Where the Iron Crosses Grow

The first phase of the Axis evacuation from the Crimea began on April 12, but was ostensibly restricted to non-combat personnel. The Germans initially committed nine merchant ships and all their remaining Kriesgmarine assets in the Black Sea to the operation, while the Romanians committed a good part of their merchant marine as well. For the first time in the war, the Romanian Navy also decided to risk its best warships on the Constanta–Sevastopol run, the Italian-built destroyers Regina Maria and Regele Ferdinand. Despite frequent Soviet air and submarine attacks, the evacuation was able to operate for nearly a week without loss. Most of the convoys consisted of two or three merchant ships with robust escort and sometimes fighter cover from Bf-110s based in Romania. By the time that Gruppe Konrad and V Armeekorps reached the perimeter of Sevastopol, the Kriesgmarine and Romanian Navy – as well Morzik’s air transports – had already transferred more than 20,000 people from the Crimea to Romania, and the operation was in full swing.

Yet it was not until April 18 that the Soviets achieved any success against the Axis convoys. The VVS-ChF committed two units equipped with US-made A-20G Havoc bombers to the interdiction mission – the 36th Mine-Torpedo Aviation Regiment (MTAP) and 13th Guards Bomber Regiment (GDBAP). A two-ship Romanian convoy that was returning to Constanta was spotted by the Soviet submarine L-6 about 90 miles southwest of Sevastopol around 1100hrs. The Soviet submarine fired a torpedo at the convoy but missed, and was apparently sunk by depth charges from the counterattacking escort UJ-104. However, four A-20G Havoc bombers from the 36th MTAP found the convoy at 1237hrs and put two bombs into the freighter Alba Iulia (5,700 GRT). Ironically, the freighter was loaded mostly with Soviet POWs, and about 500 of them died in the attack. Although the vessel was abandoned, it was recovered the next day and towed back to Constanta by the destroyer Regele Ferdinand. Although Hitler had decreed that no combat troops would be evacuated from the Crimea, the Romanians ignored him and proceeded to evacuate considerable numbers of their own combat troops, including mountain infantry. On April 22 both A-20 bomber groups mounted separate attacks against another convoy, which crippled the small German tanker Ossag I (3,950 GRT), and scored a lucky hit – which did not explode – on the destroyer Regele Ferdinand. Although the escorting German R-Boats tried to shepherd the crippled Ossag I and its vital cargo of fuel into Sevastopol, they were forced to scuttle it 17 miles southwest of the port. Three Soviet A-20G bombers were lost in the attacks.

Soviet submarines made repeated attacks on the convoys but failed to achieve any hits. The two A-20G bomber-equipped regiments continued to attack daily convoys, inflicting light damage but suffering regular losses. Once Soviet forces reached the perimeter of Sevastopol, the VVS also committed Il-2 Sturmovik ground-attack aircraft to attack the convoys when they were close to the coast. On April 23, Il-2s sank an MFP that was overcrowded with 1,000 troops – but due to prompt rescue efforts by the escort two-thirds of the men were saved. On April 27 two large convoys left Sevastopol with a strong escort, but were attacked 11 miles southwest of Sevastopol by five Soviet MTBs. The Soviets managed to torpedo the escort UJ-104, but two S-Boats from the 1. Schnellbootsflottille sank one of the Soviet boats and the rest retreated. The first phase of the Axis evacuation from the Crimea lasted from April 12 to 27, 1944, and succeeded in evacuating almost 72,000 personnel, including 28,394 German and 20,779 Romanian troops. Interestingly, fewer than a fifth of the military evacuees were wounded, indicating that many unauthorized personnel were leaving. A number of German combat troops from the assault-gun units and artillery battalions that had lost much of their equipment in the retreat were evacuated as well. The Axis also evacuated all the Slovak and Caucasian volunteer troops, as well as Hiwis, POWs, and civilians. The initial Axis evacuation from the Crimea was a staggering accomplishment, and was achieved with less than 2 percent losses.

Meanwhile, Jaenecke found himself in command of an army that was badly battered and shrinking daily. He was exasperated with Hitler’s unwillingness to evacuate the entire army or to recognize that Sevastopol was a trap, not a fortress. Nevertheless, Jaenecke continued to toe the Führer’s line, and on April 24 he issued a bombastic and inaccurate proclamation to his troops: