On July 3, 1942, the heroic defense of the Crimean peninsula, resulting in enormous losses for the Red Army, ended with the retreat of our troops. The report of the Sovinformburo noted "selfless courage, rage in the fight against the enemy and the dedication of the defenders." The first years of the war were not easy for us, even not everyone could believe in the reality of what was happening - it seemed like a terrible dream. The stoic defense of Sevastopol 1941-1942 became even brighter, but at the same time more tragic. The heroism and courage of all those who were involved in the events of those days are immeasurable.
Hand over Odessa, but keep Crimea
By September 12, 1941, the Germans came close to the Crimea. The peninsula was of strategic importance both for us and for the invaders. From here a direct airway opened to the oil industry points of Romania, which supplied the Wehrmacht troops with fuel. With the loss of these routes, our aviation lost the ability to bombard the Germans' fuel reserves by bombing, and those, in turn, could receive not only Romanian oil products, but also Soviet ones - the road to the Caucasus, to our reserves, opened for them. At the headquarters of the Red Army, they understood the importance of free flights of aviation of the warring parties, so it was decided to transfer additional units to the Crimea, recalling them from Odessa. Thus, to save the peninsula, a whole city had to be sacrificed. The battle for Sevastopol, which had to be held by any means, was carried out from water, air and land.
By the end of September, the Germans were Kiev and most of Ukraine, Smolensk, all approaches to Leningrad, which was scary to think about the blockade. In addition, the proximity of the enemy army and its too frisky advance into the country spoke of a protracted and difficult war. By September, in the battles near Uman and Kiev, the units of the South-Western Front were utterly defeated, and now a great war has come to Crimea. The defense of Sevastopol was that last frontier on the peninsula, the successful defense of which could, albeit a little, but contain the offensive breakthrough of the German army.
On the Perekop Isthmus
The only land route through which you could get into the Crimea is the Perekop Isthmus. The 11th Army of the Wehrmacht opposed the 51st Separate Army formed in August, which was entrusted with the defense of the peninsula. Soviet troops commanded by Colonel General f. I. Kuznetsov, German - commander Erich von Manstein. To the honor of the enemy, it is worth noting that one of the most talented military leaders of Hitler spoke on the enemy side. Unfortunately, on both sides of the front, sometimes against each other, quite worthy people fought who could compete in professionalism in peacetime if the Great Patriotic War had not made them mortal enemies. Sevastopol and the defense of the Crimea in this regard can serve as an indicator of the competence of military leaders of the opposing armies.
The 51st Separate Army included three rifle divisions: the 276th under the command of Major General I.S. Savinov, the 156th, under the command of Major General P.V. Chernyaev, and the 106th, which was subordinate to Colonel A N. Pervushina. Savinov was supposed to defend the Chongar Peninsula and the Arabat Spit. Chernyaev had the task to the last to directly maintain Perekop positions, and the Pervushin’s division, stretched 70 km along the southern coast of the Sivash, had to block the German army on its way to Sevastopol on its front section. 1941 was a significant year for the
Soviet Army, not only in terms of the defense of Crimea, but also in the degree of preparation for the war as a whole.
In the battles for Perekop
In addition to the rifle, the 51st Army included cavalry divisions, there were also three of them: the 48th under the command of Major General D.I. Averkin, the 42nd Colonel V.V. Glagolev and the 40th Colonel F. F Kudyurova. All three units of the 51st Army, plus the 271st Infantry Division under the command of Colonel M.A. Titov, were to restrain tank attacks on the Perekop Isthmus and not let the enemy go deeper into the peninsula, where the battle for Sevastopol was already brewing. Four Crimean divisions: 172nd, 184th, 320th and 321st - guarded the coast. They were commanded, respectively, by Colonels I. G. Toroptsev, V. N. Abramov, M. V. Vinogradov and I. M. Aliev.
From September 24, the Germans went on the offensive. Two infantry units, supported by artillery and aircraft, attempted to break through the Perekop Isthmus. By September 26, they stormed the Turkish Wall and captured the city of Armyansk. The two rifle and one cavalry divisions thrown into the defense of the city, organized by the commander of the operational group, Lieutenant General P.I. Batov, did not create any special obstacles for the German army - their attack was so powerful. By September 30, Soviet troops left their previous positions and retreated.
Departure to the Taman Peninsula
Having gained a foothold in the Ishun positions, by October 18, when the 11th German army launched a new offensive, the 9th Rifle Corps and several separate units of the Black Sea Fleet regrouped and prepared to adequately meet the enemy’s strike. Of course, the forces were not equal. The leaders of the defense of Sevastopol understood that without reinforcements they would not be able to restrain the German army, but there were fierce battles along the entire front, and there was no way to transfer additional units to Ishun positions.
The battle lasted 5 days, during which the enemy pushed the Soviet troops even further deeper into the peninsula. The arrived Maritime Army did not save the situation. Manstein, with fresh forces, threw two infantry divisions to the front line, which on October 28 broke through the defenses. Parts of the Red Army were forced to withdraw to Sevastopol. The history of the city was replenished with new, the most tragic pages in all the years of its existence.
