Manstein received the newly-raised 22. Panzer-Division in March 1942, but the unit was badly defeated in its first action on March 20, 1942. However, the division performed much better during Operation Trappenjagd in May 1942. This division was primarily equipped with the Czech-built Pz 38(t) tank, which could not stand up to the T-34 or KV-1 tanks encountered in the Crimea. (Süddeutsche Zeitung, 00403725)
Two T-34 tanks lie wrecked near Koi-Assan on the Kerch Peninsula after the Soviet offensive in March 1942. The Soviets were unable to use their superiority in armor to break out from the Kerch Peninsula, and the Parpach Narrows became a lethal killing ground reminiscent of World War I battlefields. (Author’s collection)
German pioneers and StuG III assault guns advance through the Soviet defenses at Parpach during Operation Trappenjagd in May 1942. Note the use of smoke to conceal the breach site in the Soviet obstacle belt. Manstein was able to overcome well-prepared Soviet defenses through the use of skillful combined-arms tactics and overwhelming air support. (Süddeutsche Zeitung, 00403782)
Manstein’s trump card in the Crimea was the assault boats of 902. Sturmboote-Kommando, which he used to outflank the Soviet defenses at Parpach in May 1942, and then to cross Severnaya Bay in June 1942. Using the element of surprise, these assault boats enabled the Germans to conduct a new form of maneuver warfare in coastal waters. (Nik Cornish, WH 1336)
The Svobodnyi, a Type 7U class destroyer, was the newest destroyer in the Black Sea Fleet, having been commissioned in January 1942. It was involved in the regular supply run from Novorossiysk and was caught in daylight hours by Ju-87 Stuka dive-bombers in Sevastopol’s Severnaya Bay on June 9, 1942. After being struck by multiple bombs, the destroyer sank near the Count’s Quay. (Author’s collection)
Tracers and parachute flares arch over the frontline trenches around Sevastopol in June 1942. Although most combat occurred during daylight hours, frontline units received regular harassing fire during the night, and the Soviet naval infantrymen were particularly fond of conducting local trench raids during hours of darkness. (Süddeutsche Zeitung, 00403699)
A German sniper looks for targets in the opposite hills around Sevastopol. Note that he is using a captured SVT-40 sniper rifle – which was highly prized by German soldiers. Positional warfare afforded ample opportunity for snipers on both sides to rack up a significant number of “kills.” (Süddeutsche Zeitung, 00059506)
The “Thor,” one of two 60cm “Karl”-type super-heavy mortars deployed to reduce Soviet defenses at Sevastopol. The two mortars fired a total of just 122 rounds during the siege, and fired their last rounds on June 9, 1942, against Coastal Battery 30. While these 60cm mortars gathered a great deal of publicity, they were not really practical battlefield weapons due to their very short range. (Author’s collection)
A modern view of the rebuilt Coastal Battery 30, with the rangefinder in the foreground and the two turrets in the background, facing the Black Sea. The Germans assaulted the battery from this angle and the photo gives a good indication of the constricting nature of the ridge. (Author’s collection)
A Luftwaffe ground crew prepares to load an SC 1000 bomb on a Ju-88 bomber. The Luftwaffe primarily relied upon 250kg and 500kg general-purpose bombs and did not have a large number of super-heavy or specialized bombs designed for attacking fortified targets. Consequently, the reduction of Soviet concrete gun batteries took multiple air attacks. (Nik Cornish, WH 1250)
The transport Abkhazia was sunk by German bombers in Severnaya Bay on June 9. The ammunition bunkers located behind the wreck of the Abkhazia in the chalk-faced cliffs are known as “White Cliff” – which was the target of the German 80cm Dora rail gun on June 6–7. Note that there is no evidence of a massive explosion as claimed by some German sources. (Author’s collection)
With all the attention given to “Dora” and “Karl,” it is often missed that the siege of Sevastopol represented the first opportunity for the Germans to employ massed Nebelwerfer rocket barrages in support of infantry attacks. Previously, they had been used only in small numbers, but at Sevastopol up to three or four battalions were simultaneously used to suppress a single enemy position. (Süddeutsche Zeitung, 00403714)
Dead Soviet troops inside one of Sevastopol’s concrete forts. The German air and artillery bombardments inflicted only modest casualties on the well dug-in Soviet troops, but served to suppress positions, which could then be overrun by German combined-arms assault groups. (Author’s collection)
The Soviets employed three armored trains during the fighting in the Crimea in 1941–42. The Zhelezniakov was the most powerful, armed with five 100mm naval guns and numerous 12.7mm DShK heavy machine guns. These trains provided mobile firepower, but were extremely vulnerable to air attack. (Author’s collection)
Soviet naval infantrymen counterattacking to regain lost ground. Note the mixed weapons: a PPSH-41 submachine gun, SVT-40 automatic rifle, and captured German MP-40. German troops were often unnerved by the sudden onslaught of Soviet naval infantrymen, who could emerge from terrain that was thought to have been cleared and then conduct near-suicidal close-quarter assaults.
Romanian troops in the hilly terrain outside Sevastopol in June 1942. The performance of the Romanian Corps was decent, when properly supported by artillery and close air support. Without the participation of the Romanian mountain infantry, Manstein’s 11. Armee would have had a difficult time overwhelming Petrov’s Coastal Army. (Süddeutsche Zeitung, 00403679)
German infantry scramble up to the top of a shell-cratered hill outside Sevastopol, June 1942. Note that the German leader, armed with an MP-40, has a vertical white stripe painted on the back of his helmet. (Süddeutsche Zeitung, 00403689)
A German 10.5cm le. FH18 howitzer methodically shells Fort Constantine on June 24, 1942. By this point, German artillery clearly dominated Sevastopol’s harbor area and could strike targets almost anywhere in the city. Note that the German howitzer is deployed on a forward slope in broad daylight – apparently there was no fear of Soviet counterbattery or air attack by this point. The German artillerymen are acting as if they are on a range shoot. (Author’s collection)
Soviet troops emerging from the ruins of shattered positions during the final fighting in late June 1942. The German 11. Armee captured 95,000 Soviet troops at Sevastopol, but very few officers above the rank of colonel. After bravely resisting for months against superior firepower, the soldiers of the Coastal Army were abandoned by their commanders, who slipped away in the dead of night. (Süddeutsche Zeitung, 00403653)