Wow fighting for the Caucasus. Battle for the Caucasus

BATTLE FOR THE CAUCASUS - operations carried out by Soviet troops to defend the Caucasus and defeat the German troops invading its borders during the Great Patriotic War.

The troops of the Southern, North Caucasian and Transcaucasian fronts, the Black Sea Fleet, the Azov and Caspian military flotillas participated in the battle for the Caucasus.

The main task of the Wehrmacht in the summer campaign of 1942 was to defeat the Soviet troops on the southern flank of the Eastern Front, access to the Volga and the Caucasus. Germany needed the oil and other resources of this region in order to continue the global war of attrition. Simultaneously with the start of the offensive in the Stalingrad direction (see the Battle of Stalingrad), the German command developed operations to seize the Caucasus (directive of July 23, 1942). After the capture of Rostov, one group of German troops was to bypass the Main Caucasian Range from the west, capturing Novorossiysk and Tuapse, and the other from the east, capturing Grozny and Baku. At the same time, it was planned to break the Soviet defenses in the central part of the Main Caucasian Range and reach the areas of Tbilisi, Kutaisi and Sukhumi. The enemy intended to paralyze the bases of the Black Sea Fleet and establish direct contact with the Turkish army, 26 divisions of which were deployed near the border of the USSR. The further offensive was to develop in the direction of the Near and Middle East. The troops of Army Group "A" (commander - Field Marshal V. List) were to break into the Caucasus as part of the 1st and 4th tank, 17th and 3rd (Romanian) armies, part of the forces of the 4th air fleet (167 thousand people, 1130 tanks, up to 1000 aircraft).

They were opposed by 7 heavily weakened armies of the Southern Front (commander - Colonel-General R.Ya. Malinovsky), numbering 112 thousand people, 121 tanks and 130 aircraft of the 4th Air Army. There were only 2 divisions in Malinovsky's reserve. The Soviet troops did not have time to fully prepare their defensive positions, they experienced an acute shortage of ammunition and fuel.

On July 25, the troops of Army Group A went on the offensive from the bridgeheads on the lower reaches of the Don. In two days, German troops advanced 80 km. Their tank and motorized units entered the steppe expanses Krasnodar Territory, creating the threat of a breakthrough to the North Caucasus. On July 28, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command subordinated the armies of the Southern Front, which retreated beyond the Don, to the North Caucasian Front (commander - Marshal S.M. Budyonny). In operational terms, the Black Sea Fleet (commander - Vice Admiral F.S. Oktyabrsky) and the Azov military flotilla (commander - Rear Admiral S.G. Gorshkov) were also subordinate to Budyonny. The front was given the task of restoring the situation along the southern bank of the Don at all costs. At the end of July, the troops of the Transcaucasian Front (commander - General of the Army I.V. Tyulenev), who partly covered the border with Turkey, began to occupy the borders in the northern foothills of the Caucasus and the passes of the Main Caucasian Range. The Northern Group of the Transcaucasian Front was formed here (commander - Lieutenant General I.I. Maslennikov), covering the approaches to Grozny and Makhachkala. On September 1, the North Caucasian Front, renamed the Black Sea Group (commander - Colonel General Ya.T. Cherevichenko) was included in the Transcaucasian Front.

The offensive of the German troops initially developed rapidly. Until mid-August, the Soviet units suffered heavy losses and were thrown back from the lower reaches of the Don to the Kuban River, and then to the western foothills of the Caucasus. On August 5, the enemy captured Stavropol, on August 9 - Maikop, on August 12 - Krasnodar and Pyatigorsk. However, the German attempt to break through to the Black Sea coast through the foothills of the western part of the Main Caucasian Range was not successful. On August 25, units of Army Group A entered Mozdok, located 93 km from Grozny. Approximately the same distance separated them from the coast of the Caspian Sea. On August 31, they continued their offensive, hoping to capture the Grozny oil-bearing region. On September 2, units of the 1st Panzer Army attempted to break through to Grozny through Ordzhonikidze, but the formations of the Soviet Northern Group imposed heavy exhausting battles on the enemy, forcing him to break forward with heavy losses. The counterattacks of the Soviet troops from November 6 to 12 forced the Germans to finally abandon the offensive on Grozny and go on the defensive.

Since August 19, fierce battles have unfolded in the Novorossiysk direction, where the troops of the 17th Army were advancing. An attempt by the Germans to break through to the city on the move failed. But on August 28, having resumed the offensive, the German units managed to break through the left flank of the Soviet 47th Army and on August 31 reach the Black Sea coast, capturing Anapa. The Soviet formations, retreating, left the Taman Peninsula, where 6 German divisions landed from the Crimea on September 1-2. Having received reinforcements, the troops of the 17th Army captured a significant part of Novorossiysk by September 10. Their further attempts to break through along the coast and through the mountains to Tuapse were thwarted by the troops of the Black Sea Group of the Transcaucasian Front. The enemy tried to break through into the Transcaucasus and through the passes of the central part of the Caucasus Range. Experienced German and Italian units operated here, which had many trained climbers in their ranks. Some of the passes ended up in enemy hands, but thanks to the selfless actions of the defending troops operating in the difficult conditions of the highlands, the threat of the enemy entering the southern slopes of the passes was eliminated.

At the end of November, the enemy went over to the defensive here as well. At the end of 1942, German troops held the economically and strategically important Kuban region, but they could not fulfill their tasks - capturing the oil-bearing regions of the Caucasus, the Black Sea coast and breaking through to the Near and Middle East, having completely exhausted their offensive capabilities in battles. . Soviet troops paid a heavy price to stop the enemy. Only the irretrievable losses of the Red Army units in this direction by the end of 1942 amounted to more than 192 thousand people. At the same time, the defensive period ended and the offensive period of the battle for the Caucasus began. By decision of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, the troops of the Southern Front, Colonel-General A.I. Eremenko (created on January 1, 1943 on the basis of the Stalingrad Front), developing the success of the counteroffensive near Stalingrad, the main forces went over to the offensive on Rostov and part of the forces on Tikhoretsk. The Black Sea Group of Forces of the Transcaucasian Front was ordered to advance towards the troops of the Southern Front - to Krasnodar and Tikhoretsk. The Northern Group of Forces (from January 24 transformed into the North Caucasian Front) was to pursue the German 1st Panzer Army and strike at it, advancing in the direction of Mozdok and Armavir. By January 24, the Northern Group of Forces had already liberated Mozdok, Mineralnye Vody, Pyatigorsk, Stavropol and Armavir. At the same time, the troops of the Southern Front, advancing in the Rostov and Tikhoretsk directions, in the Salsk region, united with the troops of the right wing of the Transcaucasian Front. On January 29, the Black Sea Group of Forces liberated Maykop. On February 5, she was included in the North Caucasian Front and, continuing the offensive, liberated Krasnodar on February 12. Offensive operations in the North Caucasus continued until mid-February. By this time, the troops of three fronts, with the assistance of the Black Sea Fleet and the Azov military flotilla, advanced from 160 to 600 km, liberated Checheno-Ingushetia, North Ossetia, Kabardino-Balkaria, most of the Rostov region, the Stavropol Territory and the main part of the territory of the Krasnodar Territory. Hundreds of thousands Soviet people were rescued from forced deportation to work in Germany. But the expulsion of the enemy required great sacrifices. In just 35 days of active hostilities, the irretrievable losses of the Soviet troops reached 69,600 people.

