On May 9, 1944, 70 years ago, after a general assault, Sevastopol was liberated. By May 12, the remnants of the German 17th Army, which fled to Cape Chersonese, were finally defeated. "Third Stalinist blow"- The Crimean offensive operation led to the complete liberation of the Crimean peninsula from the Nazis. Having recaptured the Crimea and Sevastopol, the Soviet Union regained control of the Black Sea.
Soviet soldiers salute in honor of the liberation of Sevastopol
General situation before the start of the operation. Previous Operations
1943 The German military-political leadership clung to the Crimea to the last opportunity. The Crimean peninsula had a huge military-strategic and political significance. Adolf Hitler demanded to keep the Crimea at any cost. The Crimean peninsula was necessary for Berlin not only for operational reasons (a base for air and navy, an advanced outpost of the ground forces, which allows stabilizing the position of the southern flank of the entire front), but from political ones. The surrender of Crimea could have influenced the position of Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey, and the general situation on the Balkan Peninsula. The loss of Crimea strengthened the capabilities of the Soviet Air Force and Black Sea Fleet.
August 13 - September 22, 1943 troops Southwestern Front under the command of General F. I. Tolbukhin, during the Donbass offensive operation, they reached the line of the Dnieper and Molochnaya rivers. Conditions appeared for the liberation of Northern Tavria and the Crimean peninsula. September 9 - October 9, 1943, the Novorossiysk-Taman operation was carried out (). During this operation, Soviet troops liberated Novorossiysk, the Taman Peninsula and reached the coast of the Kerch Strait. The successful completion of the operation created favorable opportunities for attacks on the Crimean group of the Wehrmacht from the sea and through the Kerch Strait.
The position of German troops on the southern wing of the Soviet-German front continued to deteriorate further. September 26 - November 5, 1943, the Southern Front (from October 20, 1943 - the 4th Ukrainian) carried out the Melitopol offensive operation. October 24-25, 1943 19th tank corps of General I.D. Vasiliev, Guards Kuban Cossack Cavalry Corps of General N.Ya. Kirichenko and rifle units broke through the German defenses. The Red Army was rapidly advancing towards Perekop, Sivash and the lower reaches of the Dnieper. As a result of the Melitopol operation, the Red Army defeated 8 enemy divisions and inflicted heavy damage on 12 divisions. Soviet troops advanced 50-230 km, liberating almost the entire Northern Tavria and reaching the lower reaches of the Dnieper. German troops in the Crimea were cut off from the rest of the troops. By the end of the day on October 31, the advanced units of the 19th tank corps and the cavalry corps approached the Turkish Wall and broke through it on the move. On November 1, Soviet soldiers fought in the Armyansk region. The blow of the Soviet tankers and cavalry on the Turkish Wall was so sudden that the Nazis did not have time to organize a powerful defense.
The problem of the advanced units was that they did not have enough artillery, ammunition, besides, the rifle units fell behind. The German command, realizing that the Turkish shaft was broken, organized a powerful counterattack. All day there was a stubborn battle. On the night of November 2, the Nazis again occupied the Turkish Wall with a blow from the flanks. The advanced Soviet units were forced to fight surrounded. German attacks followed one after another. Komkor Vasiliev was wounded, but remained in the ranks and continued to lead the troops. On November 3, the units had 6-7 shells per gun and 20-25 rounds per rifle. The situation was critical. The front headquarters ordered to leave the encirclement, but if possible, to hold the bridgehead. Commander of the 19th Tank Corps Ivan Vasiliev (By Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of November 3, 1943, Lieutenant General tank troops Vasiliev was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union) decided to hold the bridgehead and strike from it (from the south) again to break through the German positions on the shaft. At night, two small assault detachments (each with 100 fighters) made up of tankers, dismounted cavalrymen, sappers, signalmen and drivers broke through the German defenses. So, the bridgehead south of the Turkish Wall, 3.5 km wide and up to 4 km deep, was able to hold.
At the same time, parts of the 10th Rifle Corps, Major General K.P. Neverov forced the Sivash and captured another important bridgehead. The German command, realizing the danger of this breakthrough, sent reinforcements with tanks and artillery into battle. However, the Soviet troops received reinforcements. The bridgehead was retained and expanded to 18 km along the front and 14 km in depth. Thus, the operation ended with the capture of bridgeheads at Perekop and south of Sivash, which played a crucial role during the Crimean operation.
Soviet troops crossing the Sivash
The commander of the 17th Army, General Erwin Gustav Jeneke, fearing a "new Stalingrad", drew up a plan for the evacuation of German troops from the peninsula through Perekop to Ukraine ("Operation Michael"). The evacuation was scheduled for October 29, 1943. However, Hitler banned the operation at the last moment. Hitler proceeded from the strategic and military-political significance of the peninsula. He was supported by the Commander-in-Chief of the Naval Forces, Grand Admiral K. Doenitz. The German Navy needed Crimea to control a significant part of the Black Sea, the loss of the peninsula sharply worsened the capabilities of the German fleet. The admiral promised that in a critical situation, the fleet would evacuate 200,000 troops. 17th Army in 40 days (in bad weather - in 80). However, the naval command was mistaken in their forecasts, in assessing the capabilities of the Navy and Soviet troops. When the need arose, the 17th Army could not be quickly evacuated, which caused its destruction.
October 31 - November 11, 1943, Soviet troops carried out the Kerch-Eltigen landing operation. The Soviet command planned to liberate the Kerch Peninsula. It was not possible to liberate the peninsula, but an important bridgehead was captured and significant enemy forces were attracted to this direction. The German command was forced to transfer troops from the northern (Perekop) direction, where the Nazis planned to launch a strong counterattack on the advancing troops of the 4th Ukrainian Front. The German 17th Army became even more bogged down in the Crimea, now under the threat of attacks from two directions. The Romanian leadership, having lost confidence in the Germans, began to evacuate their troops from the Crimea.
Soldiers of the Separate Primorsky Army attack an enemy stronghold on the territory of a metallurgical plant in Kerch
1944 German forces and defense
The 17th Army of Yeneke (Yeneke) was still a powerful and quite combat-ready grouping. It consisted of up to 200 thousand soldiers, 215 tanks and assault guns and about 360 guns and mortars, 148 aircraft. The headquarters of the 17th Army was in Simferopol.
The army was ordered by Adolf Hitler to stay on the peninsula. In the future, the 17th Army, together with the 6th Army, located in the Nikopol region, was to launch a counterattack on the Red Army and restore land communications cut by the Soviet troops with the rest of the German troops. The 17th Army was to play an important role in disrupting the Soviet offensive on the southern wing Eastern Front. Back in November 1943, the Litzman and Ruderboot plans were developed. They provided for the breakthrough of most of the 17th Army from the Crimea through Perekop to join the 6th Army, which was holding the Nikopol bridgehead, and the evacuation of a smaller part of the army by naval forces.
However, the actions of the Soviet troops thwarted these plans. Parts of the 10th Rifle Corps, which held the bridgehead south of Sivash, improved their tactical position and expanded the bridgehead during several local operations. The troops of the Separate Primorsky Army in the Kerch region also conducted a number of local operations, improving their position and expanding their foothold. The 17th Army found itself in an even more difficult position. As General E. Yeneke noted on January 19, 1944: "... the defense of the Crimea hangs on a" silk thread "...".
The position of the 17th Army was aggravated by the actions of the Crimean partisans. On December 20, 1943, the operational and intelligence departments of the 5th Army Corps recognized the futility of fighting partisan detachments, since: "the complete destruction of large bands in the mountains is possible only with the involvement of very large forces." The command of the 17th Army also recognized the hopelessness of the fight against the partisans. Partisan detachments were supported by an "air bridge" with the USSR. The Germans tried to terrorize, including exterminating the population of the foothill villages, among which the partisans were hiding, to suppress resistance. However, the punitive measures did not produce the expected results. In addition, Crimean Tatars were involved in the fight against the partisans, who massively collaborated with the invaders.
By April 1944, three partisan formations were actively operating in the Crimea, with a total number of up to 4 thousand fighters. The most powerful was the Southern connection of partisans under the command of I. A. Makedonsky. The southern detachment was located in the reserve of the southern coast of Crimea, in the region of Alushta - Bakhchisarai - Yalta. The northern unit under the command of P. R. Yampolsky was stationed in the Zuy forests. The eastern unit under the leadership of V.S. Kuznetsov was based in the Starokrymsky forests. In fact, Soviet partisans controlled the entire mountain-forest part of the peninsula. Throughout the occupation, they strengthened their positions. Even some invaders passed to them. So, on the side of the partisans, a group of deserted Slovaks fought.
Crimean partisans
On January 22-28, the Separate Primorsky Army conducted another local operation. The offensive did not lead to success, but showed the precarious position of the 17th Army. The German command had to transfer reserves from the northern direction, which thwarted the possibility of a counterattack at Perekop. From January 30 to February 29, 1944, the troops of the 3rd and 4th Ukrainian fronts carried out the Nikopol-Krivoy Rog operation (). The Nikopol bridgehead was liquidated, which finally deprived the Germans of the hope of restoring land communications with the 17th Army encircled in the Crimea. The 4th Ukrainian Front was able to direct all its forces to the liberation of the Crimean Peninsula.
True, in January-February, the 73rd Infantry Division from the 44th Separate Army Corps was airlifted to the Crimea from the south of Ukraine, and in March, the 111th Infantry Division from the 6th Army of Army Group A. The German high command still wanted to keep the Crimea. However, the command of the 17th Army understood that the reinforcements were not able to change the situation, they only prolong the agony. Jeneke and his staff repeatedly reported to the high command about the need for the speedy evacuation of the army.
Tanks Pz.Kpfw.38 (t) of the 2nd Romanian tank regiment in the Crimea
Romanian artillerymen fire from a 75 mm anti-tank gun during a battle in the Crimea
By April, the 17th Army had 12 divisions: 5 German and 7 Romanian, 2 assault gun brigades. In the area of Perekop and against the bridgehead on Sivash, the defense was held by the 49th Mountain Rifle Corps (50th, 111th, 336th Infantry Divisions, 279th Brigade of Assault Guns) and the Romanian Cavalry Corps (9th Cavalry, 10th 19th and 19th Infantry Divisions). In total, the Northern group consisted of about 80 thousand soldiers. The headquarters of the group was located in Dzhankoy.
