Defense of Sevastopol 1941-1942 The unusually favorable strategic position of the Crimean peninsula at all times forced opponents to fight fiercely for its possession.
Was no exception. The operation to capture the Crimean peninsula by the German army was the most important in terms of "Barbarossa".
The battle for the Crimea, and in particular for Sevastopol, is one of the most heroic and dramatic pages of the Great Patriotic War.
Strategic importance of the Crimean peninsula
For the advancing army of the Nazis, it was a vital springboard because:
direct and shortest airlifts of oil products from Romania became available, which were necessary for aviation and tank formations of the Wehrmacht army;
the shortest road to the Caucasus was opened, where the main reserves of Soviet oil were concentrated.
The loss of the Crimea for the Soviet army is the loss of the ability of our aviation to destroy the fuel reserves of the German army at close range.
The situation on the fronts
The position of the Red Army by the end of the summer of 1941 was not just difficult - it was catastrophic. The blockade closed around Leningrad. Smolensk and Kyiv fell. Most of Ukraine was captured by the enemy, and by mid-September 1941, the Wehrmacht troops came close to the Crimea.
Defense of Sevastopol WWII photo
The command of the Red Army was well aware of the strategic importance of this region and transferred military units defending Odessa to its defense. The Soviet troops are the 51st Separate Army, formed in August 1941 specifically for the defense of the Crimea, under the command of Colonel-General F.I. Kuznetsov.
German troops advanced with the forces of the 11th Wehrmacht Army, commanded by one of the talented German military leaders and Hitler's favorite, Erich von Manstein.
The defense of the Crimea and the defense of Sevastopol were organized competently and took place without any serious mistakes on the part of the Soviet command. But our troops lacked equipment, which the German army had in abundance. As a result of fierce battles, Soviet troops were pushed back to Sevastopol, which by the end of September 1941 remained practically the only center of resistance.
Defense of Sevastopol
Sevastopol fought and was not going to give up when almost the entire Crimea was in the hands of the enemy. The selfless defenders of Sevastopol, who showed extraordinary heroism, courage, devotion and courage, pulled back significant enemy forces, preventing him from finally gaining a foothold on the peninsula and moving on. The whole city was on fire. They tried to capture it simultaneously from land, water and air.
Defense of Sevastopol photo
German troops received fresh reinforcements. The enemy army was reinforced by a motorized corps and two infantry divisions. But at first, all the attempts of the Germans were in vain, I do not look at all the military power. The Sevastopol defensive region was one of the most fortified places that the German army had to face.
Thanks to well-fortified weapons positions, which consisted of pillboxes, minefields, forts with large-caliber artillery, the defense of Sevastopol stretched out for several months.
Heroic participants in the defense of Sevastopol
Until December 1941, the defenders of Sevastopol held the enemy on the distant approaches to the city. The remnants of the ground forces of the 51st Army had by this time been evacuated to the mainland and the defense of the city was carried out by infantry sailors of the Black Sea Fleet. Their number was about 20 thousand.
Scattered forces from the surviving formations and units of anti-aircraft and artillery coastal batteries poured into the number of defenders of the city. But for the full protection of Sevastopol, this was a drop in the ocean. The command of the Red Army replenished the garrison of defenders with a 36,000-strong Primorsky Army, which was transferred by sea from Odessa.
In addition to manpower, several hundred guns, tens of tons of ammunition, as well as tanks were transferred. But by mid-November, Sevastopol was completely surrounded by land, and the siege of the city began. Until January 1942, no decisive military action was taken - the Germans accumulated forces and transferred super-heavy artillery. And already in early January, the entire power of aviation and ground artillery fell upon the city, which did not stop day or night.
More than 700 Luftwaffe aircraft made almost 600 sorties daily and dropped tons of bombs on the city and its defenders. Manstein's special large-caliber ground artillery ironed the city from land. The German fleet did not allow any serious naval operations to be carried out. But despite all the super-powerful efforts of the Nazis, the defense of Sevastopol stretched out until the end of June 1942.
Only after the Germans, at the cost of huge losses, were able to seize the position called the Eagle's Nest and ended up at the foot of the Sapun Mountain, it became clear that the days of Sevastopol were numbered. On the night of June 29, German landing forces were crushed heroic defenders Malakhov barrow. After this event, the defense of the city ended.
The surviving defenders of the city retreated to Cape Khersones. All who could not evacuate or break through the German ring were captured. The Germans transmitted information about one hundred thousand prisoners. The Soviet command called the figure 78 thousand 230 people.
In memory of the courage and heroism of the defenders of the city, the medal "For the Defense of Sevastopol" was established in December 1942. It is a pity that the fallen heroes who received this award turned out to be much more survived. For the heroism and courage of its defenders, the city of Sevastopol was awarded the title Hero City .
The city's land defense system included three defensive line- forward, main and rear. The forces of the Sevastopol defensive region courageously repelled two enemy attacks on the main base of the Black Sea Fleet: November 11-21 and December 17-31, 1941. Due to the fact that at the end of May 1942 the Soviet troops suffered a major defeat on the Kerch Peninsula, the situation of the besieged Sevastopol became critical. After many days of intense air raids and artillery shelling, on June 7, 1942, the Germans took the 3rd assault on Sevastopol. By the end of June, the forces of the city's defenders were exhausted, due to the lack of ammunition. The remnants of the troops defending Sevastopol were to be evacuated to Novorossiysk. But only a small part of the city's defenders managed to evacuate. According to domestic data, the irretrievable losses of the SOR troops from October 30, 1941 to July 4, 1942 amounted to more than 156 thousand people (killed, captured and missing).
