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Gorod-geroy Sevastopol

The fighting of the Black Sea Fleet, the Primorsky Army and the population of the city to defend the main naval base Sevastopol from October 30, 1941 to July 2, 1942 was an important stage in the struggle of Soviet troops for the Crimea during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.

Sevastopol was among the first cities of the USSR on the first day of the Great Patriotic War on June 22, 1941, at 3:15 a.m., it was raided by fascist aircraft.

On October 29, 1941, a state of siege was imposed in Sevastopol.

The garrison of Sevastopol numbered about 21 thousand people and had about 150 guns and mortars. The troops of the 11th German army under the command of Colonel-General Erich Manstein, which numbered over 200 thousand people, 450 tanks, over 2 thousand guns and mortars, 600 aircraft, broke through Perekop on October 20.

October 30 — November 9, the garrison of Sevastopol had to repel enemy attacks on its own. On November 4, 1941, the land forces and fleet forces defending the city were united into the Sevastopol Defensive Area (SOR), which the Primorsky Army entered on November 9.

On November 5, fierce fighting broke out in the central section of the forward defensive line. For 4 days, the Soviet army repelled continuous attacks by numerically superior Nazi troops supported by aviation. On November 9, the fascists were forced to stop the offensive and pause to pull up new forces and regroup troops.

After the failure to take the city on the move, the Nazi command carried out three attacks on the city - on November 11, December 17, 1941 and June 7, 1942.

On November 11, the first assault on the city began. Despite the superiority in manpower, artillery and tanks, the German army managed to wedge itself into the forward defensive line only in two sections: in the direction of Duvankoy by three to four kilometers and Mekenzia by one to two kilometers. Due to the significant losses of the 11th army on November 21, the Germans suspended the offensive on Sevastopol until mid-December.

The second offensive of the German fascist troops began at dawn on December 17. The main attack was carried out by the forces of four infantry divisions from the Duvankoy area along the Belbek River to the northeastern tip of the Northern Bay, the distracting strike was carried out by two infantry divisions and a mountain brigade from the area southeast of Chorgun along the Chernaya River to Inkerman. In the area of the Mekenzie Mountains, the enemy wedged into the location of the Soviet troops and created a threat of a breakthrough to the Northern Bay. The Supreme Commander's headquarters reinforced the troops with a rifle division, a marine brigade and several marching battalions. With the support of the fleet and aviation, the SOR troops launched a counterattack on December 22 and restored the situation in the main direction. By the end of December, the Fascist troops captured the Mekenzievy Gory platform, but they failed to reach the Northern Bay.

The Kerch-Feodosiya amphibious operation (1941-1942), which began on December 26 and forced the German Fascist command to withdraw part of the forces from Sevastopol and stop the offensive on December 31, played a major role in repelling the enemy offensive. On January 1-4, Soviet troops counterattacked and forced the enemy to withdraw to their starting positions almost everywhere.

In May 1942, as a result of the abandonment of the Kerch Peninsula by Soviet troops and the failure of the Kharkov offensive operation, the situation in Sevastopol deteriorated sharply. On May 21, the Fascists began aerial and artillery bombardment of the city, artillery positions and rear areas, and on June 2 they switched to powerful artillery and aviation preparations for the offensive, which lasted five days. At the same time, the German fascist troops strengthened the blockade of Sevastopol from the sea.

On June 7, the German fascist troops went on the offensive, striking the main blow from the north and northeast at the Mekenziev Mountains in order to reach the Northern Bay and auxiliary ones at Sapun Mountain and Balaklava. German aircraft flew 800-1000 sorties daily, dropping 4-4.5 thousand bombs. The defenders of Sevastopol heroically defended their positions until the last opportunity.

On June 18, at the cost of heavy losses, the Nazis managed to break through to the coast of the Northern Bay. The small garrisons of the 30th Coastal Defense Battery remaining on the Northern side, the Northern Fortifications, engineering piers, Mikhailovsky and Konstantinovsky ravelins heroically defended themselves until June 22-24. The defenders' forces were melting, ammunition was running out.

Due to the reduction of the night time and the dominance of enemy aircraft, the supply of Sevastopol by surface ships became extremely difficult, and after the enemy captured the Northern side, it became impossible. On June 17, the last Bialystok transport arrived in Sevastopol. On June 26, the last of the large surface ships, the leader Tashkent, broke through the blockade. The supply of submarines and airplanes did not meet the needs of defense.

On the night of June 29, the fascists crossed the Northern Bay and captured Sapun Mountain on the same day. On June 30, Nazi troops broke into the Ship's side, where stubborn battles for Malakhov Kurgan were going on all day. The remnants of the units retreated in separate groups to the Chersonesos peninsula.

On the night of July 1, permission was received from the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command to evacuate.

Organized resistance and evacuation of the defenders of the city continued until July 2, 1942. The defenders of Sevastopol continued to fight heroically on the Chersonesos Peninsula in the area of the 35th Coastal Defense Battery until July 4.

In the struggle for Sevastopol, the enemy lost up to 300 thousand people, the irretrievable losses of the Soviet troops amounted to about 157 thousand people.

The soldiers of the Primorsky Army and the sailors of the Black Sea Fleet showed massive heroism and perseverance. 37 people were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

To commemorate the feat of Sevastopol residents, on December 22, 1942, the medal "For the Defense of Sevastopol" was established, which was awarded to over 50 thousand people.

In 2014, a Memorial to the defenders of the Fatherland, who fell and went missing during the liberation of Sevastopol during the Great Patriotic War, was opened in Victory Park in Sevastopol.

On May 8, 2015, a memorial stele dedicated to the Heroes of the Defense and Liberation of Sevastopol was unveiled in the city's Victory Park.