Operations & Battles

Defense of Sevastopol and the battle for the Crimea

By WW2 History

Posted on November 6, 2022

The Defense of Sevastopol and the battle for the Crimea (October 30, 1941 – July 4, 1942) – the fighting of the Soviet and German – Romanian troops in the Crimea during the Great Patriotic War, which took place from October 30, 1941 to July 4, 1942.

Background

Other Article Crimean defensive operation

Defense of Sevastopol

The Sevastopol defensive region is a temporary operational formation (association) created on November 4, 1941 from the troops and forces of the Separate Primorsky Army of the Red Army, ships and aviation of the Black Sea Fleet of the Navy and formations of the Sevastopol Naval Base (SVMB). The SOR included four sectors of defense, in which the troops and forces of the Armed Forces of the USSR consistently occupied the forward, main and rear lines, and to ensure the evacuation of the Crimean population, troops and forces – a cover line. The operational formation in the active army was in the period from November 4, 1941 to July 4, 1942. Disbanded. SOR commanders: Major General I. E. Petrov (November 4-10, 1941), Vice Admiral F. S. Oktyabrsky (November 1941 – June 1942), Major General P. G. Novikov (July 1942).

During this period, the constructions of the SVMB also belonged to the SOR, which by the beginning of the Great Patriotic War were one of the most fortified places in the world. The structures of the SVMB included dozens of fortified gun positions, minefields, and more. The weakness of this defense was that it was aimed at protecting against attack from the sea and from the air, while the enemy came to Sevastopol by land. Land fortifications had to be built under extreme strain in a limited time, and completed under enemy fire.

The coastal artillery of Sevastopol included three divisions:

Coastal Artillery

1st Separate Artillery Battalion (commander – Major K. V. Radovsky):
- Two armored turret batteries (BB), or forts, armed with large-caliber artillery. Forts BB-30 (commander – Captain G. A. Alexander and BB-35 (commander – Captain A. Ya. Leshchenko) were armed with 305 mm guns (4 guns on each battery);
- half-tower battery No. 10 (4 203-mm guns);
- open battery No. 54 (4 102-mm guns);
2nd Separate Artillery Battalion (commander – Major S. T. Chernomazov):
- coastal batteries No. 2 (4 100 mm guns), No. 8 (4 45 mm guns), No. 12 (4 152 mm guns), No. 13 (4 120 mm guns), No. 14 (4 152 mm guns), rearmed with 3 130-mm guns);
- coastal batteries No. 18 (4 152 mm guns) and No. 19 (4 152 mm guns);
separate mobile batteries:
- mobile battery No. 724 (commander – Captain M.V. Spiridonov, 4 152-mm guns);
- mobile battery No. 725 (commander – Captain G.V. Yasinsky, 4 152-mm guns).

Military production in Sevastopol

T-34 in Crimea

Soviet AA Guns In the besieged Sevastopol, industrial and hand production of 82-mm BM-37 battalion mortars and 50-mm company mortars as well as experimental 6-charger 50-mm automatic mortars (with a drum, like a revolver) – it was developed by the design department (30 designers). In the spring of 1942, most of the one and a half thousand mortars in the troops of the Sevastopol Defensive Region (SOR) were 50-mm and 82-mm mortars of Sevastopol production. In total, 930 82-mm mortars, 1326 50-mm mortars were produced, and mines for mortars were also produced at ITK No. 7 and at the Mechstroyzavod – 109,400 pieces. 82 mm min, 140,600 pcs. 50 mm mines, 55 thousand fuses. But convoys brought more ammunition to Sevastopol – in May-June 1942, 81,163 pieces were delivered to Sevastopol. artillery mines – 35,209 pcs. for 50 mm, 42,082 pcs. for 82 mm, 944 pcs. for 107 mm and 8928 pcs. for 120mm mortars.

Also, the production of various types of ammunition (shells, mines, grenades), the repair of all types of weapons and even five armored trains operating in the SOR (the construction of the last of them – the famous Zheleznyakov armored train – ended in Sevastopol on November 4, 1941). Defense products were produced at the Sevastopol Marine Plant No. 201 (in cooperation with the 54th repair plant) and at the GARO plant (in cooperation with the Molot artel).