The defense of the city lasted 250 days and became a symbol of mass courage and heroism of Soviet soldiers. It pinned down large enemy forces on the southern flank of the Soviet-German front, which otherwise could have been used in one of the decisive sectors of the German offensive in the summer of 1942. The Germans also suffered very heavy losses during the siege and assault on Sevastopol - up to 300 thousand killed and wounded. On December 22, 1942, the medal "For the Defense of Sevastopol" was established to commemorate the heroic defense of the main base of the Black Sea Fleet. On May 8, 1965, the city of Sevastopol was awarded the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal.
ORDER TO THE ARMED FORCES OF THE CRIMEA No. 1640, November 4, 1941
In connection with the current operational situation on the Crimean peninsula, the following organization of command and control of the Crimean troops should be carried out:
1. Organize two defensive areas:
a) Kerch defensive area.
b) Sevastopol defensive area.
2. To include in the composition of the troops of the Sevastopol defensive region: all units and subunits of the Primorsky Army, the coastal defense of the main base of the Black Sea Fleet, all naval land units and units of the Air Force of the Black Sea Fleet on my special instructions.
I entrust the command of all the actions of the ground forces and the leadership of the defense of Sevastopol to the commander of the Primorsky Army, Major General Comrade Petrov I.E. with direct subordination to me.
Deputy commander of the Black Sea Fleet for land defense of the main base, Rear Admiral G.V. Zhukov to take command of the Sevastopol main base; to the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, to allocate the composition of the means and forces of the Sevastopol main base on my instructions.
3. To include in the composition of the troops of the Kerch defensive region all units, subunits of the 51st Army, naval land units and the Kerch naval base.
I entrust the command of all military units operating on the Kerch Peninsula and the leadership of the defense to my deputy, Lieutenant General P. I. Batov.
Formation of the operational group of the Kerch defensive region to be carried out on the basis of the headquarters and management of the 51st Army.
4. The chief of staff of the Crimean troops, Major General Ivanov, as having failed in his duties, was removed from his post and sent to the personnel reserve of the Red Army.
To the post of chief of staff of the troops of the Crimea to admit the chief of staff of the Primorsky Army, Major General Comrade. Shishenina G.D.
5. I appoint deputy chief of staff of the SOR. Chief of Staff of the Primorsky Army, Colonel G.I. Krylov.
6. I appoint deputy military commissar of the Kerch defensive region. Head of the PUARMA of the 51st Army, Regimental Commissar Krupin.
Commander of the Armed Forces of Crimea Vice Admiral Levchenko
Member of the Military Council Corps Commissar Nikolaev
Chief of Staff Major General Shishenin
TO ALL FIGHTERS, COMMANDERS AND POLITICAL WORKERS COURAGED DEFENDERS OF THE NATIVE SEVASTOPOL: APPEAL OF THE MILITARY COUNCIL OF THE BLACK SEA FLEET, December 21, 1941
Dear comrades!
The brutal enemy is again advancing on Sevastopol. Defeated in the main direction near Moscow, the enemy is trying to capture our native city, in order thereby to at least to some extent belittle and weaken the impression of the victories of the Red Army near Moscow, near Rostov and on other fronts.
The enemy bears huge losses near Sevastopol. He threw his last reserves into battle, trying to crush the mighty resistance of our troops.
Comrades, Red Navy, Red Army, commanders and political workers!
Beat the enemy as our comrades beat him near Moscow, as they beat him and drove him away from Rostov, as they smash him near Tikhvin and on other fronts.
Ruthlessly exterminate the fascist dogs, reflecting with fire, grenades all attempts of the enemy to get to Sevastopol.
Not a step back in the fight for Sevastopol! Remember that the defeat of the enemy depends on our stamina, courage and ability to fight.
The stronger our rebuff to the enemy, the sooner the final victory over the fascist invaders will come...
Comrades! Destroy enemies the way the best defenders of our Sevastopol do. Beat the fascists the way political instructor Omelchenko beats them, who destroyed 15 German soldiers and officers in one battle, as Captain Bondarenko beats - a brave and talented commander, showing his subordinates examples of courage and selflessness.
Exterminate the Nazi bastards as the fighter Serbin exterminates them, who destroyed 20 fascist soldiers and officers, as the Red Army soldier Savchuk, snipers Miroshnichenko, Trifonov, Kalyuzhny, Zosimenko and many other glorious warriors of our Motherland exterminate.
Combat defenders of Sevastopol!
Mercilessly exterminate the fascists, exhaust the enemy's forces, destroy his military equipment.
Be steadfast and brave in battle. Be vigilant in any situation! Do not succumb to provocations, expose cowards and alarmists!
Dear comrades! Remember that the attention of the peoples not only of our Motherland, but of the whole world is riveted to Sevastopol.
Defend our native Sevastopol to the last drop of blood!
The Motherland expects from us victory over the enemy. No step back!
Victory will be ours!
Military Council of the Black Sea Fleet
TELEGRAM OF THE GENERAL STAFF OF THE RED ARMY TO THE COMMANDER OF THE NORTH CAUCASIAN FRONT MARSHAL S. BUDENNY ON THE EVACUATION OF FIGHTERS AND COMMANDERS FROM THE SEVASTOPOL DEFENSE REGION (SOR), July 4, 1942
On the coast of the SOR there are still many separate groups of fighters and commanders who continue to resist the enemy. It is necessary to take all measures for their evacuation, sending small ships and sea planes for this purpose. The motivation of sailors and pilots for the impossibility of approaching the shore due to the wave is incorrect. It is possible to pick up people not approaching the shore, but taking them on board 500-1000 m from the shore.
I ask you to order not to stop the evacuation and to do everything possible for the removal of the heroes of Sevastopol.
Russian archive: Great Patriotic. General Staff during the Great Patriotic War: Documents and materials. 1942 T. 23 (12-2). M., 1999. S. 205.