In the spring of 1943, Soviet troops reached the Taman Peninsula, where they met stubborn enemy resistance at a previously prepared, deeply echeloned defense line (the so-called "Blue Line"), which ran from the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov to Novorossiysk. The 17th German Army (16 divisions) held the defense here. Attempts to break it by the troops of the North Caucasian Front, weakened in previous battles, were unsuccessful. In the summer of 1943, the Red Army launched a powerful offensive in the southwestern direction of the Soviet-German front. This favored the resumption of the offensive in the North Caucasus. The North Caucasian Front (commander - Colonel General I.E. Petrov) received an order to liquidate the enemy's Taman grouping. The front command prepared a plan for the Novorossiysk-Taman operation. The idea was to deliver a joint strike from the sea and land on Novorossiysk, capture it and launch an offensive against Anapa, creating a threat to the enemy from enveloping it from the south. At the same time, to the north and south of the Kuban River, strikes were to be launched in order to defeat the German group in parts. The main blow was directed at Novorossiysk. The offensive began on the night of September 10 with powerful artillery preparation and an amphibious landing in the port of Novorossiysk. At the same time, formations of the 18th Army launched an attack east and south of Novorossiysk. The assault on the city began, lasting six days. On September 11, the troops of the 9th Army went on the offensive, and on September 14, the troops of the 56th Army. The Black Sea Fleet and the Azov military flotilla provided great assistance to the advancing troops. By landing behind enemy lines, they did not allow him to gain a foothold on intermediate lines. In early October, the fighting on the Taman Peninsula ended. On October 3, the troops of the 18th Army liberated the city of Taman, and by the morning of October 9, the troops of the 56th Army cleared the entire northern part of the peninsula. The entire territory of the Caucasian region was now cleared of the enemy.

Germany's plans for the destruction of Soviet troops, the capture of the richest agricultural regions, oil sources, and penetration into the regions of the Near and Middle East were finally thwarted. The German Army Group A suffered heavy losses. About 275 thousand were killed and over 6 thousand enemy soldiers and officers were captured. The enemy lost a large number of military equipment and weapons. However, during the retreat, the German command managed to save a significant part of its forces from death and capture, which it subsequently used on the southern sector of the Soviet-German front. In 1944, to reward Soviet soldiers who did not let the Germans into the Caucasian oil, the medal "For the Defense of the Caucasus" was established, which was received by about 600 thousand people. Many units and formations were awarded the honorary names of Anapa, Kuban, Taman, Temryuk, and the city of Novorossiysk for mass heroism, courage and stamina shown by its population and soldiers of the Red Army, in 1973 received the honorary title "Hero City".

Historical sources:

Grechko A.A. Battle for the Caucasus. M., 1967.

Defense of the Caucasus (Battle for the Caucasus) is a major defensive and offensive operation of the Soviet troops in the second period of the Great Patriotic War in the Caucasus and Transcaucasia.

• From July 25 to December 31, 1942, an offensive was carried out by the Germans, who managed to capture part of the territories;
• From December 31 to October 9, 1943, Soviet troops launched a counteroffensive, recaptured territories and forced the German troops to retreat.

By the beginning of autumn 1942, German troops were able to conquer most of the Kuban and North Caucasus, however, after the defeat at Stalingrad, they were forced to retreat again, as they suffered serious losses and feared that the Soviet troops would surround them. In 1943, the Soviet army planned an operation, as a result of which the German troops were to be surrounded in the territory of the Kuban and defeated, but the operation failed - the Germans were evacuated to the Crimea.

Background and alignment of forces

By June 1942, the Soviet army was in a weakened state after the failure near Kharkov. The German command, seeing that the Soviet troops could not offer worthy resistance, decided to launch an offensive in the Caucasus, taking advantage of the situation. After a series of battles, German troops were able to conquer several cities, including Rostov-on-Don, which opened the way for Hitler to the Caucasus.

The Caucasus, like Ukraine, was a very important strategic point that German troops sought to capture as early as possible. The Caucasus and Kuban contained large reserves of Soviet oil, grain and other crops that could provide serious support. german army to conduct further battles on the territory of the USSR. In addition, Hitler hoped that by going to the sea he would be able to turn to Turkey for help. Moreover, the German command also counted on the help of the inhabitants themselves, since they were aware that part local population did not accept Soviet power.

After the fall of Rostov-on-Don, the connection of the Soviet command with the Caucasus could only be carried out by sea or by rail, passing through Stalingrad. That is why Stalingrad became an important point that the Germans needed to capture. Despite the fact that Hitler threw huge forces into the fight at Stalingrad, he was never able to take the city. The Germans lost the Battle of Stalingrad. They suffered significant losses and, largely due to this, they later failed to conquer the Caucasus.

The course of the defense of the Caucasus

The battle took place in two stages. During the first stage of the German army, it was not without difficulty that they managed to take a number of cities: Stavropol, Armavir, Maikop, Krasnodar, Elista, Mozdok and part of Novorossiysk. In September 1942, the German army approached the Malgobek area, where it was stopped by Soviet troops.

The first stage of the battle for the Caucasus took place from July to December 1942. The German army was able to approach the foothills of the Caucasus Range and the Terek River, but this victory was not easy - Hitler's troops suffered enormous losses. The original plan to capture Transcaucasia was never completed, despite the fact that the Germans were still leading this operation - the Soviet troops were able to stop the German offensive in time and force the army to stop fighting, since most of the army was simply destroyed. Turkey also let down, which did not dare to enter the war and come to the aid of Hitler.

