Chapter 10 03. The duel in the Crimea

By the beginning of 1942, the advantage of the Soviet-German battlefield was still on the German side.After the Moscow Defense War, the Soviets just stood still and did not die.It was like two boxers confronting each other. Germany struck from left to right, knocking the Soviet Union to the ground and spitting out blood. In the end, the fatal punch failed to kill the Soviet Union. Stagger.Even in such a situation, the Soviet Union is far from being able to turn things around. Many military strategists now say that in the winter of 1941, Hitler demanded that the German army defend every inch of land at all costs, and he was bound to keep the front line. This decision was correct.The German army thus avoided a collapse like that of Napoleon's army.By the spring of 1942, the Soviet Union and Germany had entered a stalemate, and the front was relatively stable.However, both sides are gearing up and preparing for a larger-scale battle to compete for the initiative on the battlefield.The German army is now unable to launch a full-scale offensive. Therefore, the German High Command hopes to attack the unexpected strategic direction of the Soviet Union in order to achieve quick results.

At that time, the German Army Chief of Staff, General Halder, suggested that the attack on Moscow should continue.However, Hitler believed that the strategic intention to attack Moscow was too obvious, and that the Central Army Group had been greatly weakened. The German army should abandon the plan to attack Moscow and concentrate its forces on the northern and southern fronts to launch a new round of offensive.In addition, since the United States declared war on Japan after the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, and Germany also declared war on the United States, Hitler felt that time was running out, and he especially hoped that the Soviet Union would be defeated before the U.S. military participated in the European War, at least until the Soviet Union was dying. To deal with the U.S. troops landing in Europe.For this reason, Hitler asked Manstein, the commander of the German Eleventh Army, to completely win the Crimea Peninsula.

Crimea is a peninsula located in the European part of the Soviet Union. It is like a giant octopus floating on the surface of the Black Sea. It has a large area. It is far away from Turkey in the south and Romania and Bulgaria in the west. It is the main road connecting Europe and the Middle East. Strategic location is very important. After the outbreak of the Soviet-German War, Hitler instructed the Army Group South to capture Crimea as soon as possible and enter the Caucasus region through the Kerch Strait.This strategic move can not only prevent the Soviet air force based in Crimea from posing a threat to Romanian oil fields, but also promote Turkey to be closer to Germany politically.However, it was not easy to capture the Crimea Peninsula. The Soviet army not only stationed heavy troops on the peninsula, but also controlled the command of the sea and the air around the peninsula.In addition, the terrain of the peninsula is very complicated. If you attack the peninsula from land, you can only pass through the Pilicop Isthmus. There are open swamps without any concealment, as well as solid Soviet fortifications and "Tatar trenches" as deep as 15 meters. ".The Crimea peninsula was once controlled by the Ottoman Turkish Empire, and the trenches were built at that time.If you attack the peninsula by water, the water on both sides of the isthmus is too shallow for warships to approach at all, so you can only attack along the isthmus.The Crimea peninsula is connected to the mainland by the isthmus of Pilicop, without which it would be an island.

For this place, Tsarist Russia and Turkey fought nine times in history. From 1853 to 1855, the British and French allied forces fought here for two years before occupying the Crimea Peninsula. At that time, the British and French allied forces were far superior to Tsarist Russia in terms of equipment and training. What stood before Manstein was a hard bone. At this time, the Eleventh Army under the command of Manstein, with a total of 9 divisions, plus the Romanian Third Army, had been fighting fiercely in Crimea for several months.The combat effectiveness of the Romanian army was almost zero. German officers went to inspect the Romanian army positions and found two Romanian captains neatly dressed in the trenches on the front line.They all count on the Germans to fight there, and they pick up ready-made ones.Manstein had no choice but to lead the German army to launch fierce attacks on the Soviet army again and again.The Soviet army desperately resisted with favorable terrain, and reinforcements continued to land through the Black Sea.

The two sides fought exhaustedly, and the outcome of the battle seemed to be on the balance. If one side couldn't hold on, the victory would fall to the other side.In the end, the Soviet army couldn't stand it anymore, and the defense line began to collapse. Except for the Sevastopol fortress at the southern tip of the peninsula, the entire Crimea fell into the hands of the German army, and the remaining Soviet troops withdrew to the fortress.Although the German army defeated the Soviet army, the famous Sevastopol fortress could not be taken down, so it cannot be said to have occupied Crimea.At this time, the Soviet army landed on the Kerch Peninsula at the eastern end of Crimea, and the two sides fell into a tug-of-war again.