The heroic defense of Sevastopol against the German troops (11th Army of Colonel-General E. Manstein) and Romanian formations continued from October 30, 1941 to July 4, 1942. The units of the SOR included the formations of the Black Sea Fleet (commander Vice Admiral F.S. Oktyabrsky) and the Primorsky Army (commanded by Major General I.E. Petrov)
Turned into colossal losses for the Red Army, ended with the retreat of our troops. The summary of the Soviet Information Bureau noted "selfless courage, fury in the fight against the enemy and the dedication of the defenders." The first years of the war were not easy for us, not everyone could even believe in the reality of everything that was happening - it seemed like a terrible dream. The stoic defense of Sevastopol in 1941-1942 entered the history of the country all the brighter, but at the same time more tragic. The heroism and courage of all those who were involved in the events of those days are immeasurable.
Surrender Odessa, but keep Crimea
By September 12, 1941, the Germans came close to the Crimea. The peninsula was of strategic importance both to us and to the invaders. From here, a direct air route opened 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 opportunity to destroy the fuel reserves of the Germans by bombing, and they, in turn, could receive not only Romanian oil products, but also Soviet ones - the road to the Caucasus, to our reserves, was opened for them. The headquarters of the Red Army understood the importance of free flights of aircraft of the opposing sides, so it was decided to transfer additional units to the Crimea, recalling them from Odessa. Thus, to save the peninsula, an entire city had to be sacrificed. The battle for Sevastopol, which had to be held by any means, was carried out from water, air and land.
By the end of September, Kyiv and most of Ukraine, Smolensk, all approaches to Leningrad were under the Germans, it was scary to think about the blockade of which. In addition, the proximity of the enemy army and its too rapid advance inland spoke of a protracted and difficult war. By September, in the battles near Uman and Kiev, units of the Southwestern Front were utterly defeated, now it has come to the Crimea Great War. The defense of Sevastopol became that last frontier on the peninsula, the successful defense of which could, albeit a little, but hold back the offensive breakthrough of the German army.
Along the Perekop Isthmus
The only land route through which it was possible to get to the Crimea was the Perekop Isthmus. The 11th Army of the Wehrmacht opposed the 51st Separate Army formed in August, which was entrusted with the defense of the peninsula. The Soviet troops were commanded by Colonel-General f. I. Kuznetsov, German - commander Erich von Manstein. To the credit of the enemy, it is worth noting that one of Hitler's most talented military leaders spoke on the enemy side. Unfortunately, on both sides of the front, sometimes against each other, quite worthy people fought who could compete in professionalism in peacetime if the Great Patriotic War had not made them mortal enemies. Sevastopol and the defense of the Crimea in this regard can serve as an indicator of the competence of the military leaders of the opposing armies.
The 51st Separate Army included three rifle divisions: the 276th under the command of Major General I.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 Spit. Chernyaev was faced with the task of holding the Perekop positions directly to the last, and Pervushin’s division, stretched along the southern coast of the Sivash for 70 km, had to block the road of the German army on its way to Sevastopol on its sector of the front. The year 1941 became indicative for not only in terms of the defense of the Crimea, but also in the degree of preparation for the war in general.
In the battles for Perekop
In addition to rifle divisions, the 51st Army also included cavalry divisions, there were also three of them: the 48th under the command of Major General D.I. Averkin, the 42nd Colonel V.V. Glagolev and the 40th Colonel F.F. . Kudyurova. All three divisions of the 51st Army, plus the 271st Rifle Division under the command of Colonel M.A. Titov, were supposed to hold back tank attacks on the Perekop Isthmus and not let the enemy deep into the peninsula, where the battle for Sevastopol was already brewing. Four Crimean divisions: 172nd, 184th, 320th and 321st - guarded the coast. They were commanded, respectively, by colonels I. G. Toroptsev, V. N. Abramov, M. V. Vinogradov and I. M. Aliev.
On September 24, the Germans went on the offensive. Two infantry units, supported by artillery and aircraft, made an attempt to break through the Perekop isthmus. By September 26, they stormed the Turkish Wall and captured the city of Armyansk. Two rifle and one cavalry divisions thrown to the defense of the city, organized by the commander of the operational group, Lieutenant General P. I. Batov, did not create any special obstacles for the German army - their offensive was so powerful. By September 30, Soviet troops left their previous positions and retreated.
Departure to the Taman Peninsula
Having entrenched themselves in 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 adequately meet the enemy’s blow. Of course, the forces were not equal. The leaders of the defense of Sevastopol understood that without reinforcements they would not be able to restrain the advance of the German army, but fierce battles were going on along the entire front, and there was no way to transfer additional units under the Ishun positions.
The battle went on for 5 days, during which the enemy pushed the Soviet troops even further deep into the peninsula. The arrival of the Primorsky Army did not save the situation either. Manstein, having fresh forces at his disposal, threw two infantry divisions to the front line, which on October 28 broke through the defenses. Parts of the Red Army were forced to withdraw near Sevastopol. The history of the city was replenished with new, most tragic pages for all the years of its existence.
It was not easy near Kerch, where our troops also retreated. All the mountainous terrain in the district served as one battlefield. All attempts by the Red Army to gain a foothold on the Kerch Peninsula were unsuccessful - 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. The future Hero Cities of Sevastopol Kerch experienced the full power of the Wehrmacht. In order 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, also consisting of two infantry divisions.
On the way to Sevastopol
The impenetrable power at the beginning of the war was the Sevastopol Defensive Region (SOR), which was perhaps the most fortified place in European territory. This included several dozen gun positions reinforced with pillboxes, forts armed with large-caliber artillery, or, as they were called in those years, armored turret batteries (BB). The defense of Sevastopol in 1941-1942 dragged on for several months, largely due to the very fortified defensive area.
Throughout November 1941, fighting continued on the distant approaches to the city. The defense was held by the infantry of the Black Sea Fleet, since by that time there were practically no ground forces of the 51st Army on the peninsula - they were evacuated. Separate anti-aircraft, artillery and training units, as well as coastal batteries, helped the infantry. The remnants of Soviet divisions scattered along the coast also joined the ranks of the city's defenders, but they were negligible. So we can safely say that heroic defense Sevastopol 1941-1942 was carried out exclusively by the forces of the Black Sea.
