Chapter 30 A Battle on Two Fronts: The Breakthrough at Perekop and the Battle on the Sea of ​​Azov

Due to supply difficulties, preparations for the Fifty-fourth Army's attack on Cape Pilicop were delayed until September 24.While our army was still reorganizing according to the above-mentioned front line, the situation in the east of our army began to show signs of change from September 21. The enemy had already entered the established position of the front line extending from the west of Melitopol to the bend of the Dnieper, so that our pursuit had to be stopped.Even so, the Army continued to withdraw the German Mountain Army and ordered the remaining German units to be mixed with units belonging to the Romanian Third Army in order to minimize the degree of risk.The Romanian Cavalry Corps in the southern sector of the front was incorporated into the German 30th Army, while the Romanian 3rd Army in the northern sector joined the German 170th Infantry Division to reinforce the Romanian mountain forces.

By September 24th, the Fifty-fourth Army was ready to attack Cape Perekop.As much artillery support as possible was given.However, the 45th and 73rd Infantry Divisions still had to fight under the most difficult conditions.They were to cross the saline steppe under the scorching sun, without water or shelter.The enemy had made this headland into a strong defense to a depth of about ten miles.They are prepared to fight bitterly for every inch of ground in every trench and every stronghold. Nevertheless, having defeated a strong counterattack, this corps took Perikop on September 26 and crossed the Tartar ditch.After another three days of hard fighting, it passed through the rest of the enemy's defenses, and after taking the stronghold of Armyansk, it began to move into more open areas.The enemy retreated to the area between Lake Ixon. In addition to inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy, we also captured 10,000 prisoners, 112 tanks and 135 artillery pieces.

However, this rare victory for the final breakthrough in Crimea was still not immediately available.Although the enemy suffered heavy losses, the total number of enemy forces facing this army at this time has increased to as many as six divisions.Since the relative strength of the two sides is too far apart, and our army has already suffered huge sacrifices, it is an excessive requirement for our army to go straight to the bottleneck of Yixiong. The original plan of the Eleventh Army was to deploy reinforcements (Mountain Army and Führer Guard Division) at this time.But this plan has already been destroyed by the enemy.Obviously, he has predicted our intention to quickly conquer Crimea, so he added a new force on the front between the Sea of ​​Azov and the Dnieper River.

On September 26, the enemy launched two new armies.The Eighteenth and Ninth, a total of twelve newly arrived and recently rested divisions, attacked the eastern front of our army.In the first attack they did not have any success against our own XXX Corps, although the situation here has become very tense.But in the area of ​​the Romanian Third Army the enemy routed its 4th Mountain Brigade and tore a gap ten miles wide in the front.The brigade had lost most of its artillery and appeared to be exhausted.The other two Romanian mountain brigades also suffered heavy losses at the same time. Now we had no choice but to order the Mountain Army, which had been transferred to Perikop, to turn back to stabilize the position of the Romanian Third Army.At the same time, Eleventh Army was deprived of its only available rapid force, the SS division of the Führer's Guard.We have taken this division out of service by order of the High Command and will shortly hand it over to 1st Panzer Army to take part in the attack on Rostov.Therefore we cannot use the division to extend our success on this headland, and it has been ordered back to the east front.

In order to be able to approach the fronts of both sides, the operational branch of the Army Group Command established a tactical command on September 21 at Askania Nova in the Rugosk Steppe So, that was originally the former residence of a German. It was a typical farm, but now it has become a collective farm.All the buildings were dilapidated, and the Russians destroyed all agricultural implements when they retreated, and poured oil on the piles of wheat and set them on fire.It burned like this for weeks, and we couldn't put it out. As the situation on the front line became more and more serious, on September 29, we led a small number of staff and moved to a certain point in the rear that was closer to the dangerous place.In times of crisis, this is always a convenient measure, at least to prevent the headquarters of subordinate units from moving back prematurely, with a bad effect on the troops.This is especially true in the present situation, as many Romanian command personnel have a tendency to move their positions prematurely.

On the same day, the Mountain Army and SS divisions launched an assault on the enemy's southern flank, where they broke through the Romanian Third Army but failed to adequately expand its initial success.When the situation stabilized here, a new crisis was brewing on the northern flank of XXX Corps, as a Romanian cavalry brigade had retreated.I had no choice but to intervene strongly myself to prevent it from escaping in a hurry.The SS divisions were then turned around again to prevent the enemy's breakthrough. The situation to the east of us, as tense as it has become, presents a golden opportunity at the same time.In order to thwart our intentions in the Crimea, the enemy has launched repeated attacks, pinning down all their forces in the front, and there is no reserve to protect the Dnieper in Chaporozzi and Dnepropotovsk (Dniepropetrovsk), so Admiral Kleist's 1st Panzer Army could break through its northern flank from there.A few days ago, I had asked the headquarters of the Army Group South to order this army to participate in the operation. On October 1, the appropriate order was issued. Keep on applying pressure.Now the enemy began to give way.On October 1, the Thirty Army and the Romanian Third Army also began to go on the offensive.Over the next few days, in cooperation with the 1st Panzer Army, we were at Pol.In the area of ​​Tokmak｜Mariupol｜Bildyansk (Bol‧Tokmak｜Mariupol Befdyansk), a large number of enemy troops were surrounded and wiped out.The German army captured a total of 65,000 people, 125 tanks, and more than 500 artillery pieces.