Annotation. The article analyzes the fighting on Malaya Zemlya and assesses the significance of this bridgehead in the struggle for Novorossiysk in 1943.

Summary . The article analyzes combat actions at the Malaya Zemlya and assesses the value of this bridgehead in the struggle for Novorossiysk in 1943.

KiselyovIlya Viktorovich- teacher of the department of humanitarian and socio-economic disciplines of the branch of the Military Educational and Scientific Center of the Air Force “Air Force Academy named after Professor N.E. Zhukovsky and Yu.A. Gagarin", candidate of historical sciences

(Krasnodar. E-mail: [email protected]).

Seven months of the epic of Malaya Zemlya

High dynamism and a large scope of combat operations were the hallmarks of many operations of the Great Patriotic War, but there were also battles in its history that were fought for a long time in a small space. Sometimes it was in such battles that the tenacity of the opposing sides reached its limit, and mutual losses were large-scale. And they decided, if not the outcome of the entire war, then at least the fate of large cities and strategic operations. This was the case in Odessa, Sevastopol, and Stalingrad. In this series is the confrontation between Soviet and German troops near Novorossiysk, primarily on Malaya Zemlya.

The assessment of the struggle for Novorossiysk in post-war Russian historiography was based on a study of the entire course of the battle for the Caucasus in 1942-1943. In particular, the following was said about the significance of Malaya Zemlya: “Having captured and held the bridgehead, the landing party created a real threat to the right flank of the German defense, diverted significant forces from other sectors of the Black Sea group of forces of the North Caucasus Front, completely excluded the possibility of the enemy using the Novorossiysk port and created favorable conditions for the operation to liberate Novorossiysk in September 1943”1.

However, since the beginning of the 1970s, the history of the bridgehead has been intertwined with the military biography of L.I. Brezhnev, reproduced in the well-known work “Malaya Zemlya”2. Intense (to the point of obsessiveness) attention to the entire course of the Novorossiysk battle made it possible to do a lot of useful things: to explore deeper the events on Malaya Zemlya, to perpetuate the memory of its defenders, and finally contributed to the decision to award Novorossiysk the title of “Hero City,” which it well deserved. But the reverse side of this process was the mythologization of this page of the Great Patriotic War. When the political situation in our country changed in the late 1980s, the significance of the struggle for Novorossiysk and the feat of the people of the land were called into question. It has reached the point of outright irony and mockery of the very concept of “Small Land”3. This is how two completely opposite views emerged on the history of the Malaya Zemlya bridgehead, which continue to exist to this day.

Thus, the battles on Malaya Zemlya cannot be called a “blank spot” in the history of the Great Patriotic War. However, it seems necessary to eliminate the inconsistency in assessments of the struggle on Malaya Zemlya by turning to an objective analysis of the events that unfolded on the southern outskirts of Novorossiysk from February 4 to September 16, 1943. A comprehensive study of archival documents, memoirs, achievements of domestic and foreign historiography makes it possible to clarify important details of the struggle for the Malaya Zemlya bridgehead and give a balanced assessment of its significance.

The emergence of Malaya Zemlya is associated with the offensive operation “Sea”, prepared by the forces of the Black Sea Group of Forces (commander - Lieutenant General I.E. Petrov) of the Transcaucasian Front with the assistance of the Black Sea Fleet (commander - Vice Admiral F.S. Oktyabrsky). Its first stage was to be the liberation of Novorossiysk by the troops of the 47th Army (commander - Lieutenant General F.V. Kamkov, from January 1943 - Lieutenant General K.N. Leselidze) and landing forces from the South Ozereyka area. Then it was planned to capture the Taman Peninsula and cut off the retreat of the German 17th Army from the Caucasus4.

Unfortunately, the Soviet command failed to implement these plans at the beginning of 1943. Several times the timing of the offensive of the 47th Army near Novorossiysk was postponed, and when it did begin (this happened at the end of January), it turned out to be unsuccessful. In early February, hoping to break the German defense, the command of the Black Sea Group of Forces of the Transcaucasian Front decided to land an assault force, although this was supposed to be done only after achieving success in the 47th Army zone5.