By November, the Soviet grouping numbered about 20 thousand sailors. But at the headquarters of the commander-in-chief, they 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 I.E. Petrov.
Reinforcements were transferred by sea, since there was no other way. The defensive garrison was replenished with 36,000 manpower, several hundred guns, dozens of tons of ammunition, tanks and other weapons. From November 9 to 11, the Wehrmacht army managed to completely surround Sevastopol from land, and in the next 10 days wedged into the defense line in several places. Then there was a pause in the fighting.
united front
The hero-cities of Sevastopol Kerch in those difficult days of the war for the country received their immortality at the cost of the death of thousands of their defenders, who found the strength to resist more powerful army enemy. After a short lull, the fighting in the Crimea resumed with particular ruthlessness in the first days of January 1942. In Evpatoria, occupied by that time by the Romanians, an uprising broke out, organized by the local population and the partisan formations that had rushed to it. On January 5, units of the Black Sea Fleet that landed on the coast were transferred to the city.
The first battles brought a small victory to the united Soviet troops - the Romanian garrison was driven out of the city. But the superiority of the defenders was short-lived: on January 7, having pulled up reserves, the Germans defeated the landing units. Many of our soldiers were taken prisoner. The weapon was also lost. At the turn of Alushta - Sevastopol, which for a long time was held by defensive troops, the Germans were also now in charge. From now on, all hopes were turned to the coast, where the defense of Sevastopol was reliably carried out for a long time. There were practically no days of silence, shelling of the city was carried out constantly.
Under the blows of the Luftwaffe
On the city, in addition to artillery, Manstein threw his striking forces - the Luftwaffe. Army Group "South", which consisted of two air corps, which numbered about 750 aircraft, was also supported by the German fleet. For the complete capture of the Crimean peninsula, Hitler spared neither equipment nor manpower. The fifth air corps of the Luftwaffe was deployed near Sevastopol just at the beginning of the winter of 1941, and already in May of the 42nd, this deadly equipment was able to provide tangible support for the ground operation conducted by Manstein. The defense of Sevastopol in 1941-1942, despite the resilience and courage of the Black Sea sailors, did not last long after enemy aircraft attacked the city. Moreover, just in the spring, the eighth air corps, commanded by V. von Richthoffen, was transferred to this sector of the front. Hitler assigned one of his best military leaders to the most complex and responsible ground operations.
The heroes of the defense of Sevastopol, who survived and remained alive after those fierce battles, shared their memories of the ongoing bombing of the city. Every day, Luftwaffe planes dropped tons of high-explosive bombs on Sevastopol. Our military recorded up to 600 sorties 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. For so long, it was possible to resist the many times superior forces of the opponent only if there were long-term defensive structures, which were exactly in the Crimea. To destroy them, the Germans had to use large-caliber siege artillery. Over two hundred batteries, which consisted of heavy guns, Manstein placed along a line 22 kilometers long. In addition to heavy 300 mm and 350 mm howitzers, super-heavy 800 mm siege guns were also used.
From Germany, secretly, specifically for a breakthrough in the Sevastopol direction, a gun with a total mass of over a thousand tons was delivered. It was placed in the rocks not far from Bakhchisaray. It was impossible to resist such power. Participants in the defense of Sevastopol said that not a single weapon had such a deafening roar and destructive power.
For a long time, the German troops could not start an assault on the city - the partisans, the weather and the lack of a clearly developed offensive plan interfered. But by the spring of 1942, everything was ready. For the summer assault, the German 11th Army was reinforced with six new corps: the 54th, 30th, 42nd, 7th Romanian, 8th Romanian and 8th Aviation Corps. As can be seen from the description of the corps, they had both ground troops and air forces.
In the ring of fire
The 42nd and 7th corps were located on it, they were planned to be used for ground operations and brought into battle only to replace the defeated divisions. The 4th Mountain and 46th Infantry were to enter at the last 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 turned out - under the powerful onslaught of German units, the multi-day defense of Sevastopol ended. The Second World War lasted only a year, there were three more ahead, and the losses of Soviet troops on the Crimean sector of the front alone were colossal. But no one thought to surrender to the superior forces of the enemy - they stood to the last. They understood that the decisive battle would be fatal for the majority, but they did not see a different fate for themselves.
The Wehrmacht was also preparing for heavy losses. The command of the 11th Army, in addition to the reserve hidden on the outskirts of Sevastopol, requested from the headquarters an additional three infantry and several anti-aircraft artillery regiments. Three divisions of self-propelled guns, a separate tank battalion and deployed batteries of super-heavy guns were waiting in the wings.
Many years later, when WWII researchers summed up the results of the battle, which went down in history as the Defense of Sevastopol in 1941-1942, it turned out that Hitler did not use such a massive use of aviation and artillery throughout the Second World War.
As for the ratio of manpower, at the beginning of the defense, according to experts, it was almost equal, both on one side and on the other side of the front. But by the summer of 1942, the numerical superiority of the German army was undeniable. The decisive assault on Sevastopol began on June 7, but for almost a month the Soviet troops held the line.
Last Assault
Stubborn confrontation did not subside for almost the entire first week. Perfectly protected in pillboxes and forts, the Black Sea sailors put up mortal resistance - a lot of Wehrmacht soldiers died on the outskirts of Sevastopol.
The decisive battle, which changed the course of the confrontation, took place on June 17 in the southern sector. The Germans took up a position known in history as the "Eagle's Nest" and approached the foot of the Sapun Mountain. By that time, the fort "Stalin", which held the defense on the north side, had already been captured German soldiers. The Mekenzian Height was also in their hands. By evening, several more forts passed to the advancing, among which was Maxim Gorky-1, as the Germans called it, with a BB-30 battery. The entire North Bay could now be freely fired upon by German artillery. With the loss of the BB-30 battery, the defenders lost contact with the regular Red Army on the other side of the front. The delivery of ammunition and the approach of reinforcements became impossible. But the inner ring of defense was still dangerous for the Germans.
