Kerch-Feodosia landing operation: the plan of operation and stages

The Kerch-Feodosia landing operation became one of the largest offensives of the Red Army at the initial stage of the Great Patriotic War. It was held in difficult conditions. As a result of the failure of the operation, the problems of the Soviet Army and Navy were exposed, which allowed to avoid mistakes in the future. Up to the Allied landing in Normandy, the Kerch-Feodosia landing operation was considered one of the most ambitious.

Prehistory

The occupation of Crimea began in 1941. By the beginning of the autumn, the Wehrmacht had seized almost the entire territory of the Ukrainian SSR. After the fall of Kiev, the hope for a counterattack disappeared. Since the "cauldron" was the largest part of the battle-worthy armies of the entire front. A retreat to the East began. In September, the Germans were already standing on the outskirts of the Crimea. The importance of the peninsula was perfectly understood by both sides. First, it provided control over most of the Black Sea. Especially because of the vacillating Turkey. Which, although supported by the Third Reich, did not enter the war.

Also the peninsula was a good air base. It was with him that Soviet bombers flew out, which struck strategic air strikes on Romanian oil wells. Therefore, on September 26 the Wehrmacht took the offensive on the isthmus. Less than a month the peninsula was almost completely captured. The Soviet units retreated to Taman. Only Sevastopol remained, whose heroic defense was still going on. At this time, the Kerch-Feodosia landing operation was born at the Stavka of the VGK.

Preparation

As a result of the withdrawal from Crimea, the only place of resistance was Sevastopol. The city held heroic defense, despite the complete blockade from the ground and only partial supply by sea. The Germans made several assaults, but all of them were unsuccessful. Therefore, the commander of Army Group Manstein decided to start a siege. To surround a huge agglomeration, almost all the armies were needed. At the same Kerch crossing was defended by only one Wehrmacht division.

The Kerch-Feodosia landing operation was developed by General Kozlov. For its implementation, two armies were involved. Within two weeks, under the leadership of General Kozlov, possible ways of landing were developed. Due to the lack of reserves from the border with Iran, an entire army was withdrawn. As a result, on 26 December, the Kerch-Feodosia landing operation was appointed. The plan assumed a simultaneous blow to Feodosia and the Strait. Soviet troops were to drive the Germans out of the city, and then encircle the entire enemy grouping. The command counted on a quick victory, since the main forces of the Germans were concentrated near Sevastopol. At the same time Kerch covered only a small garrison of the Germans and several Romanian armies. Even at that time, the Staff knew that the Romanian formations were extremely unstable to massive attacks and could not conduct a long-term defense.

In case of success, the Red Army would be able to destroy the enemy grouping in the region of the peninsula. This would allow the free transfer of new parts to the coast from Taman. After that, the Soviet troops could quickly advance westward and strike at the rear German troops, besieging Sevastopol. According to Kozlov's plan, after the city's dislocation, it would have been possible to launch a large-scale offensive in the Crimea.

First hit

The Kerch-Feodosia landing operation of 1941-1942 began on December 26th. "Auxiliary" blow was struck first. He not only fettered the enemy's forces, but distracted his attention from the main goal - Theodosia. With the support of the Black Sea Fleet, Soviet troops secretly approached the shore. After the artillery preparation began. The landing took place under extremely difficult conditions. The shore was unsuitable for mooring ships and barges. Also the Germans had time to start attacking the attackers. So the soldiers had to jump into the water, as soon as the depth was enough to go. That is, on a cold December day, the Red Army men were walking up their throats in icy water. As a result, there were large sanitary losses due to hypothermia. But after a few days the temperature dropped even more, and the strait froze. Therefore, the remaining part of the 51st Army was advancing along the ice.

The Kerch-Feodosia landing operation 1941-1942 on the main line began on the twenty-ninth day. Unlike the landing in Kerch, the landing in Feodosia took place directly at the port. The soldiers landed on the shore and immediately rushed into battle. In total for the first day managed to land about 40 thousand people in both directions. The German garrison of the city was three thousand people. Their resistance was suppressed by the end of the day. After the landing in Feodosia, the fascists were threatened with complete encirclement. In Kerch, only one division of the Germans and the Romanian mountain arrows held the line.

Retreat

At GHQ, they almost immediately learned about the results that the Kerch-Feodosia amphibious operation brought. The forces of the parties in the Kerch area were unequal. Soviet troops were several times superior to Germany in number. Therefore, General von Sponecke decided to begin a retreat to the west. The order began to be executed instantly. The Nazis retreated to avoid the junction of the two amphibious armies. However, the commander of the Crimean front Manstein categorically forbade any retreat. He feared that if he retreated to the Soviet troops he would manage to overtake the German and Romanian armies and destroy them.

