Where the Iron Crosses Grow

Soviet coastal gunners at Coastal Battery 30 (later dubbed “Fort Maxim Gorky I” by the Germans) in Sevastopol before the German attack. The 305mm gun turrets were designed to traverse 360 degrees and could fire against naval or ground targets. Like the British at Gibraltar, the Russians at Sevastopol were more concerned about attack from the sea and put more effort into preparing for a naval attack that never came, rather than the landward attack that did. (Author’s collection)

Soviet VVS-ChF MiG-3 fighters of the 32nd Fighter Regiment based at the Chersonese airstrip south of Sevastopol in 1941–42. A small number of Soviet naval fighters tenaciously defended the skies over the naval base for six months until overwhelmed in June 1942. (Author’s collection)

German soldiers from Hansen’s LIV Armeekorps observe Soviet positions on the Perekop Isthmus, September 1941. The 11. Armee was forced to mount a deliberate assault against a Soviet defense in depth, yet was not properly equipped with siege artillery or combat engineers. (Author’s collection)

German infantry are seen here having occupied positions in the Soviet outer defenses at Perekop and are observing an artillery preparation of Fort Perekop. The Soviets planted steel beams in the ground to form an antitank barrier, and behind the barrier were numerous antipersonnel mines. (Author’s collection)

Fort Perekop, the main Soviet defensive position behind the Tartar Wall (the ditch is marked with a “T”). This obsolete field work, extant since the 17th century, was improved by Red Army engineers with protective trenches and a dense minefield on the approaches. Hansen’s troops never actually captured the fort, which was abandoned once the town of Armyansk (located to the south) fell into German hands. (NARA)

Hansen’s LIV Armeekorps used small Stossgruppen (assault groups) consisting of grenadiers and flamethrower-equipped pioneers to overcome the tough Soviet forward security positions at Perekop, before even reaching the Tartar Wall. Here, a grenadier flings a Stielgranaten at a Soviet position. Note that the entrenched Soviet defenders are virtually invisible, while the upright German attackers are fully exposed and vulnerable. (Author’s collection)