In mid-October, after receiving reinforcements from the Caucasus theatre, the "Luftwaffe" intensified its efforts against the remaining Red Army positions holding the west bank. "Luftflotte" 4 flew 1,250 sorties on 14 October and its Stukas dropped 550 tonnes of bombs, while German infantry surrounded the three factories. "Stukageschwader" 1, 2, and 77 had largely silenced Soviet artillery on the eastern bank of the Volga before turning their attention to the shipping that was once again trying to reinforce the narrowing Soviet pockets of resistance. The 62nd Army had been cut in two and, due to intensive air attack on its supply ferries, was receiving much less material support. With the Soviets forced into a strip of land on the western bank of the Volga, over 1,208 "Stuka" missions were flown in an effort to eliminate them.