Where the Iron Crosses Grow

Along the rest of the front, the 24., 50., and 132. Infanterie-Divisionen and the Romanian 1st Mountain Brigade continued to attack, making less spectacular advances varying between 500 yards to a mile. Kulagin’s 2nd Perekop Naval Infantry Regiment again failed to hold, despite Petrov sending the other two regiments from Ovseenko’s 388th Rifle Division to support it. The only area where the Soviets enjoyed any success was in Sector II in the south, where Zhidilov’s veteran 7th NIB mounted local counterattacks against the 50. Infanterie-Division and the Romanians. The Soviet naval infantrymen were able to push the Germans back slightly, but engaged in a more difficult see-saw fight over a position known as the Italian Heights (later Chapel Hill), which dominated the lower Chernaya River valley. The Italian Heights, which overlooked Tennyson’s “Valley of Death” where the British Light Brigade made its reckless charge in 1854, was a critical piece of terrain needed to secure access to the eastern route into Balaklava and Sevastopol. It changed hands several times as the Romanian mountain infantry gamely kept counterattacking to reclaim it, but by evening the hill was back in Soviet hands. The second day of the German offensive had again gone poorly for the Soviets, and Petrov’s reserves had been committed without accomplishing much. Hansen’s LIV Armeekorps had carved out a large area in the boundary between Sector III and IV and had already reached the second line of defense in the north. Petrov’s artillery had also taken a beating from constant Stuka attacks and II./AR 818’s long-range counterbattery fire, and was suffering from a shortage of ammunition. Morgunov’s coastal artillery batteries were still fully effective, but were really only capable of area bombardment. Unable to coordinate an effective counterattack, and faced with declining artillery support, Petrov decided to remain on the defense and stubbornly hold each piece of ground.

Hansen continued to attack on December 19, slowly pushing Petrov’s infantry back. Zuckertort’s artillery continued to pound Soviet positions; in three days, German artillerymen fired over 52,000 rounds of ammunition and 3,400 Nebelwerfer rockets at Petrov’s positions. Aleksandr’s battery continued to respond with 305mm rounds, and five other coastal batteries supported the Soviet defense with lighter weapons. However, Zuckertort brought up the 30.5cm Mörser of schwere Artillerie-Abteilung 815 and his one 35.5cm M1 howitzer to bombard Aleksandr’s battery, and eventually put one of the turrets out of operation. While the heavy artillery engaged Morgunov’s coastal gunners, LIV Armeekorps concentrated its division and corps artillery to support its Schwerpunkt. Deluged by fire, Kulagin’s 2nd Perekop Naval Infantry Regiment gave way once again and ceded another mile to the 132. Infanterie-Division, while Haccius and Choltitz continued to crush the vestigial right flank of Sector IV. It was increasingly clear that all the Soviet units in Sector IV north of the Bel’bek River were in danger of being isolated, and that Vilshansky’s 8th NIB was on the verge of collapse; Aleksandr’s battery was ordered to form a 150-man infantry company from its gunners and to replace some of 8 NIB’s losses. In the Chernaya River valley in the south, Zhidilov’s 7th NIB was pushed off the Italian Heights by Müller’s IR 105, which had just joined the battle. Zhidilov was badly wounded in the fighting for the hill, and his brigade had also lost much of its strength.

Three days of relentless German advances and Soviet heavy losses made the Military Council in Sevastopol quite gloomy, and the naval leaders were no longer certain that Petrov’s troops could halt the enemy attacks. Rear-Admiral Zhukov was openly critical of Petrov’s failure to stem the enemy and relayed his misgivings to the Stavka, claiming that Sevastopol could not be held without immediate reinforcements from the North Caucasus. The Stavka was not long in responding, directing the dispatch of a fresh rifle division from Novorossiysk to Sevastopol. Furthermore, the Military Council was informed that something bigger was in the works: with the help of the Azov Flotilla and the Black Sea Fleet, the rebuilt 51st Army would make an amphibious landing on the Kerch Peninsula before the end of the month. Petrov was ordered to hold on until this event occurred, which the Stavka believed would surely cause Manstein to abort his offensive.