Participation of the 37th Army in the Defensive Battles of the Southern and North Caucasian fronts in the Manych Direction in the Summer of 1942

The military actions at the Manych River area remain understudied, despite a big number of scholarly researches on the Great Patriotic War and the defence of the Caucasus, in particular.
In summer 1942 the 37th Army units were to halt the advance of the Wehrmacht tank forces supported by Luftwaffe at the Manych River area. However, the mission was not complete due to the heavy losses in strenuous battles, the command being unaware
of failures in radio communication, the absence of arms and fuel supply, and aviation support.
These tragic circumstances, as well as the necessity to build solid defences in time and organise collaboration of various branches of the armed forces were an important experience in the warfare of the Red Army. The defence flaws were to be remedied
by the heroic actions of the soldiers and commanders. Despite huge human and material losses, 37th Army kept the Wehrmacht forces at the Manych River lines for a couple of days and gave an opportunity to the retreating Soviet Army units to take up new defence positions, thus contributing to the defence of the Caucasus.