The Crimean peninsula at all times, first for the Russian Empire, and subsequently for the USSR, was a strategic center in the Black Sea. Crimean operation was very important for the advancing Red Army, and at the same time, Hitler understood: if he surrendered the peninsula, the whole Black Sea would lose. Fierce fighting lasted longer than a month and led to the defeat of the defending fascists.
On the eve of the operation
From the end of 1942 - the beginning of 1943 during the Second World War there was a radical change: if up to this point the Red Army was retreating, now it has gone on the offensive. The battle of Stalingrad became a tragedy for the entire Wehrmacht. In the summer of 1943 there was a battle on the Kursk Bulge, called in history the largest tank battle in which the Soviet forces strategically outplayed the Nazis by taking them in ticks, after which the Third Reich was already doomed. The generals reported to Hitler that the further continuation of hostilities was becoming meaningless. However, he ordered to stand and hold positions until the last.
Crimean operation was a continuation of the glorious accomplishments of the Red Army. After the Lower Dnieper offensive, the 17th German army was blocked on the Crimean peninsula without the possibility of replenishment and reinforcement. In addition, Soviet troops managed to capture a convenient bridgehead in the Kerch area. High German command again reminded of the hopelessness of the situation at the front. As for the Crimea itself, the generals specifically said that without possible ground reinforcements, they remain there for certain death with further resistance. Hitler did not think so - he gave the order to hold the defense of this important strategic point. He motivated this by the fact that in the event of the surrender of Crimea, Romania and Bulgaria would cease to ally with Germany. The order was given, but what was the attitude of ordinary soldiers to this instruction and generally to the war, when the Crimean defensive operation began for them?
War theorists often talk only about the balance of forces between the opposing sides and their strategies, suggesting the outcome of the battle as a whole by the beginning of the battle, simply by calculating the number of military equipment and the number of soldiers.
Meanwhile, practitioners believe that, if not decisive, then fighting spirit plays a huge role. And what happened to him on both sides?
The fighting spirit of the Red Army
If at the beginning of the war the fighting spirit of Soviet soldiers was rather low, then during its operations, and especially after Stalingrad, it grew unimaginably. Now the Red Army went into battle only for victory. In addition, our troops, unlike the first months of the war, were hardened in battle, and the command gained the necessary experience. All this together gave us a complete advantage over the invaders.
The fighting spirit of the German-Romanian army
At the beginning of the Second World War, the German war machine did not know defeats. In less than two years, Germany managed to capture almost the whole of Europe, approaching the borders of the USSR. The fighting spirit of the Wehrmacht soldier was at its best. They considered themselves invincible. And going into the next battle, they already knew in advance that it would be victorious.
However, at the end of 1941, the Nazis first met serious resistance in the battle for Moscow. During the counter-operation, the Red Army drove them away from the city at a distance of more than 200 km. It was a blow to their pride and, most importantly, to their fighting spirit.
This was followed by the Battle of Stalingrad, the Battle of Kursk, the breaking of the blockade of Leningrad, the Crimean strategic offensive operation began. The Third Reich was retreating on all fronts. Besides the fact that the German soldiers were defeated one by one, they were simply tired of the war. No matter how we relate to them, but they are also people, they had families that they loved and wanted to return home as soon as possible. They no longer needed this war. The fighting spirit was at zero.
The forces of the parties. USSR
Crimean operation became one of the largest in the years of the Second World War. The Red Army was represented by:
- 4th Ukrainian Front, commanded by F.I. Tolbukhin. It consisted of the 51st army under the command of J. G. Kreiser; 2nd Guards Army under the command of G.F. Zakharov; The 8th Air Army under the command of T. T. Khryukin, as well as the 19th Panzer Corps, originally under the command of I. D. Vasiliev, which was subsequently replaced by I. A. Potseluev.
- A separate Primorye army, subordinated to General A.I. Eremenko, but on April 15, 1944, its command was entrusted to K. S. Melnik, who was a lieutenant general of the army.
- The Black Sea Fleet commanded by Admiral Oktyabrsky F.S.
- 361st Sevastopol Separate Radio Division.
- The Azov military flotilla, led by Rear Admiral Gorshkov S.G.
The forces of the parties. Germany, Romania
The defense of the captured peninsula was carried out by the 17th Wehrmacht army. Since May 1, 1944, its command was assigned to General of the Infantry K. Almendinger. The army consisted of 7 Romanian and 5 German divisions. The main headquarters is located in the city of Simferopol.
The Crimean operation from the Wehrmacht in the spring of 1944 was defensive in nature. The Wehrmacht's territorially defensive strategy can be divided into 4 parts:
1. North. The command of these forces was located in Dzhankoy, reserves were also concentrated there. Two formations were concentrated here:
- 49th Mountain Rifle Corps: 50, 111, 336th Infantry Divisions, 279th Assault Gun Brigade;
- The 3rd Romanian cavalry corps, consisting of the 9th cavalry, 10th and 19th infantry divisions.
2. The West. The entire coast from Sevastopol to Perekop was on guard of two regiments of the 9th Romanian cavalry division.
3. East. Events unfolded on the Kerch Peninsula. Here they defended:
- 5th Army Corps (73rd and 98th Infantry Divisions, 191st Assault Gun Brigade);
- 6th cavalry and 3rd mountain romanian divisions.
4. South. The entire 1st Romanian Mountain Rifle Corps patrolled and defended the entire southern coast from Sevastopol to Feodosia.
As a result, the forces were concentrated as follows: the northern direction - 5 divisions, Kerch - 4 divisions, the southern and western coast of Crimea - 3 divisions.
Crimean operation was launched precisely at such an arrangement of military formations.