The result is well known: for a number of reasons, the main forces of the landing force were never landed in South Ozereyka on the night of February 4. The paratroopers who found themselves on the shore (about 1.4 thousand people), led by captain 3rd rank O.I. Kuzmin, on February 5-6 they were defeated by the enemy, despite fierce resistance. Against this background, the results of the actions of the auxiliary detachment of the Marine Corps, numbering only 260 people, were an exceptional success. That same night, February 4, this landing, led by Major Ts.L. Kunikov managed to land on the shore of Tsemes Bay south of Stanichka, capturing a bridgehead 1.5 km long and up to half a kilometer deep.

This luck has a completely rational explanation. The demonstrative landing on the shore of Tsemes Bay was unexpected for the enemy, whose soldiers and officers actually abandoned their fortified positions on the shore. Detachment Ts.L. Kunikov was recruited exclusively from experienced volunteers and underwent comprehensive intensive training. The Kunikovites managed to maintain control of the landing sites and establish reliable communications with the mainland. Thanks to this, on the same night, a machine gun battalion of the Novorossiysk naval base (610 people) crossed over to the captured bridgehead, and the paratroopers received effective support from artillery fire from the eastern shore of Tsemes Bay. The main forces of our landing at South Ozereyka were sorely lacking in all this.

Nevertheless, on February 4-5, the fate of the detachment Ts.L. Kunikova was hanging by a thread. On the night of February 5, he received only 200 reinforcements from the 31st Parachute Regiment - stormy weather prevented the landing of more. In addition, the command of the Black Sea Group of Forces and Fleet did not immediately decide to reorient the main landing forces, led by Colonel D.V. Gordeev, from South Ozereyka to Stanichka. The corresponding combat order No. 019/op was given to I.E. Petrov only on the afternoon of February 5th. It said: “Using the captured bridgehead, Colonel Gordeev will consistently concentrate his landing detachment in the Stanichka region... Subsequently, as the landing forces build up, assault groups will clear the city of Novorossiysk...”6.

The transportation of troops was entrusted to the Novorossiysk naval base (commander - Rear Admiral G.N. Kholostyakov), which was assigned 3 gunboats, 4 minesweepers and 15 patrol boats. In the interests of the detachment Ts.L. Kunikov, the naval aviation group of the Black Sea Fleet Air Force (137 aircraft), which had previously supported the paratroopers who landed in South Ozereyka, also began to operate.

The first to land on the bridgehead on the night of February 6 were the 255th Marine Brigade and part of the forces of the 165th Infantry Brigade. Then, on the night of February 8–9, the 83rd Naval Rifle Brigade, the 29th Anti-Tank Fighter Regiment, the remaining units of the 165th Rifle Brigade and the 31st Parachute Regiment arrived.

In total, from the moment the Kunikovites landed until February 9, 15.5 thousand soldiers and officers, 6 guns and 5 120-mm mortars, 436 tons of cargo were delivered to Malaya Zemlya. Airborne units united in an operational group under the command of D.V. Gordeev, in 6 days of fighting they managed to completely capture the villages of Stanichka, Aleksina and Myskhako, reliably securing the captured bridgehead, expanded to 28 km 2. But the group was unable to solve such a problem as the liberation of Novorossiysk.

Therefore, on February 10-14, by the decision of Lieutenant General I.E. Petrov, additional forces were sent to Malaya Zemlya - the 51st and 107th Rifle Brigades, the 897th Mountain Rifle Regiment of the 242nd Mountain Rifle Division. At the same time, a reorganization of management took place - the rifle brigades became part of the 16th Rifle Corps of Colonel G.N. Perekrestov, and the marines and paratroopers - to the 20th Rifle Corps of Major General A.A. Grechkina. With the consent of the Supreme Command Headquarters, their leadership was transferred to the control of the 18th Army (commander - Major General K.A. Koroteev, from March 1943 - Lieutenant General K.N. Leselidze), which arrived on February 19 in Solntsedar from near Krasnodar. The army itself began to be called the airborne army9. Among the units that arrived at the bridgehead was the 290th NKVD Regiment, which carried out commandant service in the landing area, including fighting desertion10.