The German defense in the Perekop area consisted of three lanes up to 14 km long and up to 35 km deep. They were occupied by the 50th Infantry Division, reinforced by several separate battalions and units (a total of about 20 thousand bayonets, up to 50 tanks and assault guns and 325 guns and mortars). The main defensive line was up to 4-6 km deep, had three defensive positions with full-profile trenches and long-term firing points. The main center of defense was Armyansk. From the northern direction, the city was covered by a deep anti-tank ditch, minefields and anti-tank guns. The city was prepared for all-round defense, the streets were blocked with barricades, many buildings were turned into strongholds. Communication passages connected Armyansk with the nearest settlements.
The second line of defense took place in the southern part of the Perekop Isthmus between the Karkinit Bay and the Staroe and Krasnoye lakes. The depth of the second line of defense was 6-8 km. Here the Germans built two defensive positions, covered with an anti-tank ditch, minefields and other barriers. The defense was based on the Ishun positions, which closed the exit to the steppe regions of the peninsula. The third line of defense, the construction of which was not completed by the beginning of the offensive of the Red Army, passed along the Chartylyk River. In the intervals between the defense lines there were separate nodes of resistance and strongholds, minefields. Antiamphibious defenses were prepared on the coast of the Karkinitsky Gulf. The command of the 17th Army was expecting the main attack of the Red Army in the Perekop area.
On the southern bank of the Sivash, the Germans built 2-3 defensive lines up to 15-17 km deep. They were occupied by the 336th German and 10th Romanian infantry divisions. Defensive positions passed along the shores of four lakes and had a land length of only 10 km. Due to this, a high density of defense was achieved, saturated with manpower and firing points. In addition, the defense was strengthened by numerous engineering barriers, minefields and pillboxes, bunkers. The 111th German Infantry Division, the 279th Assault Gun Brigade and part of the 9th Romanian Cavalry Division were in reserve at Dzhankoy.
The Kerch direction was defended by the 5th Army Corps: the 73rd, 98th Infantry Divisions, the 191st Brigade of Assault Guns, the Romanian 6th Cavalry Division and the 3rd Mountain Rifle Division. In total, the group consisted of about 60 thousand soldiers. Coastal defense in the area from Feodosia to Sevastopol was assigned to the Romanian 1st Mountain Rifle Corps (1st and 2nd Mountain Rifle Divisions). The same corps was engaged in the fight against partisans. The coast from Sevastopol to Perekop was controlled by two cavalry regiments from the Romanian 9th Cavalry Division. In total, about 60 thousand soldiers were allocated for antiamphibious defense and the fight against partisans. The headquarters of the 17th Army and the Romanian 1st Mountain Rifle Corps were located in Simferopol. In addition, the 17th Army included the 9th Air Force Anti-Aircraft Division, an artillery regiment, three coastal defense artillery regiments, the Krym mountain rifle regiment, a separate Bergman regiment, and other units (security, engineer battalions, etc. .).
There were four lines of defense on the Kerch Peninsula. Their total depth reached 70 kilometers. The main line of defense was based on Kerch and the heights surrounding the city. The second line of defense ran along the Turkish Wall - from Adzhibay to Uzunlar Lake. The third lane went near the settlements of Seven Wells, Kenegez, Adyk, Obekchi and Karasan. The fourth lane covered the Ak-Monai isthmus ("Perpach-position"). In addition, the Germans equipped the rear defense lines on the Evpatoria - Saki - Sarabuz - Karasubazar - Sudak - Feodosia, Alushta - Yalta line. They covered Simferopol. Sevastopol was a powerful defensive node.
Operation plan and Soviet forces
The Headquarters of the Supreme High Command (VGK) considered the Crimean peninsula as a strategically important area. The liberation of the Crimea restored the capabilities of the Black Sea Fleet. Sevastopol was the main base of the Soviet fleet. In addition, the peninsula was an important base for the German fleet and aviation, covering the southern strategic flank of the enemy. Crimea was important in determining the future of the Balkan Peninsula and influenced Turkish policy.
The operation to liberate the Crimea began to prepare in February 1944. On February 6, Chief of the General Staff A.M. Vasilevsky and the Military Council of the 4th Ukrainian Front presented the Headquarters with a plan for the Crimean operation. On February 22, 1944, Joseph Stalin approved the decision to direct the main attack from Sivash. For this, crossings were organized through the Sivash, through which manpower and equipment began to be transferred to the bridgehead. The work took place in difficult conditions. The sea, German air raids and artillery strikes destroyed crossings more than once.
The start date of the operation was postponed several times. From the beginning, this was due to the expectation of the liberation from the Nazis of the coast of the Dnieper to Kherson, then the weather conditions (because of them, the start of the operation was postponed for the period between March 15 and 20). On March 16, the start of the operation was postponed in anticipation of the liberation of Nikolaev and the exit of the Red Army to Odessa. On March 26, the Odessa offensive operation began (). However, even after the release of Nikolaev on March 28, the operation could not be started. Bad weather interfered.
The general plan of the Crimean operation was that the troops of the 4th Ukrainian Front under the command of General of the Army Fyodor Ivanovich Tolbukhin from the north - from Perekop and Sivash, and the Separate Primorskaya Army of General of the Army Andrey Ivanovich Eremenko from the east - from the Kerch Peninsula, delivered a simultaneous blow to general direction to Simferopol and Sevastopol. They were supposed to break through the German defenses, dismember and destroy the German 17th Army, preventing its evacuation from the Crimean Peninsula. Offensive ground forces supported by the Black Sea Fleet under the command of Admiral Philip Sergeyevich Oktyabrsky and the Azov Flotilla under the command of Rear Admiral Sergey Georgievich Gorshkov. The naval forces included battleship, 4 cruisers, 6 destroyers, 2 patrol boats, 8 base minesweepers, 161 torpedo, patrol and armored boats, 29 submarines and other ships and vessels. From the air, the offensive of the 4th UV was supported by the 8th Air Army under the command of Colonel General of Aviation Timofey Timofeevich Khryukin and the aviation of the Black Sea Fleet. The 4th Air Army under the command of Colonel General of Aviation Konstantin Andreevich Vershinin supported the offensive of the Separate Primorsky Army. In addition, partisans were supposed to hit the Germans from the rear. Marshals of the Soviet Union K. E. Voroshilov and A. M. Vasilevsky were responsible for the coordination of the troops. In total, about 470 thousand people, about 6 thousand guns and mortars, 559 tanks and self-propelled artillery mounts, 1250 aircraft took part in the operation.
Chief of Staff of the 4th Ukrainian Front, Lieutenant General Sergei Semenovich Biryuzov, member State Committee Defense Marshal of the Soviet Union Kliment Efremovich Voroshilov, Chief of the General Staff Marshal of the Soviet Union Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky at the command post of the 4th Ukrainian Front
The 4th UV dealt the main blow. It consisted of: the 51st Army, the 2nd Guards Army and the 19th Tank Corps. The main blow from the Sivash bridgehead was delivered by the 51st Army under the command of the Hero of the Soviet Union, Lieutenant General Yakov Grigorievich Kreizer and the reinforced 19th Tank Corps under the command of the Hero of the Soviet Union, Lieutenant General of the Tank Forces Ivan Dmitrievich Vasiliev. Ivan Vasiliev will be wounded during reconnaissance, so his deputy I. A. Potseluev will lead the offensive of the corps. They received the task of advancing in the direction of Dzhankoy - Simferopol - Sevastopol. In the event of a breakthrough of the German defense and the capture of Dzhankoy, the main grouping of the 4th UV went to the rear of the German positions at Perekop. She could also develop an offensive on Simferopol and in the rear of the enemy's Kerch grouping. The 2nd Guards Army under the command of Lieutenant General Georgy Fedorovich Zakharov delivered an auxiliary strike on the Perekop Isthmus and was supposed to advance in the direction of Evpatoria - Sevastopol. Zakharov's army was also supposed to clear the western coast of Crimea from the Nazis. A separate Primorsky army received the task of breaking through the German defenses at Kerch and advancing in the direction of Vladislavovka and Feodosia. In the future, part of the forces of the Primorsky Army was to advance in the direction of Simferopol - Sevastopol, the other part - along the coast, from Feodosia to Sudak, Alushta, Yalta and Sevastopol.
The Black Sea Fleet received the task of disrupting enemy sea communications. Submarines and torpedo boats were to attack enemy ships on the near and far approaches to Sevastopol. Aviation (more than 400 aircraft) was supposed to operate throughout the German sea lanes - from Sevastopol to Romania. Large surface ships did not participate in the operation. The headquarters ordered them to be saved for future naval operations. The actions of the Black Sea Fleet were coordinated by the representative of the Headquarters - the Commander-in-Chief of the Naval Forces of the USSR People's Commissar of the Navy Admiral N.G. Kuznetsov. The Azov Flotilla transported troops and cargo across the Kerch Strait and supported the offensive of the Separate Primorsky Army from the sea.
Long-range aviation under the command of Air Marshal A.E. Golovanov (more than 500 aircraft) was supposed to paralyze the work of railway junctions and ports with massive night attacks, strike at important enemy targets, sink German ships and court. Long-range aviation was supposed to strike at the most important Romanian ports of Galati and Constanta.
The Crimean partisans were given the task of disrupting the movement of the Germans on the roads, interrupting wire communications, organizing attacks on enemy headquarters and command posts, preventing the Nazis from destroying cities and settlements when retreating, to prevent the destruction and theft of the population. They also had to destroy the Yalta port.
To be continued…
72 years ago, on March 16, 1944, the headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief ordered the start of the Crimea liberation operation. Herself Crimean operation It was carried out from April 8 to May 12, 1944 by the forces of the 4th Ukrainian Front and the Separate Primorsky Army in cooperation with the Black Sea Fleet and the Azov military flotilla.
On May 5-7, 1944, troops of the 4th Ukrainian Front (commander - General of the Army F.I. Tolbukhin) stormed the German defensive fortifications in heavy battles; On May 9, they completely liberated Sevastopol, and on May 12, the remnants of the enemy troops on Cape Chersonese laid down their arms.
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This significant event I dedicate this photo collection, friends.
