Chapter 38 Restoration of the Kerch Peninsula

After the final defensive battle, Marshal Antonescu came to the Crimea with me to inspect the Romanian troops and the Sevastopol front.His military demeanor made a favorable impression of him, and the high-ranking Romanian officers seemed to be all the more afraid of him.I am especially grateful to him for allowing me two more divisions, because in addition to the two German divisions (22nd Armored and 28th Light Divisions) that have already arrived, the Army Headquarters is planning for us The offensive can no longer increase any troops. By order of the Army Headquarters, the Crimean offensive, including Sevastopol, was scheduled to precede and prelude the general offensive on the Eastern Front planned by the Supreme Command.The first goal of the Eleventh Army is of course to destroy the enemy forces on the Kerch Peninsula first.One of the reasons for this was the impossibility of predicting how long the operation to clear Sevastopol would take.However, the most important reason is that the enemy in Kerch is easier to get reinforcements and will continue to pose a serious threat to the Eleventh Army.The enemy on this front should be given no time to recover losses after a failed attack.Sevastopol will be temporarily put on hold until all Russian forces in the Kerch peninsula have been eliminated.

However, judging from the comparison of the strengths of the two sides in Crimea, there seems to be no reason to be optimistic about these two arduous tasks.The enemy has a total of three armies in the Crimea, and has recently established a Crimean Front Command as a unified command.The location of this headquarters may be in Kerch.The Sevastopol fortress continued to be defended by its Coast Army.The strength confirmed during February was seven infantry divisions, one infantry brigade, two naval brigades, and one foot cavalry division.During our Kerch offensive, the only units we had left to monitor these forces were the 54th Corps and the newly arrived Romanian 19th Division to the north and east of the fort.The latter exchanged the German 50th Division so that it could be diverted to Kerch.Only the 72nd Infantry Division remained south of Sevastopol.The Romanian Mountain Army only commanded a fourth mountain brigade, which was responsible for defending the entire southern coast of Crimea against surprise attacks by sea.Therefore, the Eleventh Army has already withdrawn its forces from other areas so that it can use the largest possible forces to launch an offensive against Kerch.

On the front of Kerch, the enemy still has two armies, the Forty-fourth and the Fifty-first.At the end of April 1942 they had seventeen infantry divisions, three infantry brigades, two cavalry brigades, two cavalry divisions and four separate armored brigades totaling twenty-six units. Against such a formidable enemy we had only five German infantry divisions (including the 50th Division transferred from Sevastopol) and the 22nd Panzer Division.To this could be added the newly arrived Romanian Seventh Corps, with its Nineteenth Division, Eighth Cavalry Brigade and Tenth Division, the latter to be transferred from the West Bank.Romania's military was of extremely limited use in offensive missions.In this operation, code-named Bustard (Bustard), the disparity in the numbers of the two sides was even greater than in previous offensives.

At the same time, it must also be remembered that the attack through Cape Barbach had to be purely frontal in the initial stage, since there was sea water on both sides, and there was no possibility of turning around.In addition, the enemy's defensive deployment has considerable depth.In this environment, facing an enemy with at least a two-to-one superiority, how can we achieve the goal of destroying two of his armies? One thing is clear: neither the frontal pressure nor even a single breakthrough of the two armies will get us anywhere.Even having lost his position at Barbach, the enemy could reconstitute his front anywhere, and our operations would inevitably be frustrated.The further east you go, the wider the front of the Kerch Peninsula will be, and the more the enemy's numerical superiority will be displayed.On the headland at Barbach, which is only eleven miles wide, the German forces of our six divisions could be employed in the attack, but the Russians could not employ all their forces.But when we progressed eastward and the frontage widened to twenty-five miles, the situation was very different.So our object is not only to break through the enemy's Barbach front and penetrate into the enemy's rear, but also to destroy at the same time the main force, or at least a substantial part of his army, in the course of the first breakthrough.

In this respect, the enemy himself offers us an opportunity.In the southern region, between the Black Sea and Koy-Assan, the enemy remained on his old Barbach line and held extremely strong positions.In its northern quarter, on the other hand, the enemy's line jutted out in a wide arc westwards as far as Kiet, where it had remained unmoved since they routed the Rumanian 18th Division. The enemy commanders seemed to judge that we would try to cut off the salient, and so their distribution of forces was based on this.According to our intelligence.The enemy concentrated two-thirds of his forces (both the first line and the reserves) in and behind the northern area.On the other hand, in the southern district, there are only three divisions on the front line, plus two or three divisions in the reserve.It is probable that the Russians made such a deployment because the previous attack of the 22nd Armored Division was aimed at cutting off the enemy's line of defense in the area west of Koy-Ashan.

This was the case as a basis when the Eleventh Army drew up its assault plan for the bustard operation.Our intention is not to immediately make a decisive assault on the area projecting to the west, but first to penetrate to the south along the coast of the Black Sea.In other words, strike where the enemy least expects it. This task falls to the XXX Corps, which now commands the 28th Light Division, the 132nd and 52th Infantry Divisions, and the 22nd Armored Division.Although the 170th Infantry Division remained in the central area in order to deceive the enemy in the initial stage, it will also attack southward later.The plan was for XXX Corps to use as many as three divisions to break through the Barbach position and clear the deep anti-tank trenches to the east, helping the 22nd Panzer Division to overcome this obstacle.After the latter passed, the whole army turned northward and rushed into the flank and rear of the enemy troops concentrated in the northern sector.Then, with the cooperation of the 42nd Army and the Romanian 7th Army, they encircled and wiped out the enemy forces on the northern shore of the peninsula.