Soviet troops faced many difficulties on Malaya Zemlya. At their disposal were only small arms, mortars and a small number of guns with a caliber of 45-76 mm. Heavy artillery and rear forces continued to remain in the Gelendzhik area. The air defense of the bridgehead was provided by only one division of the 574th anti-aircraft artillery regiment (12 units of 37-mm guns and 20 DShK machine guns)11. There were no tanks on Malaya Zemlya either, an entire company of which was lost during unloading on February 1112. The paratroopers experienced a shortage of food and ammunition13.

It was extremely difficult to transport everything necessary to the captured bridgehead, since the Black Sea Fleet did not have special landing transport vessels capable of ensuring the landing and supply of troops on an unequipped coast in any weather. Finally, organizational shortcomings hampered the normal supply of small-landers. In the order of Major General A.A. Grechkin on March 12, 1943 stated: “The arrival of ships, the unloading of cargo and people, the evacuation of the sick and wounded are carried out in an extremely unorganized manner...”14. Only from the second half of March, when the interaction between the rear of the 18th Army and the management of the Novorossiysk naval base was established, did the supply of Soviet units on the bridgehead become more or less regular.

However, the enemy also did not waste time; during February, his opposition to the paratroopers increased noticeably. If in the first days of the month the main efforts of the 73rd German and 10th Romanian infantry divisions were aimed at defeating the landing in South Ozereyka, then later everything changed. The commander of the German 73rd Division, Lieutenant General R. Bünau, who led the defense of Novorossiysk, the command of the 5th Army Corps and the enemy's 17th Army realized the threat from Malaya Zemlya and tried to eliminate it as soon as possible. The Bünau group, operating against the landed Soviet units, was reinforced on February 5 by the 229th Jäger Regiment (from the 101st Light Infantry Division) and the 93rd Motorized Regiment (from the 13th Panzer Division), and on February 8 they were joined by the 305th Grenadier Regiment (from the 198th Infantry Division)15. On February 11, the first units of the 125th Infantry Division entered the battle with the landing troops on the Malozemelsky bridgehead, and four days later this entire division was fighting south of Novorossiysk. The 191st assault gun division was also noted here16.<…>

Read the full version of the article in the paper version of the Military Historical Journal and on the website of the Scientific Electronic Libraryhttp: www. library. ru

NOTES

1Kirin I.D. Black Sea Fleet in the Battle of the Caucasus. M.: Voenizdat, 1958. P. 165.

2 Brezhnev L.I. Small land. M.: Publishing House of Political Literature, 1979. 48 p.

4 Russian archive: The Great Patriotic War. Supreme Command Headquarters: Documents and materials. 1943 T. 16 (5-3). M., 1999. P. 262

5 Yurina T.I. Novorossiysk confrontation: 1942-1943. Krasnodar: “Book”, 2008. P. 205.

6 Central Archive of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (TsAMO RF). F. 276. Op. 811. D. 164. L. 22.

7 Minakov V.I. Under the wing - Tsemes Bay. Krasnodar: Krasnodar book. publishing house, 1979. P. 81.

8 Battle chronicle of the Navy. 1943. M., 1993. P. 400.

9 Eighteenth in the battles for the Motherland. The combat path of the 18th Army. M.: Voenizdat, 1982. S. 179, 180.

10 TsAMO RF. F. 276. Op. 811. D. 164. L. 78.

11 Voronin N.M., Lavrentiev K.G. Artillerymen of Malaya Zemlya. Krasnodar: Krasnodar book. publishing house, 1983. P. 93.

12 Kondratenko G.F. Tanks storm pillboxes. Krasnodar: Krasnodar book. publishing house, 1981. P. 38.

13 Funds of the Novorossiysk Historical Museum-Reserve. F. 5. Op. 1. D. 73a. L. 20.

14 TsAMO RF. F. 371. Op. 6367. D. 165. L. 49.

15 Tike V. March to the Caucasus. Battle for Oil 1942-1943 M.: Eksmo, 2005. P. 388.

16 Karel P. Eastern Front: In 2 books. Book 2. 1943-1944. M.: Eksmo, 2003. P. 130.

But the other landing was successful. Under the command of Major Caesar Kunikov, using a smoke screen, 275 soldiers with light weapons landed from boats in the Stanichka area, near the Sudzhuk Spit. Initially it was supposed to be a false landing, but it was this that was successful and became the main one. Volunteers who had undergone sufficient training took part in the landing. The paratroopers trained for more than a month and studied various weapons. At one o'clock in the morning, the boats of the 4th patrol boat division were ready to land troops. The artillery barrage lasted ten minutes in the area between Cape Love and the Sudzhuk Spit, and the landing began. Speed ​​and pressure made it possible to quickly dislodge the enemy from the shore, capture enemy weapons and ensure the landing of reinforcements. Losses during Kunikov's landing were minimal for such an operation and amounted to several people killed and wounded. It should be noted that the defense was held by German units together with Romanian units and the Romanians were an easier enemy. Having gathered their strength, the enemy desperately tried to drop troops into the sea, but the paratroopers were able to maintain their positions. The enemy, taken aback by the onslaught, left artillery pieces with ammunition on the shore, which provided the landing with artillery. A memorial inscription to the heroic landing on Malaya Zemlya. From the sea, the landing was supported by rocket artillery fire from the minesweeper (KATSCH-606) "Mackerel". It was a mobilized fishing seiner, with a crew of former fishermen under the command of Chief Petty Officer V.S. Zholudev, on which 12 8-charge 82-mm rocket launchers were mounted. A slow-moving minesweeper with jet weapons was hardly allocated for a diversionary operation. The smoke screen was set up by two torpedo boats. During the landing, one of the boats was sunk by enemy fire and the crew joined the landing party. The remaining boats returned to Gelendzhik for the second batch of paratroopers. Morning was approaching and it was necessary to hurry, and besides, the sea was very rough. By morning, 870 soldiers and commanders had landed in Stanichka. At eight o'clock in the morning the boats left Tsemes Bay, hiding behind smoke screens. The flagship boat of division commander Sipyagin was the last to return to Gelendzhik. Later, the remaining forces of the main landing force made their way to this bridgehead (some sources call the figure only five people). Using reinforcements, the bridgehead was significantly expanded. By February 10, the landing force occupied the village of Myskhako and several blocks of Novorossiysk. However, the position of the landing party was significantly complicated by the fact that all the dominant heights were occupied by the enemy and the landing positions were in full view, which led to heavy losses. The paratroopers were forced to constantly bite into the rocky soil of the coast.

“Malaya Zemlya” is a bridgehead near Novorossiysk. This is how, during the Great Patriotic War, the Marines named a small area of ​​land that they heroically captured during an amphibious operation. This piece of land was defended for 225 days (a little more than 7 months). Subsequently, the liberation of Novorossiysk began with him. But that will happen later, in a year. In the meantime, September 1942 was passing. Despite all the efforts of the city’s defenders, the Germans entered Novorossiysk and were stopped only in its southeastern part. The opponents switched to defensive actions. At this place, after the Great Patriotic War, a memorial was built with the name “Line of Defense”. One of the exhibits is a shot railway carriage. There are more than 10 thousand holes in it. The capture of Novorossiysk was of strategic importance for the Germans. Firstly, they received a large port city with access by rail, where they planned to station part of the German and Italian fleets. Secondly, from Novorossiysk towards Sukhumi (Sukhum) there is a road along the Black Sea coast, which was identified by Hitler as one of the three main directions for seizing the territory of the Caucasus. The Germans were eager for oil.