The southern coast of the Northern Bay was fortified quite strongly, and Manstein did not dare to storm it on the move. He gambled on the surprise factor to avoid losing too much. On the night of June 28-29, on almost silent inflatable boats, the advanced units of the 30 Corps approached the bay unnoticed and began the assault. By the evening of June 30, Malakhov Kurgan was captured.
The defenders were running out of ammunition and food, at headquarters they decided to evacuate the highest and senior command staff of the defense forces of Sevastopol, as well as the party activists of the city. There was no talk of rescuing sailors, soldiers, including the wounded, as well as lower officers ...
Terrible loss figures
It was possible to carry out with the use of aviation, submarines and light watercraft, which are in the assets of the Black Sea Fleet. In total, about 700 people of the top leadership of the troops were taken out of the peninsula, aviation delivered about two hundred more people to the Caucasus. Several thousand sailors were able to escape from the encirclement on light ships. On July 1, the defense of Sevastopol was practically stopped. At some lines, the sounds of shots were still heard, but they were of a local nature. Abandoned by the commanders, the Primorsky Army withdrew to where for another three days it also stubbornly resisted the enemy. In an unequal struggle, thousands of Crimean defenders died, the rest were taken prisoner. Established in memory of those events, the medal for the defense of Sevastopol was received by a few survivors. As the German command reported to its headquarters, at Cape Khersones they managed to capture over a hundred thousand Soviet soldiers and sailors, but Manstein denied this information, declaring only forty thousand prisoners. According to Soviet data, the army lost 78,230 captured soldiers from the survivors. Information about weapons is fundamentally different from those provided by the Germans to their command.
With the loss of Sevastopol, the position of the Red Army deteriorated significantly, until the days when our troops entered the city as victors. It happened in the memorable year 1944, and there were long months and miles of war ahead ...
Throughout the summer of 1854, the Anglo-French fleet was preparing a landing in the Crimea. Their goal was the naval base of the Russian Black Sea Fleet-Sevastopol. It was the defense of Sevastopol in 1854-1855. was a turning point in the Crimean War, one of its most tragic and majestic pages.
Start of hostilities in Crimea
The troops of the coalition forces of the Anglo-French and Turkish troops were appointed Lord Raglan and Saint Arnaud. The commander of the Russian troops A.S. Menshikov, due to his short-sightedness, did not immediately understand that the goal of the allies was to capture Sevastopol.
- September 13, 1854 troops of the allies - England, France, Turkey and Italy landed troops near Evpatoria, then having occupied the city without a fight, the coalition forces began to advance deep into the Crimean peninsula.
- September 20, 1854 Menshikov made an attempt to stop the advance of the Anglo-French-Turkish troops, the number of which reached about 72 thousand soldiers. The battle on the Alma River did not bring the desired result. After the defeat on Alma, Russian troops, by order of the same Menshikov, began to retreat to Bakhchisarai, leaving Sevastopol practically unprotected.
From the side of the sea, Sevastopol was well protected. Batteries of Russian coastal artillery could shoot ships in the roadstead at a distance of 2.5 kilometers. The Aleksandrovskaya battery, rebuilt in 1846 and looking like a fortress, was considered especially effective. Unfortunately, the military potential of the Alexander battery was practically not used. From the side of the sea, Sevastopol remained unprotected due to the long absence of a potential enemy.
- The general commander of all the main forces of the Saint-Arno coalition made an unforgivable mistake when he considered that the Allied forces would not be able to immediately take Sevastopol and decided to bypass the city from the south. Thus, he gave a small respite to the Sevastopol garrison to build fortifications.
The garrison of Sevastopol began to intensively prepare for defense and build fortifications. Disagreements arose between the Russian admirals Kornilov and Nakhimov: V.A. Kornilov wanted to arrange a naval battle with the Anglo-French fleet, P.S. Nakhimov, on the other hand, proposed to flood some of the ships in order to prevent the penetration of the Allied fleet into the bays. As a result, part of the ships of the Russian fleet was flooded, and their crews went ashore, thereby strengthening the Sevastopol garrison.
Defense of Sevastopol in 1854
Admirals P.S. Nakhimov, V.A. Kornilov and V.I. Istomin took command of the defense of Sevastopol. The scheme of the most important fortifications of the city was developed by the brilliant engineer-general Totleben. Under his leadership, bastions were built from earthen ramparts with living quarters for soldiers, reinforced with sandbags and large baskets of earth, which corresponded to the modern conditions of military operations of those times.
- October 5, 1854 coalition troops began the first bombardment of Sevastopol. This day is considered to be the beginning of the siege of Sevastopol. The Allies concentrated the main fire on the Russian batteries located on the Malakhov Kurgan, a key height of the naval base. Although the Allied bombing inflicted heavy losses on the Russian camp, Russian gunners' return fire blew up three powder magazines and severely damaged four Allied ships. On this day, Admiral Kornilov was mortally wounded on Malakhov Hill. The main command of the defense passed to Nakhimov. On March 19, 1855, Istomin also died on Malakhov Hill.
- Having suffered heavy losses in manpower and equipment, the allies did not dare to go on an immediate assault on Sevastopol, which was used by its defenders. Russian soldiers and sailors rebuilt the destroyed fortifications and changed the damaged guns. They were ready for a long siege.
- October 25, 1854 The Battle of Balaklava took place. Prince Menshikov tried to divert the coalition forces from the besieged Sevastopol. This battle did not bring a decisive advantage to either side. Russian troops managed to recapture part of the Turkish redoubts and inflict heavy losses on the British. However, the siege was not lifted.
