Where the Iron Crosses Grow

Although hard pressed, Petrov’s infantry dug in their heels and displayed significant tenacity on December 20, preventing the Germans from achieving breakthroughs in any sector. Soviet resistance became particularly obdurate in the Kamyschly Ravine sector, which ran diagonally across the new front line of Sector III. Two regiments of Ovseenko’s 388th Rifle Division had reinforced the western side of the ravine, which repeatedly rebuffed efforts by the 132. Infanterie-Division to cross the 500-yard-wide ravine. Indeed, the Kamyschly Ravine would remain the front line of Sector III for six more months. Nevertheless, Petrov was running out of reserves and was forced to start forming rear-area personnel into ad hoc rifle units to keep Sector IV from folding. On December 20, Hansen tried to outflank the Kamyschly Ravine position with a diversion against the south end of the ravine by several battalions from the 24. Infanterie-Division, while the 132. Infanterie-Division committed six battalions against the northern end of the ravine and managed to grab a toehold on the western side of the ravine. However, the limited German success was tempered by a fierce counterattack that ravaged the battalions of the 24. Infanterie-Division – clearly the German infantry were reaching the limit of their combat effectiveness. Only in the 22. Infanterie-Division sector did Hansen continue to achieve significant success, when the assault battalions of IR 16 and IR 65 overran the command post of the 40th Cavalry Division and killed its commander, Colonel Filipp F. Kudyurov. In the south, along the Chernaya River valley, two battalions of naval infantrymen recaptured the much-fought-over Italian Heights in Sector II on December 20, but then the German XXX Armeekorps committed a regiment from the fresh 170. Infanterie-Division, which retook the heights on December 21.

With both sides exhausted, the situation began to shift in Petrov’s favor when Oktyabrsky sailed into Sevastopol’s Severnaya (South) Bay aboard the cruiser Krasny Kavkaz on the night of December 20/21 at the head of a naval flotilla carrying Colonel Aleksei S. Potapov’s 3,500-man 79th Naval Infantry Brigade from Novorossiysk. Oktyabrsky disembarked Potapov’s troops on the northern side of the bay and, after assembling into battalions, they marched straight off to reinforce the front near the Kamyschly Ravine. Petrov intended to use Potapov’s brigade to spearhead a major counterattack to reduce the dangerous bulge between Sectors III and IV. Oktyabrsky also brought three loads of ammunition for Petrov’s troops and ordered his two cruisers and four destroyers to provide more naval gunfire support, which also helped to reinvigorate the defense.

Once again, Hansen pre-empted Petrov’s intended counterattack with an all-out assault of his own at dawn on December 22. Before Potapov’s brigade could effectively intervene, Wolff’s 22. Infanterie-Division finally broke through the right flank of Vorob’ev’s Sector IV defenses. Both Choltitz’s and Haccius’s regiments ploughed the remnants of the 241st and 773rd Rifle Regiments out of their way and boldly advanced over a mile toward the coast. Were it not for one battalion of Potapov’s brigade, which force-marched into the gap and brought Haccius’s tired soldiers to a halt for the day, Wolff’s division probably would have cut off all of Vorob’ev’s remaining troops. As it was, Vorob’ev was forced to immediately begin evacuating the remnants of the 95th Rifle Division and 8th NIB from north of the Bel’bek and begin a retreat to the south. Lieutenant Matushenko’s Battery No. 10 near Mamashai was blown up and abandoned; the 52 surviving crewmen retreated to Coastal Battery No. 30.¹² Further south, a five-battalion attack by the 32. Infanterie-Division at the northern end of the Kamyschly Ravine put paid to Ovseenko’s 388th Rifle Division, which was bowled back in disorder. With the Germans approaching the foot of Mekenzievy Mountain, just a few miles from the northern side of Severnaya Bay, Potapov threw his 79th Naval Infantry Brigade into a furious counterattack, which regained some ground and halted the enemy advance. Petrov relieved Ovseenko of command and pulled his battered division back into reserve to rebuild. Petrov felt as if his frontline units were holding on only by their fingernails, and pleaded with the Stavka for more reinforcements.