Tuapse operation

THE USSR:

• Black Sea Group of Forces :
  • 18th army
  • 56th Army
  • 12th Army (until September 20, 1942)
  • 5th Air Army

Germany:

• 17th army
• 44th Army Corps
• 57th Panzer Corps
• parts of the 49th mountain rifle corps
• division group "Lants"
• 4th Aviation Corps

• First period

(August 10 - November 25, 1942)

The tragic prologue to the Tuapse defensive operation was the capture of the enemy by Armavir . This happened on August 6th. The day before, realizing that the city would fall, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command ordered the commander of the North Caucasus Front, Marshal S. M. Budyonny : “In connection with the enemy’s desire, from the Armavir region, to capture Maykop and subsequently go to the Black Sea coast to Tuapse, immediately firmly cover the Maykop area and the Maykop-Tuapse road so that in no way give the enemy the opportunity to leave the Armaviro-Maykop direction on the Black Sea coast. ”

On August 6, the commander of the 18th Army, Lieutenant General F.V. Kamkov, was ordered to cover the flank of the 56th Army with the forces of the 216th Division (Major General A. M. Plamenevsky). At the same time, the regrouping of front forces in the Maykop direction began. The 383rd division (Major General K. I. Provalov) and the 236th (Colonel G. N. Korchikov) were to relocate to the new line of defense with all possible means by motor vehicles or horse-drawn vehicles. The first - to the Khadyzhenskaya station area, and the second - to the Maykop area. The deadline for occupying the new frontier is August 8th.

On August 9, the order was changed: the 383rd was sent to Belorechenskaya , and the 236th took up defense in the second echelon of the 383rd. The task is not to miss the enemy from Belorechenskaya to Tuapse . On the same day, between the Laba and Belaya rivers, the 17th cavalry corps (Lieutenant General I. Ya. Kirichenko) was urgently deployed with the task of defeating the enemy advancing in the direction of Belorechenskaya and Maykop. The corps occupies positions in the village of Kelermesskaya , at the Giaginskaya station and in the villages of Mokro-Nazarov and Vorontsovo-Dashkovsky. On the right, in the vicinity of the village of Makhoshevskaya , surrounded by the remains of the 1st Rifle Corps (Major General M. M. Shapovalov) fought. From the area of ​​the villages of Yaroslavskaya and Kostromskaya, up to 30 tanks and the motorized division of the SS “Viking” rushed to the defending divisions of the 17th Corps. The enemy leaked on the left flank of the hull towards Maykop. At the same time, he attempted to break through between the villages of Kelermes and Giaginsk at the junction of the 12th and 13th cavalry divisions with 6 tanks and 28 armored personnel carriers. To the left of the position of the 15th division were attacked by 50 tanks and motorized infantry. Having stopped the enemy and inflicted significant losses on him, the corps divisions began to retreat to the left bank of the river. White . That day, at 18:30, the enemy broke into the northeastern outskirts of Maykop.

On the morning of August 10, a categorical order was received from the Stavka by the front commander: “In connection with the situation that has arisen, the most basic and dangerous for the North Caucasus Front and the Black Sea coast at the moment is the direction from Maykop to Tuapse. The enemy’s exit to the Tuapse region and the 47th Army and all front troops located in the Krasnodar region will be cut off and captured. Immediately transfer from the 47th Army the 32nd Guards Rifle Division (Colonel M. T. Tikhonov) and occupy it together with the 236th Rifle Division (Colonel G. N. Korchikov) in three - four lines in depth from Maykop to "Tuapse, and in no case, under your personal responsibility, do not miss the enemy to Tuapse." In accordance with this order, the Tuapse frontal strategic defensive operation began.

Attempts to unite the 12th, 18th armies and the 17th cavalry corps to suspend the energy of the offensive of the 57th tank and 44th ranger corps of the enemy during the period from August 10 to 16 can be defined as the most intense and dramatic period of the August battles on August Kuban. The total number of enemy troops was: 162,396 people, 147 tanks and assault guns on caterpillars, 1316 field guns and 950 mortars. The actions of the ground forces were supported by the 4th air corps - 350 aircraft. What opposed the enemy forces on the left bank of the river. White from the village of Verbin to Maykop - 100 km along the front? Left flank: the remains of the 16th Infantry Brigade, 68th and 81st Orsk Infantry Brigades. Central section: four cavalry divisions of the 17th Corps that are already quite bloodless. The right flank was held by the 18th Army: the bloodless 31st (Major General M.I. Ozimin) and 383rd Infantry Divisions, slowly advancing 236th, the remnants of the 9th Motorized (up to 150 remained in the regiments) and training battalions of the Uryupinsky military infantry school (Major General S. A. Ivanovsky). So the situation was on the morning of August 10.