The balance of power of the warring parties
Number | USSR | Germany, Romania |
Human | 462,400 | 195,000 |
Guns and mortars | 5982 | About 3600 |
Tanks and self-propelled guns | 559 | 215 |
Aircraft | 1250 | 148 |
In addition, the Red Army had 322 units of equipment of the Navy. These figures indicate a significant numerical superiority of the Soviet Army. The Wehrmacht command reported this to Hitler in order to obtain permission to retreat the forces remaining in the blockade.
Plans of the parties
The Soviet side saw in Crimea, and mainly in Sevastopol, the main base of the Black Sea Fleet. With the receipt of this object for its use, the USSR Navy could more conveniently and successfully carry out operations at sea, which was necessary for the further advance of the troops.
Germany, too, was well aware of the importance of Crimea for the general alignment of forces. Hitler understood that the Crimean offensive strategic operation could lead to the loss of this most important bridgehead. Moreover, Adolf was often informed of the impossibility of deterring the Red Army in this direction. Most likely, he himself already understood the hopelessness of the situation, but he no longer had other considerations. Hitler gave the order to defend the peninsula until the last soldier, in no case surrender it to the USSR. He considered Crimea a force that restrains allies such as Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey near Germany, and the loss of this point will automatically lead to the loss of allied support.
Thus, Crimea was very important for the Soviet army. For Germany, he was vital.
The beginning of the Crimean offensive operation
The strategy of the Red Army consisted of a simultaneous massive strike from the north (from Sivash and Perekop) and the east (from Kerch), followed by advancement to strategic centers - Simferopol and Sevastopol. After that, the enemy had to be divided into separate groups and destroyed, not giving the opportunity to evacuate to Romania.
On April 3, the Soviet army, using its heavy artillery, destroyed the enemy defenses. On April 7, in the evening, reconnaissance was carried out in battle, confirming the location of the enemy forces. April 8, the Crimean operation began. For two days, Soviet soldiers were in fierce fighting. As a result, the enemy’s defense was broken. On April 11, the 19th Panzer Corps succeeded on the first attempt to capture Dzhankoy, one of the headquarters of the enemy forces. German and Romanian formations, fearing encirclement, began to retreat from the north and east (from Kerch) to Simferopol and Sevastopol.
On the same day, the Soviet army captured Kerch, after which the pursuit of the retreating enemy with the use of aircraft began in all directions. The Wehrmacht began the evacuation of soldiers by sea, but the forces of the Black Sea Fleet attacked the evacuated ships, as a result of which the Nazi allied forces lost 8,100 people.
On April 13, the cities of Simferopol, Feodosia, Saki, Yevpatoria were liberated. The next day - Sudak, another day - Alushta. The Crimean operation in the Second World War was coming to an end. The matter remained only for Sevastopol.
Partisan Contribution
A separate topic of conversation is the partisan and underground activities of Crimeans. The Crimean operation, in short, became the unity of the army and partisans in achieving a common goal. According to estimates, in total there were about 4000 people. The objectives of their activities were the destruction of enemy rear lines, subversive activities, loss of communications and railways, blockages were made on mountain roads. The partisans disrupted the port in Yalta, which greatly complicated the evacuation of German and Romanian soldiers. In addition to disruptive activities, the partisans aimed to prevent the destruction of industrial, transport enterprises and cities.
Here is one example of active partisan activity. On April 11, during the retreat of the 17th Wehrmacht army to Sevastopol, partisans seized the city of Old Crimea, as a result of which they cut the road to the retreating.
Kurt Tippelskirch, the Wehrmacht general, described the last days of the battles as follows: the partisans actively interacted with the Soviet troops during the entire operation and provided assistance.
The assault of Sevastopol
By April 15, 1944, Soviet troops approached the main base - Sevastopol. Preparations for the assault began. By that time, the Odessa operation, which took place as part of the Dnieper-Carpathian, was completed. Odessa (and Crimean) operation, during which the north and north-west coast of the Black Sea was liberated, made a significant contribution to the Victory cause.
The first two attempts to seize the city on the 19th and 23rd were unsuccessful. The regrouping of troops began, as well as the supply of provisions, fuel and ammunition.
May 7, at 10:30, with massive support from aviation, an assault on the fortified area of Sevastopol began. On May 9, the Red Army entered the city from the east, north, and southeast. Sevastopol was released! The remaining Wehrmacht troops began a retreat, but on Cape Khersones they were overtaken by the 19th Panzer Corps, where they took the last battle, as a result of which the 17th Army was completely defeated, and 21,000 soldiers (including officers) were captured with a lot of equipment and other weapons.
Summary
The last bridgehead of the Wehrmacht in Right-Bank Ukraine, located in the Crimea, in the person of the 17th Army, was destroyed. More than 100 thousand German and Romanian soldiers were irretrievably lost. The total losses amounted to 140,000 soldiers and officers of the Wehrmacht.
For the Red Army, the threat to the southern front disappeared. The return of Sevastopol - the main base of the Black Sea Fleet.
But the most important thing is that the USSR after the Crimean operation regained control in the Black Sea basin. This fact sharply shook Germany’s strong positions in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey.
The worst grief in the history of our people in the 20th century is the Great Patriotic War. The Crimean operation, like everyone else, had positive consequences for the offensive and strategies, but as a result of these clashes hundreds, thousands, and sometimes millions of our citizens were killed. The Crimean offensive operation was an important strategic goal set by the Soviet command. It took Germany in 1941-1942. 250 days to capture Sevastopol. Soviet troops had 35 days to liberate the entire Crimean peninsula, 5 of which were required to storm Sevastopol. As a result of the successful operation, favorable conditions were created for the advancement of the Soviet armed forces to the Balkan Peninsula.