Where the Iron Crosses Grow

Soviet troops from the 2nd Guards Army in Sevastopol, May 10, 1944. The destroyed StuG-III assault gun in the foreground was probably blown up by the retreating Germans. Note that the building at left is the same one that the destroyer Svobodnyi was photographed next to in June 1942. (Author’s collection)

German troops emerge from shattered buildings in Sevastopol to surrender on May 9–10, 1944. It is unclear exactly how many Axis troops were captured in the final days in the Crimea, but probably in the neighborhood of 8,000–10,000. (Author’s collection)

Soviet naval infantrymen entering Sevastopol near Nakhimov Square, May 10, 1944. Fort Constantine can be seen in the background. At the end, the Germans put up no real resistance inside Sevastopol but instead made a beeline for the evacuation beaches. (Nik Cornish, RA 190)

Two Germans who attempted to flee from the Chersonese on a raft are captured by a Soviet naval infantryman. A handful of Germans escaped on improvised rafts or floating debris, but most fell victim to strafing attacks by Soviet fighters. Hitler’s refusal to authorize an earlier evacuation condemned much of AOK 17’s troops to death or capture. (Author’s collection)

A ^{Ukrainian BTR-70 armored personnel carrier occupies a defensive position near the Perekop Isthmus, March 2014. As in previous Crimean campaigns, control of the Perekop Isthmus is key terrain that both sides moved quickly to block.}

Russian airborne troops arrived quickly in the Crimea in March 2014 in order to secure key facilities, but wore masks to conceal their identity. Nevertheless, their equipment – including RPG launchers – clearly identified them as regular troops and not the local patriots claimed by Russian television. Once the Crimea was annexed, Russian President Putin admitted that these men were, in fact, Russian troops.

The face of Russian imperialism in the 21st century looks remarkably like it did in the previous three centuries. Russian agitators used violence to terrorize anyone in the Crimea who opposed their annexation plan. Note the Cossack wielding a whip – ample proof that very little has changed in the age-old game to dominate the Crimea.

Bibliography

Primary Sources

National Archives and Research Administration (NARA) records for the German AOK 11 and AOK 17 and all major constituent corps and divisions in the period from September 1941 to May 1944.

Secondary Sources

Achkasov, V. I., and N. B. Pavlovich, Soviet Naval Operations in the Great Patriotic War 1941–45 (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1981).

Antonescu, Jon, Wir erobern die Krim: Soldaten der Krim-Armee berichten (Pfälzische Verlaganstalt, 1943).