Siege of Sevastopol (1941–1942)
On the 22nd of June 1941, the Axis powers invaded the Soviet Union during Operation Barbarossa. Their land forces reached the Crimean peninsula in the autumn of that same year. They overran most of the area, leaving only one objective still in Soviet hands: Sevastopol. This port city sat on a deeply eroded limestone promontory at the southwestern tip of Crimea. Its high-level cliffs overlooking Severnaya Bay protected the anchorage from amphibious landings. The Soviet Navy had built upon these natural defenses by modernizing the port and installing heavy coastal batteries. These included 180mm and 305mm re-purposed battleship guns capable of firing inland as well as out to sea. The artillery emplacements were protected by reinforced concrete fortifications and 9.8-inch thick armored turrets. Hitler described the area as an unsinkable aircraft carrier. He ordered the conquest of Ukraine and Crimea as vital targets in Directive 33, dated the 23rd of July 1941. German planners assumed the area would be captured in mopping-up operations once the bulk of the Red Army was destroyed west of the Dnieper river. But attacks by Soviet aircraft from Crimea against Romania's oil refineries destroyed 12,000 tons of oil in June. The Command of the Army issued orders that the Crimea was to be captured as soon as possible to prevent attacks on Romanian oil supplies.
Several attempts were made to secure the city in October and November 1941. A major attack was planned for late November but heavy rains delayed it until the 17th of December 1941. Under the command of Erich von Manstein, Axis forces were unable to capture Sevastopol during this first operation. Soviet forces launched an amphibious landing on the Crimean peninsula at Kerch in December 1941 to relieve the siege. This operation saved Sevastopol for the time being but forced the Axis to divert forces to defend their gains. The bridgehead in eastern Crimea was eliminated in May 1942 after a German-led counteroffensive named Operation Bustard Hunt. Between 26 and the 30th of December 1941, the USSR launched an amphibious assault on the Kerch peninsula. It succeeded in gaining and sustaining a bridgehead for five months. However, a German-led counteroffensive destroyed the bridgehead and the three Soviet Armies supporting the landing in May 1942. This allowed Manstein to concentrate all of his resources against Sevastopol for the first time. The front over Sevastopol grew quiet and a stalemate ensued. The Luftwaffe kept up the pressure on Soviet sea communications although supplies still made it through.
On the 2nd of June 1942, the Axis began an operation codenamed Störfang or Sturgeon Catch. The German Air Force played a vital part in the siege by bombing the besieged Soviet forces with impunity. Its 8th Air Corps flew 23,751 sorties and dropped 20,528 tons of bombs in June alone. The intensity of the German airstrikes was far beyond previous German bombing offensives against cities such as Warsaw, Rotterdam or London. At the end of the siege, there were only 11 undamaged buildings left in Sevastopol. The Luftwaffe sank or deterred most Soviet attempts to evacuate their troops by sea. Generaloberst Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen commanded the 8th Air Corps which consisted of nine Geschwader containing 600 aircraft. He could call upon three gruppen of Ju 87s for dive-bomber support. On the first day of the air offensive, the Luftwaffe flew 723 missions and dropped 525 tons of high explosive. Despite heavy anti-aircraft fire, just one Ju 87 was lost. By the start of the ground attack on the 7th of June, the Luftwaffe had flown 3,069 sorties and dropped 2,264 tons of high explosive plus 23,800 incendiary bombs.
The German 11th Army suppressed and destroyed the defenders by firing 46,750 tons of artillery ammunition during Störfang. To increase this arsenal, a number of super-heavy artillery pieces were made available including three 600mm Karl-Gerät self-propelled mortars and one 800mm gun known as Schwerer Gustav. The 800mm gun delivered 7 ton shells capable of destroying any fortification. However, only 48 rounds of 800mm ammunition were available and most of it was used up before the infantry assault. A single 60cm calibre mortar shell from the Karl-Gerät self-propelled mortar no. III, nicknamed Thor, knocked out Maxim Gorky's second turret on the afternoon of the 6th of June. This was the only success of the German super-heavy guns which did not have an impact commensurate with their expense. The railway guns also fired a few rounds at the main fortifications but most missed by some distance. The closest shell landed 80 meters away from its target. Soviet ammunition dumps were targeted by these weapons with no effect. The main fortifications, forts Stalin, Molotov, and Maxim Gorky remained active until later in the campaign.