- November 5, 1854 the Battle of Inkerman took place. Another attempt by Prince Menshikov to divert part of the allied forces to himself. The attack of the units of the Russian army, although it had an initial success, failed to consolidate it. In addition, significant damage was inflicted on the Russian troops due to the difference in the class of weapons - the Russian army did not have rifled guns (fittings) and cannons, unlike the French and British.
Emperor Nicholas I was extremely dissatisfied with the unsuccessful actions of the Russian army in the Crimea. He demanded immediate decisive action from Menshikov.
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Defense of Sevastopol in 1855
At the end of January 1855, Menshikov received fresh reinforcements from Russia. But after futile attempts to lift the siege of Sevastopol, this commander began to fall into despair.
- January 26, 1855 Sardinia took the side of the coalition. Pelissier became the new commander of the combined forces of the allies.
- February 17, 1855 Menshikov ordered General Khrulev to attack Evpatoria with a division of 20,000 men. However, having lost about 700 soldiers, Khrulyov abandoned further attacks on the city. Having received news of another failure of Prince Menshikov, Nicholas I removed him from command. Artillery General M. D. Gorchakov was appointed the new commander of the Russian troops.
- The allies were constantly receiving new reinforcements, ammunition and food by sea, while the forces of the defenders of Sevastopol were dwindling. By the beginning of 1855, the garrison of Sevastopol consisted of about 40 thousand people. The number of combined Anglo-French and Turkish forces by the beginning of 1855 reached 130 thousand. The Cossacks began to prepare for a decisive assault on Sevastopol. The French engineer Niel arrived to carry out siege work. All efforts were directed mainly against the Malakhov Kurgan.
- April 9, 1855 the second fierce bombardment was undertaken by the allies, after a series of night attacks from the Anglo-French forces, a general assault on Sevastopol was expected. But he never took place.
PS Nakhimov was the key figure in the defense of the city. Sailors and soldiers called him "father" and "our soul." It may seem incredible, but Nakhimov knew almost all the soldiers and sailors of the garrison by sight. On June 28, 1855, the favorite of sailors and soldiers was mortally wounded while walking around the Malakhov Kurgan. This was a real tragedy for the hero city. Speaking briefly about the participants in the defense of Sevastopol, one cannot fail to note the participation of children and women in the hostilities. Children in the intervals between the shelling of Sevastopol brought food and ammunition to the bastions. The first Russian sisters of mercy also appeared, one of them was Daria Lavrentievna Mikhailova, nicknamed Daria of Sevastopol. Under artillery fire, she picked up the wounded on the battlefield, and not only Russians, but also enemy soldiers. One of the most famous heroes of Sevastopol was the sailor Pyotr Koshka.
Rice. 2. Admiral Nakhimov on the 5th bastion. Pryashnikov I. M..
- May 26, 1855 all the advanced structures of the Ship side, including the Kamchatka Lunet, located directly in front of the Malakhov Kurgan, were captured by the French. General Khrulev made a number of unsuccessful attempts to recapture the redoubts from the enemy.
- June 3, 1855 at the cost of huge losses, the allies under the leadership of Pelissier managed to capture the Fedyukhin heights. The situation of the besieged garrison became more and more desperate. Gorchakov ordered the construction of a bridge for the withdrawal of troops from Sevastopol.
- September 4, 1855 began the fiercest bombardment of the city. Sevastopol was on fire. The batteries of the besieged Russian garrison could no longer respond to enemy battery fire. Immediately after the shelling, a general assault on Sevastopol by the Anglo-French troops began. Malakhov Kurgan was taken by the French units, in other areas the attacks were repulsed, but this no longer mattered.
After the capture of Malakhov Kurgan, further defense of the city lost its meaning. Gorchakov ordered the troops to withdraw to the north side. The French and British did not dare to enter the city for a long time, as they were afraid that it was mined.
The outcome of the war after the fall of Sevastopol became obvious: the Russian army was bled dry by losses in manpower and equipment, there was not enough money for its further supply, due to the lag in industry, the internal economy of the Russian Empire was upset. New Russian emperor Alexander II asked for peace.
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The defense of Sevastopol in the Crimean War entered the history of Russia as one of its most majestic pages, on which every line is written with the blood of its defenders. This article tells about how the siege was conducted and about the most important events in the defense of Sevastopol.
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It became the culmination of the Crimean War. Sevastopol (a garrison of about 7 thousand people), which did not have a pre-prepared defense of the city from land, was attacked by the Anglo-French landing force (more than 60 thousand people) and the fleet, which outnumbered the Russian fleet in warships by more than three times. In a short time, defensive fortifications were created on the southern side of the city, while the entrance from the sea to the Sevastopol Bay was blocked by specially sunken ships. The allies in the anti-Russian coalition - England, France and Turkey - hoped that the city would be captured in a week, but they underestimated the stamina of the defending Russian troops, whose ranks were joined by the sailors of the Black Sea Fleet who went ashore. Civilians also took part in the defense of the city. The siege lasted 11 months. During the course of the siege, the Allies carried out six massive artillery bombardments of Sevastopol from land and sea.
The Sevastopol defense was headed by the chief of staff of the Black Sea Fleet, Vice Admiral V. A. Kornilov, and after his death, the squadron commander, Vice Admiral (from March 1855 - Admiral) P. S. Nakhimov. The real "genius" of the defense of Sevastopol was the military engineer General E. I. Totleben.
On the night of August 28 (September 9), 1855, the enemy captured a key position - Malakhov Kurgan, which predetermined the outcome of the Sevastopol defense. Further defense of the city did not make sense. Prince Gorchakov transferred his troops to the northern side overnight. The city was set on fire, the powder magazines were blown up, the warships that were in the bay were flooded. The allies, however, did not dare to pursue the Russian troops, considering the city mined, and only on August 30 (September 11) did they enter the smoking ruins of Sevastopol.
The defense of Sevastopol demonstrated the skillful organization of active defense, based on the interaction of ground forces and fleet. Its characteristic features were the continuous sorties of the defenders, night searches, mine warfare, close fire interaction between ship and fortress artillery.
