Where the Iron Crosses Grow

Instead of beginning his all-out assault with the usual artillery bombardment from Zuckertort’s Heeresartillerie, Hansen opted for the subtlety of infiltration tactics. At 0200hrs on June 17, Stossgruppen from II. and III./IR 213 and Pionier-Bataillon 132 began infiltrating through the 95th Rifle Division’s thinly held front and headed straight for Bastion I. Infantrymen moving stealthily at night move very slowly, often pausing if contact with the enemy appears possible, and it took these assault troops over five hours to move 600 yards. Nevertheless, as the sun began to rise, the troops were within sight of their objective. Meanwhile, the rest of the 132. Infanterie-Division mounted a full-scale attack at 0700hrs with artillery support that kept the rest of the 95th Rifle Division’s frontline units occupied. Four battalions from Tettau’s 24. Infanterie-Division attacked the 172nd Rifle Division’s front, along with IR 65 and IR 16 from 22. Infanterie-Division, and quickly overwhelmed Laskin’s paperthin defenses. Hansen provided these Stossgruppen with considerable armored support: 19 StuG III assault guns from Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 190, a similar number from Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 197, and two companies of Pz IIIJ tanks from Panzer-Abteilung (FL) 300. Fort Siberia, which was originally an earthen redoubt built by the Russians during the Crimean War, was taken by surprise and overrun by an infiltration attack by III./IR 65 at 0710hrs. The neighboring Fort GPU was overrun by I./IR 31, with some help from Panzer-Abteilung (FL) 300 and a Kampfgruppe of Brandenburg infiltrators, at 0700hrs. For the first time, German pioneers used the new BIV remote-control demolition vehicles in combat, but with disappointing results; one exploded prematurely and two were lost on mines. Two of the control Pz IIIJ tanks were also destroyed on mines. Fort Molotov, which was an antiaircraft command post built in the early 1930s, consisted of an octagonal perimeter with a dense barbed-wire obstacle belt and some concrete bunkers, but no heavy weapons. I./IR 102 overran Molotov at 0945hrs, then pressed on to take Battery “Cheka.” Once Laskin’s front was shattered, the German advance surged toward Bartenyevka and Severnaya Bay. The 22. Infanterie-Division also began rolling up the 345th Rifle Division’s open left flank, enabling IR 16 to capture the antiaircraft position at Fort Volga by 1930hrs.

Around 1100hrs, three battalions from IR 436 and 437 broke through the 95th Rifle Division’s right flank, overran the forward trenches of the 514th Rifle Regiment, and advanced boldly toward the sea. By 1200hrs, Kapitokhin’s entire flank had given way, and he ordered the remnants of his division to fall back toward Coastal Battery No. 12 (also known as Battery Schishkovka). However, 21 soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 90th Rifle Regiment fell back toward Bastion I. Altogether there were about 200 Soviet troops, including Aleksandr’s remaining battery personnel and a medical team with six female medics, sheltered in or around his fortified command post.[66] In addition to the command post, Bastion I included the battery’s large rangefinder and a transformer substation, both of which had been knocked out by the shelling. Bastion I was equipped with an electrical elevator and stairs that led 40 yards below ground to an underground tunnel, which connected it to the gun block 710 yards away. In between the Bastion I and the gun block, there was a large underground air-raid shelter. Aside from the two 305mm gun turrets, most of the gun block was buried underground and protected by a thick layer of dirt and concrete that even “Thor’s” 60cm shells could not penetrate. According to Soviet accounts, at least one turret under the command of Chief Petty Officer F. P. Dovbysh was still operational and firing as the battle surged toward it, but even if correct, the turrets were designed to engage enemy battleships miles away, not small groups of infantrymen 100 yards away. Furthermore, the battery was almost out of ammunition.[67]