The defense of Sevastopol in 1941-1942. Hero City Sevastopol

On July 3, 1942, the heroic defense of the Crimean peninsula, which resulted in colossal losses for the Red Army, culminated in the retreat of our troops. The Sovinformbureau report noted "selfless courage, fury in the fight against the enemy and the selflessness of the defenders." The first years of the war were not easy for us, even to believe in the reality of everything that was happening was not for everyone - it seemed like a terrible dream. The more vivid, but at the same time even more tragic, the stoic defense of Sevastopol 1941-1942 entered the history of the country. The heroism and courage of all who were involved in the events of those days are immeasurable.

Pass Odessa, but keep the Crimea

By September 12, 1941 the Germans had come close to the Crimea. The peninsula was of strategic importance both for us and for the invaders. From here, a direct airway opened up to the oil-industrial points of Romania, which supplied the Wehrmacht troops with fuel. With the loss of these routes, our aviation was deprived of the possibility of bombarding the fuel reserves of the Germans, and in turn, they could receive not only Romanian oil products, but also Soviet ones - for them the road to the Caucasus opened, to our reserves. The Red Army headquarters understood the importance of free flights of the air forces of the opposing sides, so it was decided to transfer additional parts to the Crimea, withdrawing them from under Odessa. Thus, to save the peninsula had to sacrifice the whole city. The battle for Sevastopol, which had to be retained by any forces, was carried out with water, air and land.

By the end of September, the Germans were Kiev and most of Ukraine, Smolensk, all approaches to Leningrad, the blockade of which was scary. In addition, the proximity of the enemy army and its too frisky advance into the interior of the country spoke of a protracted and difficult war. By September, in the battles near Uman and Kiev, the units of the South-Western Front had been defeated, now a great war has come to Crimea. The defense of Sevastopol was the last frontier on the peninsula, the successful defense of which could, albeit a little, but to restrain the offensive breakthrough of the German army.

On the Perekop Isthmus

The only land route through which one could get to the Crimea was the Perekop Isthmus. Against the formed in August, the 51st Independent Army, to which the defense of the peninsula was assigned, was the 11th Wehrmacht Army. Soviet troops commanded by Colonel-General f. I. Kuznetsov, German - commander Erich von Manstein. To the honor of the enemy, it is worth noting that on the enemy side was one of the most talented warlords of Hitler. Unfortunately, on both sides of the front, sometimes against each other, quite worthy people who could compete in professionalism in peacetime fought if the Great Patriotic War did not make them deadly enemies. Sevastopol and the defense of the Crimea in this respect can serve as an indicator of the competence of the commanders of opposing armies.

The 51st Independent Army consisted of three rifle divisions: the 276th under the command of Major-General Igor S. Savinov, the 156th, commanded by Major-General P. V.Chernyaev, and the 106th, under the command of Colonel A N. Pervushina. Savinov was supposed to defend the Chongar Peninsula and the Arabat Arrows. Chernyayev faced the task of keeping the Perekop positions directly up to the last, and Pervushin's divisions, stretched along the southern coast of Sivash for 70 km, had to block the road of the German army on their way to Sevastopol on their sector of the front. 1941 was an exhibition for the Soviet Army not only in terms of the defense of the Crimea, but also in the degree of preparation for the war as a whole.

In the battles for Perekop

In addition to the infantry, the 51st Army also included cavalry divisions, there were also three: 48th under the command of Major-General DI Averkin, 42nd Colonel VV Glagolev and 40th Colonel F.F. Kudyurov. All three units of the 51st Army, plus the 271st Infantry Division under the command of Colonel M.A. Titov, had to restrain tank attacks on the Perekop Isthmus and not let the enemy into the peninsula where the battle for Sevastopol was already ripening. Four Crimean divisions: 172nd, 184th, 320th and 321st - protected the coast. They were commanded, respectively, by Colonels IG Toroptsev, VN Abramov, MV Vinogradov and IM Aliev.

Since September 24, the Germans launched an offensive. Two infantry units, supported by artillery and aviation, made an attempt to break through the Perekop Isthmus. By September 26, they stormed the Turkish rampart and captured the town of Armyansk. The two rifle and one cavalry divisions, which were thrown to the defense of the city, organized by the commander of the operational group, Lieutenant-General PI Batov, did not create any special obstacles for the German army - their offensive was so powerful. By September 30, the Soviet troops had left their former positions and retreated.

Departure to the Taman Peninsula

Fixed on the Ishun positions, by October 18, when the 11th German Army launched a new offensive, the 9th Rifle Corps and several separate units of the Black Sea Fleet regrouped and prepared to face the enemy's attack with dignity. Of course, the forces were not equal. The leaders of the defense of Sevastopol understood that they would not be able to restrain the offensive of the German army without reinforcement, but fierce fighting was going on all along the front, and there was no opportunity to transfer additional units to the Ishun positions.