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Sevastopol and Crimea before the siege
Founded Russian Empire in 1784, the city of Sevastopol was an important strategic point for both defensive and offensive wars on the Black Sea. By the beginning of the Crimean (Eastern) War, Sevastopol, as the main military port in southern Russia, was equipped with everything necessary to ensure the operations of the fleet. There were an admiralty, docks, an arsenal, food warehouses, a warehouse of guns, gunpowder and other supplies, naval barracks and two hospitals. In the city, there were up to 2 thousand stone houses and up to 40 thousand inhabitants of an almost exclusively Russian population, mainly related to the fleet.
The conditions of the terrain on which Sevastopol is located made it possible to create a powerful defense from the sea and at the same time made it extremely difficult to organize defense from the land. The city, divided by the Sevastopol Bay into two parts, northern and southern, required for its defense relatively a large number troops. The city itself and offshore structures were mainly located on the southern coast of the Sevastopol roadstead. At the same time, the northern coast occupied a commanding position, and therefore the possession of it was tantamount to the possession of a roadstead and a port. In its southeastern part, the city was surrounded by commanding heights, among which the Fedyukhin Heights, Inkerman Heights, and Sapun Mountain should be mentioned.
The defense of the Sevastopol raid from the sea by the beginning of the war was completely completed. Defensive structures included 8 powerful artillery batteries. Three of them were located on the north bank: Konstantinovskaya, Mikhailovskaya and battery No. 4, the rest - on the south (Pavlovskaya, Nikolaevskaya, battery No. 8, Aleksandrovskaya and battery No. 10). Of the eight batteries, four (Konstantinovskaya, Mikhailovskaya, Pavlovskaya and Nikolaevskaya) were made of stone, casemates. All these batteries, armed with a total of 533 guns, were capable of shelling the seaside and the raid with frontal, flank and rear fire.
As the Russian military historian A. M. Zaionchkovsky wrote, Sevastopol was completely unfortified from land. By the beginning of the war, in pursuance of the city's fortification project of 1837, defensive barracks were built on the south side of the raid to close the gorges in the places of bastions No. 1, 5 and 6, bastion No. 7 and the defensive walls between bastion No. 7 and the projected bastions No. 6 were almost completed and 5. On the sites of the ditches of the projected bastions No. 3, 4 and 6, small rollers were made. In addition, a rear defensive wall was erected behind battery No. 8 and bastion No. 7 between the artillery buildings. On the northern side of the raid there was the only Northern Fortification, built back in 1818 in the form of an octagonal fort, but it was of little use for defense. None of the fortifications of the land side was armed by the beginning of the war, and the number of guns on the coastal batteries was less than that established by the project.
In the period before the start of the siege (September 1854), the main measures to strengthen the defense were taken on the southern side of Sevastopol. Bastion No. 6 became the strongest fortification, although its construction remained unfinished. Nothing was done on the arrangement of bastion No. 5, and only the tower erected there was adapted for artillery defense and equipped with 11 guns. The defensive wall between bastions No. 7, 5 and 6 was completed and armed with 14 guns. To the left of bastion No. 5, the Schwartz redoubt was built and armed. Between the Schwarz redoubt and bastion No. 4, three blockages were arranged, guarded by 14 field guns. Several small earth batteries blocked the gap between bastions No. 4 and 3. A battery was built on the site intended for bastion No. 3. On Malakhov Kurgan, except for the tower, no structures were erected. In place of bastion No. 2, a 6-gun battery was built on a bare rock, on both sides of which stone blockages stretched. A 4-gun battery was also erected on the site of bastion No. 1. On the Ship side (the southeastern part of the city) a line of stone blockages was also arranged. All new fortifications, however, according to A. M. Zayonchkovsky, were very weak and were able to repel only a few landing forces. They were armed with a total of 145 guns, including the land part of bastion No. 7 and battery No. 10.
Until 1854, almost all communication routes in the Crimea were dirt roads. Communication between Sevastopol and the rest of the peninsula was carried out along the road through Bakhchisarai to Simferopol (Ak-Mecheti). This road was in very poor condition and ran either through rocky mountainous, or through clay terrain, or through swampy lowlands.
The population of the peninsula before the war exceeded 430 thousand people. Most of the population consisted of Tatars; in addition to them, Karaites lived in Crimea (mainly in cities), German colonists in Feodosia and Simferopol districts, Greeks in Balaklava, a small number of Russian settlers, Bulgarians, Armenians and Jews. The inhabitants of the steppes were mainly engaged in cattle breeding; The main occupation of the inhabitants of the mountainous part of the Crimea was gardening. The supply of troops with all supplies was difficult, with the exception of meat, which was available in sufficient quantities. Shipping by sea ceased with the outbreak of war, and land routes were difficult to access.
By September 1, 1854, the total number of Russian ground forces in the Crimea was 51 thousand people with 108 guns. The active troops were divided into 2 groups, of which on the peninsula itself, under the direct command of Prince Menshikov, there were 35 thousand people with 84 guns.
Campaign of 1854
At the end of August, the Allied landing fleet, consisting of 350 ships, moved from Varna to the Crimea. By September 1 (13), an allied army was delivered to the shores of Evpatoria, reaching 60 thousand people with 134 field and 72 siege guns. Of the total number of allies, about 30 thousand were French, about 22 thousand were British, and 7 thousand with 12 guns were Turks. The English paratroopers were commanded by Lord Raglan, the French by Marshal Saint-Arnaud of France. On the same day, a 3,000-strong enemy detachment seized 60,000 poods of wheat in the food warehouses of Evpatoria, providing the army with this food for four months.
The British fleet entered Balaklava Bay. Following that, the French settled down on the western part of the Chersonesos peninsula and set up their base in Kamyshova Bay.