Front command concentrated its attention primarily on the defense sector of Cossack divisions, but not only because the approach of the enemy’s motorized units was expected here. To the ferries across the river. White, a gigantic stream of civilians rushed to the fords with belongings and livestock. Military units and individual unorganized groups of soldiers who once belonged to seven divisions (4, 74, 176, 230, 261, 318th infantry and 30th cavalry), two brigades (113 and 139th) of two fortified areas (69 and 151st); the remains of artillery and mortar divisions. All this mass of retreating, often panicking, people moved through the battle formations of the defending formations, exerting a significant influence not only on the fighting spirit of the fighters. She interfered with the organization of stiff defense.

On August 10 and 11, the enemy tried to force the river. White forces up to 100 units of armored vehicles and three motorized divisions (97th and 101st divisions of the SS "Viking"). The situation was complicated by the fact that on August 9 the enemy captured Krasnodar. On August 10, 11 and 12, formations of the 56th Army attempted to prevent the enemy from forcing the river. Kuban. Even then, the direction of the enemy’s further aspirations was determined: towards the foothills of the Main Caucasian Range and further, through the passes to the Dzhubga settlement.

On August 12, the enemy, after massed artillery, mortar and air raids by tank and mechanized units, breaks through the defenses of the 17th cavalry corps, the 18th army and rushes in two directions - to the Khadyzhenskaya station and to the upper reaches of the Pshekha and Maratuk rivers, pursuing our retreating formations. Without going into the details of the hostilities, let’s say: already in the morning of August 13, his tanks approached Kabardinskaya station.

The Tuapse direction was so important that the 32nd Guards Rifle Division was transferred here from the Novorossiysk direction.

On August 14 and 15, the enemy tried to break into the village of Khadyzhensky , and from it to the station of the same name. The front command forms a combined detachment - the remains of the 967th rifle, 182nd reserve regiments and the army reserve battalion. The detachment takes up stiff defense in the area of ​​Khadyzhenskaya station.

On August 16, two battalions of the 818th regiment of the 236th division die in a battle with enemy tanks and motorized infantry in the village of Khadyzhensky. On the same day, during fierce hand-to-hand battles, battalions of the 81st naval brigade in the vicinity of the villages of Sugai and Kura-Tsice defeated the regiment of the 1st Motorized Slovaks Division. This prevented the enemy’s attempt to break through to the Khadyzhenskaya station from the rear. The combined detachment successfully repels enemy attacks, destroying up to 500 soldiers and officers and defeating the regiment headquarters of the invaders.

I must say that the relative stabilization in the Tuapse direction was facilitated by the transfer of the 1st Wehrmacht tank army to the Grozny direction and the movement of individual Wehrmacht units under the city of Novorossiysk .

On August 22, the 32nd Guards Rifle Division was advanced at a position with the center of the Khadyzhenskaya station, and all the enemy’s efforts to break through its defenses did not lead to anything. The fighting takes on a local character until September 25th. On the left flank, by the beginning of the 20th day of August, the 30th, 349th, 395th infantry divisions and the remnants of the 76th naval infantry brigade stopped the advance of four enemy divisions (73th, 125th and 198th infantry divisions, 1st Slovak). Roads through Pyatigorsk and Spinal passes are closed. In the rear of the active units of the 56th Army, in the second echelon, having blocked roads and paths to the Black Sea coast, the 353rd Infantry Division ( Colonel F.S. Kolchuk ) took up positions. And here, on the left flank, the events are local in nature until September 25-26.

On the right flank of the defense, in the upper reaches of the Maratuk and Pshekha rivers, all attempts to break through the defenses of the 31st Rifle, 11th Guards Cavalry Divisions, one regiment of the 236th Division and battalions of the Uryupinsky Military Infantry School and force the Khakuch pass towards the Lazarevskaya station had until December 1942. So in vain for the enemy ended his hope in August to go to the shore of the Black Sea in the Tuapse region. The August failures in the Tuapse direction dramatically affected the military biographies of two field marshals and one colonel general.