1. Shelled facade of the Sevastopol Palace of Pioneers after the liberation of the city. May 1944
2. German minesweeper in the bay of Sevastopol. 1944
3. German attack aircraft Fw.190, destroyed by Soviet aircraft at the Kherson airfield. 1944
4. Meeting of Soviet partisans and boatmen in the liberated Yalta. 1944
5. The commander of the 7th Romanian mountain corps, General Hugo Schwab (second from left) and the commander of the XXXXIX mountain corps of the Wehrmacht, General Rudolf Konrad (first from the left) at the 37-mm cannon RaK 35/36 in the Crimea. 02/27/1944
6. Meeting of Soviet partisans in the liberated Yalta. 1944
7. The Soviet light cruiser "Red Crimea" is included in Sevastopol bay. 05.11.1944
8. The commander of the 7th Romanian mountain corps, General Hugo Schwab (second from left) and the commander of the XXXXIX mountain corps of the Wehrmacht, General Rudolf Konrad (center right) pass by a mortar crew during a review in the Crimea. 02/27/1944
9. The Black Sea squadron returns to the liberated Sevastopol. In the foreground is the guards light cruiser Krasny Krym, behind it is the silhouette of the battleship Sevastopol. 11/05/1944
10. Soviet soldiers with a flag on the roof of the destroyed building Panorama "Defense of Sevastopol" in the liberated Sevastopol. 1944
11. Tanks Pz.Kpfw. 2nd Romanian tank regiment in the Crimea. 03.11.1943
12. Romanian General Hugo Schwab and German general Rudolf Conrad in the Crimea. 02/27/1944
13. Romanian gunners fire from an anti-tank gun during a battle in the Crimea. 03/27/1944
14. The commander of the XXXXIX mountain corps of the Wehrmacht, General Rudolf Konrad with Romanian officers at an observation post in the Crimea. 02/27/1944
15. Pilots of the 3rd Squadron of the 6th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Black Sea Fleet Air Force are studying a map of the combat area at the airfield near Yak-9D aircraft. In the background - the plane of the guard Lieutenant V.I. Voronov (tail number "31"). Saki airfield, Crimea. April-May 1944
16. Chief of Staff of the 4th Ukrainian Front Lieutenant General Sergei Semenovich Biryuzov, member of the State Defense Committee Marshal of the Soviet Union Kliment Efremovich Voroshilov, Chief of the General Staff Marshal of the Soviet Union Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky at the command post of the 4th Ukrainian Front. April 1944
17. Representative of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, Marshal of the Soviet Union S.K. Timoshenko, with the command of the North Caucasian Front and the 18th Army, is considering an operation plan to cross the Kerch Strait. From left to right: Marshal of the Soviet Union S.K. Timoshenko, Colonel General K.N. Leselidze, General of the Army I.E. Petrov. 1943
18. The Black Sea squadron returns to the liberated Sevastopol. In the foreground is the guards light cruiser Krasny Krym, behind it is the silhouette of the battleship Sevastopol. 11/05/1944
19. Soviet boat SKA-031 with a destroyed stern, thrown out at low tide in Krotkovo, waiting for repairs. A boat from the 1st Novorossiysk Red Banner division of sea hunters of the Black Sea Fleet. 1944
20. Armored boat of the Azov military flotilla in the Kerch Strait. Kerch-Eltingen landing operation. December 1943
21. Soviet troops are transporting military equipment and horses across the Sivash. In the foreground is a 45 mm anti-tank gun. December 1943
22. Soviet soldiers ferry on a pontoon a 122-mm howitzer of the 1938 model M-30 across the Sivash Bay (Rotten Sea). November 1943
23. T-34 tanks on the street of the liberated Sevastopol. May 1944
24. Fighters marines at the arch of Primorsky Boulevard in the liberated Sevastopol. May 1944
25. The Black Sea squadron returns to the liberated Sevastopol. In the foreground is the guards light cruiser Krasny Krym, behind it is the silhouette of the battleship Sevastopol. 11/05/1944
26. Partisans who participated in the liberation of the Crimea. The village of Simeiz on the southern coast of the Crimean peninsula. 1944
27. Minesweeper, Lieutenant Ya.S. Shinkarchuk crossed the Sivash thirty-six times and transported 44 guns with shells to the bridgehead. 1943 year.
28. Architectural monument Grafskaya pier in the liberated Sevastopol. 1944
29. Fireworks at the grave of fellow pilots who died near Sevastopol on April 24, 1944 05/14/1944
30. Armored boats of the Black Sea Fleet carry out the landing of Soviet troops on the Crimean coast of the Kerch Strait to the bridgehead near Yenikale during the Kerch-Eltigen landing operation. November 1943
31. The crew of the Pe-2 dive bomber "For the Great Stalin" of the 40th Bomber Aviation Regiment of the Black Sea Fleet after completing a combat mission. Crimea, May 1944. From left to right: crew commander Nikolai Ivanovich Goryachkin, navigator - Yuri Vasilyevich Tsyplenkov, gunner-radio operator - Sergey (nickname Button).
32. Self-propelled guns SU-152 of the 1824th heavy self-propelled artillery regiment in Simferopol. 04/13/1944
33. Soviet soldiers cross the Sivash in December 1943.
34. Marine sets the Soviet naval flag in the liberated Sevastopol. May 1944
35. Tank T-34 in the street of the liberated Sevastopol. May 1944
36. Transportation of Soviet equipment during the Kerch-Eltigen landing operation. November 1943
37. Destroyed German equipment on the shores of the Cossack Bay in Sevastopol. May 1944
38. German soldiers killed during the liberation of the Crimea. 1944
39. Transport with German soldiers evacuated from the Crimea, moored in the port of Constanta, Romania. 1944
41. Armored boats. The Crimean coast of the Kerch Strait, most likely a bridgehead near Yenikale. Kerch-Eltigen landing operation. Late 1943
42. Yak-9D fighters over Sevastopol. May 1944
43. Yak-9D fighters over Sevastopol. May 1944
44. Yak-9D fighters, 3rd squadron of the 6th GvIAP of the Black Sea Fleet Air Force. May 1944
45. Liberated Sevastopol. May 1944
46. Yak-9D fighters over Sevastopol.
47. Soviet soldiers pose on a German fighter Messerschmitt Bf.109 abandoned in the Crimea. 1944
48. A Soviet soldier tears off the Nazi swastika from the gates of the metallurgical plant. Voikov in the liberated Kerch. April 1944
49. In the location of the Soviet troops - a unit on the march, washing, dugouts. Crimea. 1944
50. Calculation of the Soviet regimental gun at the firing position in the Crimea.
51. Soviet marines install the ship's guis on the very high point Kerch - Mount Mithridates. Crimea. April 1944
57. Liberated Sevastopol from a bird's eye view. 1944
58. In the liberated Sevastopol: an announcement at the entrance to Primorsky Boulevard, left over from the German administration. 1944
59. Sevastopol after the liberation from the Nazis. 1944
60. In the liberated Sevastopol. May 1944
61. Fighters of the 2nd Guards Taman Division in the liberated Kerch. Soviet troops began crossing the Kerch Strait following the Germans fleeing the Taman Peninsula on October 31, 1943. On April 11, 1944, Kerch was finally liberated as a result of a landing operation. April 1944
62. Fighters of the 2nd Guards Taman Division in the battles for the expansion of the bridgehead on the Kerch Peninsula, November 1943. With the defeat of the German troops on the Taman Peninsula, the path to the Kerch Strait opened up, which was used by the guardsmen during the landing to seize the bridgehead in the Crimea still occupied by the Germans . November 1943
63. Landing of the marines in the area of Kerch. On October 31, 1943, Soviet troops began crossing the Kerch Strait. As a result of the landing operation on April 11, 1944, Kerch was finally liberated. The severity and fierceness of the fighting during the defense and liberation of Kerch is evidenced by the fact that for these battles 146 people were awarded high rank Hero of the Soviet Union, and 21 military units and formations were awarded the honorary title "Kerch". November 1943
All photos are clickable.
ALL MY PHOTO ALBUMS
The Crimean offensive operation of 1944 is considered one of the most important campaigns during the Great Patriotic War. It started on April 8th. Let us further consider how the liberation of Crimea from the fascist invaders took place.
The situation on the peninsula
On September 26 - November 5, 1943, the Melitopol, and on October 31 - November 11 of the same year, the Kerch-Eltegen landing operations took place. Soviet troops managed to break through the fortifications on the Perekop Isthmus. Bridgeheads were captured on and in the southern part of Sivash. However, for full release Crimea was not strong enough. The peninsula was occupied by a fairly large enemy grouping, based on a layered defense. On the Perekop Isthmus and opposite the bridgehead on the Sivash, the enemy's positions consisted of three, and on the Kerch Peninsula - of four bands.
Positions of the parties
By driving the enemy out of the peninsula, the Soviet Black Sea Fleet would be able to regain its key strategic base. This would improve the conditions for the placement of ships and the conduct of battles. In addition, the Crimean Peninsula covered the strategic Balkan flank of the Germans, their main communications, passing through the straits to the western part of the coast. In this regard, the German leadership, in turn, gave great importance holding territory. They believed that this would keep the support of Turkey and the Balkan allies. The leadership of the 17th Army, based on the peninsula, was given the task of holding the area to the last. However, the enemy command developed a detailed plan "Adler" in case of retreat.
balance of power
By the beginning of 1944, the German army was reinforced with two divisions. By the end of January, the 73rd, and by the beginning of March, the 111th infantry units arrived on the peninsula. In April, the enemy troops consisted of 12 divisions. Among them were 7 Romanian and 5 German. In addition, the forces included 2 assault brigades, various reinforcements. In general, the number of troops was more than 195 thousand people. The units had about 3600 mortars and guns, 215 tanks. Air support for the army was provided by 148 aircraft. The 4th Ukrainian Front was to play a key role in the battles on the Soviet side. The command of the troops was carried out by Gen. Tolbukhin. The troops included:
- 51st and 2nd Guards armies.
- 78th and 16th fortified areas.
- 19th Panzer Corps.
Also, the 4th Ukrainian Front was supported by the 8th Air Army. The troops were present Separate brigade under the command of Eremenko. Her actions were also provided with air support. Ships were involved in the battles. They were commanded by Oktyabrsky Philip Sergeevich. His forces were to support the offensive and disrupt enemy communications. In addition, the Azov military flotilla was present in the Soviet troops. It was commanded by Rear Admiral Gorshkov. His forces supported the offensive of the Separate Primorsky Army.
The total number of the Soviet grouping was about 470 thousand people. The troops had about 6 thousand mortars and guns, 559 self-propelled guns and tanks at their disposal. From the sea, infantry operations were supported by 4 cruisers, 1 linear and 2 patrol ship, 6 destroyers, 8 base minesweepers, 80 patrol and 47 torpedo boats, 29 submarines, 34 armored boats, 3 gunboats and other auxiliary vessels.