On the 7th of June 1942, Manstein ordered the ground assault after weeks of aerial bombardment. The Luftwaffe carried out 1,368 sorties and dropped 1,300 tons of bombs on Soviet positions but the Soviet infantry clung on. Von Richthofen called the day a real disappointment due to the fear shown by the infantry. The next few days were not much better despite the Luftwaffe flying 1,200 sorties. The pace of operations exhausted the machines and men often forcing crews to make three or four sorties without rest. By 17:15 the town of Belbek was secured and the 22nd Infantry Division made considerable progress breaking through defenses of the 25th Rifle Division. Now facing the Germans was the Haccius Ridge on which the fortress Maxim Gorky was located. It was flanked by several smaller forts to the east. The 132nd Infantry Divisions was ordered to conduct a converging pincer movement on the Maxim Gorky fortress in conjunction with the 22nd and 50th Infantry Divisions. While the Germans did make progress nearing the main railway station just southeast of Maxim Gorky they were stopped from achieving a full-scale breakthrough by the 172nd Rifle Division.
During the heavy fighting Red Army troops frequently fought from tunnel systems in Sevastopol's cave network. In response German forces allegedly deployed illegal chemical weapons to clear these subterranean positions out. Chris Bellamy documents the use of toxic smoke used to asphyxiate Soviet defenders holding out in the underground cave systems. German soldiers had deployed chemical weapons during the Crimean campaign most notably on the Kerch Peninsula when Manstein's troops surrounded 7,000 Red Army troops who took refuge in the region's limestone caves and gassed them. This was a measure they had also used against Red Army holdouts on the Kerch Peninsula. The deployment occurred within the local cave networks where Soviet units sought shelter from the relentless aerial bombardment and artillery fire.
Finally on the 4th of July 1942 the remaining Soviet forces surrendered and the Germans seized the port. The Soviet Separate Coastal Army was annihilated with 118,000 men killed wounded or captured in the final assault and 200,481 casualties in the siege as a whole for both it and the Black Sea Fleet. Total Axis losses during the 250-day siege numbered approximately 70,000 including 2,000 officers. Of that number 25,000 German troops were killed in action. Axis losses in the final Störfang operation amounted to 35,866 men of whom 27,412 were German and 8,454 Romanian. With the Soviet forces neutralized the Axis refocused their attention on the major summer campaign of that year Case Blue and the advance to the Caucasus oilfields. However the enormous cost of the Sevastopol campaign had reduced German resources for Case Blue at a critical time. The 250-day siege also required massive expenditures in ammunition with Axis forces using nearly 50,000 tons of artillery shells to clear the port.
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Common questions
When did the Siege of Sevastopol begin and end?
The siege began on the 2nd of June 1942 when Axis forces launched Operation Störfang. The remaining Soviet forces surrendered on the 4th of July 1942 after a 250-day campaign.
What super-heavy artillery weapons did the German Army use during the Siege of Sevastopol?
German forces deployed three 600mm Karl-Gerät self-propelled mortars and one 800mm gun known as Schwerer Gustav. These weapons delivered shells weighing up to 7 tons but only 48 rounds of 800mm ammunition were available for the operation.
How many sorties did the Luftwaffe fly during the final phase of the Siege of Sevastopol?
The German Air Force flew 23,751 sorties in June alone while dropping 20,528 tons of bombs. During the ground assault starting on the 7th of June 1942 the Luftwaffe conducted an additional 1,368 sorties.
Who commanded the German 11th Army during the Siege of Sevastopol?
Erich von Manstein commanded the German 11th Army throughout the siege operations. He ordered the final ground assault on the 7th of June 1942 after weeks of aerial bombardment.
Did the Axis powers use chemical weapons during the Siege of Sevastopol?
German forces allegedly deployed illegal chemical weapons to clear Soviet defenders from tunnel systems within the cave network. Chris Bellamy documents the use of toxic smoke to asphyxiate Red Army troops holding out underground.