There was another important point in this situation - Türkiye. Although she still maintained her neutrality, the state of affairs could change at any moment. In the upper echelons of power in Turkey, some forces promoted the idea of ​​joining the Axis (Rome, Berlin and Tokyo - a coalition of Italy, Germany and Japan that entered into a military alliance). Mobilization was announced in Turkey and several dozen divisions were deployed on the border with the USSR. Stalin was also forced to strengthen the grouping of troops on the border, although they would have been very useful on the Soviet-German front. Türkiye freely allowed ships of the German and Italian fleets to pass through the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits so that they could then enter the Black Sea. In addition, Istanbul and Berlin had close economic ties. Supplies from Turkey came to Germany: chromium, copper, cast iron, cotton, tobacco, food, etc. Therefore, the official neutrality of the USSR’s southern neighbor was somewhat peculiar and very different from the practical one. Türkiye was still a non-belligerent ally of Germany rather than a neutral country. In 1942, she took a wait-and-see attitude and looked at the developments of events at Stalingrad and in the Caucasus. Considering the current situation, the battle for Novorossiysk was of very important political significance.

Having stopped in the southeastern part of Novorossiysk, the Germans were unable to carry out a further offensive operation. It was not possible to use any tank or motorized units in this area. On one side there are mountains, even if they are small (after all, this is only the beginning of the Caucasus), on the other side there is a cliff and the sea. You could say it's a kind of bottleneck. Plus more heroic defenders of the city. The Luftwaffe (German Air Force) frantically bombed this area, but did not achieve any results, and the Red Army units did not budge. Interestingly, the troops of the Red Army themselves were in the same position if they tried to storm the German fortifications here.

Based on the current situation, to liberate Novorossiysk from the Germans, it was decided to use two landings - the main one and a diversionary one. The main commander was Colonel Gordeev. The landing force included: two marine brigades, one rifle brigade, an airborne regiment, an anti-tank artillery regiment, tank and machine gun battalions. The diversion was commanded by Major Kunikov and consisted of a landing force of only 275 Marines (together with commanders) without heavy weapons. Everyone understood that this was being sent “to certain death.” Caesar Kunikov was allowed to personally select and train fighters. The core of the detachment was made up of defenders of Odessa and Sevastopol, participants in the battles in Taman and Novorossiysk. Despite the experience of his fighters, Kunikov trained them for 25 days in the most difficult conditions. On training landings, the first one rushed into the cold January water and led the soldiers to the most rocky shores. He trained people to walk on pebbles blindfolded and “blindly” disassemble and assemble any weapon, especially captured weapons. These trainings later helped many simply survive.

The landing of both troops was planned at 01 a.m. on February 4, 1943. The main landing with all its might landed in the area of ​​South Ozereevka, and the distracting one in the area of ​​Stanichka (Cape Myskhako). Inconsistencies began already at the moment of loading the troops in Gelendzhik. For various reasons, there was a delay and the ships with the landing force could only be at the conditional point an hour later. They tried to change the timing of the operation, but coordination between the various branches of the military in this particular operation was very poor. Many completed their tasks within the estimated time that was previously determined. As a result of such a failure, the Germans managed to regain their strength after fire preparation, and gave the main landing force a strong rebuff. Only part of the first echelon troops were able to land on the shore. The remaining ships were forced to withdraw to sea. The battle lasted several days, but did not bring any results. Then someone made their way to the second bridgehead, and others were evacuated by ship.

The actions of the diversionary landing were more successful. The ships, having laid a smoke screen, landed the soldiers of Major Kunikov. The patrol boats, assisting the landing party, suppressed enemy firing points. As a result of quick and decisive actions, a small piece of land was recaptured from the Germans. The number of fighters on the bridgehead was increased by several hundred.