Responsibility for protecting the eastern flank of XXX Corps against enemy attacks from Kerch was assigned to a mobile unit called the Brigade Group Groddek, which was organized by the German and Romanian Composed of a mix of motorized units.Its task is to advance quickly to Kerch, taking offense as defense, and at the same time prevent any attempts by enemy units in the rear to slip away. In order to facilitate this difficult breakthrough work, the Eleventh Army is also preparing to conduct a landing battle behind enemy lines, which may be unprecedented in the past.A battalion of troops, set out from Feodosia in assault boats, was thrown in the rear of Barbach's position at dawn.

The decisive attack made by this corps was supported not only by powerful artillery, but also by the entire Eighth Air Force.The Eighth Air Force, which also included a powerful anti-aircraft unit, was, in its organization, the most powerful and suitable air force to support Army operations.Its commander, Count Baron V. Richthofen, was indeed one of our most outstanding air generals in World War II.He was often very strict with the units under his command, but he himself always supervised the important attacks they should make.In addition, he can often be seen on the front lines, as he always visits frontline units to gauge the possibility of air support for ground operations.We had always been on good terms, first with the Eleventh Army and then with the headquarters of Army Group South.I will always remember all the achievements of Lee Hethoven and his Air Force with deep admiration and gratitude.

On the remainder of the Barbach front, the 42nd Corps and the Romanian 7th Corps were ordered to conduct a feint to divert the enemy.Once the breakthrough to the south was complete, they simultaneously joined the main attack. The success of this campaign depends on two things.The first is our ability to keep the enemy convinced that our decisive attack will come from the north until it is too late to escape the trap and throw reserves into the south.The second is the speed at which the 30th Army, especially the 22nd Armored Division, is attacking north. The first requirement, by means of extensive deception, has at last been fulfilled.In addition to radio spoofing, we also made false artillery preparations in the center and north and moved troops around in the same area.Evidently, these measures were completely successful, since the main force of the enemy's reserves remained behind his northern flank, and when it was time to move, it was too late.

Just before the offensive began, we lost our experienced chief of staff, Gen. Wohler, who had given me invaluable help during the difficult days of the previous winter. In preparation for combat, he is also responsible for leadership tasks.It was very sad for both of us that we were going to break up just when we could have taken the initiative.However, Wu Leer has already been promoted to the chief of staff of the Central Army Group, so of course I can no longer keep him. Wuler's successor, Gen. Schalz, also proved to be an excellent advisor and friend.He was invaluable to me during the most difficult phases of the winter campaign of 1943 and in our rescue of the Sixth Army.In addition to his great personal courage, he also had a will of iron and a special concern for the hunger and needs of fighting troops.When he was chief of staff of a corps, he had already won the Iron Cross of the warrior class in the most difficult circumstances.Later, when he served as the commander of the Southern Army Group, he also showed his great ability.

On May 8, the Eleventh Army began to launch Operation Bustard.The Thirty Corps overcame the anti-tank obstacles and penetrated the enemy's most advanced positions, and the water expedition, thanks to the effectiveness of the surprise attack, also gave our right wing a considerable boost as it advanced along the coast. .Even so, the situation was not easy.The ground gained on the side of the trench was too narrow for the armored divisions, and the follow-up attacks of XXXII Corps made only very difficult progress.Even so, we have made contact with ten divisions of the enemy and smashed its southern flank, but there is still no sign of its reserves being mobilized from the northern flank. Until May 9, the 22nd Panzer Division had the possibility of using it, and had to repel a strong tank attack before it could turn north.Then, it rained and continued all night, making it impossible for the air force to provide close support on the morning of May 10, and the tanks could not immediately advance and drive straight in.Although the weather cleared up in the afternoon, the 24-hour delay was really a great loss for this kind of time-oriented operation.However, it is gratifying that before the heavy rain began to fall, the Grodik brigade had already advanced rapidly to the east.This fact repelled all attempts by the enemy to establish a front in the rear.It was evident that this bold advance into the depths of the enemy's traffic area was completely unexpected by the enemy.Unfortunately, the heroic commander, Colonel Grodik, was seriously wounded in battle and died an honorable death shortly afterwards. Since May 11, the operation has been going smoothly.The 22nd Panzer Division reached the northern coast, cutting off eight divisions of the enemy along the way.So the army department can order to start the pursuit.All forces, including the Romanian ones, put all their strength into carrying out this order.On May 16, Kerch was captured by the 170th Division and the 213th Regiment.Even then fierce fighting continued, for on the east coast there remained many remnants of the enemy to be cleared. I moved the command post to the back of the front line long before the offensive was launched.Now I am busy all day inspecting division headquarters and front-line units.For a soldier, this kind of desperate pursuit will be an unforgettable thing in his life.The roads are full of enemy vehicles, tanks and artillery, and you can run into long lines of prisoners along the way.I met with General Lichthofen on a hill near Kerch, and the view was breathtaking.Below us, white-lit is the Kerch Strait, a long-dreamed-of goal.On the front beach, various vehicles of the Russian army were crowded. The enemy's torpedo boats tried repeatedly to rescue the personnel of the Russian army, but each time they were driven back by our artillery fire.In order to prevent any further sacrifices of our infantry, and to force the early surrender of the swarming enemy forces on the coast, we concentrated our artillery fire on these last circles of resistance. By May 18, the fighting on the Kerch peninsula was over.However, a small number of enemy troops continued to resist for several weeks in the caves near Kerch under the frantic oppression of the political commissar.According to reported statistics, we captured a total of about 170,000 prisoners of war, 1,133 artillery pieces, and 258 tanks. Five German infantry divisions and one armored division, plus two Romanian infantry divisions and one cavalry brigade, had completely annihilated the entire strength of the two Russian armies, totaling twenty-six units.Only a handful of remnants of the enemy ever crossed the Kerch Strait and fled back to the Taman peninsula.It was a real battle of annihilation, with a glorious end!