In the second half of September, the General Staff of the German Army developed the Attica offensive. Its ultimate goal is a breakthrough to the Black Sea in the Tuapse region. From the Elbrus region to the Tuapse direction, the 1st and 4th high-mountain divisions of the 49th Alpine Corps, the 46th Infantry Division, battalions of three foreign legions and several special forces arrive. The personnel of two infantry, two rangers and two motorized divisions are substantially replenished. All aviation of the 4th air corps is involved in the operation. The commander of the Tuapse strike force was entrusted to General X. Lants.

• Second period

(August 20 - November 25, 1942)

After the capture of the city of Novorossiysk, a somewhat strange situation developed for the Nazis: it was impossible to use the port of Novorossiysk, and it was problematic to dislodge the 47th army from the eastern coast of the Tsemess bay . This can explain the decision of the Wehrmacht command to surround the 47th army by taking the city of Tuapse. There was an opportunity to transfer troops released here in the Novorossiysk direction. Even the “Lants group” of the 49th mountain jaeger corps was also transferred here.

In the afternoon of September 23, the enemy showed exceptional fire activity at the lines of defense of the formations of the 56th Army. At the site of the 30th Rifle Division (Major General B.N. Arshintsev), with the support of artillery and mortar fire using aircraft - 32 aircraft, having shot up to 5,000 shells and mines, the enemy went on the offensive with up to two infantry battalions. On the site of the 395th Infantry Division (Colonel A.I. Petrakovsky), after artillery preparation and an air raid - 75 aircraft, up to three and a half infantry regiments, 5 tanks, 11 tankettes and armored vehicles went on the offensive. All enemy attacks were successfully repelled. After an artillery raid and bombing, the enemy on the right flank of the defense of the 18th Army squeezed 968 regiment of the 236th Infantry Division and occupied two villages - Belaya Glina and Chervyakovo.

On the central site, in the vicinity of the Khadyzhenskaya station, everything did not happen as the enemy planned. The 32nd Guards Army itself went on the offensive with the forces of the 465th Penal Company with the support of machine gunners. This happened on the night of September 20. Penalties attacked the height occupied by the enemy, and squeezed his units by 400 meters. The company held the defense until 2 a.m. from September 24 to 25, covering up the operation to remove 183 chemical bombs from the neutral strip that they could not take out in August.

Only in the morning of September 25, the enemy began an offensive operation. Strange, but it was this date that was included in all scientific works on the history of the Great Patriotic War as the start date of the Tuapse defensive operation. The second period of the Tuapse defensive operation is characterized by its bloodshed, especially in the central section. In early October, the enemy captures the village of Shaumyan. On October 19 and 20, its parts are taken to the ticks of the regiment of the 408th division (Colonel P. N. Kitsuk), and two days later it dies in the valley of the river. Pshish. The enemy failed to break through the Goyth Pass. The 107th Infantry Brigade holds a stiff defense.

On October 23, one enemy battalion “on the shoulders” of the retreating remnants of the 408th division rises to the summit of Semashkho. From its top you can see Tuapse. However, a few hours later the battalion was dropped by fighters of the 1147th regiment of the 353rd rifle division. Over the next four days, the 8th, 9th Guards, 10th and 165th Rifle Brigades were transferred to the central defense sector of the 18th Army. October 28, the 10th brigade goes on the counterattack from the upper river. Pshish. By the end of September, on the left flank, the enemy managed to break through to the Bezymyannoye and Fanagoriysky villages, capture them, but advance further upstream. Psekups, in the rear of the 18th army, he failed. Battalions of the 76th Marine Rifle Brigade "locked" the valley. The enemy failed to drop the bloodless battalions of the 395th Infantry Division, which were entrenched at the heights of the Kachkanov Ridge. Still firmly held the defense of the 30th Infantry Division in the valley of the river. Caverze, covering the exit to the Spinal Pass. On the right flank of the defense, on the Lazarevsky direction - no success. The 46th Army transfers the 67th Mountain Rifle Regiment and the Rifle Brigade to this section. The enemy is marking time in the valleys of the Maratuk and Pshekha rivers.

At the end of October, the 56th Army receives a replenishment - the 83rd Marine Rifle Brigade, and at the beginning of November the 255th Marine Brigade arrives at the junction of the 18th and 56th Armies and with its actions suspends the advance of the enemy from the western spurs of Saray Mountain . On November 8, the commander of the Black Sea Group of Forces, Lieutenant General I. E. Petrov, determined the tasks of the 18th Army in the upcoming offensive operation. For its successful conduct, the 83rd Mountain Rifle Division (Colonel A. A. Luchinsky) was transferred from Transcaucasia. The following are being sent to the central section: Special Forces Regiment, separate Special Forces Officer Battalion, Marine Corps Battalion and four Baku Mountain Alpine Squads.

