Chapter 34 First Assault on Sevastopol

Now the task of the Eleventh Army is to conquer the last stronghold of Crimea, Sevastopol.The earlier this task is accomplished, the less time the enemy has to organize his defenses, and the greater the chance of success.And it can also reduce the chance of the enemy's reinforcements from the sea.According to our calculations, the necessary movement of troops and the accumulation of ammunition will be completed by November 27 or 28, so we also set this date as the deadline for launching the offensive.But by this time the Russian winter caught up with us.Because it took two different forms, its influence was the stronger.In Crimea the rainy season came and soon made all unpaved roads unusable.The northern continent, on the other hand, was already suffering from severe winters, and south of the Dnieper there were only five usable locomotives, four of which had been broken.As a result, the supplies that the Eleventh Army could obtain per day were reduced to only one or two trains.Although the Dnieper River is frozen, it is still impassable to traffic, and there are no bridges that are not affected by the freezing.

So the preparations for the attack were delayed again and again.The November 27 deadline had long since passed, and the initial bombardment did not begin until December 17.Finally, after a delay of three weeks, it proved to be crucial that the 30th and 54th armies could launch attacks on the north and south respectively.But before that, the Eleventh Army had already faced a difficult decision.On October 17, near Rostov, the situation reversed, so that the headquarters of the army group ordered us to send the 73rd and 172th infantry divisions to reinforcements.Despite our warnings that this would make an attack on Sevastopol impossible, we were only allowed to keep the 170th Division, which was moving along the coast to join the 30th Army As a goal, it seems impossible to get to Rostov on time.Therefore, this concession does not change the fact that due to the transfer of the 73rd Division, we lack the necessary reserves for the attack in the North District. Therefore, in this environment, we must make up our minds again to see if we should attack.We decided to take the plunge anyway.

It is impossible to give a detailed description of the attack process here.The first task was to drive the enemy from his advance between Kacha and Belbek by surprise attack from the east, and to capture his advance in the Belbek Valley and along its southern stronghold on the high ground.Then the attack should proceed through the slopes in front of the fortress south of Belbek until Severnaya Bay.The key to the success of this battle lies with the heroic 22nd Infantry Division and its outstanding commander, Lieutenant General Wolff (Lt|Gen‧Wolff).The division cleared the area of ​​advance between Caccia and Belbek, and together with the 132nd Infantry Division captured the heights south of the Belbek valley and rushed into the headquarters of the fortified area south of the latter.But this attack became narrower and narrower, because the 50th and 24th Infantry Divisions, which were ordered to attack from the east towards the Gulf of Siferraya, did not find themselves in difficult mountainous terrain (almost everywhere impenetrable jungle). No real progress has been made.The enemy is desperately defending, and the fierce battle for the bunker is constantly consuming the strength of our army, and the severe cold weather makes them feel overwhelmed.Nevertheless, during the last days of late December the battle continued on Christmas Day. The tip of the spear was approaching Fort Stalin, and a capture of this fortress would at least bring our artillery under control. Siferraya Bay.What we need now is a new force.The attack on the Gulf was destined to succeed, but since the transfer of the 73rd Division, this is what we feel most lacking.

At this time, the Russian army had already landed in Kerch and in Feodosia.This was a deadly threat, since the entire army, except for one German division and two Romanian brigades, had been concentrated around Sevastopol.It is very obvious that we should use the fastest speed to draw troops from the Sevastopol area and drop them on the threatened points.A slight delay can cause fatal errors.But at this time, it seems that as long as we push one step further, we can gain control of Siferraya Bay, so should we give up this good opportunity? Furthermore, if a victory is obtained in the northern area, it will be easier to withdraw the troops engaged in the battle.So the Eleventh Army decided to take another risk and suspend the withdrawal of troops.Initially only the 30th Army was ordered to stop the attack, and the 170th Division was sent to the Kerch peninsula.At the same time, after obtaining the consent of the commander of the 54th Army and the division commanders under it, it was decided to make another final effort in the northern sector, with the goal of reaching Siferraya Bay.

As usual, the troops pulled out all the stops.The advance guard of the 22nd Division, the 16th Infantry Regiment, under the command of Col. V. Choltitz, had actually penetrated the perimeter of Fort Stalin.By this time, all energy has been exhausted.On 20 December the commanders of the attacking divisions reported that any further attack attempts had no hope of success.An urgent request was made to the headquarters of the Army Group by telephone, and Hitler was convinced that this action was necessary, so the Eleventh Army Command ordered a halt to the attack.In particular, it was reluctantly ordered to withdraw its northern front to the northern highlands of the Belbek Valley.But if this is not the case, the necessary forces cannot be drawn out, and in fact this narrow part of the spearhead will never be able to stay for long.Hitler vetoed this decision but in fact could not prevent it because it was in complete conflict with his order forbidding any voluntary retreat, but he did not know that the general was responsible for the troops who had sacrificed so much.

Thus, the first attempt to attack the Sevastopol fortress finally failed.