The German offensive failed largely due to the victory of the Soviet troops at Stalingrad. Hitler, who had too high hopes for the capture of this city, simply did not foresee the possibility that the Soviet army could defend Stalingrad and, therefore, one of the routes to the Caucasus.

As a result of numerous losses, by the beginning of 1943, the German army was several times inferior in number to the Soviet one.

The second stage of the battle for the Caucasus can be considered a counter-offensive of the Soviet troops, which became extremely successful for Soviet Union. The territories previously captured by the Germans were recaptured, North Ossetia, Kabardino-Balkaria, the Rostov Region, the Stavropol Territory and other regions were completely liberated. The oil fields and grain fields were again returned to the control of the Soviet Union, which gave a tremendous advantage in the war.

Despite the fact that the Soviet army was able to achieve serious successes, it cannot be considered that the victory clearly belongs to the Soviet Union, since the main goal that Stalin set for his army - to capture and destroy the Germans in the Kuban - was never achieved. The German army fled to the Crimea, however, despite this, the Caucasus again returned under the command of the USSR.

The meaning and results of the battle for the Caucasus

The successes of the Soviet Union in the battle for the Caucasus can be considered one of the most important parts of the general counteroffensive of the USSR in the second period of the war. At this time, the Soviet army not only began to win back its territories and return captive people, but also greatly increased its combat power and could fight on equal terms with the German army. The return to the jurisdiction of the USSR of such an important strategic point as the Caucasus can be considered as one of the greatest victories USSR in the Great Patriotic War.

Unfortunately, there were at the battle for the Caucasus and Negative consequences. Part of the population was accused of assisting the enemy and many of the locals were later exiled to Siberia.

The victorious march of the Soviet Union in the Second World War began with the victory at Stalingrad and the battle in the Caucasus.

The battle for the Caucasus, which lasted 442 days (from July 25, 1942 to October 9, 1943) and took place simultaneously with Stalingrad and Battles of Kursk, played a large role in the creation and completion of a radical change during the Great Patriotic War. Its defensive stage covers the period from July 25 to December 31, 1942. The Wehrmacht, during fierce battles and suffering heavy losses, managed to reach the foothills of the Main Caucasian Range and the Terek River. However, in general, the German plan "Edelweiss" was not implemented. German troops were unable to break into the Transcaucasus and the Middle East, which should have led to Turkey's entry into the war on the side of Germany.

The plans of the German command

On June 28, 1942, the 4th Panzer Army of the Wehrmacht under the command of Hermann Goth broke through the Soviet front between Kursk and Kharkov and continued the offensive towards the Don. On July 3, Voronezh was partially captured by German troops, and the troops of S.K. Timoshenko, who defended the Rostov direction, were engulfed from the north. The 4th Panzer Army advanced rapidly into southbound between Donets and Don. On July 23, Rostov-on-Don was captured by the Germans. As a result, the path to the North Caucasus was opened.

In the strategic plans of the German military-political leadership, the capture of the Caucasus, where about 90% of Soviet oil was produced before the start of the war, was given a large place. Adolf Hitler understood the limitations of the resource, energy base of the Third Reich and at a meeting in Poltava in June 1942 he said: “If we fail to seize the oil of Maykop and Grozny, then we will have to stop the war!” In addition, Hitler took into account the importance of the Kuban and the Caucasus as a source of food (grain), and the presence of strategic raw materials here. In particular, the Tyrnyauz deposit of tungsten-molybdenum ore was located here. The idea of ​​the German command on the Soviet-German front in the summer of 1942 provided for the main blow in the Caucasian direction with a simultaneous attack on Stalingrad, an important transport hub and a major center of the military industry. Some researchers believe that this was Hitler's strategic miscalculation, since the division of limited military forces and resources led to the dispersal of the Wehrmacht, and ultimately to defeat in the Stalingrad and Caucasus directions.

On July 23, 1942, Hitler approved the plan for Operation Edelweiss (German: Operation Edelweiß). It provided for the encirclement and destruction of Soviet troops south and southeast of Rostov-on-Don, the capture of the North Caucasus. In the future, one group of troops was to advance around the Main Caucasian Range from the west and capture Novorossiysk and Tuapse, and the second - to advance from the east in order to capture the oil-producing regions of Grozny and Baku. Simultaneously with this detour maneuver, the German command planned to break through the Main Caucasian Range in its central part in order to reach Tbilisi, Kutaisi and Sukhumi. With the breakthrough of the Wehrmacht to the South Caucasus, the tasks of destroying the bases of the Black Sea Fleet, establishing complete dominance in the Black Sea, establishing direct communication with the Turkish armed forces and the involvement of Turkey in the war on the side of the Reich, the prerequisites were created for the invasion of the region of the Near and Middle East. In addition, the German command expected that a number of peoples of the Caucasus and the Cossacks would support them, which would solve the problem with auxiliary troops. In part, these expectations will come true.

A column of German StuG III assault guns on the march to the Caucasus.

To solve such large-scale tasks, the German command concentrated a significant strike force in the Caucasian direction. For the offensive on the Caucasus, Army Group A was detached from Army Group South under the command of Field Marshal Wilhelm List (on September 10, 1942, Hitler took command, and from November 22, 1942, Colonel General Ewald von Kleist ). It consisted of: 1st Panzer Army - Commander Colonel General Ewald von Kleist (until November 21, 1942, then Colonel General Eberhard von Mackensen), 4th Panzer Army - Colonel General G. Goth (first attacked Caucasian direction, then it was transferred to the group "B" - to the Stalingrad direction), the 17th field army - Colonel General Richard Ruoff, the 3rd Romanian army - Lieutenant General Petr Dumitrescu (in September 1942, the army was transferred to the Stalingrad direction). Initially, Manstein's 11th Army, which, after the completion of the siege of Sevastopol, was located in the Crimea, was supposed to take part in the attack on the Caucasus, but part of it was transferred to Leningrad, and part of it was divided between Army Group Center and Army Group South. The troops of Army Group "A" were supported by units of the 4th Air Army of Wolfram von Richthofen (about 1 thousand aircraft in total). In total, by July 25, 1942, the shock group had about 170 thousand soldiers and officers, 15 thousand oil workers, 1130 tanks (from July 31 - 700 tanks), over 4.5 thousand guns and mortars.

The German troops had a high combat capability, had a high morale, which was strengthened by recent high-profile victories. Many formations of the Wehrmacht participated in the defeat of the Red Army units near Kharkov, southwest of Voronezh, in the June battles, when they advanced to the lower reaches of the Don, they immediately entrenched themselves on its left bank. In Berlin, they were sure of victory, before the battle they even founded oil companies (“Ost-Öl” and “Karpaten-Öl”), which received the exclusive right to 99-year operation oil fields in the Caucasus. Was harvested a large number of pipes (which later went to the USSR).