Active support for the Soviet Army was provided by the Crimean partisans, whose detachments were formed at the beginning of 1944. Their total number was about 4 thousand people. The detachments were united in the Eastern, Northern and Southern formations. The forces of the USSR had a significant superiority over the army of the enemy. The actions of the Soviet troops were also coordinated by Voroshilov.
Timing issues
The liberation of the Crimea in 1944 was supposed to begin in February, on the 18th-19th. On February 6, the battle plan was presented. However, the start of the campaign was subsequently postponed several times. At the same time, fighting took place on the coast of the Dnieper. The headquarters of the command sent Vasilevsky an instruction to start the offensive no earlier than the liberation of the territories to Kherson.
Subsequently, another order was given. In particular, Vasilevsky was instructed to start the operation no later than March 1, regardless of how the liberation of the Dnieper coast goes. However, the head of the troops reported to the Headquarters that, taking into account weather conditions fights will have to be postponed until mid-March. The High Command agreed with this term. However, already on March 16, Vasilevsky received a new instruction, according to which the operation had to be started after the capture of the Nikolaev region and advance to Odessa. But after that, due to meteorological conditions, the battles had to be pushed back until April 8.
The liberation of the Crimea in 1944 was supposed to be carried out by a breakthrough deep into 170 km. It was planned to capture enemy positions in 10-12 days. At the same time, the average daily rate of advance of the infantry was to be 12-15 km, of the tank corps - 30-35 km. The idea of the command was to simultaneously strike from the north - from Sivash and Perekop, and from the east - from the Kerch Peninsula. Carrying out the liberation of Sevastopol and Simferopol, it was planned to split and liquidate the enemy grouping, preventing its retreat from the peninsula. The main blow was supposed to be delivered from the bridgehead in the southern part of Sivash. With the success of the actions, the main forces went to the three Perekop positions of the enemy. Having captured Dzhankoy, Soviet troops were able to move towards Simferopol and the Kerch Peninsula to the rear of the Germans. An auxiliary strike was supposed to be on the Perekop Isthmus. The Separate Primorsky Army was tasked with breaking through the defenses of the invaders north of Kerch. Its part was to attack along the southern coast of the peninsula. The main forces were directed to the liberation of Sevastopol and Simferopol.
Liberation of the Crimea in 1944: the beginning of the battles
Five days before the attack, heavy artillery strikes destroyed many long-term enemy structures. On April 7, in the evening, combat reconnaissance was carried out. She confirmed the information available to the Soviet command about the enemy grouping. On April 8, aviation and artillery preparation began. In total, it took 2.5 hours. The liberation of the Crimea in 1944 began with strikes by the forces of the 51st Army under the command of Lieutenant General Kreizer. The attack was carried out from the bridgehead in the southern part of Sivash. Fierce fighting went on for two days. As a result, the Soviet troops managed to break through the German defenses. The 51st Army invaded the flank of the Perekop grouping. At the same time, Zakharov's 2nd Guards Unit entered Armyansk. On the morning of April 11, the 19th was captured by Dzhankoy.
Under the command of Vasiliev, the unit successfully approached Simferopol. The Germans, fleeing the encirclement, left the fortifications of the Perekop Isthmus and began to retreat from the Kerch Peninsula. On the night of April 11, the Separate Primorsky Army launched an attack. By morning, the troops captured Kerch - a fortified defensive center in the eastern part of the peninsula. In all directions, the persecution of the Germans began, who retreated to Sevastopol. Along the western part of the coast, the attack of the 2nd Guards developed. army towards Evpatoria. The 51st Army, taking advantage of the successful actions of the 19th Corps, began to advance towards Simferopol through the steppe. The forces of the Separate Army went through Belogorsk (Karasubazar) and Feodosia to Sevastopol. On April 13, Feodosia, Simferopol, Evpatoria were liberated by Soviet troops, and on the 14-15th - Yalta, Bakhchisaray, Alushta.
Meanwhile, the Germans continued to retreat. Aviation of the 4th and 8th armies dealt powerful blows to the German troops and communication centers. Oktyabrsky Philip Sergeevich, commanding Soviet ships, gave instructions to sink ships with evacuated invaders.
partisans
Crimean underground workers showed exceptional heroism and courage in battles. The partisan formations were faced with the task of destroying the nodes, communication lines, enemy rear lines, setting up ambushes and blockages at mountain crossings, destroying railway tracks, disrupting the port in Yalta, preventing the German-Romanian troops from advancing towards it and evacuating. The underground workers also had to prevent the enemy from destroying transport and industrial enterprises, cities.
Assault on Sevastopol: preparation
April 15-16 Soviet army began preparations for the attack. The main attack was supposed to come from the Balaklava area. Units and formations of the center of the Separate and the left flank of the 51st Army were to participate in its application. The Soviet troops needed to break through the enemy defenses in the Sapun Mountain sector and at a height northeast of Karani. Thus, the enemy grouping would be cut off from the bays located west of Sevastopol. The command believed that the defeat of the enemy on Sapun Gora, despite all the difficulties that accompanied the assault, would have made it possible to disrupt the stability of the enemy's defensive positions. In the band of the 2nd Guards. the army planned to launch an auxiliary strike. To divert the attention of the invaders, it was supposed to be 2 days earlier than the main assault. The Soviet command set the troops the task of breaking through the defenses southeast of Belbek with units of the 55th Rifle and 13th Guards Corps. The army was supposed to develop an offensive on the eastern part of the North Bay and to push the enemy grouping to the water and destroy it.
fighting
On April 19 and 23, two attempts were made to break through the main defensive positions of the Sevastopol region. However, the Soviet troops failed. The command decided to regroup forces, prepare the army, wait for the arrival of fuel and ammunition.
The assault began on May 5th. Forces of the 2nd Guards. armies went on the offensive, forcing the enemy to transfer groupings from other directions. At 10:30 on May 7, with powerful air support, a general assault began. The troops of the main Soviet grouping were able to break through the enemy defenses in a 9-kilometer section. During fierce battles, the troops captured Sapun Mountain. 9th May soviet soldiers broke into Sevastopol from the southeast, east and north, freeing the city. The remaining forces of the 17th army of the enemy, pursued by the 19th corps, retreated to where they were completely destroyed. 21 thousand officers and soldiers of the enemy were captured. Soviet troops seized equipment and weapons of the enemy.
End of fights
In 1941-1942. it took the enemy 250 days to capture Sevastopol, whose inhabitants heroically defended its walls, it took the Soviet troops only 35 days to liberate it. By May 15, the headquarters began to receive information about parades held in formations and military units dedicated to the expulsion of the enemy from the peninsula.
Conclusion
The liberation of the Crimea in 1944 made it possible to return the most important economic and strategic region to the Soviet country. These were the main goals of the hostilities that were achieved. At the end of the battle, a draft award was created for participating in the expulsion of the enemy from the territory of the peninsula. However, the medal for the Crimea was never established at that time.
Battle for Crimea 1941–1944 [From defeat to triumph] Runov Valentin Aleksandrovich
Liberation of Crimea
Liberation of Crimea
The troops of the 4th Ukrainian Front (commander - General of the Army F. I. Tolbukhin), during the Melitopol operation on October 30, 1943, occupied Genichesk and reached the Sivash coast, crossed the bay and captured the bridgehead on its southern coast. And on November 1, having overcome the fortifications of the Turkish Wall, they broke into the Perekop Isthmus. The 19th Panzer Corps, under the command of Lieutenant General of the Panzer Troops I. D. Vasiliev, managed to fight their way through the fortifications on the Turkish Wall and reach Armyansk. Using the separation of the tankers from the cavalry and infantry, the German command managed to close the gap in its defense and temporarily block the tank corps. But by November 5, the main forces of the 51st Army, Lieutenant General Ya. G. Kreizer, also overcame Perekop and joined up with the tankers who were fighting in the encirclement. The fighting in this direction gradually ceased. Thus, by November 1943, Soviet troops reached the lower reaches of the Dnieper, captured a bridgehead in the Crimea on the southern bank of the Sivash and the approaches to the Crimean isthmuses.
The withdrawal of Soviet troops to the immediate approaches to the Crimean peninsula put on the agenda the task of its liberation from the Nazi invaders. Back in the early days of February 1944, when Soviet troops were fighting for the Nikopol bridgehead, Marshal of the Soviet Union A.M. Vasilevsky submitted to the Headquarters of the Supreme Command the ideas developed jointly with the command of the 4th Ukrainian Front on organizing an offensive operation with the aim of liberating the Crimea. They believed that such an operation could begin on February 18–19. However, the Supreme High Command decided to carry it out after the lower course of the Dnieper to Kherson was cleared of the enemy and the 4th Ukrainian Front was freed from other tasks.
In connection with the defeat of the Nikopol grouping of the enemy on February 17, the Headquarters ordered the launch of an offensive in the Crimea no later than March 1, regardless of the course of the operation to liberate the right bank of the Dnieper. However, due to inclement weather and storms on the Sea of Azov, which delayed the regrouping of front troops and their crossing through the Sivash, the operation had to be postponed. Therefore, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command decided to begin active operations to liberate the Crimea after the troops of the 4th Ukrainian Front captured the Nikolaev region and reached Odessa.
The Headquarters of the Supreme Command planned joint participation in the operation to liberate Crimea by the troops of the 4th Ukrainian Front, the Separate Primorsky Army, the Black Sea Fleet, the Azov military flotilla and the Crimean partisans.
During the Kerch-Eltigen landing operation, carried out from November 1 to November 11, 1943, although the planned result was not achieved by the troops of the North Caucasian Front, an operational bridgehead was created north of Kerch. After its completion, the North Caucasian Front was liquidated, and the 56th Army, which was on the bridgehead, was transformed into a Separate Primorsky Army. Her troops were to attack the enemy from the east.
The Soviet Black Sea Fleet, deprived of the possibility of basing in the ports of the Crimean peninsula, experienced great difficulties in conducting operations at sea. Therefore, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, given the importance of the actions of Soviet warships in the Black Sea, issued a special directive by the beginning of the operation to liberate the Crimean peninsula, outlining the tasks of the Black Sea Fleet. The main task was to disrupt enemy communications in the Black Sea by submarines, bombers, mine-torpedo aircraft, attack aircraft and torpedo boats. At the same time, the operational zone of the Black Sea Fleet must constantly expand and consolidate. The fleet had to protect its sea communications from enemy influence, primarily by providing reliable anti-submarine defense. For the future, it was ordered to prepare large surface ships for naval operations, and the fleet forces to be relocated to Sevastopol.