This was also the plan of the Soviet leadership. The defeat of the Kerch garrison would lead to a deficit of German forces. Before the Red Army, the road to Sevastopol would have been opened. However, the landing did not begin to advance swiftly. Instead of a quick breakthrough to the west, the forty-fourth army moved in the direction of Kerch to meet with the fifty-first army. This delay allowed the Germans to gain a foothold on the new line of defense near Sivash. There were tight reserves and heavy weapons. In Berlin, immediately began to take retaliatory measures as soon as they learned that the Kerch-Feodosia landing operation had begun. The first stage allowed the Soviet troops to gain a foothold on the coast. However, the heaviest part was ahead.

Difficult position

After the defeat of the Germans in Feodosia and Kerch, the Red Army units were extremely exhausted. This is primarily due to the extreme conditions of disembarkation. Ice water, low air temperature and so on had a bad effect on the health of the fighters. On the captured bridgeheads there was not a single hospital. Therefore, wounded soldiers could rely only on first aid. After that they were delivered to Kerch and from there, across the sea, to the mainland. The severely wounded could not always overcome such a long way.

Also, it was not possible to establish a crossing because of constant attacks by German aviation. Air defense assets were not delivered on time. Therefore, in fact, the aircraft did not encounter any resistance. As a result, many warships have suffered seriously.

Kerch-Feodosia landing operation: 2nd stage

In less than a week the Red Army men won the whole coast. Fascist resistance was suppressed quite quickly. Because of the uncertainty in the Romanian units, the Wehrmacht introduced into their composition the cadre of German officers. The defense along Sivash was fortified by a reserve infantry regiment. The main direction of the attack for the Soviet troops was the railway, which provided the 11th Army of the Wehrmacht. Taking into account the weakness of the Nazi troops, the commander-in-chief's command ordered to immediately advance to the west. According to the plan, Kozlov was to leave the Germans besieging Sevastopol and defeat them. After that, it was planned to start another large-scale offensive and liberate the entire Crimea. However, the general hesitated too long. He believed that there was still not enough resources to throw. It would seem that the successful Kerch-Feodosia landing operation of the Soviet troops brought a cruel disappointment. The Nazis counterattacked.

Next month, forty-second, a new large-scale offensive was being prepared. To support it, an additional corps was planted in Sudak. Ammunition and replenishment were arriving by sea and ice. However, one of the best generals of the Third Reich outstripped Kozlov. In the middle of January the Nazis unexpectedly began their offensive. The main blow fell on a poorly fortified front line at the junction of the two armies. Three days later the Germans reached their initial positions. By the end of the eighteenth of January, Theodosius fell. Recently landed in the Pike perch, the desperate resistance. Almost two weeks the Red Army men fought heroically and almost in full force gave their lives in battle. Cargo ships with supplies were destroyed. After losing the only port, Soviet troops could be transported to Kerch only on the ice.

Preparing for a new attack

After that, the command created a separate front in the Crimea. It included already existing armies on the peninsula and new formations. The soldiers of the forty-seventh army were removed from the Iranian border. The command transferred a considerable amount of equipment. A special commissar was sent from Stavka. Preparations for the offensive began. It was planned for the end of February. The aim was to group the enemy from Sevastopol, in fact, to destroy it and the Kerch-Feodosia landing operation was developed. The Crimean front was reinforced with artillery regiments and heavy tanks throughout the month.

On the twenty-seventh of February the offensive began. It was planned to concentrate the main blow in Kerch. However, the weather conditions prevented the plans. A thaw began, and heavy rains fell. Rasputitsa and mud prevented the advance of heavy equipment. Tanks, especially heavy ones, could not keep pace with the infantry. As a result, the Germans were able to withstand the attack of the Red Army. Only in one sector of the front it was possible to break through the line of defense. The Romanian army could not withstand the onslaught. But nevertheless the Soviet troops failed to develop their initial success. Manstein understood that the breakthrough threatens the Red Army's withdrawal into the flank of his armies. Therefore I sent the last reserves to hold the line, and this gave results. Until the third of March, persistent fighting continued. But seriously progress was not achieved.

The Kerch-Feodosia landing operation of the troops of the Crimean Front continued in the middle of March. Eight rifle divisions, with the support of two tank brigades, launched an offensive. At the same time, the Seaside Army struck from the besieged Sevastopol. But it was not possible to break through to their own. The Germans repelled ten attacks per day. But the Nazis did not manage to break through the defense. Individual connections achieved some success, but could not hold occupied positions. After that, the front stabilized and the intensity of military operations decreased.