By November 20, the Goyth group of the enemy was blocked. November 25, all formations of the central section of the 18th Army go on the offensive. This date ends the Tuapse strategic defensive operation and the Tuapse army offensive begins.

The fighting of the Tuapse offensive was aimed at the destruction of two enemy groups - Goitkh and Semashkhov. In difficult weather conditions, when the snow in the gorges lay in a layer of three meters, and on the slopes - up to 1.5 meters, it was useless to conduct extensive offensive operations. Only by December 25 was the Semashkhov group of the enemy defeated. Active offensive operations of formations of the 56th Army and the Lazarevskaya Group of Forces came to this time. In January, the 32nd Guards Rifle Division and formations of the 16th Rifle Corps (Major General V. A. Gaidukov) went on the offensive. From the Tuapse direction began the liberation of the Kuban.

5th Air Army

The combat structure of the 5th Air Army ^[1] totaled only 121 combat aircraft, of which 26 bombers, 12 attack aircraft, 52 fighters, 12 scouts, 19 light night bombers), despite the large number of formations and units included in it:

• 132nd Bomber Aviation Division ^[2]
  • 6th Bomber Aviation Regiment
  • 367th Bomber Aviation Regiment
• 236th Fighter Aviation Division ^{[1] [2]} . The most combat-ready division at the beginning of the operation totaled 18 I-153 , 12 Il-2 , 6 LaGG-3 , 8 Yak-1 , 2 Yak-7B )
  • 267th Fighter Aviation Regiment
  • 518th Fighter Aviation Regiment
  • 502th Assault Aviation Regiment
• 237th Fighter Aviation Division ^[2]
  • 36th Fighter Aviation Regiment
• 295th Fighter Aviation Division ^[2]
  • 975th Fighter Aviation Regiment
• 742th reconnaissance aviation regiment ^[2]
• 763th Light Bomber Aviation Regiment ^[2]
• 325th Transport Aviation Regiment
• 149th Separate Reconnaissance Aviation Squadron
• Nth Separate Bomber Aviation Squadron
• 154th Separate Aviation Communications Squadron

• Grechko A. A. "The Battle of the Caucasus." - M .: Military Publishing House, 1967
• Eighteenth in the battles for the homeland: The military way of the 18th Army., M. Voenizdat, 1982
• E. Pyatigorsky “History is what was ...”. Tuapse, 1992
• "Atlas of Tuapse Defensive Operation Schemes." Tuapse, 1993
• E. Pyatigorsky “On the Cuts of the War. Kuban. 1942. August. " Tuapse, 2005
• G. S. Hakobyan. “In the Tuapse direction” (general summary of hostilities)
• Feoktistov S. I. In the sky of Tuapse. - Tuapse, 1995.
• Team of authors. The combat structure of the Soviet Army. Part II (January - December 1942) / Grylev A.N .. - Military Scientific Directorate of the General Staff. - M .: Military Publishing House of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR, 1966. - 266 p.
• Team of authors. List No. 6 of the cavalry, tank, airborne divisions and directorates of artillery, anti-aircraft artillery, mortar, aviation and fighter divisions that were part of the field army during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 / Pokrovsky. - The Ministry of Defense of the USSR. Military Scientific Directorate of the General Staff. - Moscow: Military Publishing House, 1956. - T. Appendix to the Directive of the General Staff of 1956 No. 168780. - 77 p.
• Team of authors. List No. 2 of the directorates of the combined-arms, tank, air and combat armies, air defense armies, military districts and fleet control bodies that were part of the army during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 / A. Grylev. - The Ministry of Defense of the USSR. Military Scientific Directorate of the General Staff. - Moscow: Military Publishing House, 1973. - T. Directive of the General Staff of 1970 No. D-043. - 39 p.

1. List of operations of the armed forces of the USSR in World War II
2. Soviet aviation in World War II (inaccessible link)
3. Air force
4. World War II Aviators
5. “The Liberation of Cities: A Guide to the Liberation of Cities during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945” / M. L. Dudarenko, Yu. G. Pereshny, V. T. Eliseev and others - M.: Military Publishing House, 1985. - 598 p. Electronic version