Siege of Odessa (1941)
Siege of Odessa (1941)
Siege of Odessa (1941)
For the naval battle at Odessa in 1914, see Battle of 54th Rie Regiment and an NKVD Regiment. Overall,
Odessa (1914).
the Red Army had some 34,500 men and 240 artillery
pieces in the area. Air support was provided by the 69
The Siege of Odessa was part of the Eastern Front area IAP, two seaplane squadrons and one bomber squadron.
Later, other ghters joined the defenders, as did an Il-2
of operations in 1941. It was primarily conducted by the
Romanian 4th Army (Armata a 4-a) and elements of the squadron. Bombers from Crimea and Nikolaev also parGerman 11th Army (11. Armee). Due to the heavy re- ticipated in the battle.
sistance of the Soviet 9th Independent Army (initially)
and the rapidly formed Separate Coastal Army, which
was formed from the Coastal Group of the 9th Army,[5]
and the Black Sea Fleet forces in Odessa, it took the
Axis forces 73 days of siege and four attempts to take the
city, during which they suered 93,000 casualties, while
the Red Army suered an estimated 41,000 to 60,000
casualties.[4]
Prelude
The third and last line of defense was organized inside the
city itself. The forces that initially manned the fortications were made up of the 25th and 95th Rie Divisions,
the 2nd Cavalry Division, the 421st Rie Division, the
1
2
icting and taking heavy casualties. The Royal Romanian
Air Force actively supported the ground troops, disrupting Soviet naval trac to and from Odessa, and also destroying an armored train on 20 August. During the night
of 18 August, two Romanian torpedo boats (NMS Viscolul and NMS Vijelia) attacked and damaged a Soviet
destroyer south of Odessa. It was one of the few actions
the Romanian Navy undertook to support the siege.
By 24 August, despite constant attacks, the Romanians
were bogged down in front of the Soviets main line of
defense. The 4th Army had already suered 27,307 casualties, including 5,329 killed in action. Nevertheless, the
Soviets were also weakened, and thanks to the capture of
Kubanka, Romanian heavy artillery now threatened the
port of Odessa. Over the next three days, there was a lull
in the ghting.
3 AFTERMATH
respectively. Ioaniiu forwarded a note to Major-General
Arthur Haue, the chief of the German military mission
to Romania, informing him of the situation at Odessa and
requesting assistance in the form of aircraft and several
pioneer battalions. Although the Royal Romanian Air
Force enjoyed some success against the Soviets ground
and air forces, it was ill-equipped for anti-shipping raids,
and the Soviets were being steadily reinforced and resupplied via the Navy.
Meanwhile, the Romanian oensive was halted to wait
for reinforcements. A German detachment led by
Lieutenant-General Ren von Courbier and comprising
one infantry regiment, one assault pioneer regiment and
two artillery regiments arrived. Concurrently, the Soviets
also received 15,000 men and ammunition. On 9 September, Ciuperc was replaced by Lieutenant-General Iosif
Iacobici, who was expressly ordered to follow the General Stas directives without question. The oensive resumed on 12 September, but was again stopped temporarily on September 14 as Romanian and German artillery
units were running low on ammunition. Two Vanatori
battalions were encircled by Red Army troops near the
Hadjibey bank, but were eventually relieved despite Soviet eorts to annihilate them.
On the night of 15 September, Soviet troops broke contact with the Romanian 1st Corps and retreated toward
the southeast. On 16 September, the 1st Corps took the
heights northwest of Gross-Liebenthal. Romanian troops
also occupied the area south of the Sukhoy bank. Over
3,000 Soviet soldiers were captured, but these losses were
replaced by the 157th Rie Division, with a strength of
12,600 troops. Also, 18 Soviet companies were brought
in from Novorossiysk.
3
whom it had no direct conict of interests, but who would
later conduct major bombing campaigns against her.[8]
4 See also
Odessa Massacre
Transnistria Governorate
5 Notes
[1] Axworthy (1995), p. 50.
[2] Glantz (1995), p. 293
[3] http://www.worldwar2.ro/operatii/?article=7
[4] Axworthy,Mark. Third Axis Fourth Ally: Romanian
Armed Forces in the European War, 19411945. p. 58.
[5] See also Axis History Forum thread
[6] Axworthy, page 59
[7] Axworthy, page 49
[8] Axworthy, page 73
6 References
About 38,000 Soviet personnel were awarded the Medal For the
Defence of Odessa from 22 December 1942.
wounded
or
missing
Axworthy, Mark; Scafes, Cornel; Craciunoiu, Cristian (1995). Third Axis Fourth Ally: Romanian
Armed Forces in the European War, 19411945.
London: Arms & Armour Press. ISBN 1-85409267-7.
Glantz, David M. & House, Jonathan (1995), When
Titans Clashed: How the Red Army Stopped Hitler,
Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas,
ISBN 0-7006-0899-0
7 External links
Dallin, Alexander (1998). Odessa, 19411944: A
Case Study of Soviet Territory Under Foreign Rule.
Iasi-Oxford-Portland: Center for Romanian Studies. ISBN 973-98391-1-8. Complete book available
online.
History of Odessa, 19411944. 2odessa.com. Retrieved 2006-07-30.
The Separate Coastal Army at Odessa
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