Crimean campaign
The Crimean campaign began on the 26th of September 1941, when German and Romanian forces swept onto the Crimean Peninsula as part of Operation Barbarossa. What followed was not a swift conquest. It was a grinding, multi-year struggle that cost two of Crimea's cities their freedom only after hundreds of days of siege warfare. How did a seemingly straightforward invasion become one of the most protracted fights on the Eastern Front? And what role did a single Romanian submarine, a massive railway gun, and an amphibious landing play in shaping the outcome?
Germany's 11th Army and Romania's Third and Fourth Armies formed the invading spearhead, pushing against Soviet defenses anchored by the 51st Army and elements of the Black Sea Fleet. The Red Army was routed. Within weeks, Axis forces spread across most of the peninsula. Only two Crimean cities, Sevastopol and Kerch, refused to fall in those early weeks.
Kerch changed hands with particular drama. Soviet forces launched an amphibious operation near the end of 1941 and briefly recaptured the city. The reprieve was short. German forces struck back during Operation Bustard Hunt on the 8th of May, taking Kerch for the second time. After the campaign settled, Army Group A assumed occupation of Crimea, with the 17th Army as a major formation under its command.
German forces surrounded Sevastopol and launched their first assault on the 30th of October 1941. Soviet defenders repulsed them. Troops evacuated from the city of Odessa poured in to reinforce the garrison, stiffening resistance considerably. Attacks on the 11th of November and the 30th of November, targeting the eastern and southern sections of the city, both failed.
Germany brought in heavy artillery to break the deadlock, including the railway gun known as Schwerer Gustav. A third major attack on the 17th of December was beaten back at the last moment when Soviet reinforcements arrived in time. One day after Christmas, Soviet troops landed on the Kerch Peninsula specifically to draw German pressure away from Sevastopol. That force held its position until a German counterattack on the 9th of April and was eliminated by the 18th of May.
With that threat gone, German forces pressed Sevastopol hard. They pierced the inner defensive lines on the 29th of June 1942. Soviet commanders were flown out or evacuated by submarine as the siege neared its end. The city surrendered on the 4th of July 1942, though pockets of Soviet troops continued holding out in caves outside the city until the 9th of July. The siege had lasted 250 days, from the 30th of October 1941 to the 4th of July 1942. The Soviet government later honoured Sevastopol with the title of Hero City for the resistance its defenders mounted.
In the early hours of the 6th of November 1941, the Romanian submarine Delfinul, under the command of Constantin Costachescu, slipped through Soviet waters south of Yalta. The crew found their target: the Soviet cargo ship Uralets, a vessel of 1,975 tons. A torpedo strike sank her 4 miles south of Yalta.
Soviet forces immediately hunted the Delfinul. The submarine evaded as many as 80 depth charges by following a course along the Turkish coast rather than returning directly. She arrived safely at the Romanian port of Constanta on the 7th of November, having endured one of the most intense anti-submarine pursuits recorded during the campaign.
Crimea remained under German occupation for roughly three years. The 4th Ukrainian Front ended that occupation during the Crimean offensive, which ran from the 8th of April 1944 to the 12th of May 1944. The offensive was built from three interlocking operations. The Kerch-Eltigen Operation had begun earlier, running from the 31st of October 1943 to the 11th of December 1943. The Perekop-Sevastopol Offensive Operation and the Kerch-Sevastopol Offensive Operation then ran in parallel from April into May 1944. Together they reversed what had taken the Axis months to seize, returning Crimea to Soviet hands by mid-May 1944.
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Common questions
When did the Crimean campaign start and end in World War II?
The Crimean campaign began on the 26th of September 1941, when German and Romanian forces invaded as part of Operation Barbarossa. The subsequent German occupation lasted until the Crimean offensive of the 8th of April 1944 to the 12th of May 1944, when the 4th Ukrainian Front recaptured the peninsula.
How long did the Siege of Sevastopol last during the Crimean campaign?
The Siege of Sevastopol lasted 250 days, from the 30th of October 1941 to the 4th of July 1942. The city surrendered on the 4th of July 1942, though some Soviet troops held out in caves outside the city until the 9th of July.
What forces were involved in the Axis invasion of Crimea?
The invading Axis force was led by Germany, with support from Romania and Italy. The German 11th Army and the Romanian Third and Fourth Armies conducted the fighting, opposed by the Soviet 51st Army and elements of the Black Sea Fleet.
What role did the Romanian submarine Delfinul play in the Crimean campaign?
On the 6th of November 1941, the Romanian submarine Delfinul, commanded by Constantin Costachescu, torpedoed and sank the Soviet cargo ship Uralets (1,975 tons) 4 miles south of Yalta. The Delfinul then evaded up to 80 Soviet depth charges by routing along the Turkish coast before reaching Constanta on the 7th of November.
Why was Sevastopol named a Hero City after the Crimean campaign?
The Soviet government awarded Sevastopol the title of Hero City because its defenders withstood a 250-day siege against German and Romanian forces. Multiple major Axis assaults in November and December 1941 were repulsed before the city finally fell on the 4th of July 1942.
What was Operation Bustard Hunt in the context of the Crimean campaign?
Operation Bustard Hunt was a German military operation launched on the 8th of May 1942, targeting the city of Kerch. Soviet forces had briefly recaptured Kerch during an amphibious operation near the end of 1941; Operation Bustard Hunt retook the city for the Axis.