On 5 May 1942, Adolf Hitler issued his directive No. 41 which summarized his orders for the summer campaign in the Soviet Union and resulted in Case Blue, the Wehrmacht plan for the 1942 strategic summer offensive in southern Russia. In preparation for this campaign, II. "Gruppe" was moved to the Eastern Front, arriving in Pilsen from Sicily on 27 April. The "Gruppe" was then placed under the command of "Hauptmann" Kurt Brändle and refit for the summer campaign. After three weeks of rest, II. "Gruppe", as part of the VIII. "Fliegerkorps", was placed on the left wing of Army Group South and ordered to relocate to an airfield at Chuguyev, first elements arriving on 19 May. On 24 June, II. "Gruppe" moved to Shchigry, a forward airfield approximated east of Kursk close to the front lines. That day, Ettel claimed his first two victories when he shot down two Ilyushin Il-2 "Shturmovik" ground-attack aircraft.