It was not easy under Kerch, where our troops also retreated. The entire mountainous terrain in the area served as one battlefield. All attempts by the Red Army to gain a foothold on the Kerch Peninsula were unsuccessful - the 42nd German army corps of three divisions defeated the main forces of our 51st army, and on November 16 its surviving battalions were evacuated to the Taman Peninsula. Future Hero cities Sevastopol and Kerch knew on themselves all the power of the Wehrmacht. To break through to the southern coast of Crimea, the German army was replenished with the 54th Army Corps, which included two infantry divisions and a motorized brigade, and the 30th Army Corps, also consisting of two infantry divisions.
On the approaches to Sevastopol
Impenetrable power at the beginning of the war was the Sevastopol Defensive Region (SOR), which was perhaps the most fortified place in European territory. This included several dozens of gun positions fortified by pillboxes, minefields, forts armed with large-caliber artillery, or, as they were called in those years, armored turret batteries (BB). The defense of Sevastopol 1941-1942 stretched for several months, largely due to the very fortified defensive area.
All November, the 41st battles were farther on the outskirts of the city. The defense was held by the infantry of the Black Sea Fleet, since the ground forces of the 51st Army by that time were almost gone on the peninsula - they were evacuated. Separate anti-aircraft, artillery and training units, as well as coastal batteries, helped the infantry. The remnants of Soviet divisions scattered along the coast also joined the ranks of the defenders of the city, but they were negligible. So we can safely say that the heroic defense of Sevastopol 1941-1942.
carried out exclusively by the forces of the Black Sea.
The Soviet group by November totaled about 20 thousand sailors. But at the headquarters of the commander in chief they understood how important it was to keep this last frontier of the Crimea, and the Sevastopol garrison was strengthened by units of the Primorsky Army, which had previously defended Odessa, commanded by Major General I. E. Petrov.
The reinforcements were thrown by the sea, since there was no other way. The defensive garrison was replenished with 36,000 manpower, several hundred guns, tens of tons of ammunition, tanks and other weapons. From November 9 to 11, the Wehrmacht army was able to completely encircle Sevastopol from land, and in the next 10 days in several places to wedge itself into the defense line. Then, in the fighting, there was a pause.
United front
Hero cities Sevastopol and Kerch, in those difficult days of the country’s war, received their immortality at the cost of the deaths of thousands of their defenders, who found the strength to withstand a more powerful enemy army. After a slight lull, fighting in the Crimea resumed with particular ruthlessness in the early days of January 1942. In Yevpatoria, occupied by the Romanians at that time, an uprising broke out, organized by the local population and partisan formations ripened to it. On January 5, parts of the Black Sea Fleet landing on the coast were deployed to the city.
The first battles brought a small victory to the combined Soviet troops - the Romanian garrison was knocked out of the city. But the superiority of the defenders was short-lived: on January 7, tightening up reserves, the Germans defeated the landing units. Many of our fighters were captured. The gun was also lost. At the border of Alushta - Sevastopol, which was held by defensive forces for a long time, the Germans also now ruled. From now on, all hopes were turned to the coast, where for a long time the defense of Sevastopol was reliably carried out. There were practically no days of silence, shelling of the city was carried out constantly.
Under the blows of the Luftwaffe
In addition to artillery, Manstein threw his striking forces - the Luftwaffe - into the city. The Army Group South, which consisted of two air corps, which consisted of about 750 aircraft, was supported by the German fleet. Hitler spared neither technology nor manpower to completely capture the Crimean peninsula. The fifth Luftwaffe air corps was thrown under Sevastopol just at the beginning of the winter of 1941, and already in May 42, this deadly technique was able to provide the ground operation, which was conducted by Manstein, with tangible support. Defense of Sevastopol 1941-1942 years, contrary to the stamina and courage of the Black Sea sailors, did not last long after the enemy aircraft flew into the city. Moreover, just in the spring, the eighth air corps commanded by V. von Richthoffen was transferred to this section of the front. Hitler appointed one of his best generals to the most complex and responsible ground operations.
The heroes of the defense of Sevastopol, who survived and survived after those fierce battles, shared their memories of the ongoing bombing of the city. Every day, Luftwaffe aircraft dropped tons of high-explosive bombs on Sevastopol. Our military recorded up to 600 sorties daily. In total, more than two and a half thousand tons of bombs were dropped, including large-caliber bombs - up to a thousand kilograms each.
All German power - to storm the city
The conquerors paid tribute to the artillery forts of Sevastopol. It took so long to resist the superior forces of an opponent at times only if there were long-term defensive structures that were in the Crimea. To destroy them, the Germans had to use large-caliber siege artillery. Over two hundred batteries, which consisted of heavy guns, Manstein placed along a line with a length of 22 kilometers. In addition to heavy howitzers of 300 mm and 350 mm, superheavy siege weapons of 800 mm were also used.