Operations to liberate Crimea
In conditions when the Soviet Army cleared the entire Northern Tavria from invaders, the Crimean enemy grouping threatened the Soviet troops operating in the Right-Bank Ukraine, and fettered significant forces of the 4th Ukrainian Front. The loss of the Crimea, according to the Nazi command, would have meant a sharp drop in Germany's prestige in the countries of South-Eastern Europe and Turkey, which were sources of valuable and scarce strategic materials. Crimea covered the Balkan strategic flank Nazi Germany and important sea communications leading through the Black Sea straits to the ports on the western coast of the Black Sea, as well as up the Danube.
Therefore, despite the loss of the Right-Bank Ukraine, the 17th Army under the command of Colonel-General E. Eneke was entrusted with the task of holding the Crimea to the last opportunity. To do this, the army at the beginning of 1944 was increased by two divisions. By April, it had 12 divisions - 5 German and 7 Romanian, two brigades of assault guns, various reinforcement units and consisted of more than 195 thousand people, about 3600 guns and mortars, 250 tanks and assault guns. It was supported by 148 aircraft based at the Crimean airfields, and aircraft from airfields in Romania.
Artillerymen force the Sivash
The main forces of the 17th army, the 49th German mountain rifle and 3rd Romanian cavalry corps (four German - 50, 111, 336, 10th, one Romanian - 19th division and 279th brigade of assault guns) , defended in the northern part of the Crimea. The 5th Army Corps (73rd, 98th German Infantry Divisions, 191st Brigade of Assault Guns), 6th Cavalry and 3rd Mountain Rifle Divisions of the Romanian Army operated on the Kerch Peninsula. The southern and western coasts were covered by the 1st Mountain Rifle Corps (three Romanian divisions).
The enemy took all measures to create a strong defense, especially on the most important directions where he expected the advance of the Soviet troops.
Three lines of defense were equipped on the Perekop Isthmus to a depth of 35 km: the first line, the Ishun positions and the line along the Chatarlyk River. In front of the bridgeheads of the Soviet troops on the southern bank of the Sivash, the enemy equipped two or three lanes in narrow inter-lake defile. Four defensive lines were built on the Kerch Peninsula for its entire 70-km depth. In the operational depth, defense was being prepared at the turn of Saki, Sarabuz, Karasubazar, Belogorsk, Stary Krym, Feodosia.
Soviet troops occupied the following position.
On the Perekop Isthmus on the 14-km front, the 2nd Guards Army was deployed, which included 8 rifle divisions. The bridgehead on the southern bank of the Sivash was occupied by the 51st Army, which had 10 rifle divisions. In the reserve of the front commander was the 19th tank corps (four tank and one motorized rifle brigades), which was located with its main forces on the Sivash bridgehead. To the left of the 51st Army to Genichesk, the 78th fortified area was defending.
Commander of the 63rd Rifle Corps Major General (later Marshal of the Soviet Union) P.K. Koshevoy
Commander of the 4th Ukrainian Fronts, General of the Army (later Marshal of the Soviet Union) F. I. Tolbukhin
To provide troops on the bridgehead engineering troops The 51st Army built two crossings across the Sivash: a bridge on frame supports with a length of 1865 m and a carrying capacity of 16 tons, two earthen dams 600-700 m long and a pontoon bridge between them 1350 m long. In February - March 1944, the bridge and dams were strengthened , their carrying capacity was increased to 30 tons, which made it possible to ensure the crossing of T-34 tanks and heavy artillery. The crossing of the tanks of the 19th Panzer Corps was extremely difficult. It was held from 13 to 25 March. From the composition of the corps, several tanks were transported at night, which in the shortest possible time were carefully camouflaged and hidden from enemy observation. The German command failed to detect the crossing and the concentration of the tank corps, which subsequently played a role.
Commander of the 51st Army, Lieutenant General Ya. G. Kreizer at the NP near Sevastopol
The Separate Primorsky Army was concentrated on the Kerch Peninsula (commander - General of the Army A. I. Eremenko).
Black Sea Fleet (commander - Admiral
F. S. Oktyabrsky) was based on the ports of the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus, the Azov military flotilla (commander - Rear Admiral S. G. Gorshkov) - on the ports of the Taman Peninsula.
A group of Soviet partisans operated on the Crimean peninsula, numbering 4.5 thousand people.
Reinforcement arrives in the Separate Primorsky Army. Kerch region. Spring 1944
In the second half of 1943, general dissatisfaction with the occupation regime began to manifest itself more and more often on the peninsula; more and more Crimean Tatars began to desire the return of the former government. This dissatisfaction was expressed primarily in the fact that they began to support her "long arm" on the peninsula - the partisans. As the Soviet troops approached the peninsula, partisan attacks on the invaders began to intensify. The Soviet command began to provide more and more assistance to them. There was constant contact with the population. Residents of many villages took refuge in the forests, hundreds of them entered into partisan detachments. Crimean Tatars accounted for about a sixth of the number of these units.
In total, by January 1944, about 4 thousand Soviet partisans were operating on the Crimean peninsula. But these were not scattered partisan groups and separate detachments. In January-February 1944, 7 partisan brigades were formed. These brigades were combined into three formations: Southern, Northern and Eastern. There were two brigades in the South and East, and three in the North.
Soviet artillery firing at enemy fortifications in the Crimea. 4th Ukrainian Front. 1944
The largest in composition was the Southern Connection (commander - M.A. Makedonsky, commissioner - M.V. Selimov). This unit operated in the mountainous and wooded area of the southern part of the Crimea and consisted of more than 2200 people. In the mountainous and wooded region southwest of Karasubazar, the Northern Formation (commander - P.R. Yampolsky, commissar - N.D. Lugovoy) was operating, numbering 860 people. To the south and south-west of Stary Krym was the area of operations of the Eastern Connection (commander - V. S. Kuznetsov, commissar - R. Sh. Mustafaev) in the amount of 680 people.
The partisans controlled large areas of mountainous and wooded areas in the south of Crimea, which gave them the opportunity to strike at parts of the German-Romanian troops moving along the roads leading from the southern coast to the northern and eastern regions of the peninsula.
Underground organizations of Soviet patriots operated in various cities of the Crimea - Evpatoria, Sevastopol, Yalta.
The activities of the partisans were managed by the Crimean headquarters of the partisan movement, which had reliable communication with formations and detachments by radio, as well as with the help of aircraft of the 2nd Aviation Transport Regiment of the 1st Aviation Transport Division, which was in the 4th Air Army. The Po-2 and R-5 aircraft of the 9th separate aviation regiment of the Civil Air Fleet were most widely used for communication and supply of partisans.
Operationally subordinate to the command of the Separate Primorsky Army, partisan formations for the period of the offensive operation were ordered to strike at the rear units of the invaders, destroy communication centers and lines, preventing the systematic withdrawal of enemy troops, destroying individual sections of railways, setting up ambushes and blocking mountain roads, preventing the destruction of cities, industrial enterprises and railways by the enemy. The main task of the Southern Connection was to control the Yalta port, disrupting its work.
By the beginning of the operation, the 4th Ukrainian Front and the Separate Primorsky Army had 470 thousand people, 5982 guns and mortars, 559 tanks and self-propelled guns. The 4th and 8th air armies had 1250 aircraft. Comparing the forces of the parties, it is clear that the Soviet command managed to achieve a serious superiority over the enemy (in terms of personnel 2.4 times, in artillery - 1.6, in tanks - 2.6, in aircraft - 8.4 times ).
Crossing the Sivash. 51st Army. 1944
The general plan for defeating the enemy in the Crimea was to simultaneously strike the troops of the 4th Ukrainian Front from the north, from Perekop and Sivash, and the Separate Primorskaya Army from the east, from the bridgehead in the Kerch region, with the assistance of the Black Sea Fleet, DD aviation formations and partisans , in the general direction of Simferopol, Sevastopol, dismember and destroy the enemy grouping, preventing its evacuation from the Crimea.
Soldiers of the 16th Rifle Corps are fighting in Kerch. Separate Maritime Army April 11, 1944
The main role in defeating the enemy in the Crimea was assigned to the 4th Ukrainian Front, whose troops were to break through the enemy defenses in the northern part of the Crimean peninsula, defeat the troops of the German group and develop a swift offensive against Sevastopol in order to prevent the enemy from organizing a strong defense in the region of this city. .
The Separate Primorsky Army was entrusted with the task of breaking through the enemy's defenses on the Kerch Peninsula and developing success in Simferopol and Sevastopol. The army was supposed to go on the offensive a few days later than the 4th Ukrainian Front, when a threat would be created to the rear of the enemy's Kerch grouping.
The Black Sea Fleet was entrusted with the task of blocking the Crimea, disrupting enemy sea communications, assisting ground forces on the coastal flanks, and being ready for tactical landings. The fleet was also involved in assisting the ground forces with its aviation, and in the coastal strip with naval artillery fire. Brigades of torpedo boats from Anapa and Skadovsk were supposed to destroy enemy ships on the near approaches to Sevastopol and directly in ports; a submarine brigade - on the distant approaches and aviation - along the entire length of enemy communications. The Azov military flotilla, operationally subordinate to the commander of the Separate Primorsky Army, provided all transportation through the Kerch Strait.
Aviation support in the 4th Ukrainian Front was assigned to the 8th Air Army (commander - Lieutenant General of Aviation T. T. Khryukin) and the aviation group of the Air Force of the Black Sea Fleet. The Air Army was supposed to support the offensive of the troops of the 51st Army and the 19th Tank Corps, the Air Force of the Black Sea Fleet - the 2nd Guards Army. The troops of the Separate Primorsky Army were to be supported by aircraft of the 4th Air Army (commander - Major General of Aviation N. F. Naumenko).
The air forces in the Crimean operation were tasked with conducting aerial reconnaissance, delivering strikes against enemy ships and transports at communications and in ports, and supporting the combat operations of the 19th tank corps in the course of developing success in the depths of the enemy’s defense. During the air offensive, enemy ground forces, strongholds, and artillery were to be hit.
