In a frenzied atmosphere of tension, the scattered Soviet tanks launched one attack after another, exhausting their opponents. Several Soviet tank armies involved in the battle had only medium and light tanks, and only 2 tank brigades directly under the tank armies had heavy tanks (20 per brigade). The heavy armor of the KV heavy tank once again left a deep memory on the German army. The German tanks were powerless to confront them head-on and could only attack in a roundabout manner. A KV tank with broken tracks was surrounded by Germans and fired with artillery, but none of the shells were able to penetrate the armor. Finally, the Soviet tankers climbed out and surrendered. To the surprise of the Germans, the tankers, although deaf in the ears, were barely injured.
For Paulus, who had only 2 armored divisions and 2 motorized divisions, with a total of 300 tanks available, the onslaught of 550 Soviet tanks (plus more than 300 Soviet tanks) was undoubtedly a heart-wrenching combat experience. Tank fighting continued, and the Germans ran out of fuel and ammunition. Fortunately, the number of tanks put in by the Soviets was limited at a time, and the German anti-tankers were basically able to cope with it. On the Don steppe, Soviet tanks that had caught fire and burned or broken anchor were scattered everywhere.
Several other Soviet armies scheduled to take part in the attack were in disarray. The acting commander of the 64th Army was originally Trikov, but was replaced by Shumilov on 28 July. Trikov was demoted to deputy commander. Golddorf had promised to give the 64th Army a strong force, including the 204th Infantry Division and the 23rd Tank Army, and ordered the 62nd and 64th Armies to launch a joint attack at 2 a.m. on July 29. But Shumilov and Trikov could not find the two units. It was not until noon on 29 July that a brigade of the 23rd Tank Corps was discovered, but it was completely unprepared.
On the way, Trikov met Lopatin, commander of the 62nd Army (who took office on 27 July, but officially took office on 3 August). Lopatin told them that the 62nd Army was not prepared to run out of ammunition, that it would not attack anyway, and that the order to attack was not approved by the Military Committee of the Front. Golddorf then summoned Trikov to Stalingrad and severely reprimanded him for withdrawing the right wing of the 64th Army across the Zil River.