Ship repairmen and divers managed to remove four 130-mm B-13 guns and four 100-mm guns from two destroyers “Perfect” and “Bystroy” sunk in 1941, plus 7 turret guns from the light cruiser “Chervona Ukraine” and installed them on new batteries coastal defense No. 111-116 (Nakhimovsky Cape, Malakhov Kurgan, in the area of the English Cemetery, on the Dergachi farm, at the Mekenzievy Gory station, at Maksimova Dacha and on the old battery No. 19, partially taken out of Balaklava to the area of the beam of the state farm No. 10, which were manned by sailors from these ships.

With the outbreak of war, work on the creation of battleships of the “Soviet Union” type was stopped and a section of the hull of the new battleship remained in the Northern Bay of Sevastopol (assembled to test the strength of the structure during torpedo explosions). The strength of the section, as well as its dimensions (47 × 25 × 15 m) suggested using it as a floating battery. In 15 days, the section was repaired, equipped with a power plant, cockpits, ammunition cellars, armed and camouflaged in the color of the sea. Initially, two 130-mm naval guns, four 76.2-mm anti-aircraft guns, three 37-mm automatic guns, three 12.7-mm DShK anti-aircraft machine guns were installed on it.and two anti-aircraft searchlights with means of observation and communication. Later, the 130 mm guns were removed and transferred to land, and the anti-aircraft armament was reinforced with a quadruple 7.62 mm machine gun. The battery crew initially consisted of 130 people, commanded by Senior Lieutenant S. Ya. Moshensky. On August 16, 1941, the floating battery was towed out to sea and anchored four miles northwest of the Chersonese lighthouse, in the Cossack Bay, and there opened fire on German aircraft. From that day on, the unique floating battery No. 3 entered the air defense system of the base and the city and, with its effectiveness, earned the nickname “Don’t touch me…”.

In order to continue the production of mortars and ammunition with increased shelling and bombing on the southern coast of the Severnaya Bay in the area of Troitskaya Balka at a depth of 60 meters, in the adits of the unfinished underground facility “Krot” (according to the plan, its area was to be 30 thousand m² on two levels separated by 30 meters of rock, they planned to build two turbogenerators with a capacity of 25 MW, with fuel storage bunkers, transformer and pumping stations, staff quarters) by November 1941 created the so-called special plant No. 1, the special plant used the equipment of the Sevastopol Marine Plant named after Sergo OrdzhonikidzeNo. 201, as well as other enterprises of Sevastopol, evacuated factories from Simferopol (Krasny Metallist plant) and Evpatoria. The working conditions in it were terrible (dampness, lack of air), but professional workers and hastily trained residents (schoolchildren, students, housewives – see photo) worked in it for 12-16 hours a day, the special plant worked until the night of June 28 1942, until the last power plant stopped, after which the workers were taken out of it, and the adits were blown up.

First assault

Soviets defending Crimea

In Soviet historiography, the first assault on Sevastopol is considered to be the attempts of German troops to capture the city on the move during October 30 – November 21, 1941. Map of hostilities.

From October 30 to November 11, battles were fought on the distant approaches to Sevastopol, from November 2, attacks began on the outer line of defense of the fortress. There were no ground units left in the city, the defense was carried out by the marines of the Black Sea Fleet, coastal batteries, separate (training, artillery, anti-aircraft) units with fire support from ships. True, even the Germans only advanced detachments reached the city. At the same time, units of scattered Soviet troops retreated to the city. The Soviet group initially consisted of about 20 thousand people.

At the end of October, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command decided to reinforce the garrison of Sevastopol with the forces of the Primorsky Army (commander – Major General I. E. Petrov), which until then defended Odessa. On October 16, the defense of Odessa was terminated and the Seaside Army was transferred by sea to Sevastopol. The reinforcement forces amounted to 36 thousand people (according to German data – more than 80 thousand), about 500 guns, 20 thousand tons of ammunition, 10 T-26 tanks and other types of weapons and materials. After that, without a break, some units advanced towards the enemy near Perekop, where they arrived by October 23, 1941, but they could not reverse the outcome of the assault on the isthmus. During counterattacks and retreat in a roundabout way through Alushta, Yalta and seaside highway, they partially lost their personnel and materiel. Thus, by mid-November, the garrison of Sevastopol consisted, according to Soviet data, of about 50-55 thousand people.

