In Zhadov's absence, the corps' Chief of Staff Colonel Alexander Fedorovich Kazankin had been commanding the unit, and had started preparations to execute Pavlov's orders of 28 June. On 30 June, the 214th Airborne Brigade began their attack, but since its paratroopers lacked the aircraft necessary to launch the airborne assault they deployed on trucks. The brigade failed to link up with the 20th Mechanized Corps, and both forces were easily defeated by the 2nd Panzer Group. The remnants of the brigade fought on for 3 months in the German rear and in the frontlines alongside other Soviet units. Throughout the first week of July, the 7th and 8th Airborne Brigades of the 4th Airborne Corps dug-in and defended along the banks of Berezina River. But by 7 July, the German 3rd and 4th Panzer Divisions had reached the Dnieper River far to the rear of Zhadov's two airborne brigades, which both still held their positions along the Berezina River. Therefore, Zhadov's units withdrew towards the Dnieper River to avoid being completely cut off, and by 13 July have joined up with Soviet forces defending along the river. In late September, the remnants of the 214th Airborne Brigade were trapped in an encirclement during the Battle of Kiev, but on 24 September 200 survivors escaped the pocket and reached Soviet lines near Lebedyn. On 28 September the survivors reunited with their parent corps at Engel Air Base near Moscow.