Meanwhile, the allies received new reinforcements, as a result of which their forces near Sevastopol increased to 120 thousand; at the same time, a skilled French engineer, General Niel, arrived to them, who gave a new direction to siege work, which now directed mainly against the key of the Sevastopol defensive line - Malakhov Kurgan. To counteract these works, the Russians moved forward with their left flank and, after a stubborn struggle, erected very important counterclaims: the Selenginsky and Volynsky redoubts and the Kamchatsky lunette. During the production of these works, the troops learned about the death of Emperor Nicholas.
The Allies understood the importance of the aforementioned counterclaims, but their initial attempts against the Kamchatka lunet (erected in front of the Malakhov Kurgan) were unsuccessful. Annoyed by these slowdowns, prompted by the demands of Napoleon III and the voice of public opinion in Western Europe, the allied commanders decided to act with increased energy. The Allied forces had a significant superiority in firepower. On January 17 (29), 1855, the French general F. Canrobert wrote to the Turkish seraskir Riza Pasha that they "they will be able to open fire on Sevastopol, which, perhaps, has no analogues in the history of siege wars". For 10 days (from March 28 to April 7) during 2nd Intensified bombardment, they fired 165 thousand artillery shots, while the Russians fired only 89 thousand of them. Nevertheless, this did not bring the expected success to the Allies. Destroyed fortifications were repaired overnight by their defenders. The assault was postponed; but the Russians, forced to keep their reserves under fire in anticipation of him, suffered more than 6,000 casualties during those days.
The siege war continued with the same persistence; however, the preponderance began to lean towards the Anglo-French troops. Soon new reinforcements began to arrive (including 15,000 Sardinians who entered the war on January 14 (26), 1855 on the side of the coalition), and their forces in the Crimea increased to 170,000. In view of their superiority, Napoleon III demanded decisive action and sent him a plan. Canrobert, however, did not find an opportunity to fulfill it, and therefore the main command of the troops was transferred to General Pelissier. His actions began by sending an expedition to the eastern part of the Crimea, with the aim of depriving the Russians of food from the shores of the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov and cutting off Sevastopol's communications through the Chongar crossing and Perekop.
On the night of May 11 (23), 16 thousand people were sent on ships from Kamyshova Bay and Balaklava, and the next day these troops landed near Kerch. Baron Wrangel, who commanded the Russian troops in the eastern part of the Crimea (the winner at Chingil Heights), having only 9 thousand, had to retreat along the Feodosia road, after which the enemy occupied Kerch, entered the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov and all summer attacked coastal settlements, destroying stocks and indulging in robberies; however, having failed at Arabat and Genichesk, he could not penetrate the Sivash, to the Chongar crossing.
In the last days of July, new reinforcements arrived in the Crimea (3 infantry divisions), and on July 27 (August 8) the order was received from Emperor Alexander II to the commander-in-chief to convene a military council to resolve the issue of “the need to do something decisive in order to put an end to this terrible massacre” . The majority of council members spoke in favor of an offensive from the side of the Chernaya River. Prince Gorchakov, although he did not believe in the success of the attack on the heavily fortified positions of the enemy, however, succumbed to the insistence of some generals. On August 4 (16), a battle took place on the Chernaya River, where the Russian attack was repulsed and they were forced to retreat, having suffered huge losses. This unnecessary battle did not change the mutual position of the opponents; the defenders of Sevastopol remained with the same determination to defend themselves to the last extreme; the attackers, despite the destruction of the Sevastopol fortifications and the proximity of their approaches to them, did not dare to storm, but decided to shake Sevastopol with a new ( 5th) by heavy bombardment.
From August 5 to August 8 (August 17-20), the fire of 800 guns showered the defenders with a continuous hail of lead; the Russians were losing 900-1000 men daily; from August 9 to 24 (August 21 - September 5) the fire was somewhat weaker, but nevertheless, 500-700 people were out of action at the garrison every day.
On August 15 (27) in Sevastopol, a bridge was consecrated on rafts (450 sazhens) across a large bay, designed and built by Lieutenant General A. E. Buchmeyer. The besiegers, meanwhile, had already moved their works to the nearest distance to the Russian verki, almost already destroyed by the preceding infernal cannonade.
August 24 (September 4) began 6th intensified bombardment, which silenced the artillery of the Malakhov Kurgan and the 2nd bastion. Sevastopol was a heap of ruins; repair of the fortifications became impossible.
Consequences
The loss of the symbol of the Russian presence and the main military port on the Black Sea was a big blow to many in Russia, both in the army and in the rear, and contributed to the speedy end of the war. However, its occupation by the Allies did not change the determination of the Russian soldiers to continue the unequal struggle. Their army (115 thousand) is located along the northern shore of a large bay; the allied troops (more than 150 thousand of one infantry) took up positions from the Baidar Valley to Chorgun, along the Chernaya River and along the southern shore of the large bay. There was a lull in hostilities, interrupted by enemy sabotage against various coastal points.
Heroes of the defense of Sevastopol
In Soviet times, the publication of scientific and popular science works on the defense of Sevastopol resumed just before the war, from 1939. During the Great Patriotic War, the example of the first defense of Sevastopol was, according to the plan of the authorities, to inspire the participants of the second. According to historian Carl Qualls, in the post-war period, the defense of Sevastopol gave the identity of Sevastopol residents a special, local specificity (thus, contrary to the architectural plans developed in Moscow, memorial sites associated with the Crimean War dominated in the city center, as before); precisely because of this, the researcher writes, the historical consciousness of the Sevastopol residents reacted less painfully to the collapse of the USSR, simply returning to a more early forms Russian identity.
The American historian of Ukrainian origin S. N. Plokhy considers the events of the defense of Sevastopol and the very expression “Sevastopol is the city of Russian glory” (authorship of the Russian and Soviet historian E. V. Tarle, who thus titled his book, published on the 100th anniversary of the defense) as another Russian national historical myth (English) Russian about the “defense of the native land”, which took its place among such events as