Soldiers of the 16th Rifle Corps attack an enemy stronghold on the territory of a metallurgical plant in Kerch. Separate Maritime Army April 11, 1944
The Crimean partisans were given the task of smashing the rear of the invaders, destroying their nodes and communication lines, disrupting control, preventing the organized withdrawal of fascist troops, disrupting the work of the Yalta port, and also preventing the destruction of cities, industrial and transport enterprises by the enemy.
The coordination of the actions of all the forces and means involved in the operation was carried out by the representative of the Headquarters of the Supreme Command Marshal of the Soviet Union A. M. Vasilevsky. Marshal of the Soviet Union K. E. Voroshilov was the representative of the Headquarters in the Separate Primorsky Army. General F. Ya. Falaleev was appointed representative for aviation.
In accordance with the plan of the operation, the commander of the 4th Ukrainian Front, General of the Army F.I. Tolbukhin, decided to break through the enemy’s defenses in two directions - on the Perekop Isthmus with the forces of the 2nd Guards Army and on the southern coast of the Sivash with the forces of the 51st Army. The main blow was delivered by the front in the zone of the 51st Army, where, firstly, the enemy considered the main blow to be unlikely; secondly, a strike from the bridgehead led to the rear of the enemy fortifications on the Perekop Isthmus; thirdly, a strike in this direction made it possible to quickly capture Dzhankoy, which opened up freedom of action towards Simferopol and the Kerch Peninsula.
The operational formation of the front was one-echelon. The mobile group consisted of the 19th Panzer Corps, which was supposed to enter the gap in the 51st Army zone from the fourth day of the operation, after breaking through the tactical and operational defenses of the enemy. Developing success in the general direction of Dzhankoy, Simferopol on the fourth day after entering the breakthrough, the corps was supposed to capture Simferopol. Having moved part of the forces to Seitler, Karasubazar, the corps was supposed to protect the left flank of the front from a possible attack by an enemy grouping from the Kerch Peninsula.
The entire operation of the 4th Ukrainian Front was planned to a depth of 170 km for a duration of 10-12 days. The average daily rate of advance was planned for rifle troops at 12-15 km, and for the 19th Panzer Corps - up to 30-35 km.
The commander of the 2nd Guards Army, General Zakharov G.F., based on his decision, laid the idea of cutting the enemy grouping defending at Perekop positions into two parts, in the subsequent development of the offensive in the southeast and southwest directions, to press these groups to Sivash and Perekop Bay where to destroy them. In the rear of the enemy defending in the Perekop positions, it was planned to land troops on boats as part of a reinforced rifle battalion.
The commander of the 51st Army, General Kreizer D.G., decided to break through the enemy defenses, inflicting the main blow with two rifle corps on Tarkhan and auxiliary blows by the forces of the 63rd Rifle Corps on Tomashevka and Pasurman 2nd; subsequently develop the success of the 10th Rifle Corps on Ishun, in the rear of the Ishun positions, and the 1st Guards Rifle Corps on Voinka (10 km south of Tarkhan) and Novo-Aleksandrovka. By the forces of one rifle division it was planned to develop the offensive from Pasurman 2nd to Taganash.
In the 2nd Guards Army, it was planned to break through the main line of defense to a depth of 20 km in the first two days, then, developing the offensive, in the next two days to break through the second and army lines to a depth of 10-18 km.
Machine gunners before attacking the enemy's Perekop positions. 4th Ukrainian Front. April 8, 1944
In both armies, in order to build up efforts and develop success, the corps built battle formations in two or three echelons, and divisions of the first echelon had the same formation.
Almost 100% of all forces and means were concentrated on the breakthrough sites, creating a density of 3 to 9 rifle battalions, from 117 to 285 guns and mortars, 12-28 tanks and self-propelled guns per 1 km of the breakthrough site. With such densities, rifle corps outnumbered the enemy by 1.8–9 times in terms of rifle battalions, 3.7–6.8 times in terms of guns and mortars, and 1.4–2.6 times in terms of tanks and self-propelled guns.
The commander of the Separate Primorsky Army decided to deliver two blows. One blow, the main one, was planned to be delivered by the adjacent flanks of two rifle corps, breaking through the defenses north and south of the strong Bulganak stronghold and developing the offensive in the direction of Kerch-Vladislavovka. The second strike by the forces of one rifle corps was planned on the left flank, along the Black Sea coast, and by the joint efforts of the two groups to defeat the enemy and liberate the Kerch Peninsula. After that, the main forces of the army should advance on Simferopol, and the rest of the forces should continue the offensive along the coast, cutting off the enemy's escape routes to the sea coast.
The offensive lines of rifle formations were narrow: 2.2–5 km for rifle corps, 1–3 km for rifle divisions. They also had areas of penetration of formations: 2–3 km of rifle corps and 1–1.5 km of rifle divisions.
During the preparation of the operation, the command and political agencies, party and Komsomol organizations carried out extensive educational and propaganda work with personnel. In this work, much attention was paid to the heroic past associated with the struggle for the Crimea in the years civil war, with the defense of Perekop and Sevastopol in the first period of the Great Patriotic War. Examples were given from the experience of fighting troops Southern Front under the command of M.V. Frunze in 1920, was reminded of the heroic defense of Sevastopol in 1941-1942. For such conversations, the participants in the assault on Perekop, the heroes of Sevastopol, who defended the city at the beginning of the war, were involved. Rallies of personnel, party and Komsomol meetings were held.
The transition of the troops of the 4th Ukrainian Front to the offensive was preceded by a period of destruction of the enemy's long-term structures on the Perekop Isthmus. Heavy artillery fired at them for two days. The use of 203 mm guns here convinced the enemy command that the main blow of the Soviet troops would follow precisely from the Perekop area. General E. Eneke wrote in his memoirs: “The more time dragged on, the more and more clearly the grandiose preparatory measures of the Russians for the offensive near Perekop and somewhat less on the Sivash bridgehead loomed.”
On April 7, at 19.30, reconnaissance in force was carried out in the entire front line, as a result of which it was possible to clarify the enemy’s fire system, and in the zone of the 267th Rifle Division (63rd Rifle Corps) to capture a section of its first trench, where three rifle battalions advanced from composition of the main forces of the regiments of the first echelon.
On April 8 at 10.30, after a 2.5-hour artillery and aviation preparation, the troops of the 2nd Guards and 51st armies simultaneously went on the offensive. In the course of artillery preparation, carried out with a number of false transfers of fire, part of the enemy's fire weapons were destroyed or suppressed. In the 2nd Guards Army, when a false transfer of fire was carried out, 1,500 soldiers with stuffed animals rushed forward along the "whiskers" dug in advance. The enemy, deceived by this false attack, took up their positions in the first trench and was immediately covered by artillery fire.
On the Perekop Isthmus, during the first day, the enemy was driven out of the first two trenches of the main line of defense, units of the 3rd Guards and 126th Rifle Divisions captured Armenian. In the center of the Perekop Isthmus, the enemy defenses were broken through to a depth of 3 km. By the end of the second day of the operation, the troops of the 2nd Guards Army completely broke through the first defensive line of the enemy. The enemy began, under the cover of rearguards, a gradual withdrawal of troops to the Ishun positions. The decisive actions of the troops of the 51st Army on its left flank, as well as the landing of an assault force in the rear of the enemy as part of a reinforced rifle battalion from the 387th rifle division, contributed to the success of the offensive of the troops of the 2nd Guards Army.
Representative of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army A. M. Vasilevsky (second from right) and commander of the 4th Ukrainian Front F. I. Tolbukhin (third from right) are watching the course of hostilities on the outskirts of Sevastopol. 7 May 1944
This landing was prepared in the 1271st Rifle Regiment as part of the 2nd Rifle Battalion under the command of Captain F.D. Dibrov, reinforced with combat experience personnel from other units. The battalion had more than 500 personnel, two 45-mm cannons, six 82-mm mortars, 45 machine guns, rifles, machine guns. The soldiers had fragmentation and anti-tank grenades. Their transportation on boats was carried out by assigned sappers. At midnight on April 9, the boats set sail from the piers, and at 5 o'clock in the morning the battalion in full force landed on the shore at the appointed place. Having landed, the battalion began to strike at the enemy. A battery of six-barreled mortars was captured, three tanks were knocked out, and damage was done to manpower. Having discovered the retreat of the enemy infantry, the battalion commander began to pursue and defeated a large group of the enemy. At the end of the day, the battalion connected with the advancing units of the 3rd Guards Rifle Division. For the courage shown, all soldiers and officers were awarded orders and medals. The battalion commander Captain Dibrov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Mortarmen support infantrymen storming Sapun Mountain. 4th Ukrainian Front May 8, 1944
In the zone of the 51st Army, the enemy put up strong resistance. The main strike force of the army, consisting of the 10th and 1st Guards Rifle Corps, advancing in the Tarkhan direction, during the first day of the operation, due to insufficient suppression of the enemy’s defense by artillery fire, was able to capture only his first trench.
On April 8, units of the 63rd Rifle Corps achieved the greatest success, advancing on Karanki and Pasurman 2nd, where the enemy was driven out of all three trenches of the first strip and the advance was more than 2 km.
The results of the first day of the offensive made it possible to identify the places of the most stubborn resistance of the enemy. The front commander immediately gave instructions to reinforce the troops in the Karanka direction, which had previously been considered auxiliary. To develop success, it was decided to bring into battle the second echelon (417th rifle division) of the 63rd rifle corps and the 32nd guards tank brigade from the 1st guards corps.
In addition, two self-propelled artillery regiments were transferred here. To assist the units in this direction, part of the forces of the 346th Infantry Division was to cross the Aigul Lake and go to the flank of the defending enemy troops. The main forces of the 8th Air Army were aimed at the same direction and almost four artillery brigades were transferred. The density of guns and mortars increased one and a half times.
The transfer of the main efforts to the Karankinsko-Tomashevsky direction, where the less stable units of the 10th Romanian Infantry Division were defending, allowed the troops of the 51st Army on April 9 to build on their success. The divisions of the 63rd Rifle Corps (commander - Major General P.K. Koshevoy), overcoming the resistance of the Romanians, repelling the counterattacks of their infantry, supported by assault guns, advanced from 4 to 7 km. The actions of the 1164th Rifle Regiment of the 346th Rifle Division, which forded the Aigulskoe Lake and struck at the enemy's flank, and the timely entry into battle of the division of the second echelon of the corps, reinforced by the 32nd Guards Tank Brigade, helped in this. The enemy's main line of defense was broken through, and the troops of the 63rd Corps reached its second line.