On November 9-10, the Wehrmacht managed to completely surround the city from land, however, during November, rearguard forces made their way to their own, in particular, units of the 184th Infantry Division that covered the retreat of the 51st Army.

On November 11, with the approach of the main grouping of the 11th Wehrmacht Army, battles broke out around the entire perimeter. Within 10 days, the attackers managed to slightly penetrate the forward defense line, after which there was a pause in the battle. On November 21, after shelling from coastal batteries, two cruisers and the battleship “Paris Commune”, the Wehrmacht stopped the assault on the city.

One of the factors both repelling the first assault on Sevastopol and its long-term subsequent defense was the creation of a powerful artillery group with an effective control system that ensures stability in the defense of rifle and cavalry troops with its fire. Of particular importance to this is the fact that by the time the enemy broke through to the distant approaches to Sevastopol, such a grouping was actually absent (there were only a few coastal batteries for defense against attacks from the sea and anti-aircraft artillery) and therefore it was created directly during the battles. The leading merit in this belongs to the chief of artillery of the Primorsky Army, Colonel (from 02/11/1942 – Major General of Artillery) N. K. Ryzhi.

Kerch-Feodosiya landing operation

Landing Operation

On December 26, 1941, the Soviet command attempted a strategic offensive in the Crimea. The forces of the two armies 44th and 51st, with the support of the Black Sea Fleet and the Azov military flotilla, landed on the Kerch Peninsula and in Feodosia. Parts of the 42nd Army Corps began to retreat, the 46th Division lost heavy weapons, but E. von Manstein, having transferred part of his forces from near Sevastopol, managed to hold the front, and later return Feodosia. Despite the initial success, the offensive of the Soviet army was stopped.

At the end of January 1942, the Crimean Front of the Red Army was formed on the Kerch Peninsula. Repeated frontal attacks in March-April 1942 were unsuccessful. The front stabilized by the beginning of April at the Ak-Monai positions. It was planned, after preparation, to develop an offensive for the deblockade of Sevastopol. By the very fact of their presence, the Kerch grouping fettered significant forces of the 11th Army and gave Sevastopol a respite. Under these conditions, E. von Manstein decided to strike at a stronger enemy, but at the same time located in an open area. During the breakthrough of the front and pursuit, with the massive use of aviation, at the end of May 1942, the enemy defeated the main forces of the Crimean Front during the operation “Hunting for bustards”. After the transfer of the liberated units and rest, the enemy could now launch a decisive assault on Sevastopol.

Tactical landing in Evpatoria

On January 5, 1942, the Black Sea Fleet made an amphibious landing in the port of Evpatoria with the forces of a marine battalion (commander – Lieutenant Commander K. G. Buzinov). At the same time, an uprising broke out in the city, in which part of the city’s population participated. At the first stage, the operation was successful, the Romanian garrison, up to a regiment, was driven out of the city. However, the Germans soon brought up reserves. In the ensuing street battles, the enemy managed to gain the upper hand. On January 7, the battle in Evpatoria was over. The landing forces were partially killed in an unequal battle, partially captured.

Aviation actions

USSR Air Force

At the beginning of the war, the airfield “Chersoness Lighthouse” was built right on Cape Chersonesos (the scheme of the airfield has been preserved). In addition to anti-aircraft divisions on land, from the side of the Cossack Bay, the airfield was covered by a unique floating anti-aircraft battery No. 3, nicknamed “Don’t touch me!”, which shot down 22 enemy aircraft in 9 months, but by June 19 she had practically no shells left.

Before the second assault on Sevastopol at Cape Khersones, all aircraft were covered in powerful concrete caponiers. But at the airfield during the last assault, about 13 thousand artillery shells and almost 2500 air bombs exploded, destroying 30 and damaging 36 aircraft.