Wilhelm List.

Soviet troops

The German troops were opposed by the troops of the South (Rodion Malinovsky) and part of the forces of the North Caucasian Fronts (Semyon Budyonny). The Southern Front included the 9th Army - Commander Major General F.A. Parkhomenko, the 12th Army - Major General A.A. Grechko, the 18th Army - Lieutenant General F.V. Kamkov, the 24th Army - Major General D.T. Kozlov, 37th Army - Major General P.M. Kozlov, 51st Army - Major General N.I. Trufanov (July 28, it was transferred to the Stalingrad Front) and 56th I am the army - Major General A. I. Ryzhov. Aviation support was provided by the 4th Air Army of Major General Aviation K. A. Vershinin (since September, Major General Aviation N. F. Naumenko). At first glance, the composition of the front was impressive, but almost all of these armies, except for the 51st, suffered heavy losses in previous battles and were bled dry. The southern front numbered about 112 thousand people, a significant lag behind the Germans was in technology - 120 tanks, more than 2.2 thousand guns and mortars, 130 aircraft. Thus, the front, which received the main blow of the enemy, was inferior to the enemy in manpower by 1.5 times, in aircraft by almost 8 times, in tanks - by more than 9 times, guns and mortars - by 2 times. To this should be added the absence of a stable command and control system, which was disrupted during their rapid retreat to the Don. On July 28, 1942, the YuF was abolished, its troops entered the North Caucasian Front.

The Red Army faced a very difficult task: to stop the enemy's offensive, wear him out in defensive battles and prepare the conditions for a transition to a counteroffensive. On July 10-11, 1942, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command (SVGK) ordered the Southern and North Caucasian fronts to organize a defensive line along the Don River. However, this order was difficult to fulfill, because the troops of the Southern Front at that time were engaged in heavy battles with the German troops rushing forward in the Rostov direction. The command of the Law Firm had neither time nor significant reserves in order to prepare defensive positions on the left bank of the Don. Command and control of troops in the Caucasian direction by this moment could not be restored. In addition, the SVGK at that time paid closer attention to the Stalingrad direction, the Germans rushed to the Volga. Under strong pressure from the enemy, the armies of the YuF by July 25 retreated to the southern bank of the river. Don in a strip 330 km long, from Verkhnekurmoyarskaya to the mouth of the river. They were drained of blood, lost a lot of heavy weapons, some armies had no connection with the front headquarters.

At the same time, it should be noted that there were other troops in the region that also took part in the battle for the Caucasus. The troops of the North Caucasian Front under the command of Marshal Budyonny at that time defended the coasts of the Azov and Black Seas to Lazarevskaya. The SCF included: the 47th Army - under the command of Major General G.P. Kotov, the 1st Rifle and 17th Cavalry Corps. Air support was provided by the 5th Air Army of Aviation Colonel General S. K. Goryunov. Parts of the Transcaucasian Front under the command of Ivan Tyulenev defended the Black Sea coast from Lazarevskaya to Batumi, the Soviet-Turkish border and provided communications for the Soviet group in Iran. In addition, parts of the Polar Front were located in the Makhachkala region and covered the coast of the Caspian Sea (44th Army). By the beginning of the battle for the Caucasus, the Transcaucasian Front included the 44th Army - Lieutenant General V. A. Khomenko, the 45th Army - Lieutenant General F. N. Remezov, the 46th Army - V. F. Sergatskov (since August K. N. Leselidze) and the 15th Cavalry Corps. The front was reinforced by 14 aviation regiments. At the beginning of August 1942, the 9th, 24th (disbanded on August 28) and 37th Army were transferred to the ZF, and the 58th Army was formed at the end of August. In early September, several more armies were transferred - the 12th, 18th, 56th. It should be noted that Tyulenev, having received an appointment as commander of the Polar Front in February 1942, did a great job of creating defensive lines in case of an invasion from Turkey. He insisted on the construction of defensive lines in the region of the Terek and Grozny rivers, and the defense of the Main Caucasian Range was strengthened in advance. The events of the battle for the Caucasus showed the correctness of the decision of the commander.

The Black Sea Fleet under the command of Philip Oktyabrsky, after the loss of Sevastopol and Kerch, was based in the ports of the Caucasian coast, although they ended up in the zone of operations of the German Air Force. The fleet had the task of interacting with the ground forces in protecting coastal areas, providing maritime transportation, and also attacking enemy sea lanes.

Ivan Vladimirovich Tyulenev.

Significance of the Caucasus for the USSR

The Caucasus at that time was of great importance for the country, was an inexhaustible source of industrial and military-strategic raw materials, an important food base of the Union. During the years of the Soviet pre-war five-year plans, the industry of the Transcaucasian republics grew significantly, and a powerful industry was created here through the efforts of the people. Hundreds of new enterprises of heavy and light industry were built here. So, only in the Baku region for the period from 1934 to 1940. 235 new wells were drilled, and in total, 1726 new wells were launched in the region by 1940 (about 73.5% of all wells that were commissioned in the USSR during this period of time). The Baku oil-bearing region played a huge role. It gave up to 70% of the all-Union oil products. It is clear that only the loss of the Baku region could have a sharply negative impact on the industry of the USSR, its defense capability. Much attention was paid to the development of oil production in Checheno-Ingushetia and the Kuban.

Along with the oil industry, natural gas production developed rapidly. The gas industry of Azerbaijan provided the country in 1940 with about 2.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas, that is, about 65% of the total gas production of the USSR. The electric power base developed rapidly; before the Great War, new power plants of all-Union and local significance were built in the Caucasus. In Georgia, manganese ore was developed, which is of great economic and military-strategic importance. Thus, in 1940, the Chiatura mines produced 1,448.7 thousand tons of manganese ore, or about 56.5% of the total production of manganese ore in the USSR.

The Caucasus and Kuban were of great importance as one of the food bases of the USSR. The region was one of the richest in the state in the production of wheat, corn, sunflower and sugar beets. The South Caucasus produced cotton, sugar beet, tobacco, grapes, tea, citrus and essential oil crops. Due to the availability of rich fodder, animal husbandry was developed. On the basis of agricultural products in the prewar years, the food and light industries were developed. Cotton, silk, weaving, woolen, leather and shoe enterprises, canneries for processing fruits, vegetables, meat and fish products, wineries and tobacco factories, etc. were built.