As a result of intense fighting by the troops of the 2nd Guards and 51st Armies, a maneuver to transfer efforts to the direction of success, on April 10, there was a turning point in the course of hostilities in the northern part of Crimea. The troops of the 2nd Guards Army went out to the approaches to the Ishun positions. For the fastest capture of these positions, the army commander
ordered in the divisions of the 13th Guards and 54th Rifle Corps to form mobile forward detachments as part of rifle battalions and anti-tank regiments in vehicles. But the composition of these advanced detachments turned out to be weak, and they did not fulfill their task. By the end of April 10, the army troops were detained in front of the Ishun positions and began to prepare for their breakthrough.
On the same day, the 10th Rifle Corps, advancing on Karpova Balka (11 km southeast of Armyansk), broke through the main enemy defense line and connected in the Karpova Balka area with the left-flank units of the 2nd Guards Army.
On the morning of April 11, the troops of the 63rd Rifle Corps went on the offensive. A mobile front group consisting of the 19th tank corps, two regiments of the 279th rifle division (mounted on vehicles) and the 21st anti-tank artillery brigade was put into battle into the resulting breakthrough in the direction of Karanka. Motor vehicles for infantry in the amount of 120 units were allocated from the rear of the front.
The mobile group, and above all the 19th Panzer Corps, defeated the opposing enemy troops and launched a swift offensive. This forced the enemy command to begin a hasty withdrawal of units of the 19th Infantry Division of the Romanians, who held positions on the Chongar Peninsula.
This retreat soon turned into a stampede.
Already at 11 o'clock on April 11, the advance detachment of the 19th Tank Corps (202nd Tank Brigade of Colonel M. G. Feshchenko, 867th Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment of Major A. G. Svidersky) and the 52nd Motorcycle Regiment of Major A. A Nedilko went to the northern outskirts of Dzhankoy. Fights began to take over the city. The enemy, up to an infantry regiment with artillery, supported by the fire of an armored train, offered stubborn resistance. The fight dragged on. But the 26th motorized rifle brigade lieutenant colonel A.P. Khrapovitsky, who struck at the southern outskirts of the city. The pilots of the 6th Guards Bomber Air Division launched their air strikes. This predetermined the end of the enemy resistance. Having suffered heavy losses, abandoning artillery, ammunition depots, food, the remnants of the Dzhankoy garrison began a hasty retreat to the south. Almost simultaneously, the 79th Tank Brigade defeated the enemy airfield in the Veseloe area (15 km southwest of Dzhankoy), and the 101st Brigade captured the railway bridge 8 km southwest of Dzhankoy.
With the capture of Dzhankoy, the enemy defenses in the northern part of the Crimean peninsula finally collapsed. In the steppe expanses of the Crimea, the enemy did not have the opportunity to hold the Soviet troops. The German command still hoped to stop the offensive of the Soviet troops at the turn of Evpatoria-Saki-Sarabuz-Karasubazar-Feodosia. But the enemy did not have the opportunity to implement this decision.
The success of the troops of the 4th Ukrainian Front in the northern part of the Crimea and the exit to the Dzhankoy region threatened the encirclement of the enemy grouping on the Kerch Peninsula. The enemy command was forced to make a decision to withdraw troops from the Kerch Peninsula to the Akmonay positions. The export of military property began, the destruction of its remaining part. The enemy artillery stepped up its activity.
The reconnaissance of the Separate Primorsky Army discovered the enemy's preparations for withdrawal. In this regard, the army commander decided on the night of April 11 to launch a general offensive. It was supposed to begin on the evening of April 10 with an attack on the enemy by the forces of the forward battalions, and the forward detachments and mobile groups at that time were preparing to pursue the enemy. The 4th Air Army received an order for enhanced reconnaissance of the enemy.
At 10 pm on April 10, the forward battalions, after a fire raid, attacked the front line of the enemy defenses. At 4:00 am on April 11, following the forward battalions, forward detachments and mobile groups of divisions, corps and the army entered the battle.
In the strip of the 11th Guards Corps (commander - Major General S. E. Rozhdestvensky), by 4 o'clock in the morning on April 11, they captured the entire first position of the enemy's defense. Then, with the support of artillery fire, a mobile group of the corps was introduced into the battle, which overcame the resistance of the covering units and began pursuing the retreating enemy.
Events in the offensive zone of the 3rd Mountain Rifle Corps (commander - Major General N. A. Shvarev) developed in a similar way.
The 16th Rifle Corps operating on the left flank of the army (commander - Major General K. I. Provalov) liberated the city of Kerch by 6 am on April 11. The 318th Mountain Rifle Division of Major General V.F. Gladkov, which distinguished itself as part of the Eltigen landing in 1943, took part in the liberation of Kerch.
The captured commander of the 9th cavalry regiment of the 6th Romanian cavalry division testified: “My regiment was on the defensive south of the city of Kerch. When the Russians broke through the German defenses and reached the Kerch-Feodosia highway, the threat of encirclement loomed over the regiment. The Germans fled headlong, and I gave the order to retreat to the line of the Turkish Wall. Before we had time to take up defense in a new place, Russian tanks appeared on the left flank. Seeing that the Germans fled, the Romanian soldiers began to surrender in whole squadrons ... The 9th Cavalry Regiment was completely defeated, not a single soldier left the Kerch Peninsula. All the equipment of the regiment and the artillery attached to it were captured by the Russians.
In the liberated cities and villages of the Crimea, the restoration of normal life began. So, Kerch again became Soviet at 4 am on April 11. On the first day after the liberation, there were only about three dozen residents in the city. Gradually, people began to return to the city from the liberated regions of Crimea. Families hiding in quarries were taken out. The city authorities faced complex problems of resettlement of returning people, restoration of destroyed houses, water supply, and electrical networks. And by the end of the month, the post office and telegraph started working. Then an ever-increasing number of the population began to receive bread from the restored bakery, a canteen and a fish shop began to work. Improved water supply. In April, we received the first electricity. The Kerch ship repair plant was cleared of mines, the surviving equipment began to be brought into it, 80 workers were picked up.
Meeting of sailors with the Crimean partisans in Yalta. May 1944
We started restoring the iron ore plant, the coking plant, the Kerch-Feodosiya railway line. Enterprises serving the needs of the population began to operate: shoemakers, carpentry, locksmith and tin, saddlery, sewing workshops, a bathhouse began to work. Fishing and fish processing enterprises are being restored. A shipyard began to work on lifting and repairing ships. Three hospitals and consultations began to function in the city.
The whole country provided assistance to the heroic city. Wagons with timber, cement, food, repair materials went to Kerch from its various districts. The command of the Black Sea Fleet donated a ship to the city, from which the restoration of the fishing industry began.
Starting from April 11, the pursuit of the retreating enemy troops began throughout the Crimea. The rearguards of the enemy tried to cover the withdrawal of troops and the evacuation of military equipment. The enemy sought to break away from the Soviet troops, retreat to Sevastopol and organize defense there. However, the Soviet troops were rapidly moving forward, trying to go to the flanks behind enemy rearguards and prevent the enemy from doing what they had planned.
The 2nd Guards Army, having completed the breakthrough of the Ishun positions, began to pursue the enemy with strong forward detachments, putting the infantry on vehicles and reinforcing it with tanks and artillery. Coming to the second line of defense of the enemy on the Chatarlyk River, the army troops began to prepare for its breakthrough. But it was not necessary to break through it, since as a result of the successful actions of the troops of the 51st Army, a threat was created for the entire Perekop grouping of the enemy, and on the night of April 12, it was forced to begin retreat across the Chatarlyk River. The mobile detachments of the right-flank corps, having crossed the Chatarlyk and fought more than 100 km, captured the city and port of Evpatoria on the morning of April 13. Parts of the 3rd Guards Rifle Division on the morning of April 13 liberated the city of Saki. On April 14, the cities of Ak-Mechet and Karadzha were liberated. The entire western part of the Crimea was cleared of the enemy, and the 13th Guards Rifle Corps, which had liberated this region, was put into reserve.
Small arms of the enemy, captured by Soviet troops during the Crimean operation. May 1944
The main forces of the 2nd Guards Army (54th and 55th Rifle Corps) continued to develop the offensive in the general direction of Sevastopol. They immediately crossed the Alma and Kacha rivers and on April 15 reached the Belbek River, where they met stubborn enemy resistance on the outskirts of Sevastopol.
Enemy armored vehicles captured by Soviet troops during the Crimean operation. May 1944
In the zone of the 51st Army, the front-line mobile group was pursuing the enemy. The persecution was carried out along the railway and the highway Dzhankoy-Simferopol-Bakhchisaray. To the left, two more forward detachments were pursuing the enemy. One advanced on Zuya, the second - through Seytler to Karasubazar. Both of these detachments had the task of cutting the Feodosia-Simferopol road and blocking the enemy's escape route from the Kerch Peninsula.
By the end of April 12, the front mobile group was reaching the approaches to Simferopol. The first forward detachment in the Zuya area defeated a large enemy column and, having captured Zuya, organized a circular defense, preventing the movement of enemy troops to the west. The second advance detachment captured Seitler that day.
Enemy artillery captured by Soviet troops during the Crimean operation. May 1944
The main forces of the 19th Panzer Corps approached Simferopol on the morning of April 13th. Having burst into the city, the tankers, together with the partisans of the 1st brigade (commander - F.I. Fedorenko) of the Northern formation (17th detachment under the command of F.Z. Gorban and the 19th detachment under the command of Ya. M. Sakovich) to 16 hours completely liberated the city from the invaders. In honor of the liberation of Simferopol from the fascist invaders, an artillery salute was given in Moscow.
After capturing Simferopol, the mobile group continued to pursue the retreating enemy. On the morning of April 14, two tank brigades of the 19th Tank Corps, together with partisans of the 6th Brigade of the Southern Connection (commander M.F. Samoilenko), after a short battle, liberated the city of Bakhchisaray. The 26th motorized rifle brigade was sent from Simferopol across the mountains to Alushta to assist the troops of the Separate Primorsky Army in capturing the southern coast of Crimea. The 202nd Tank Brigade was sent from Simferopol to the city of Kacha, which it captured by 6 p.m., defeating the enemy garrison and joining forces with the 2nd Guards Army.
