Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: Official website of the State –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
On December 25, 1941, the Soviet Navy's Kerch-Feodosia Operation began. It was the Red Army's largest amphibious operation of the Great Patriotic War.
The main goal was to create conditions for further actions to defeat enemy troops in Crimea, and the immediate goal was to stop the enemy troops’ offensive on Sevastopol and eliminate the threat of their invasion of the Caucasus through the Taman Peninsula.
Battles for Crimea
The battle for Crimea began in late September 1941. On September 26, units of the Wehrmacht's 11th Army broke through the fortifications of the Perekop Isthmus and entered the peninsula. The remnants of the 51st Army retreated to Kerch and by November 16 were evacuated to Kuban. The only remaining pocket of resistance was the Sevastopol defensive region. The Wehrmacht's attempt to take Sevastopol on the move between October 30 and November 21, 1941, failed. To continue the siege of Sevastopol, Erich von Manstein, commander of the 11th Army, concentrated the majority of his available forces near the city, leaving only one infantry division to cover the Kerch area.
The Soviet command decided to take advantage of the opportunity to take revenge for the abandonment of Kerch and divert enemy forces from capturing Sevastopol.
The beginning of the landing
The operation began on the evening of December 25, but a violent storm struck during the night, scattering the ships and tearing down some of the fencing on the Tuzla ravine. It seemed the landing was doomed to failure, but the heroic efforts of the Soviet soldiers ultimately succeeded. Under a hail of bullets, exploding shells, and mortar shells, the paratroopers leaped into the icy water and reached the shore, where their uniforms turned into a crust of ice. On average, 57 out of every 100 paratroopers perished that day.
At dawn on December 26, despite a storm, landing forces were launched on the northern and eastern shores of the Kerch Peninsula. Troops were landed simultaneously at several points to deprive the enemy of the ability to maneuver its reserves and pin them down in all key areas. Having overcome enemy resistance, the landing forces consolidated their positions on the shore and, throughout December 27–28, repelled numerous enemy attacks aimed at driving them back into the sea.
On December 29, the landing of troops began in Feodosia under the cover of artillery fire, and by evening our soldiers had captured the port and the northern part of the city.
On December 30, German aircraft spent the entire day attacking Soviet ships in the port of Feodosia, where they had not yet had time to transport air defense systems.
On December 30-31, having withstood an enemy counterattack, a second echelon of troops landed in the port, after which our troops launched a general offensive from the Kerch and Feodosia region.
German retreat
The Soviet landing force in Kerch was vastly superior to the Wehrmacht forces in the area. Furthermore, the landing in Feodosia threatened encirclement, so Lieutenant General von Sponeck, commander of the 42nd Corps, immediately ordered a retreat. Later, an order was received from the commander of the Crimean operation, von Manstein, commander of the 11th Army, to hold the defense, but it was no longer possible to carry it out. The German forces retreated, thus avoiding encirclement, but abandoned all their heavy weapons. For formally violating the order, von Sponeck was removed from command and court-martialed.
Results of the operation
On January 2, 1942, the Kerch Peninsula was liberated, where three Soviet armies were subsequently concentrated and the Crimean Front was created.
In January 1942, Sevastopol was saved and received several months of respite, but Soviet and German troops faced a new stage of the struggle for Crimea, which was only fully liberated in 1944.
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Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source. It represents an accurate account of the source's assertions and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.