In order to break the deadlock, on January 5, 1942, Manstein dispatched the 30th Army and the 42nd Army to launch a counterattack against the Soviet army that had landed on the Kerch Peninsula.This counterattack was very risky, because at this time Manstein only had 3 and a half weakened German divisions and 1 Romanian brigade, while the Soviet army had 8 divisions and 1 brigade, but Manstein Because of the success of the counterattack, more than 10,000 Soviet prisoners were captured.Manstein is indeed a famous general. The Germans fought skillfully, often winning more with less, and defeating the strong with the weak.But the Soviet army did not want to give up Crimea, and still increased its troops to the Kerch Peninsula.Another reason why the Soviets refused to give up Crimea was that they exaggerated their claims, claiming that the counteroffensive in Crimea was directly directed by Comrade Stalin. It was smashed, so riding a tiger was hard to end, so I could only grit my teeth and continue fighting.

By March 13, the Soviet army used 8 infantry divisions and 2 armored brigades to launch a large-scale counterattack, and Manstein also received support from the newly formed 22nd Armored Division and 28th Light Armored Division. reinforce.The two sides launched a fierce confrontation in Crimea.In order to completely drive the Soviet army out of Crimea, Manstein asked Hitler to send a large amount of air support, first to seize the Kerch Peninsula, and then to take the Sevastopol fortress, and Hitler agreed.From May 8th, Manstein besieged the Sevastopol fortress with a small number of troops, and concentrated 5 German infantry divisions, 1 armored division and 2 Romanian divisions to attack the Kerch Peninsula. Next, after 10 days of fierce fighting, by May 18, the forty-fourth and fifty-first Soviet armies were wiped out, and 170,000 Soviet troops were captured.

Facts have proved ruthless that the Soviets have blown the cowhide. After taking the Kerch Peninsula, Manstein began to prepare to conquer the last stronghold of the Soviet army in the Crimea Peninsula-Sevastopol Fortress. The fortress is defended by the Soviet Coastal Corps, with 7 infantry divisions, 1 cavalry division, and 3 marine brigades.Manstein was so well prepared for the attack that he deployed 208 artillery batteries across a two-mile-long position, the only one of its kind during World War II. At dawn on June 7, the German army launched an attack on the Sevastopol fortress.The German artillery had already aimed at the Soviet fortress in advance and began to bombard it violently, and the bombers of the Air Force also dropped bombs on the designated targets.This fortified battle was very tragic and cruel. Manstein recalled: "Whether it is a large stronghold or a small bunker, the Soviet army often hit the last man with one bomb. Both sides are fighting for every inch of land. Every bunker and every trench is It has to go through bloody battles." The Soviets developed the crowd tactics to the peak.

By June 17, the Germans finally wedged deep into the fortified area from the north.But the German army also paid a heavy price, and some companies had only seven or eight people left.Manstein had no choice but to put all the reserves into battle on the one hand, and on the other hand asked the Supreme Command for reinforcements. On June 26, the German army, which suffered heavy casualties, captured the Soviet defense line on the outskirts of the fortress.At this time, the endurance of the German army has reached its limit.Therefore, in the final battle to capture the fortress of Sevastopol, Manstein changed the storm to a surprise attack.

In the early morning of June 29, Manstein sent a commando secretly across the Sevastopol Bay due to his surprise, climbed up the rocky cliff on the south bank, and suddenly attacked the Soviet army from behind.At the same time, he commanded the main force of the German army to launch an attack after heavy bombardment, putting the Soviet army in the fortress in a difficult situation.Manstein used actual combat to teach the Soviet army, who only knew how to use crowd tactics, a lesson, and let them understand that fighting is not about numbers of people and strength, but playing tricks.On July 4, the more than 90,000 Soviet troops who had retreated to the top of the peninsula had no hope of breaking through and were forced to surrender.

After conquering the Sevastopol fortress, the German army captured 460 artillery pieces and countless other trophies.Of course, the German army also paid a heavy price for it, with nearly 24,000 soldiers killed.At this point, the German army finally occupied the entire Crimea Peninsula, and Manstein was promoted to Marshal by Hitler by virtue of this feat.