The battle lasted five days, during which time the enemy pushed the Soviet troops further into the interior of the peninsula. The maritime army that arrived did not save the situation either. Manstein, with fresh forces, threw to the front two infantry divisions, which on October 28 broke through the defense. Parts of the Red Army were forced to withdraw to Sevastopol. The history of the city was replenished with new, the most tragic for all the years of its existence pages.

It was not easy under Kerch, where our troops also withdrew. The entire mountainous terrain in the district served as one battlefield. All attempts by the Red Army to gain a foothold on the Kerch Peninsula proved to be futile: the 42nd German Army Corps of three divisions defeated the main forces of our 51st Army, and on November 16, its surviving battalions were evacuated to the Taman Peninsula. Future Hero-cities Sevastopol And Kerch have learned the full strength of the Wehrmacht. To break through to the southern coast of Crimea, the German army was replenished with the 54th Army Corps, which included two infantry divisions and a motorized brigade, and the 30th Army Corps, which also consisted of two infantry divisions.

On the approaches to Sevastopol

The impenetrable power at the beginning of the war was represented by the Sevastopol Defense District (CDF), which was perhaps the most fortified place in the European territory. It included several dozen gun positions, fortified with pillboxes, mine fields, forts armed with large-caliber artillery, or, as they were called at that time, armored batteries (BB). The defense of Sevastopol in 1941-1942 stretched for several months in many respects thanks to that most fortified defensive area.

All November of the 41st battle went on the distant approaches to the city. The defense was held by the infantry of the Black Sea Fleet, since the land forces of the 51st Army had by that time practically no left on the peninsula - they were evacuated. The infantry was assisted by separate anti-aircraft, artillery and training units, as well as coastal batteries. Scattered along the coast remnants of Soviet divisions also joined the ranks of city defenders, but they were negligible. So we can safely say that the heroic defense of Sevastopol in 1941-1942. Was carried out exclusively by the forces of the Black Sea.

The Soviet grouping by November numbered about 20 thousand sailors. But at the headquarters of the commander-in-chief, it was understood how important it was to keep this last frontier of the Crimea, and the Sevastopol garrison was reinforced by units of the Primorsky Army, which had previously defended Odessa, commanded by Major General IE Petrov.

Reinforcements were transferred by sea, since there was no other way. The defensive garrison was replenished with 36 thousand manpower, several hundred guns, tens of tons of ammunition, tanks and other weapons. From November 9 to 11, the Wehrmacht armies managed to completely encircle Sevastopol from the land, and in the next 10 days in several places wedged into the line of defense. Then there was a pause in the fighting clashes.

The united front

Hero-cities Sevastopol And Kerch in those days of war hard for the country gained their immortality at the cost of the death of thousands of their defenders who found the strength to resist the more powerful enemy army. After a small lull, the fighting in the Crimea resumed with particular ruthlessness in the first days of January 1942. In the Romanians of Evpatoria, which was occupied by that time, an uprising broke out, organized by the local population and rallied to it by partisan formations. On January 5, parts of the Black Sea Fleet despatched to the coast were transferred to the city.

The first battles brought a small victory to the united Soviet troops - the Romanian garrison was knocked out of the city. But the superiority of the defenders was short-lived: on January 7, after tightening the reserves, the Germans defeated the landing parties. Many of our fighters were taken prisoner. The weapon was lost, too. At the turn of Alushta - Sevastopol, which for a long time retained defensive forces, also now hosted the Germans. From now on, all hopes were turned to the coast, where Sevastopol's defense was reliably carried out for a long time. There were practically no days of silence, the city was constantly bombarded.

Under the blows of the Luftwaffe

On the city, except for artillery, Manstein threw his striking force - the Luftwaffe. Army Group "South", consisting of two air corps, which numbered about 750 aircraft, supported the German fleet. To fully capture the Crimean peninsula, Hitler did not spare any technology or manpower. The fifth Luftwaffe air corps was transferred to Sevastopol at the beginning of the winter of 1941, and already in May 42 this deadly equipment was able to provide a ground operation conducted by Manstein, tangible support. Defense of Sevastopol 1941-1942 Years, in spite of the steadfastness and courage of the Black Sea sailors, lasted only a short time after the enemy aviation flew into the city. Moreover, just in the spring on this section of the front was transferred and the eighth air corps, which was commanded by V. von Richthoffen. Hitler appointed one of his best commanders to the most complex and responsible ground operations.

Heroes of the defense of Sevastopol, survivors and survivors of those fierce battles, shared memories of the continued bombing of the city. Every day Luftwaffe planes dropped tons of bombs to Sevastopol. Up to 600 sorties, our military was fixed daily. In total, more than two and a half thousand tons of bombs were dropped, including large-caliber ones - up to a thousand kilograms each.

All German power - to storm the city

The conquerors paid tribute to the artillery forts of Sevastopol. So long to resist at times superior to the forces of the opponent could only be in the presence of long-term defensive structures, which were in Crimea. To destroy them, the Germans had to use siege artillery of large calibers. Over two hundred batteries, which consisted of heavy guns, Manstein placed on a line of 22 kilometers. In addition to heavy howitzers 300 mm and 350 mm, superheavy siege guns of 800 mm were used.