INgoing to part of Malaya Zemlya

Look at the photo. Down there, from the side of Tsemes Bay, the troops landed. Having captured a strip several kilometers wide, they immediately tried to dig into the ground, since there was practically nowhere to hide from enemy fire. After the landing, Major Kunikov sent a clear telegram: “The regiment has landed. I'm going according to plan. I’m waiting for the next trains.” This was a distraction task. He was sure that the Germans would read the telegram and pull all their free forces here. And the Germans struck. In the first 24 hours alone, 18 powerful attacks were repulsed. Ammunition was running out. Then Caesar Kunikov took an unthinkable step in those conditions - he led the soldiers in an attack on an artillery battery. The Germans never expected this, and surprise led to success. The soldiers took possession of ammunition and guns, which they turned against the Germans themselves. Another attack was repulsed. The command began to slowly increase the number of troops on Malaya Zemlya. As a result of the fighting, the area of ​​the bridgehead increased. Unfortunately, on the night of February 12, Major Kunikov was wounded by a mine fragment. He was taken to the hospital (in Gelendzhik). Doctors fought for his life for two days, but everything was in vain. On February 14, Caesar Kunikov died. In April 1943, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union posthumously.

Memorial "Malaya Zemlya"

The defense of Malaya Zemlya was possible only thanks to large-scale sapper work. Everything was dug with trenches. There are underground warehouses and five hundred firing points. Moreover, it took a lot of titanic labor to build all this, since the ground was mostly rocky soil. The Germans constantly tried to liquidate the bridgehead. They rained so much ammunition on the heads of our fighters. After the war, entire trains transported metal from Malaya Zemlya. If you melt it, you can cover the entire area of ​​the bridgehead with a continuous layer of several centimeters.

The head of the political department of the 18th Army, Colonel L.I. Brezhnev, visited Malaya Zemlya several times. (later General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee and leader of the USSR). You can have different attitudes towards his personality, but to be on Malaya Zemlya you need to have a piece of courage. This is worthy of respect. Just imagine yourself in the place of any of the defenders of this bridgehead.

The end date of the defense of Malaya Zemlya is considered to be September 16, 1943. On this day Novorossiysk was liberated (in 1973 it received the title of hero city). The defenders of Malaya Zemlya covered themselves with unfading glory. The 21st fighter was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. It was very difficult to obtain such a title during the Great Patriotic War (1941 - 1945). On Malaya Zemlya there is a memorial of the same name “Malaya Zemlya”. It represents the bow of a ship with figures of soldiers. Inside there is a gallery of military glory, in the upper part of which there is a heart with a bright red backlight.

People stop here to observe a minute of silence for the defenders of Malaya Zemlya. At this moment, everything around is filled with a strong and sad song about the courage of Soviet soldiers, who did not flinch in a difficult moment and were ready to sacrifice themselves for the good of the people.

Malaya Zemlya on the map

03.12.2017

In the Caucasus, an offensive operation was being prepared in the Maikop direction by the forces of the Black Sea Group (18, 46, 47, 56 armies) under the command of General Petrov.

On January 11, 1943, the plan was approved. By order of the Headquarters, its implementation had to begin immediately, so the implementation of the “Mountains” plan began the very next day. The offensive was difficult, but in this part it was crowned with success: by January 23, the German defenses south of Krasnodar were broken through, and the path for the withdrawal of German troops from the North Caucasus was cut off. During the fighting, which lasted until early February, Soviet troops reached the Sea of ​​Azov and took Maikop. The time has come to begin the naval phase of the operation.

Preparation

It should be noted that since November 1942, without connection with the “Sea” plan, a plan for the landing operation in the Novorossiysk area was being developed. The locations and order of the operation were determined: the main landing force landed from ships in the South Ozereyka area, and the diversionary landing force landed in the Stanichka area. The second landing was supposed to disorient the enemy, creating the impression of an amphibious operation on a wide front.

Since November 1942, the troops were being trained: regular training was carried out, during which they practiced landing with equipment on an unequipped shore and the interaction of the landing force with fire support ships.

The main landing group under the command of Colonel Gordeev consisted of the 83rd and 255th Marine Brigades, the 165th Infantry Brigade, a separate front-line airborne regiment, a separate machine gun battalion, the 563rd Tank Battalion, and the 29th Anti-Tank Artillery Regiment. The auxiliary landing force under the command of Major Kunikov consisted of 275 marines without heavy weapons.

