Chapter 36 Developments on the Kerch peninsula

But even this hope was finally dashed.Far from making a full-fledged attack on Feodosia, the Romanian Mountain Army was actually pushed back by a handful of Russian tanks to a point east of Stary Krim. After a series of forced marches, the 46th Infantry Division finally reached Barbac's Narrow Neck.But during the forced march they abandoned most of their artillery on the icy roads, and by the time the troops arrived they were completely exhausted.From the small beachhead it held north of Kerch, the enemy was able to begin the pursuit immediately, and since the strait had frozen over, reinforcements could arrive quickly.If the Russian commander knew how to make full use of his superiority and pursued both the 46th Division and the Romanian troops, the fate of the entire Eleventh Army would be at stake.But fortunately, he didn't know how to seize this good opportunity, or he didn't recognize this good opportunity, or he didn't dare to take the risk.

Therefore, with the concerted efforts of the 46th Division, the 214th Infantry Regiment (which just arrived) and the Romanian troops, a line of defense was finally established, although it was extremely thin between the mountains of Yaila and the Lazy Sea. between.In order to strengthen the Romanian army and ensure its heavy weapons, all German officers and soldiers who could be transferred, including those in the headquarters of the Eleventh Army, were ordered to be attached to the Romanian unit. By January 15, the 30th and 42nd Armies were ready for a counterattack on the Feodosian front.Deciding on the state of mind to take the risk of attacking is difficult, since only three and a half weakened German divisions and a Romanian mountain brigade are available, while the enemy is now confronted with an increased strength of eight divisions plus one trip.Also, the enemy has a few tanks at their disposal, while we have none.Air support was little more than nothing, as bad weather prevented it from making any sorties against Fedosia in the last few days.Even so, we decided to take the plunge.

Thanks to the valor of the troops, the attack was successful, and by January 18, Feodosia was again in our hands.In addition to the 6,700 dead, 10,000 enemies were captured, 177 artillery pieces and 85 tanks were captured.It is only now discovered that the air force is still doing a good job at the port of Feodosia. Despite the poor flying conditions, it can still sink some transport ships. Our success at Feodosia naturally led us to consider immediate expansion and the complete expulsion of the Russians from the Kerch peninsula.Although this is very ideal, after careful consideration, the Eleventh Army believes that this goal cannot be achieved with the existing resources, especially the one tank battalion and two bomber battalions that we have promised to us. The most urgently needed has now been taken back by the headquarters of the army group.

Therefore, the Eleventh Army was determined to give up any chance of rapid expansion and victory, and only wanted to drive the enemy back to the Barbak bottleneck line, which was between the Black Sea and the Sea of ​​Azov, and could effectively block the Kerch Peninsula.There is nothing cowardly about this decision, as we recognize that the force has done all it can, and asking too much now could cause very serious setbacks.