The lack of shells for anti-aircraft artillery, the lack of a sufficient number of fighter aircraft, and, most importantly, the complete superiority of the enemy in the air had a catastrophic effect on the defense of Sevastopol during the third assault on the city. There were problems with aviation gasoline, especially when, from mid-June 1942, it had to be carried by submarines – by June 15, B-78 brand aviation gasoline remained for five days of battles, B-74 – for six, and B-70 gasoline, consumed as aircraft, and cars, just for two days.

Chronicle of the actions of the Air Force and the Kherson airfield during the last assault

On June 29, SOR aircraft flew out for the last time to attack the enemy from the Khersones airfield: two IL-2s and three I-16s.
From June 22 to June 30, a special Moscow air group began to carry out cargo flights by Li-2 or PS-84 Douglas aircraft to the Khersones airfield (12-15 aircraft or 18-25 tons of cargo per day). So on the night of June 30, this group delivered 25 tons of ammunition and 1.6 tons of food to the SOR, and took out 7 wounded, 179 command personnel and 5 tons of cargo. One PS-85 was detained (hidden in a caponier) for the evacuation of command personnel.
On June 30, at night, the aviation of the Black Sea Fleet from the Caucasus carried out only 22 sorties to bomb the enemy near Sevastopol and 4 near Yalta.
On June 30, at night, three U-2 planes from the Khersones airfield flew to drop food to partisans in the Crimean mountains.
On June 30, two air defense radars of the RUS-2 type were destroyed by order (dropped into the sea off Cape Fiolent). Air defense ceased its operational service.
On June 30, in the evening, all serviceable aircraft (6 Yak-1, 7 IL-2, 1 I-15bis, 2 I-153, 1 LaGG-3) flew from the Khersones airfield to the Anapa airfield. The remaining aircraft were dismantled or burned.
On July 1, at night, 13 out of 16 PS-84 transport aircraft that took off from Krasnodar arrived at the airfield and brought 23.6 tons of ammunition, 1.2 tons of food. They took out 49 wounded and 183 commanders with 350 kg of secret documents, the commandant of the Chersonesos airfield, Major Popov, retired from command and flew away on the very first plane. The confusion when boarding the planes led to the fact that many of those assigned could not be evacuated. At the same time, by order of the headquarters, Admiral Oktyabrsky flew away on the 14th PS-84 aircraft (which was in a separate caponier the night before).
On July 1, seaplanes of the Black Sea Fleet flew to Sevastopol: “The Seagull”, GTS-9 and ten MBR-2. They took about 56 people (mostly wounded) out of Kazachya Bay.
On July 1, at night, Air Force aviation from the Caucasus carried out 17 bomb sorties against targets near Sevastopol. On the same night, aviation of the Black Sea Fleet from the Caucasus carried out 32 sorties against targets near Sevastopol.
On July 2, at 5 am, pilot Korolev managed to fly away from the Chersonesos airfield on a UT-1 aircraft. Arriving in Novorossiysk, he reported on the state of the front in Sevastopol: “… the line of contact runs on the left flank from Kamyshovaya Bay, and on the right – on the approaches to the 35th battery…. Three Yak aircraft, three U-2 aircraft, and one PS-84 burned down… “.

From the certificates of the 9th department of the UOO NKVD of the USSR

June 13, 1942

According to the Special Department of the NKVD of the Primorsky Army, the promotion enemy position, due to the advantage in aviation, at the forefront continues. There is nothing to influence, there are no anti-aircraft ammunition. Frontal aviation could operate from our airfields. Commando hesitantly raises the question before the front, fearing, no matter how interpreted as helplessness. In three days, 752 people were killed, 1,770 were wounded, especially heavy losses were suffered by the 79th brigade and the 172nd rifle division, in which 30-35% of the personnel remained. Our anti-aircraft artillery and fighter aircraft on June 7-8 37 enemy aircraft were shot down, of which 9 were shot down.

(Cipher telegram No. 153 dated June 10, 1942 (entry No. 13208), signed Korolev).