The region was of great importance in terms of communications and foreign trade. A large flow of goods passed through the Caucasus region and its ports on the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. In particular, 55% of all exports and 50% of imports of the Soviet Union went through the southern, including the Caucasian, ports. Communications of the Black and Caspian Seas connected Russia with Persia and Turkey, and through the Persian Gulf and the Black Sea straits with the ways of the World Ocean. It should be noted that during the war, communications that went through the Persian Gulf, Iran and the Caspian took second place in the supply of weapons, equipment, ammunition, food and strategic raw materials from the United States and territories subordinate to the British Empire. The significance of the Caucasus lay in its unique geographical location: The Caucasus is located in an important strategic region of the planet, through which trade and strategic routes pass, connecting the countries of Europe, Asia, the Near and Middle East into a single knot. We should not forget the mobilization potential of the region's human resources.

Soviet mounted reconnaissance in the Caucasus mountains.

North Caucasian strategic defensive operation

On July 23, 1942, the Germans occupied Rostov-on-Don and launched an attack on the Kuban. The forces of the 1st and 4th tank armies dealt a powerful blow to the left flank of the Southern Front, where the defense was held by the 51st and 37th armies. The Soviet troops suffered heavy losses and retreated. The Germans in the defense zone of the 18th Army broke through to Bataysk. In the defense zone of the 12th Army, things were initially not so good and the Wehrmacht was unable to force the Don on the first day. On July 26, the 18th and 37th Soviet armies, having received reinforcements, tried to launch a counterattack, but to no avail. As a result, from the very first days of the battle, the situation in the defense zone of the entire Southern Front deteriorated sharply, there was a threat of German troops entering the Salsk region, cutting the Southern Front into two parts and leaving the enemy in the rear of the Soviet grouping, which continued to defend south of Rostov. The Soviet command tried to withdraw the troops of the left flank to the line of the southern bank of the Kagalnik River and the Manych Canal. However, under the conditions of the overwhelming superiority of the enemy in tank forces, aviation and artillery, units of the LF were unable to withdraw in an organized manner to the positions indicated by them. The retreat turned into a flight. The German troops, no longer encountering serious resistance, continued the offensive.

Under these critical conditions, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command took measures to correct the situation. On July 28, the Southern Front, in order to combine efforts and improve command and control, was disbanded. His armies were transferred to the North Caucasian fronts under the command of Marshal Budyonny (in fact, two fronts were united). The Black Sea Fleet and the Azov military flotilla were subordinate to the front command. The SCF received the task of stopping the advance of the German troops and restoring the position of the front along the left bank of the Don River. But such a task was actually impossible, since the enemy had a strategic initiative and conducted a well-organized offensive with superior forces and means. It is also necessary to take into account the factor that it was necessary to organize the command and control troops on a strip with a length of over 1 thousand km, and this in the conditions of the collapse of the front and the successful offensive of the enemy troops. Therefore, the Headquarters allocated two operational groups as part of the SCF: 1) the Don group led by Rodion Malinovsky (it included the 37th army, the 12th army and the 4th air army), it was supposed to cover the Stavropol direction; 2) Primorsky group under the command of Colonel General Yakov Cherevichenko (18th Army, 56th Army, 47th Army, 1st Rifle, 17th Cavalry Corps and 5th Air Army, Azov military flotilla), one was supposed to defend the Krasnodar direction. In addition, the 9th and 24th armies were taken to the region of Nalchik and Grozny, the 51st was transferred to the Stalingrad front. The troops of the ZF front received the task of occupying and preparing for defense the approaches to the Caucasus Range from the north. The Military Council of the Transcaucasian Front prepared a combat plan, which was approved by the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command on August 4, 1942. Its essence was to stop the advance of German troops at the turn of the Terek and the passes of the Main Caucasian Range. Parts of the 44th Army from the region of Makhachkala, Baku were transferred to defensive positions on the Terek, Sulak and Samur rivers. It was supposed to protect Grozny, cover the Georgian Military and Ossetian Military Highways. At the same time, other parts of the Polar Front were transferred from the Soviet-Turkish border and from the Black Sea coast to the border of the Terek and Urukh. Simultaneously with the transfer of parts of the Polar Front to fight the German troops, the Headquarters replenished the forces of the front from the reserve. So, from August 6 to September, the ZF received 2 guards rifle corps and 11 separate rifle brigades.

At the same time, the German command transferred the 4th Panzer Army to the Stalingrad direction as part of Army Group B. Perhaps they thought that the Soviet front in the Caucasus had collapsed and the remaining troops would be enough to solve the assigned tasks.

fighting in the Caucasus in late July - early August they took on an exceptionally fierce, dynamic character. The Germans still had numerical superiority and, having a strategic initiative, developed the offensive in the direction of Stavropol, Maykop and Tuapse. On August 2, 1942, the Germans continued their offensive in the Salsk direction and on August 5 they captured Voroshilovsk (Stavropol). In the Krasnodar direction, the Wehrmacht could not immediately break through the defenses of the 18th and 56th armies, the Soviet troops tried to counterattack, but soon retreated across the Kuban River. On August 6, the 17th German Army launched a new offensive in the Krasnodar direction. On August 10, the Azov Flotilla had to be evacuated from the Azov coast, and Krasnodar fell on August 12.

The German command decided to take advantage of the moment and block the Soviet troops south of the Kuban. Part of the strike force that captured Stavropol was sent to the west. On August 6, units of the 1st German Tank Army captured Armavir, on August 10 - Maykop and continued to move towards Tuapse. In the direction of Tuapse, a part of the 17th Army also began to advance from Krasnodar. Only by August 15-17 did the Red Army units manage to stop the enemy offensive and prevent the Wehrmacht from breaking through to Tuapse. As a result, during the first stage of the offensive (July 25 - August 19), the German command was able to partially fulfill the assigned tasks: the Red Army suffered a serious defeat in the Caucasian direction (although there were no large "cauldrons"), most of the Kuban was captured, part of the Northern Caucasus. Soviet troops were able to stop the enemy only at Tuapse. At the same time, the Soviet command carried out a major preparatory work on the reorganization of troops, the creation of new defensive lines, the transfer of troops of the Polar Front and the reserve of the Headquarters, which ultimately led to the failure of the German offensive and victory in the battle for the Caucasus.

German soldiers in the Caucasus.