The German offensive

By the end of March, Soviet troops lost one hundred and ten thousand people since the Kerch-Feodosia landing operation began. The third stage began with the German offensive. It was planned carefully and for a long time. As a result of the unsuccessful attack of the Red Army, a front ledge (the so-called arc) was formed in the place where the Romanian division was defeated. The main forces of the Soviet army concentrated here. While in the south the defense was occupied by only three divisions.

Manstein decided to make a maneuver, hitting just to the south. For this purpose, considerable reinforcement was sent to the Crimea. The tank division, consisting of one hundred and eighty cars, arrived to the outskirts of Sevastopol. The Germans conducted thorough reconnaissance and identified the weak points of the defense of the Soviet troops. To support the planned offensive, the Nazis intended to use aviation. To this end, on the personal order of Hitler, an air corps was sent to the peninsula. Also planes arrived from Romania. However, the pilots of all vehicles were exclusively Germans.

Soviet troops were too close to the front. This is remembered by many eyewitnesses of those events. According to historians, it was the inept command of Kozlov and Mehlis that led to the subsequent tragedy. Instead of leaving divisions behind, wherever they were outside the artillery bombardment area, they were constantly being driven forward.

Fatal defeat

The offensive began on May 7th. Land attack was preceded by air training. The Luftwaffe struck at pre-established targets. As a result, Soviet troops suffered losses in many directions. The headquarters of one of the armies was destroyed. As a result, the command passed to Colonel Kotov.

The next day the offensive of the infantry began. With the support of heavy tanks, the Germans broke through the front seven kilometers into the depths. Sudden impact on this site could not be repelled. Also in the rear of the Red Army landed landing. Its strength was small, but a sudden attack from the sea caused panic in the ranks of Soviet soldiers. By the ninth of May, Manstein brought into battle another division of his own. The Germans managed to finally break through the front and smash practically the entire southern grouping. Immediately after that, the Wehrmacht began to turn north, threatening to blow the flank of the remaining forces of the Crimean front.

I take into account the catastrophic situation, on the night of the tenth of May there is a personal conversation between Stalin and Kozlov. It was decided to withdraw to a new line of defense. But the army, which remained after the German air raid without a commander, could not advance. A new blow was struck in the direction of the Cimmerian Shaft, which was assigned the role of a new line of defense. The Kerch-Feodosia landing operation of the Soviet troops failed. Landed from the air, the German landing force helped to break through the defenses. On the fourteenth of May the evacuation of the Red Army soldiers from the Crimea began. A day later, the Germans began to storm Kerch. The garrison of the city fought until it was left without ammunition, after which the defenders of the city went to the quarries.

Kerch-Feodosia landing operation: results

The landing in Kerch initially brought success. A new front was formed, an opportunity appeared for one of the first large-scale offensives. However, the inept command of the troops led to tragic consequences. In a few months of heavy fighting, the Germans managed not only to maintain their positions, but also to advance to the offensive. As a result, the Wehrmacht struck a strategically thought-out blow, which led to the defeat, which ended the Kerch-Feodosia landing operation. Briefly, the battles are described in the diaries of Kozlov and Manstein.

Despite the failure of the operation, it became a harbinger of already victorious offensive on the peninsula in the forty-fourth.

Second Attack

Two years after the tragic defeat, a new landing in the Kerch port landed. 1944 was the year of liberation of the Crimea. When planning an offensive on the peninsula, the command considered all the details of the first operation. The Azov fleet was involved in the delivery of troops. The landing force was to seize a bridgehead for further large-scale offensive.

At this time, a large-scale offensive operation was being prepared. Therefore, the blows were applied from two directions. On January 22, about 1,500 Red Army men sank to the ships and set out for Kerch. To cover up the upcoming operation, Soviet artillery began a massive shelling of the coast. At the same time, the greatest fire was inflicted not at the place of disembarkation to disorient the enemy. Also, several boats made an imitation of the landing.

Closer to the night of the twenty-second of January, landed landing in the Kerch port. 1944 was not nearly as cold as the 42nd, so the Marine Corps did not suffer significant losses from hypothermia. Immediately after the landing, the paratroopers rushed into the battle and achieved significant success. A significant part of the city was captured. However, the advancing army on the other hand could not break through the German defenses. Therefore, the paratroopers had to break through to their own. During the fighting, one of the battalions managed to capture 170 German soldiers. A few days later, after suffering considerable losses, the Marines broke through the encirclement and joined up with the advancing units. In fact, the Kerch-Feodosia landing operation of 1941-1942 was repeated, only much more successfully.