The plan provided for a landing immediately after the front had been broken through near Novorossiysk by the forces of the 47th Army of the Black Sea Group. The landing force had to land under the cover of fire from support ships and air bombardment, suppress enemy resistance on the shore, connect with the landing airborne troops, and then break through to Novorossiysk, connect with the main forces, ensure blocking and subsequent capture of the city.

It can be noted that the preliminary training of personnel and the actual landing operations were carried out quite efficiently. However, as subsequent tragic events showed, organizing the delivery of troops and coordinating the actions of the various formations participating in the operation turned out to be insufficiently developed. For example, the landing groups were located in three different ports, which could not but create additional difficulties with their synchronous delivery to the landing points. The landing craft moved to the landing point under their own power; accordingly, the group of landing ships was forced to match the slowest of them in their movement.

Start of operation

Defense of Malaya Zemlya

Award certificate from K.I. Turbaevsky, head of the work to strengthen the coastal defense and establish artillery positions on Malaya Zemlya. The inscription “...The Gold Star Medal” was erased and replaced with “...The Order of the Red Star.”

Award sheet (reverse side) of Turbaevsky K.I. It is clearly visible that the inscription “...with the Gold Star medal” was erased and replaced with “...with the Order of the Red Star.”

The advance detachment of the diversionary landing force, having landed in the Stanichka area, quickly and decisively ensured the capture and retention of a section of the coastline several kilometers wide. During the night of February 4, two more detachments of paratroopers landed, so during the day of February 4, more than 800 people were already defending the area. The Germans promptly responded to the landing, there was continuous artillery fire on the landing force, bomb attacks were carried out, several attempts were made to counterattack and drop the landing force into the sea, but in the first day the bridgehead was held. After the Soviet command was convinced of the failure of the main landing, the transfer of troops to the captured bridgehead began. Over the course of five nights, two marine brigades, an infantry brigade, and an anti-tank destroyer regiment were landed ashore, and several hundred tons of equipment were delivered. The number of troops was increased to 17 thousand, and later five more partisan detachments landed on the bridgehead.

The delay in moving the main landing site allowed the Germans to block the landing and made it impossible to attack Novorossiysk. However, the command decided to hold the captured bridgehead in order to use it later, in more favorable conditions. Malaya Zemlya was seen as the key to the liberation of the Taman Peninsula.

The defenders were in extremely unfavorable conditions, in open, well-exposed terrain, while the enemy controlled all the surrounding heights. Therefore, defense was possible only due to the carrying out of enormous-scale sapper work, which was led by engineer-captain Kirill Ivanovich Turbaevsky: the entire occupied territory was dug with trenches, including in rocky soil, 230 hidden observation posts and more than 500 firing points were created, underground warehouses, the command post was located in a rock shelter at a depth of six meters. The delivery of cargo and reinforcements was difficult for obvious reasons, so that the defenders of Lesser Land constantly experienced difficulties with supplies, including ammunition and food. According to Brezhnev, entire units were sent into the forest to collect wild garlic.

On April 17, the enemy attempted to liquidate the bridgehead. For this purpose, a strike group of troops numbering 27 thousand people was created under the command of Wetzel. The offensive was carried out with the support of aviation and heavy artillery, the bombing was carried out almost continuously, and enemy aircraft had an overwhelming numerical superiority. A specially created group “Box” operated at sea, which included torpedo boats and submarines; it was entrusted with the task of cutting communications and destroying the retreating Soviet troops. Three days passed in continuous attacks and bombings, however, the bridgehead held. Wanting to preserve Malaya Zemlya at all costs, the command allocated three aviation corps from the Headquarters reserve, which ensured air superiority and bombing German positions. Aviation managed to destroy two German airfields, after which the intensity of bombing of Malaya Zemlya immediately decreased.

The fighting on Malaya Zemlya continued for another three and a half months. On September 9, the operation to capture Novorossiysk began, in which the bridgehead in the Stanichka area played a role - one of the three groups of troops that ensured the blocking and capture of the city advanced from it. By September 16, Novorossiysk was liberated. This date is also considered the date of the end of the defense of Malaya Zemlya, which lasted 225 days.