The Headquarters, in order to restore the combat capability of the Soviet troops and ensure the defense of the Caucasus in the northern direction, on August 8 united the 44th and 9th armies into the Northern Group of the Polar Front. Lieutenant General Ivan Maslennikov was appointed its commander. On August 11, the 37th Army was included in the Northern Group. In addition, the Headquarters paid great attention to organizing the defense of Novorossiysk and Tuapse. The measures taken already from mid-August 1942 began to have a positive effect on the situation at the front, resistance to the enemy increased sharply.

Despite the measures taken by the Headquarters, the Wehrmacht had sufficient forces to develop a simultaneous offensive both in the direction of Baku and Batumi - parts of the 1st Tank and 17th Field Armies, and to capture the passes of the Main Caucasian Range - parts of the 49th Mountain Corps (from composition of the 17th army). In addition, German troops struck in the direction of Anapa - Novorossiysk. On August 19, units of the 17th Army went on the offensive in the Novorossiysk direction. The Soviet 47th Army, which held the defense in this direction, was able to repel the first blow. However, on August 28, the Wehrmacht resumed the offensive and captured Anapa on August 31. As a result, the ships of the Azov military flotilla had to break into the Black Sea.

On August 23, German troops went on the offensive in the Mozdok direction, here the defense was held by the 9th Soviet Army. August 25 Mozdok was captured. At the same time, the 23rd Panzer Division attacked Prokhladny and occupied it on 25 August. Further attempts to break through along the Prokhladny-Ordzhonikidze line did not bring success. Soviet troops, using natural barriers, created a defense line in depth. In early September, German troops began to cross the Terek and occupied a small foothold on the southern bank of the river; on September 4, the Germans launched a new offensive with 2 tank and 2 infantry divisions. The Germans here had superiority in artillery by more than 6 times and in tanks by more than 4 times. However, they did not achieve great success, having suffered heavy losses due to strikes. Soviet aviation. On September 24, a new German offensive began in this direction. The strike force was reinforced by the 5th SS Viking Panzer Division, which was removed from the Tuapse direction. The Germans were advancing in the direction of Ordzhonikidze and along the Prokhladny-Grozny railway along the Sunzha river valley to Grozny. After four days fierce battles, German troops captured Terek, Planovskoye, Elkhotovo, Illarionovka, but they could not break through further than Malgobek. The ever-increasing resistance of the Soviet troops and the huge losses suffered in the battles in the area of ​​​​Mozdok, Malgobek and Elkhotovo forced the Wehrmacht to go on the defensive. As a result of the Mozdok-Malgobek defensive operation (September 1-28, 1942), the plans of the German command to capture the Grozny and Baku oil regions were thwarted.

Simultaneously with the fighting in the Grozny direction, a battle unfolded in the central part of the Main Caucasian Range. Initially, the battle was clearly not going in favor of the Soviet forces - units of the 46th Army of the Polar Front, which had poorly prepared defenses in the foothills. The Wehrmacht, with the help of units specially trained for combat in mountainous conditions - the 49th mountain corps and two Romanian mountain rifle divisions, managed to quickly capture almost all the passes west of Mount Elbrus. On August 16, the Kadar Gorge was captured. On August 21, German climbers hoisted the Nazi flag on Elbrus. This was done by a detachment of Captain Grotto from the 1st Edelweiss Mountain Division. Before the war, the grotto visited Tyrnyauz and climbed to Elbrus, as a mining engineer, he could easily explore the area, providing a detailed report on what he saw. Climbers of "Edelwes" have become in Germany national heroes, newspaper headlines shouted: “We are the masters of Europe! The Caucasus is conquered!..». In early September, the German units occupied the Marukh and Sanchar passes. As a result, there was a threat of German troops reaching Sukhumi and seaside communications.

Captain Grot.

On August 21, 1942, the Nazis set their flag on Elbrus.

While the German troops stormed the approaches to Grozny, Ordzhonikidze (Vladikavkaz), the passes of the central part of the Caucasus Range, the battle for Novorossiysk unfolded. The German command planned to capture Novorossiysk and continue to launch an offensive along the Black Sea coast towards Tuapse - Sukhumi - Batumi. The blow was delivered by a strike force from the forces of the 17th German army - the 5th army corps and the 3rd Romanian army - a cavalry corps consisting of the 5th, 6th and 9th cavalry divisions. Already during the operation, the strike force was reinforced by three infantry divisions of the 11th Army, which were transferred across the Kerch Strait.

The Soviet command for the defense of Novorossiysk and the Taman Peninsula on August 17 created the Novorossiysk Defensive Region (NOR) under the command of Major General G.P. Kotov (from September 8, Major General A.A. Grechko). The commander of the Azov Flotilla, Rear Admiral S. G. Gorshkov, was appointed Kotov's deputy for the marine unit. The composition of the NOR included: the 47th Army, one rifle division from the 56th Army, the Azov military flotilla, the Temryuk, Kerch, Novorossiysk naval bases and the combined aviation group (parts of the 237th Air Division and Black Sea Fleet Air Force formations) . Measures were taken to create a powerful line of defense, but by the time of the German offensive, only a minor part of the measures had been implemented. The NOR troops, bled in previous battles, were inferior to the Wehrmacht: in manpower 4 times, in artillery and mortars 7 times, in tanks and aircraft 2 times.

On August 19, the Wehrmacht went on the offensive, striking in the direction of the villages of Abinskaya and Krymskaya. Auxiliary strikes were directed at Temryuk and the Taman Peninsula, where a few Soviet garrisons held the defense. After fierce battles, units of the 47th Army and Marine Corps stopped the enemy by August 25, preventing him from capturing Novorossiysk on the move. On August 29, having received reinforcements from the Tuapse direction, the Germans resumed their offensive and, at the cost of heavy losses, captured Anapa on August 31 and reached the coast, cutting off part of the Soviet troops on the Taman Peninsula. On September 3, the encircled units were evacuated by sea to Gelendzhik. On September 7, units of the Wehrmacht made their way to Novorossiysk, fierce street battles ensued. The Germans captured the railway station, the elevator and the port. By September 11, at the cost of huge efforts, the enemy was stopped in the southeastern part of the city. The fighting for Novorossiysk continued until September 26, in fact, the city was completely destroyed. However, the German troops could not break through to Tuapse along the coast, and went on the defensive. The plan of attack along the Black Sea coast was thwarted.

