four Ju 87s and their leader [Möbus] in combat with the 434 IAP. The two groups, with SG 1 and JG 3 helped the 6th army clear the Don Bend. In the battle for Kalach German air units dominated the sky and harried the 1st and 4th Tank Armies. Despite the efforts of the Soviet 8th Air Army, the Kalach pocket was destroyed with the loss of 50,000 men and 1,000 tanks as German bomber formations attacked, troop, vehicle, tanks, rail and airfield targets. On 23 August 1942 the Battle of Stalingrad began with the Bombing of Stalingrad from the air. Hozzel's wing was now based only 40 kilometres from the city. StG 2 was able to fly multiple missions per day and maintain a constant presence over the city. For the duration of the battle, this was "probably a typical day." The 62nd army commanded by Vasily Chuikov sought to negate the threat of German air attacks by engaging the 6th army in close combat. Hozzel remarked that StG 2 had to abandon traditional dive-bombing in favour of improvised tactics;We had to do precision bombing to avoid danger to our troops entrenched too close to the target area. We could not risk making a dive-bombing attack from 4,000 metres because of the wide area of bomb dispersion. We had to fly a slant range attack, releasing bombs directly over the roofs. We had to push bombs directly into the target like loaves of bread into an oven, with one aircraft succeeding the other. The heavy bombs employed by the Stukas were fitted with delayed-action fuses, and anti-tank warheads to penetrate roofs, buildings and bunkers. Hozzel described their impact; "As on a string of pearls, one plane followed the others within an interval of a few seconds, throwing the bombs onto an oblong target area divided amongst us. Not one missed its target." One Soviet soldier described the attacks as devastating to their defensive positions. Hozzel noted that the bombing was not as effective as German airmen believed. The infantry usually met a wall of return fire. Hozzel remarked that sometimes it seemed as if the "Geschwader had dropped toy torpedoes instead of bombs." From 1 September II./StG 2 concentrated on sinking seaborne supply ships coming from east bank of the Volga. The Stukas proved effective in breaking