oktyabrsky and petrov were flown out at the last moment. major general pyotr georgyevich novikov took command of the defense. on 30 june, liv corps launched a heavy assault, supported by heavy "luftwaffe" bombardment and several dozen guns. heavy fighting took place for the next three days, but it was becoming clear that the red army could not hold their increasingly untenable positions for more than a day, at most. on 3 july, the last line of soviet defense was breached. the following day, the last of the soviet defenses were overrun and all organised resistance collapsed. the few remaining red army units continued to put up scattered resistance to the south of the city, which lasted until 9 july.