Ten more Soviet battalions crossed the Don overnight, and by August 21 their numbers began to overwhelm the Italians. On CSIR's left flank, Sforzesca Division's 53rd Regiment started falling back, and a gap appeared between it and its sister regiment. The Soviets began infiltrating the gap, and the Italians rushed in a motorized column consisting of the 79th Battalion of Tagliamento Legion to plug it.

The Soviets infiltrated the gap far faster than the Italians had anticipated. The Blackshirts made for a hill with the intent of digging-in there, but they discovered it already was occupied by Soviets when the two lead platoons had to bail out of their trucks due to heavy machine-gun fire. The Blackshirt commander ordered his troops to press forward and take the hill, but he soon found his right flank under attack by more Soviets and even more Soviets moving to cut his retreat. He ordered a withdrawal and the Blackshirts retreated in good order, giving as good as they got. Eventually they found a good defensive position and dug-in, but the Soviet infiltration continued. That night the Blackshirt commander determined (correctly) that his unit was isolated, and ordered his men to break contact with the enemy and reach friendly lines. 79th Battalion escaped under cover of darkness, but the long day's fighting had decimated its ranks.

This is a bonus scenario, available for download from Avalanche Press at:

http://www.avalanchepress.com/FR_Scenario44.php