Editing Case Blue (section)

===Axis forces===
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101III-Altstadt-055-12, Russland, SS-Division Wiking beim Vormarsch.jpg|thumb|[[Waffen-SS]] infantry and armor advancing, Summer 1942]]
The German plan involved a three-staged attack:<ref name=A3132/>{{sfn|Glantz|1995|p=110}}{{sfn|Hayward|2001|p=131}}
* '''''Blau I''''': Fourth Panzer Army, commanded by [[Hermann Hoth]] (transferred from [[Army Group Centre]]) and the Second Army, supported by the Second Hungarian Army, would attack from [[Kursk]] to [[Voronezh]] and continue the advance, anchoring the northern flank of the offensive towards the Volga.
* '''''Blau II''''': Sixth Army, commanded by [[Friedrich Paulus]], would attack from [[Kharkov]] and move in parallel with Fourth Panzer Army, to reach the Volga at Stalingrad (whose capture was not deemed necessary).
* '''''Blau III''''': First Panzer Army would then strike south towards the lower [[Don River (Russia)|Don River]], with Seventeenth Army on the western flank and Fourth Romanian Army on the eastern flank.

The strategic objectives of the operation were the oilfields at Maykop, Grozny and Baku. As in Barbarossa, these movements were expected to result in a series of grand encirclements of Soviet troops.<ref name=A3132>{{harvnb|Antill|2007|pp=31–32}}.</ref>

The offensive was to be conducted across the southern Russian (Kuban) [[Kuban|steppe]] utilizing the following Army Group units:<ref name="g111-113">{{harvnb|Glantz|1995|pp=111–113}}.</ref>

{{multiple image
 | direction = 
 | width = 150
 | header = Army Group B<br>commander
 | image1 = Maximillian_von_Weichs.jpg
 | caption1 = Maximillian von Weichs
 | image2 = 
 | caption2 = 
}}
{{multiple image
 | direction = 
 | total_width = 240
 | header = Luftwaffe commanders
 | image1 = Bundesarchiv_Bild_146-1969-041-30%2C_Alexander_L%C3%B6hr.jpg
 | caption1 = Alexander Löhr
 | image2 = Porträt Generalmajor Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen, sitzend Bild 183-J1005-0502-001 (cropped).jpg
 | caption2 = Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen
}}
'''Northern Sector (Volga campaign)'''{{sfnp|Forczyk|2021|pp=26–27}}
: '''[[Army Group B]]'''
: Generalfeldmarschall '''[[Maximilian von Weichs]]'''{{ref label|C|c|c|{{sfnp|Forczyk|2021|p=49}}}}
:: '''[[2nd Army (Wehrmacht)|Second Army]]''' (General [[Hans von Salmuth]]){{ref label|D|d|d|{{sfnp|Forczyk|2021|p=49}}}}
::: [[LV Army Corps (Wehrmacht)|LV Army Corps]] ([[Rudolf Freiherr von Roman|R. von Roman]])
:: '''[[4th Panzer Army|Fourth Panzer Army]]''' (Generaloberst [[Hermann Hoth]])
::: [[XXIV Panzer Corps (Wehrmacht)|XXIV Panzer Corps]] ([[Willibald von Langermann und Erlencamp|W. Langermann und Erlenkamp]]){{ref label|E|e|e|}}
::: [[XXXXVIII Panzer Corps]] ([[Werner Kempf|W. Kempf]])
::: [[XIII Army Corps (Wehrmacht)|XIII Army Corps]] ([[Erich Straube|E. Straube]])
:: '''[[6th Army (Wehrmacht)|Sixth Army]]''' (General der Panzertruppe [[Friedrich Paulus]]){{ref label|F|f|f}}
::: [[XXXX Panzer Corps]] ([[Georg Stumme|G. Stumme]]){{ref label|G|g|g}}
::: [[LI Army Corps (Wehrmacht)|LI Army Corps]] ([[Walther von Seydlitz-Kurzbach|W. von Seydlitz-Kurzbach]])
::: [[VIII Army Corps (Wehrmacht)|VIII Army Corps]] ([[Walter Heitz|W. Heitz]]){{ref label|H|h|h}}
::: [[XVII Army Corps (Wehrmacht)|XVII Army Corps]] ([[Karl Hollidt|K. Hollidt]])
::: [[XXIX Army Corps (Wehrmacht)|XXIX Army Corps]] ([[Hans von Obstfelder|H. von Obstfelder]])
:: '''[[Hungarian Second Army]]''' (Colonel-General [[Gusztáv Jány|Vitéz Gusztáv Jány]]){{ref label|I|i|i}} 
::: III Corps (G. Rakovsky)
::: VII Army Corps (Wehrmacht) ([[Ernst-Eberhard Hell|E.-E. Hell]])
::: ''Arrived 21–25 July:''
:::: IV Corps ([[Lajos Csatay|L. Csatay]]){{ref label|J|j|j}}
:::: VII Corps (E. Gyimesi)
:: '''[[Fourth Army (Romania)|Romanian Fourth Army]]''' 
::
:: '''[[Italian Army in Russia|Italian Eighth Army]]''' (''Arrived 11–15 August'') (General [[Italo Gariboldi]])
::: II Corps (G. Zanghieri)
::: XXXV Corps ([[Giovanni Messe|G. Messe]])
::: Alpini Corps ([[Gabriele Nasci|G. Nasci]])
: '''''[[Luftflotte 4]]'''''
: Generaloberst '''[[Alexander Löhr]]'''{{ref label|K|k|k}} (thru 20 July)
: Generalfeldmarschall '''[[Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen]]'''{{ref label|L|l|l}} (from 20 July)
:: [[8th Air Corps (Germany)|8th Air Corps]]
:: [[4th Air Corps (Germany)|4th Air Corps]]
: German air strength in the east numbered 2,644 aircraft on 20&nbsp;June 1942, over 20% more than a month earlier. Whereas in 1941 most units fought on the central front supporting [[Army Group Centre]], 1,610 aircraft (61%), supported Army Group South.<ref name=H129>{{harvnb|Hayward|2001|p=129}}.</ref>

{{multiple image
 | direction = 
 | total_width = 240
 | header = 
 | image1 = Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-S36487%2C_Wilhelm_List.jpg
 | caption1 = Wilhelm List
}}

'''Southern Sector (Caucasus campaign)'''
: '''[[Army Group A]]'''
: Generalfeldmarschall '''[[Wilhelm List]]'''
:: [[1st Panzer Army|First Panzer Army]]
:: [[17th Army (Wehrmacht)|Seventeenth Army]]
:: [[Third Army (Romania)|Third Romanian Army]]{{ref label|M|m|m}}
:: [[11th Army (Wehrmacht)|Eleventh Army]]{{ref label|N|n|n}}