Where the Iron Crosses Grow

Meanwhile, Fliegerkorps VIII continued to make the greatest impression on the Soviet defenders, particularly as the Stuka attacks became more accurate. Although most of the bombs dropped were 50kg, 250kg, or 500kg general-purpose bombs, Hoffmann’s I./KG 100 continued delivering heavy bombs of 1,000–2,500 kg against targets in Sevastopol. Meanwhile, Richthofen’s fighters laid waste to the Soviet naval pilots attempting to defend the city. A young German Bf-109F pilot in 5./JG 77, Oberleutnant Anton Hackl, claimed a LaGG-3 fighter and a Yak-3 fighter on June 3–4; he was to become the top-scoring Luftwaffe pilot during Störfang, with 11 kills claimed over Sevastopol in June. Nevertheless, the outnumbered VVS-ChF’s 3 OAG put up a very tough fight over Sevastopol, and it had gained considerable combat experience against some of the Luftwaffe’s best pilots. Nor was it only fighter pilots who built their reputations at Sevastopol; Feldwebel Herbert Dawedeit, a Stuka pilot from 8./StG 77, would fly 120 combat missions over the city – up to eight per day. Dawedeit enjoyed great success against both ground and naval targets and would eventually complete 806 combat missions; he was later awarded the Ritterkreuz, and he survived the war.

There were a number of targets that Manstein wanted destroyed or neutralized before beginning his ground offensive, but, amazingly, Aleksandr’s Coastal Battery No. 30 (dubbed “Fort Maxim Gorky I” by the Germans) did not have a particularly high priority since it was assumed that the 305mm guns were no longer operational. The Soviets had successfully managed to conceal the repair of these guns during the spring, and Petrov wanted them to remain silent until the German ground assault began. Thus, when the men of schwere Artillerie-Abteilung (E) 672, along with hundreds of Organization Todt engineers, were finally able to emplace the 80cm Dora railroad gun in a position near Bakhchisaray, it was not directed to fire at this most obvious target. Instead, at 0535hrs on June 5, Dora fired a single round against the abandoned military barracks near the Mekenzievy Mountain station. Zuckertort then instructed Dora to fire at Coastal Battery No. 2, equipped with four 100mm guns, near the harbor. Eight rounds were wasted on this pathetic target, which was not even armored. Meanwhile, Aleksandr’s Coastal Battery No. 30 suddenly opened fire, lobbing five rounds at a German observation post – and missed. In all likelihood, the hasty field repairs had probably failed to boresight the turrets correctly, and they were no longer capable of accurate shooting.

Although Zuckertort now knew that Coastal Battery No. 30 was still operational, he did not commit Dora against this target. Instead, on June 6, Dora fired six rounds at “Fort Stalin” – which was simply an antiaircraft battery – with one round falling within 40 yards of the target. Another eight 80cm rounds were fired at “Fort Molotov,” which was just another fortified hilltop. Major Hoffmann’s I./KG 100 dropped ten 2,500kg “Max” and four 1,800kg SC 1800 “Satan” bombs around Aleksandr’s battery on June 5, but scored no direct hits.¹⁵ Finally, Major Freiherr Rüdt von Collenberg, commander of schwere Artillerie-Abteilung 833, was ordered to silence Aleksandr’s battery. During the night of June 5/6, the “Thor” mortar was sluggishly maneuvered onto a hillside north of the Bel’bek less than 4,000 yards from Aleksandr’s battery. At 1700hrs on June 6, “Thor” began firing the first of 16 60cm concrete-piercing shells, and its seventh shot scored a direct hit on the eastern 305mm turret. A great chunk of the armor plate was torn off the top of the turret and one gun barrel was damaged. In addition, a fire started in the turret and the ventilation system caused smoke to spread throughout the underground battery complex. Aleksandr himself was still secure inside his command post, known as “Bastion I” to the Germans, but the bombardment also knocked out his internal communications lines. Although Coastal Battery No. 30 continued to fire occasionally from its other turret – which was damaged by a bomb the next day – its active role in the defense of Sevastopol was nearing an end.