From Germany, secretly, especially for a breakthrough in the Sevastopol direction, a gun was delivered with a total mass of over 1,000 tons. He was placed in the rocks near Bakhchisarai. Against such power to stand it was impossible. Participants in the defense of Sevastopol told us that there was not a single weapon with such a deafening roar and destructive force.

For a long time the German troops could not begin the storming of the city - the partisans, the weather and the absence of a clearly designed offensive plan interfered. But by the spring of 1942 everything was ready. For the summer assault, the 11th Army of the Germans intensified with a new six corps: the 54th, 30th, 42nd, 7th Romanian, 8th Romanian and 8th Aviation. As can be seen from the description of the buildings, they had both ground troops and air forces.

In the ring of fire

The Kerch Peninsula housed the 42nd and 7th Corps, they were planned to be used for ground operations and to enter into battle only to replace broken divisions. The 4th Mountain and 46th Infantry were to enter the final stage of the battle, so that the enemy had four divisions with relatively fresh forces for the final capture of the city. So in the end it happened - under the powerful onslaught of German units and the multi-day defense of Sevastopol ended. WWII lasted only a year, there were three more ahead, and the losses of Soviet troops on the Crimean front sector alone were colossal. But no one thought of surrendering to the superior forces of the enemy - they stood to the last. They realized that the decisive battle would be for the most fatal, but they did not see any other fate for themselves.

The Wehrmacht prepared for great losses. The command of the 11th Army, in addition to the reserve, which was hidden on the approaches to Sevastopol, required three additional infantry and several antiaircraft artillery regiments from the headquarters. Three battalions of self-propelled units, a separate tank battalion and thrown batteries of the superheavy gun were waiting for their time.

Many years later, when the researchers of the Great Patriotic War summed up the battle that went down in history as the Defense of Sevastopol in 1941-1942, it turned out that Hitler had not used such a massive use of aviation and artillery throughout the Second World War.

As for the ratio of manpower to the beginning of defense, according to experts, it was almost equal, that with one, that on the other side of the front. But by the summer of 1942 the numerical superiority of the German army was indisputable. The decisive assault on Sevastopol began on June 7, but almost a month the Soviet troops held the defenses.

The Last Assault

For almost the entire first week, the stubborn opposition did not abate. Well protected in dots and forts, the Black Sea sailors rendered mortal resistance - the Wehrmacht soldier on the outskirts of Sevastopol, a lot.

The decisive battle, which changed the course of the confrontation, occurred on June 17 in the southern sector. The Germans took a position known in history as "Eagle's Nest", and approached the foot of Sapun Mountain. By that time, the fort "Stalin", which held the defense from the north side, had already been captured by German soldiers. In their hands was located and mekenzievaya height. In the evening, several other forts moved to the advancing ones, among them Maxim Gorky-1, as it was called by the Germans, with the BB-30 battery. The entire Northern Bay could now be freely fired upon by German artillery. With the loss of battery BB-30 defenders lost contact with the regular Red Army, located on the other side of the front. Impossible delivery of ammunition and reinforcement approach became impossible. But the inner ring of defense was still dangerous for the Germans.

The southern shore of the Northern bay was fortified quite strong, and he did not dare to storm it on the move, without tactical preparation . He bet on the surprise factor to avoid too much loss. On the night of 28th to 29th June, on almost noiseless inflatable boats, the advanced parts of the 30th Corps went unnoticed to the bay and began the assault. By the evening of June 30 Malakhov Kurgan was captured .

Defenders at the end had ammunition and food, the headquarters decided to evacuate the highest and senior commanders of the defense forces of Sevastopol, as well as the party's assets of the city. Speech about the rescue of sailors, soldiers, including wounded, as well as lower officers did not go ...

Scary figures of losses

The evacuation plan was implemented with the use of aviation, submarines and light watercraft in the Black Sea Fleet. A total of about 700 people were ransomed from the peninsula by the top leadership of the troops, the aviation delivered about two hundred more people to the Caucasus. Several thousand sailors managed to escape from the encirclement on light ships. Since July 1, the defense of Sevastopol was practically stopped. At some points, the sounds of shots were still heard, but they were of a local character. Left by the commanding staff, the Maritime Army withdrew to the Cape of Chersonesos, where three days later it also stubbornly resisted the enemy. In an unequal struggle, thousands of defenders of the Crimea were killed, the rest were taken prisoner. Established in memory of those events, a medal for the defense of Sevastopol was given to a few survivors. As reported by the German command, at Cape Khersones they managed to capture more than one hundred thousand Soviet soldiers and sailors, but Manstein refuted this information, saying only about forty thousand prisoners. According to Soviet data, the army lost 78,230 captured soldiers from the survivors. The information on weapons differs radically from those that the Germans gave their command.

With the loss of Sevastopol, the situation of the Red Army deteriorated significantly, until the days when our troops entered the city as winners. It happened in the memorable year of 1944, and there were many months and miles of war ahead ...