During the summer and autumn the 60th Army was engaged in an active defense of Voronezh and its approaches. German 4th Panzer Army arrived at the outskirts of the city on July 7 and began fighting to clear it of its 40th Army defenders. Counterattacks by 60th Army tied down these German mobile forces, leading to street fighting similar to what was to be seen in Stalingrad a few months later. The panzers were relieved by the infantry of 6th Army, and fighting continued until July 24 when the final Soviet defenders were cleared from the west bank sector of the city. The army continued to probe the German front in the weeks following in an attempt to deflect enemy forces from the fighting in Stalingrad; this cost significant losses in men and equipment and several of the divisions had to be taken out of the line for rebuilding.