Where the Iron Crosses Grow

Manstein received the newly-raised 22. Panzer-Division in March 1942, but the unit was badly defeated in its first action on March 20, 1942. However, the division performed much better during Operation Trappenjagd in May 1942. This division was primarily equipped with the Czech-built Pz 38(t) tank, which could not stand up to the T-34 or KV-1 tanks encountered in the Crimea. (Süddeutsche Zeitung, 00403725)

Two T-34 tanks lie wrecked near Koi-Assan on the Kerch Peninsula after the Soviet offensive in March 1942. The Soviets were unable to use their superiority in armor to break out from the Kerch Peninsula, and the Parpach Narrows became a lethal killing ground reminiscent of World War I battlefields. (Author’s collection)

German pioneers and StuG III assault guns advance through the Soviet defenses at Parpach during Operation Trappenjagd in May 1942. Note the use of smoke to conceal the breach site in the Soviet obstacle belt. Manstein was able to overcome well-prepared Soviet defenses through the use of skillful combined-arms tactics and overwhelming air support. (Süddeutsche Zeitung, 00403782)

Manstein’s trump card in the Crimea was the assault boats of 902. Sturmboote-Kommando, which he used to outflank the Soviet defenses at Parpach in May 1942, and then to cross Severnaya Bay in June 1942. Using the element of surprise, these assault boats enabled the Germans to conduct a new form of maneuver warfare in coastal waters. (Nik Cornish, WH 1336)

The Svobodnyi, a Type 7U class destroyer, was the newest destroyer in the Black Sea Fleet, having been commissioned in January 1942. It was involved in the regular supply run from Novorossiysk and was caught in daylight hours by Ju-87 Stuka dive-bombers in Sevastopol’s Severnaya Bay on June 9, 1942. After being struck by multiple bombs, the destroyer sank near the Count’s Quay. (Author’s collection)

Tracers and parachute flares arch over the frontline trenches around Sevastopol in June 1942. Although most combat occurred during daylight hours, frontline units received regular harassing fire during the night, and the Soviet naval infantrymen were particularly fond of conducting local trench raids during hours of darkness. (Süddeutsche Zeitung, 00403699)