Chapter 35 Stalin offensive

The landing of the Russian army on the Kerch peninsula coincided with the most urgent phase of the Eleventh Army's frontal battle north of Sevastopol, and it soon became apparent that this was not just a diversionary operation by the enemy.Russian radio broadcasts announced that this was a general offensive aimed at retaking the Crimea, personally planned and directed by Stalin, and that it would not end until the Eleventh Army was wiped off the map.It will soon be seen from the forces employed by the enemy that this threat is not empty.Judging from the violent depletion of its troops, it can be felt that there is Stalin's barbaric will behind it.

On December 26, after crossing the Kerch Strait, the enemy began to land with two divisions on either side of the city.A smaller landing followed on the northern shore of the peninsula.The 42nd Army relied on only one division of the 46th Infantry Division to defend the peninsula. Of course, its position was in jeopardy. Therefore, the commander of the 42nd Army, General Sponeck (Gen‧Count Sponeck), requested to withdraw from the peninsula, hoping to Can block it at Parpach.The Eleventh Army did not agree with him, because if the enemy were able to establish a stable foothold in Kerch, and the result was a second front in the Crimea, then before Sevastopol was captured, For the entire group army, it would be an extremely dangerous situation.Therefore, we ordered the 42nd Army to launch an attack on the enemy before they regained their balance after landing, and drive them into the sea.At the same time, in order to free the entire 46th Division to undertake this task, we sent two Romanian mountain brigades, the 4th and 8th, the former to be near Tsimenferop and the latter to defend the east coast of the Crimea to Fedo. West Asia, in case the enemy may land on this point.At the same time, the 213th Reinforced Infantry Regiment, the only regiment of the 73rd Division still remaining in the Crimea, was ordered to go from Gnezyk to Fedosia.

By December 28, the 46th Infantry Division had practically cleared the enemy beachheads both north and south of Kerch, with only a few enemy troops still fighting hard on the north bank.Nevertheless, Count Sputnik once again demanded the evacuation of the Kerch peninsula.This is of course strictly prohibited by us, because we are still convinced that the abandonment of the Kerch peninsula would create a situation that would be beyond the reach of this army with the forces available. By this time, on December 28, the Fifty-fourth Army had already begun its final attack on Sevastopol. But at this time the enemy is also about to make a new blow.Early on the 29th of December we heard that they had made a night landing at Feodosia, under the cover of a strong navy.Our meager forces there (an engineer battalion, some anti-tank units and coastal artillery) failed to stop the landing. Romanian troops did not start arriving until the following morning.Telephone contact between us and the headquarters of the XXXII Corps somewhere in the middle of the peninsula was lost, but at ten o'clock in the morning we received the radio that Count Sputnik had landed in Feodosia because of sightings of enemy troops. , Then ordered the army to withdraw from the peninsula immediately.Although we immediately issued an order to stop it, the radio station of the Forty-second Army never received this order.Of course, we are well aware of the anxiety of the army, fearing that the enemy in Feodosia will cut off their retreat, but we still do not think that in this case an immediate retreat is necessary.

While halting the withdrawal from the Kerch Peninsula, the Eleventh Army ordered the Romanian Mountain Army to use the two brigades mentioned above, plus a Romanian motorized regiment on the move, to drive away the enemy troops who had landed in Fedosia. All the soldiers rushed to the sea.Although we have no illusions about the offensive capabilities of these Romanian troops, the enemy's current strength in Fedocia is still very limited. If we really have the determination to attack, it seems that they can be wiped out while they are in a disadvantaged position.We felt that in the worst case, the Romanian troops should be able to hold the enemy in a narrow beachhead, waiting for the Germans to arrive.