As a result of the second stage of the German offensive (August 19 - September 29, 1942), German troops won a number of victories, captured the Taman Peninsula, reached the foothills of the Main Caucasian Range, capturing part of its passes. But in general, the Red Army was able to withstand a powerful onslaught and stop the enemy’s offensive and prevent him from breaking through to the South Caucasus, capturing the Grozny and Baku regions, and seizing the Black Sea coast from Novorossiysk to Batumi. The balance of power in the Caucasus gradually began to change in favor of the Red Army. This was facilitated by the transfer of a significant part of the German troops to the Stalingrad direction. German troops suffered heavy losses in people, equipment, were exhausted by battles, partially losing their offensive power.

The headquarters continued to pay great attention to the Caucasus. On August 23, GKO member Lavrenty Beria arrived in Tbilisi from Moscow. He replaced a number of responsible leaders of the front and army leadership. Measures were taken to improve aerial reconnaissance. A lot of work has been done on the arrangement of defensive structures - defense units, strongholds, pillboxes, trenches and anti-tank ditches, a system of barriers - work to prepare for the collapse of rocks, the destruction of roads and their flooding, at the most important passes, on the Ossetian Military and Georgian Military Highways . On the main pass routes and roads, commandant's offices were created, which included sappers and radio stations. To counter the enemy's bypass actions, special detachments were formed, up to a company in number, reinforced by sappers, who could quickly block a possible enemy breakthrough. Separate mountain rifle detachments were also created, the size of a company - a battalion, with climbing instructors, they were sent to the most inaccessible areas, those trails that could not be reliably covered were blown up. On September 1, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command made an important organizational decision - the North Caucasian and Transcaucasian fronts were united. The united front was called the Transcaucasian. The Directorate of the SCF became the base for the Black Sea Group of the Transcaucasian Front. This significantly increased the stability of the Soviet defense on the coastal sector of the front.

A group of Il-2 attack aircraft of the 7th Guards Assault Aviation Regiment of the 230th Assault Air Division in the air. In the foreground is the Il-2 attack aircraft of Captain V.B. Emelianenko, the future Hero of the Soviet Union. North Caucasian front.

The failure of the German offensive

Tuapse defensive operation (from September 25 to December 20, 1942). The German command, after the failure of operations to break through to the South Caucasus in August - September 1942, made a decision with the forces of the 17th Army under the command of Colonel General Richard Ruoff (more than 162 thousand people, 2266 guns and mortars, 147 tanks and assault guns and 350 combat aircraft), again strike at Tuapse. The Black Sea group of Colonel General Ya. T. Cherevichenko held the defense here (since October, Lieutenant General I. E. Petrov led the defense), it included the 18th, 56th and 47th armies, the 5th air army ( the strength of the group of troops - 109 thousand people, 1152 guns and mortars, 71 aircraft). In addition, the Tuapse defensive region was created here.

On September 25, after two days of air strikes and artillery preparation, the German troops went on the offensive. The main blow was delivered by the Tuapse group (it included mountain rifle and light infantry units) from Neftegorsk and an auxiliary blow was delivered from Goryachiy Klyuch, the Germans advanced in converging directions on Shaumyan. The purpose of the offensive was to encircle and destroy the 18th Soviet Army, Lieutenant General F.V. Kamkov, blocking the Black Sea Group of Soviet Forces, depriving the Black Sea Fleet of bases and ports. By September 30, the German-Romanian troops were able to wedge in some sectors of the defense of the 18th and 56th armies for 5-10 km. There was a threat of the fall of Tuapse. The Soviet command organized a series of counterattacks, and by October 9 the German offensive was stopped. In these battles, the Germans lost more than 10 thousand people.

On October 14, the German group "Tuapse" resumed the offensive. German troops launched simultaneous attacks on Shaumyan, the village of Sadovoye. On October 17, the Germans captured Shaumyan, the 56th Army was pushed back, and there was a threat of encirclement of the 18th Army. However, the Black Sea Group received reinforcements, this changed the balance of forces in this direction, on October 23 the German troops were stopped, and on October 31 they went on the defensive.

Observation post of mountain rangers in the mountains in the Caucasus.

The German command pulled up reserves and in mid-November, the Wehrmacht launched a third offensive in the Tuapse direction, trying to break through to Tuapse through the village of Georgievskoye. The enemy managed to penetrate into the defenses of the 18th Army up to 8 km in depth. However, the successes of the German-Romanian troops ended there. The strong resistance of the Soviet troops forced the Germans to stop. Already on November 26, the 18th Army went on the offensive, striking with two shock groups. By December 17, the German-Romanian grouping in this direction was defeated and thrown back across the Pshish River. Aviation played a large role in these battles - aircraft of the 5th Air Army shot down and destroyed 131 enemy vehicles at airfields, coastal artillery, the Black Sea Fleet and the marines took an active part in the operation. As a result of this operation, an attempt by the Germans to break through to Tuapse was thwarted, the Wehrmacht suffered heavy losses and went on the defensive on the entire front of the Black Sea Group of the Transcaucasian Front.

Nalchik-Ordzhonikidze defensive operation (October 25 - November 12, 1942). By October 25, the German command was able to covertly regroup the 1st Panzer Army and concentrate its main forces (two tank and one motorized divisions) in the Nalchik direction. The Germans planned to capture Ordzhonikidze, in order to then develop an offensive in the direction of Grozny - Baku and along the Georgian Military Highway to Tbilisi.

Here the Northern Group of Forces of Lieutenant General I. I. Maslennikov held the defense: the 9th, 37th, 44th and 58th armies, two separate rifle and one cavalry corps. From the air, the group was supported by the 4th Air Army. The command of the Northern Group missed the preparation of the enemy for the strike, although the reconnaissance of the 9th and 37th armies reported suspicious movements of enemy troops. It was considered that the Germans were strengthening the defensive orders. At that time, the Soviet command itself was preparing a counteroffensive in the Malgobek-Mozdok direction (in the sector of the 9th Army), where the main forces and reserves were concentrated. On the Nalchik-Ordzhonikidze line, the 37th Army, weakened by previous battles and having no tanks, held the defense. Therefore, the German command was able to create a huge superiority in forces on the 6-kilometer breakthrough section: 3 times in manpower, 10 times in guns and mortars, the Soviet side did not have tanks at all.

On the morning of October 25, after a powerful air and artillery preparation, the German troops went on the offensive. The defense of the 37th Army was broken through: on October 28, the Germans captured Nalchik, and on November 2 they broke through the outer line of the Ordzhonikidze defensive region, capturing Gizel (a suburb of Ordzhonikidze) by the end of the day. To stabilize the situation, the Soviet command transferred part of the troops from the Grozny region to the Ordzhonikidze direction. On November 3-4, the Germans concentrated up to 150 tanks in the Gizel area and tried to build on their success, but did not achieve success. On November 5, Soviet troops forced the Wehrmacht to go on the defensive with their counterattacks.