Museums and monuments

memorial

ensemble

in the village

Initially, the defense of Malaya Zemlya was considered in Soviet military history as one of the undoubtedly heroic and noteworthy, but still quite ordinary episodes of the Great Patriotic War.

In the 1970s, a process began to gradually increase the role of this episode, associated with the name of Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev, who during the war, as an army political worker, fought in Malaya Zemlya with the military rank of colonel. L. I. Brezhnev published part of his memoirs dating back to the period of the Great Patriotic War, entitled “Malaya Zemlya”.

According to the recollections of K.I. Turbaevsky, the head of work to strengthen the defense of the coast and set up artillery positions on Malaya Zemlya, when he and the sailors met on the pier a delegation of the political department that had arrived on a seiner, an enemy air raid suddenly began. The guests, and first of all Colonel L.I. Brezhnev, did not wait for the bombs to explode and jumped into the water together. The officers and sailors who met them first extinguished the fallen incendiary bombs and cleared the passage to the pier from mines, and then began to fish out the floundering members of the delegation from the water with hooks. According to K.I. Turbaevsky, no one was injured during the raid and L.I. Brezhnev was not conscious. did not lose, and it was he, pulled out of the water, who praised them, trying to smooth out the awkwardness from the panic that arose among the political workers: “Well done, sailors!”

For many of us, a visit to the Black Sea coast is associated only with a summer beach holiday, relaxation and unobtrusive entertainment. However, the surroundings of the cities in this region include many things. By visiting them, you can learn more about the history of the country. One of them is the Malaya Zemlya memorial. Novorossiysk, in the vicinity of which it is located, cannot be called the most popular city for a beach holiday. But excursions to the memorial are organized from many resort villages. The place can be reached by car or public transport. It is located directly on the outskirts of Novorossiysk.

What will the “Malaya Zemlya” memorial tell visitors about? Novorossiysk was captured by enemies during the Great Patriotic War. But on a small piece of land, Soviet troops held a long heroic defense, which later made it possible to develop a counteroffensive and liberate the city. This victory caused significant damage to the enemy and weakened his forces. Historians agree that the liberation of Novorossiysk was one of the important stages in the battle for the freedom of the Caucasus. After this, our troops were able to carry out powerful offensive operations.

A small plot of land has an area of ​​less than 30 square meters. km. But it was precisely this that the Soviet landing force was able to recapture during a fierce battle in February 1943. The defense lasted as much as 225 days (from February 4 to September 16, 1943), after which the bridgehead became the starting point for the offensive and helped liberate Novorossiysk. The "Malaya Zemlya" memorial is a symbol of courage, bravery and unity of the Russian people.

At the moment, entrance to the Museum of Military Equipment and the Gallery of Glory, which are located inside the monument, is open to visitors. The composition itself is made in the form of a warship, on which the heroic amphibious landing was carried out under the leadership of Ts.L. Kunikov. The dynamic image is complemented by bas-reliefs depicting sailors and soldiers.

The Malaya Zemlya Memorial (Novorossiysk) includes the Gallery of Glory, which contains bas-reliefs of a memorial plaque indicating the regiments and troops that took part in the battles for the city. In the center of the gallery there is a sculptural composition with a mosaic panel, where the oath of the soldiers is written, and in the “Heart” capsule there are the names of the victims.

The entire territory of the memorial is protected and is under special protection of the state. There are fragments of guns, ditches and trenches, fortifications and command posts preserved here.

In order to see this place with their own eyes and honor the memory of the victims, tourists visit the Malaya Zemlya memorial. Novorossiysk, the map of which necessarily contains an indication of the location of the bridgehead, most often serves as the starting point on this journey.

The memorial gained particular popularity in the Soviet Union after the publication of Leonid Brezhnev’s book. He published his war memoirs in 1978 and called them “Malaya Zemlya.” Novorossiysk still retains the memory of the fighting on the bridgehead, memories of which Brezhnev described in this book, which sold millions of copies throughout the country.