Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: Official website of the State –
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On September 16, 1943, the city of Novorossiysk was completely liberated from the fascist invaders. This victory stopped the Wehrmacht's advance in the southern direction, forced them to leave the Caucasus and abandon attempts to reach the Baku oil wells, and also returned the waters of the Black, Azov and Caspian Seas under the full control of the Soviet fleet.
The German army captured Novorossiysk in early September 1942. The enemy had built over 300 defensive structures in the city, dug five lines of trenches, installed barbed wire and about 30 thousand mines. Naval mines were also installed at the entrance to the port, and guns and machine guns were placed on all the piers and moles. The city was considered impregnable from the sea.
The Battle of Novorossiysk, which lasted 225 days, began on February 4, 1943, with a landing in the area of the village of Stanichki under the command of Major Caesar Kunikov. Initially, the operation was planned as a diversionary strike, but it turned out to be a key stage of the battle. 400 paratroopers managed to capture a coastal bridgehead of no more than 30 square kilometers. The sea was behind them, the enemy was ahead, and there was nowhere to retreat. At first, the Red Army soldiers repelled 15-20 attacks per day. On the third day, Major Kunikov died. At the cost of incredible efforts, the bridgehead was held, reinforcements began to arrive, and provisions and ammunition were delivered from the air. This patch of land, which had constantly threatened the Nazis' right flank for more than seven months, went down in history under the name Malaya Zemlya.
It is interesting that the future General Secretary of the CPSU Leonid Brezhnev, a colonel in those years and head of the political department of the 18th Army, fought on Malaya Zemlya. He was wounded there and later received the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree, for his participation in the battles for the liberation of Novorossiysk.
The main assault began on September 10, 1943, with three groups of troops, one of which attacked from Malaya Zemlya, the second from the Tuapse Highway, and the third from the sea. The operation was supported from the air by 148 aircraft. Particularly heavy fighting took place for the area of the Krasny Oktyabr cement plant, the village of Turkish Garden, the power plant, the Proletary cement plant, and Sakharnaya Golova Mountain. Thanks to the courage and coordinated actions of the army and navy, Novorossiysk was completely cleared of the enemy by 10 a.m. on September 16.
The contribution of the sapper units to the victory is worth mentioning separately. It was they, under the leadership of engineer captain Kirill Turbaevsky, who made Malaya Zemlya impregnable, digging a trench in the rocky ground with titanic efforts and setting up hundreds of firing points and hidden observation posts. In September 1943, sappers, under heavy fire from the Germans from Sakharnaya Golova, established a crossing over Kamyshovskaya Gully, manually pouring a stone bridge along which Soviet tanks entered the city. And after the end of the fighting, they also freed the city from the enemy legacy in the form of tens of thousands of mines.
For their bravery in the battles for Novorossiysk, 19 units and formations of the Red Army received the honorary title of "Novorossiysk", 21 defenders of the city and Malaya Zemlya were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, hundreds of fighters received orders and medals. And on September 14, 1973, in honor of the 30th anniversary of liberation, Novorossiysk received the title of Hero City.
Eternal glory to the defenders of the Motherland!
Subscribe to the TG channel “Our GUU” Date of publication: 09/16/2025
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