Secretly, especially for a breakthrough in the Sevastopol direction, a gun with a total mass of over a thousand tons was delivered from Germany. It was located in the rocks near Bakhchisarai. It was impossible to withstand such power. Participants in the defense of Sevastopol told that not a single weapon had such a deafening roar and destructive force.
For a long time, German troops could not begin the assault on the city - partisans, the weather and the lack of a clearly developed attack plan interfered. But by the spring of 1942 everything was ready. For the summer assault, the 11th army of the Germans was strengthened by new six corps: the 54th, 30th, 42nd, 7th Romanian, 8th Romanian and 8th aviation. As can be seen from the description of the corps, they had both ground troops and air forces.
In the ring of fire
The 42nd and 7th corps were located on the Kerch Peninsula ; it was planned to use them for ground operations and bring them into battle only to replace the broken divisions. The 4th Mountain and 46th Infantry were to enter the last stage of the battle, so the enemy had four divisions with relatively fresh forces for the final capture of the city. So in the end it happened - under the powerful onslaught of the German units, the many-day defense of Sevastopol ended. The Second World War lasted only a year, there were three more ahead, and the losses of Soviet troops in the Crimean sector of the front alone were colossal. But no one thought to surrender to the superior forces of the enemy - they stood to the last. They understood that the decisive battle would be fatal for the majority, but they did not see any other fate for themselves.
The Wehrmacht was also preparing for heavy losses. The command of the 11th army, in addition to the reserve hidden at the approaches to Sevastopol, requested three additional infantry and several anti-aircraft artillery regiments from the headquarters. Three divisions of self-propelled guns, a separate tank battalion, and deployed batteries of super-heavy guns were waiting in the wings.
Many years later, when WWII researchers summed up the battle that went down in history as the Defense of Sevastopol 1941-1942, it turned out that Hitler had not used such a massive use of aviation and artillery throughout the Second World War.
As for the ratio of manpower, at the beginning of the defense, according to experts, it was almost equal, on the one hand, and on the other side of the front. But by the summer of 1942, the numerical superiority of the German army was undeniable. The decisive assault on Sevastopol began on June 7, but for almost a month the Soviet troops held the defenses.
Last assault
Almost the entire first week, the stubborn confrontation did not subside. Perfectly protected in pillboxes and forts, the Black Sea sailors put up mortal resistance - the Wehrmacht soldier fell on the outskirts of Sevastopol a lot.
The decisive battle, which changed the course of the confrontation, took place on June 17 in the southern sector. The Germans took a position known in history as the "Eagle's Nest", and came to the foot of the Sapun Mountain. By that time, Stalin Fort, which had been defending from the north, was already captured by German soldiers. In their hands was Mekenzieva height. Towards evening, several more forts passed to the advancing ones, among which was Maxim Gorky-1, as the Germans called it, with a BB-30 battery. The entire Northern Bay could now be fired freely by German artillery. With the loss of the BB-30 battery, the defenders lost contact with the regular Red Army, located on the other side of the front. The delivery of ammunition and the reinforcement approach became impossible. But the inner ring of defense was still dangerous for the Germans.
The southern coast of the Northern Bay was strengthened quite strongly , Manstein did not dare to storm it on the move, without tactical training . He relied on the factor of surprise in order to avoid too much loss. On the night of June 28th to June 29th, on practically silent inflatable boats, the advanced parts of the 30th hull approached the bay unnoticed and began the assault. By the evening of June 30, Malakhov Kurgan was captured.
The defenders were running out of ammunition and food, and the top and senior command of the defense forces of Sevastopol, as well as the city’s party asset, decided to evacuate at headquarters. It was not about saving the sailors, soldiers, including the wounded, as well as the lower officers ...
Scary loss figures
The evacuation plan was implemented using aircraft, submarines and light craft, which are in the assets of the Black Sea Fleet. In total, about 700 people of the top leadership of the troops were removed from the peninsula; aviation brought to the Caucasus about another two hundred people. Several thousand sailors were able to escape from the environment in light ships. On July 1, the defense of Sevastopol was practically stopped. The sounds of gunfire were still heard at some lines, but they were local in nature. The Primorsky Army, left by the commander, retreated to
Cape Chersonese, where for three more days it also stubbornly resisted the enemy. In an unequal struggle, thousands of Crimean defenders died, the rest were taken prisoner. Established in memory of those events, a few survivors received a medal for the defense of Sevastopol. As reported by the German command at their headquarters, they managed to capture more than one hundred thousand Soviet soldiers and sailors at Cape Khersones, but Manstein denied this information, saying only forty thousand prisoners. According to Soviet data, the army lost 78,230 captured soldiers from the survivors. Information about weapons radically differ from those that the Germans provided their command.
With the loss of Sevastopol, the situation of the Red Army worsened significantly, until the days when our troops entered the city as victors. It happened in a memorable 1944, and ahead were many months and miles of war ...