"Pravda" in the liberated Sevastopol. May 1944
Parts of the 19th Panzer Corps advanced detachments reached the Belbek River east of Mekenzia, where the enemy put up stubborn resistance. Troops of the 51st Army soon approached here.
It should be noted that the troops of the 51st Army and the 19th Tank Corps during the pursuit were actively affected by enemy aircraft, which caused losses in personnel and technology and reduced the pace of the offensive. The actions of Soviet aviation were held back by limited fuel supplies.
A separate coastal army pursued the enemy with forward detachments. In the middle of the day on April 12, they approached the Ak-Monai positions and tried to break through them on the move. The attempt failed. It was necessary to transfer infantry units in a short time, pull up artillery and deliver a concentrated air strike. After a strong artillery preparation, a powerful bombing attack from the air, an attack by infantry and tanks, the last fortified position of the enemy was broken through. Having broken through the Ak-Monai positions in stubborn 8-hour battles, the troops
A separate Primorsky army rushed to Feodosia, which was liberated on April 13. The Kerch Peninsula was completely liberated from the invaders. In honor of this victory, artillery salutes again thundered in Moscow.
After the liberation of the Kerch Peninsula, the troops of the Separate Primorsky Army with the main forces began to develop an offensive in the general direction to Stary Krym, Karasubazar, and part of the forces along the coast along the Primorsky highway to Yalta, Sevastopol. On April 13, its troops liberated Stary Krym and, together with the troops of the 51st Army, with the assistance of partisans (the 5th partisan brigade of the Northern Formation under the command of F.S. Nightingale), on April 13 they liberated Karasubazar. In this area, there was a connection of the troops of the 4th Ukrainian Front - the 51st Army and the Separate Primorskaya Army.
Developing the offensive along the Primorsky highway, part of the troops of the Separate Primorsky Army occupied Sudak on April 14, Alushta, Yalta on April 15, Simeiz on April 16, and by the end of the 17th they reached the enemy’s fortified positions near Sevastopol. Troops in 6 days fought more than 250 km. During the liberation of Yalta, partisans of the 7th brigade of the Southern formation under the command of L. A. Vikman acted together with the troops.
On April 18, by order of the Supreme Command Headquarters, the Separate Primorsky Army was transferred to the 4th Ukrainian Front and renamed the Primorsky Army. Lieutenant General K. S. Melnik became in command of the army.
As a result of the pursuit of the retreating enemy, the troops of the 4th Ukrainian Front and the Separate Primorsky Army, with the assistance of ships and aircraft of the Black Sea Fleet, advanced to the approaches to Sevastopol. Attempts by the German command to delay the offensive of the Soviet troops at intermediate lines in the central part of the Crimea suffered a complete failure.
The Nazi command, having been defeated in a defensive battle, decided to evacuate its troops and rear from the peninsula. In the situation that had developed, there could be no question of a systematic evacuation of the troops of the 17th Army without organizing a solid defense of Sevastopol. With a strong defense on the outskirts of the city and in the city itself, it sought to pin down significant forces of the Soviet troops during defensive battles, inflict losses on them and ensure the evacuation of the remnants of their troops by sea.
For the defense of the city, the enemy prepared three defensive lines, each of which consisted of two or three trenches, cut-off positions and a large number of structures made of earth and stones. The first, most powerful, defensive line was equipped 7–10 km from the city and passed along heights 76, 9; 192.0; 256.2; and Mount Sugar Loaf, the eastern slopes of Sapun Mountain and nameless heights west of Balaklava. Three to six kilometers from the city was the second line and on the outskirts of Sevastopol - the third. Of particular importance for holding the first line was Sapun Mountain, which was turned by the enemy into a powerful knot of resistance.
The enemy grouping near Sevastopol consisted of eight divisions of the 49th and 5th Army Corps of the 17th Army. Their total number was more than 72 thousand soldiers and officers, 3414 guns and mortars, 50 tanks and assault guns. At the first defensive line, 70% of the forces and means were located, which ensured the presence of up to 2000 people and 65 guns and mortars per 1 km of the front in areas where the main efforts were concentrated. Having decided to hold Sevastopol, the German command strengthened its grouping in this area, airlifting about 6,000 troops. German soldiers and officers.
Thus, the enemy had a large grouping on the approaches to Sevastopol, which relied on natural lines that were very favorable for defense and well-equipped positions in engineering terms.
Moreover, the continuous retreat of the Nazi troops forced Hitler to change the commander of the 17th Army. In early May, General E. Eneke was replaced by the commander of the 5th Army Corps, Colonel-General K. Almendinger. On May 3, the new commander demanded in his order: “... so that everyone defends in the full sense of the word, so that no one retreats, holds every trench, every funnel, every trench ... The 17th army in Sevastopol is supported by powerful air and sea forces. The Führer will give us enough ammunition, planes, armaments and reinforcements. Germany expects us to do our duty."
From the book Eastern Front. Cherkasy. Ternopil. Crimea. Vitebsk. Bobruisk. Brody. Iasi. Kishinev. 1944 author Bukhner AlexDefense of the Crimea. Cut off from the entire Eastern Front After many months of bloody battles, the German command decided to withdraw the 17th Army from the bridgehead in the Kuban. During the brilliantly organized and conducted operation for redeployment from the Taman Peninsula
From the book of the Armored Train in Velikaya Patriotic war 1941–1945 author Efimiev Alexander ViktorovichDefense of the Crimea Seven armored trains left the gates of the Crimean factories to help the front. Three of them were built at the Sevastopol Marine Plant. M. I. Kazakov from Lugansk recalls: - I was transferred from the marine brigade to the Ordzhonikidzevets armored train as a commander
From the book Invasion author Chenyk Sergey ViktorovichRAIDS TO THE COASTS OF THE CRIMEA In the spring of 1854, the decision to attack the continental part of the Russian Empire was finally made almost simultaneously in Paris and London. On 10 April 1854 Lord Raglan received a secret letter from the Prime Minister. It contained
From the book of Suvorov author Bogdanov Andrey PetrovichDEFENDING THE CRIMEA "Respect full friendship and affirm mutual consent." Having protected one border, the commander hastily left for another. The Turks again threatened the Crimea. They fomented uprisings against Khan Shahin Giray and even dared to land troops. In December, a flotilla of Turkish
From the book For three seas for zipuns. Naval campaigns of the Cossacks on the Black, Azov and Caspian Seas author Ragunstein Arseny GrigorievichJOINT TRIPS OF THE DON AND ZAPORIZHIA COSSACKS TO THE COASTS OF TURKEY AND THE CRIMEA
From the book The Last Abode. CRIMEA. 1920-1921 author Abramenko Leonid Mikhailovich From the book Crimea during the German occupation [National relations, collaborationism and partisan movement, 1941–1944] author Romanko Oleg Valentinovich From the book Battle for the Caucasus. Unknown war at sea and on land author Greig Olga IvanovnaChapter 2 The German Occupation Regime in the Territory
From the author's bookMilitary-political activities of Ukrainian nationalists in the territory of Crimea Many works are devoted to the activities of Ukrainian nationalists during the Second World War. With regard to interest in their organizations, both from historians and propagandists, they
From the author's bookPartisan and underground movement on the territory of Crimea (brief essay) In the autumn of 1941, a resistance movement unfolded on the territory of Crimea, which became a response to the terror of the invaders. On October 23, by decision of the regional committee of the CPSU (b), the Central Headquarters was formed
From the author's bookPart two Oktyabrsky and Mekhlis. From Crimea to the Caucasus
From the author's bookOccupation of the Crimea With the end of the "battle of Sea of Azov"A regrouping of forces took place on the southern flank of the Eastern Front. Apparently, the High Command of the German Army realized that one army could not simultaneously conduct two operations - one in the direction of Rostov and
Also, the ships of the Black Sea Fleet, the Azov Flotilla and the aviation of the Black Sea Fleet were involved in the operation. They blocked the sea communications of the Nazis and attacked the retreating troops. One battleship, four cruisers, six destroyers, two patrol ships, eight base minesweepers, 47 torpedo and 80 patrol boats, 29 submarines took part in the battles with the enemy.
On April 11, the Red Army liberated Kerch, on April 13 - Feodosia, on April 14 - Sudak, on April 16 - Yalta. On May 7, Soviet troops launched an offensive against Sevastopol, where the remnants of the enemy group were located. On May 12, Crimea was completely liberated.
The Ministry of Defense has published award lists for the heroes of the offensive operation. So, on May 7, 1944, in the vicinity of Sevastopol, Captain Alexei Toropkin was the first to break into the trenches where the enemy was. In hand-to-hand combat, he destroyed 14 Nazis. For his courage, he received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Private Vasily Ershov was posthumously awarded the Gold Star of the Hero of the USSR. On April 13, 1944, as part of a group of paratroopers near the village of Ashaga-Jali, he took an unequal battle with a battalion of Romanian troops. When the Red Army ran out of ammunition, they engaged the enemy in hand-to-hand combat. The soldiers were taken prisoner, where they were subjected to cruel torture, but did not give the enemy secret information. The Romanians decided to shoot the Red Army soldiers. Ershov was the only survivor.
“After the Romanians left the village, among the executed scouts, local residents found a fighter who showed signs of life, crippled beyond recognition. It was Ershov… Private Ershov earned the immortal fame of a Russian hero with his feat. In the name of the motherland, he did not spare his life. Ten gunshot wounds and seven bayonet stabs were found on Yershov's body; both arms and leg were broken," the document says.
A great contribution to the defense and liberation of the Crimea was made by Soviet pilots. In August 1944, Captain Vladimir Vasilevsky, navigator of the 1st air squadron of the 30th reconnaissance aviation regiment of the Black Sea Fleet Air Force, received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. In battles with the invaders, he destroyed 22 armored vehicles, five anti-aircraft batteries, and three aircraft. He also participated in the landing of troops in Kerch, Feodosia and Novorossiysk.
In a RT commentary, military historian Boris Yulin noted that “the operation to liberate Crimea was carried out according to all the canons military science". The Red Army achieved the necessary superiority in the number of troops and equipment in order to defeat the invaders without major losses.
“The German group was unable to offer serious resistance. Thanks to the liberation of Crimea, the USSR gained complete control over the Black Sea. The return of the Sevastopol base made it possible to interrupt the sea communications of the Nazis and, as a result, withdraw oil-rich Romania from the war. The Crimean offensive operation has become another glorious page in the history of the liberation of our country, ”summed up Yulin.