For the German troops in the Giseli area, there was a threat of encirclement. The Soviet command used this moment and launched a counteroffensive on November 6, trying to block the Gisel group. On November 11, Gisel was liberated, the German group was defeated, and was driven back across the Fiagdon River. It was not possible to surround the German troops, but the last attempt of the Wehrmacht to break through to Grozny, Baku and the South Caucasus was thwarted.

After the completion of the Nalchik-Ordzhonikidze defensive operation, the Soviet command organized a counteroffensive in the Mozdok direction. On November 13, units of the 9th Army went on the offensive. But it was not possible to break through the defenses of the German troops, the Soviet troops were only able to penetrate the German orders for several kilometers, reaching the eastern banks of the Ardon and Fiagdon rivers. In late November and early December 1942, the troops of the 9th Army repeated their offensive attempts, but they also failed. As a result, the offensive in the Mozdok direction was postponed until the beginning of January 1943.

Soviet tanker on a captured German tank Pz.Kpfw IV in Vladikavkaz (at that time - Ordzhonikidze).

The results of the defensive stage of the battle for the Caucasus

During the first stage of the battle for the Caucasus, which took place from July to December 1942, the Wehrmacht achieved great success: the rich agricultural regions of the Don and Kuban, the Taman Peninsula, part of the North Caucasus were captured, they reached the foothills of the Main Caucasian Range, having mastered part of the passes. However, in general, the German plan "Edelweiss" was a failure. German troops were unable to capture the oil-producing regions of Grozny and Baku, break through into the Transcaucasus, occupy the Black Sea coast up to the Turkish border, establishing direct contact with Turkish troops. Turkey never took the side of Germany. The German-Romanian troops suffered heavy losses - about 100 thousand people, the strike force was bled white. The Soviet troops completed the main task - they stopped the enemy's offensive in all directions. German troops were stopped east of Mozdok, on the outskirts of Ordzhonikidze (Vladikavkaz), on the passes of the Main Range, in the southeastern part of Novorossiysk. From Tuapse, the German-Romanian troops were driven back.

One of the main reasons why the German offensive in the Caucasus did not achieve its goals was the dispersion of forces. The German military-political leadership began to pay more attention to the battle for Stalingrad, where they transferred the 4th tank army and the 3rd Romanian army. In December, in connection with the defeat of the German group near Stalingrad, several more German military formations were removed from the Caucasian direction, which further weakened Army Group A. As a result, by the beginning of 1943, Soviet troops surpassed the Wehrmacht in the Caucasus in terms of numbers, both in personnel and in equipment and weapons.

It is also necessary to take into account the factor of the great attention of the Headquarters and the General Staff to the Caucasus, he also played a big role in the failure of the plans of the German command. Much attention was paid to restoring the stability of the command and control system and measures to improve it. In addition, despite the difficult situation in other sectors of the Soviet-German front, the Headquarters of the VKG constantly reinforced the Caucasian direction with fresh troops. From July to October 1942 alone, about 100 thousand marching reinforcements, a significant number of military formations, special units, equipment and weapons were transferred to the Caucasian Front.

It should be noted that the battles in the Caucasus took place in specific conditions. mountainous terrain, which required the Red Army to master special forms and methods of fighting the enemy. The organization of formations and units was improved, special mountain detachments were created. The units were reinforced with sapper units, engineering equipment, mountain equipment, transport, including packs, and received more radio stations. During the battles with the enemy, the interaction of ground forces with the ships of the Black Sea Fleet and the Azov military flotilla was greatly developed. The ships covered ground troops from the flanks, supported the defense and attacks with naval and coastal artillery fire, and carried out anti-landing measures. Marine formations were formed from the crews, which covered themselves with immortal glory in the battles for the Caucasus. In addition, the Black Sea Fleet, the Azov, Volga and Caspian military flotillas played an important role in the delivery of reinforcements, military cargo, the evacuation of the wounded, civilians and material assets. So, in the second half of 1942, ships and ships transported more than 200 thousand people, 250 thousand tons of various cargoes. Soviet sailors sank 51 enemy ships with a total displacement of 120 thousand tons.

In November 1942, the offensive capabilities of the Wehrmacht in the Caucasus were largely depleted, and the activity of the Red Army, on the contrary, increased. There was a turning point in the course of the battle for the Caucasus. The strategic initiative in the Caucasian sector of the Soviet-German front began to pass into the hands of the Soviet command.

VO, Alexander Samsonov

Defense of the Caucasus (Battle for the Caucasus) is a major defensive and offensive operation of the Soviet troops in the second period of the Great Patriotic War in the Caucasus and Transcaucasia.

The operation took place in two stages: from July 25 to December 31, 1942, an offensive was carried out by the German army, which managed to capture part of the territories; From December 31 to October 9, 1943, Soviet troops, having launched a counteroffensive, forced the Nazis to retreat and recaptured the territories occupied by the enemy.

By the beginning of autumn, most of the Kuban and the North Caucasus had been conquered by the enemy, but after the Battle of Stalingrad, the Nazis retreated, as they suffered significant losses. They feared that they would be surrounded. But, unfortunately, the operation planned by the Soviet High Command, as a result of which the enemy was to be surrounded and defeated on the territory of the Kuban, failed, and the Nazis evacuated to the Crimea.

The situation on the eve of the battle

The German command, seeing that the Soviet troops, after unsuccessful battles near Kharkov, could not provide a worthy rebuff, decided to attack the Caucasus. The capture of the Caucasus, as well as Ukraine, was very important for the enemy, since the Caucasus and Kuban had large reserves of oil and grain, which could provide the enemy with significant support for further military operations on the territory of the Soviet Union. It should also be noted that Hitler counted on the fact that by going to the sea, he would be able to turn to Turkey for help.

After Rostov-on-Don was captured by the enemy, our Headquarters could communicate with the Caucasus only by sea or by rail, which passed through Stalingrad. However, the Germans suffered a crushing defeat in the Battle of Stalingrad, so later they were never able to conquer the Caucasus, since they suffered significant losses on the Volga.

From battle to battle

During the first stage of the battle for the Caucasus, the Nazi army captured such cities as Stavropol, Armavir, Maikop, Krasnodar, Elista, Mozdok. Part of Novorossiysk was also captured. However, in September 1942, in the area of ​​Malgobek, the enemy met resistance from the Soviet troops and was stopped by them. During the first stage of the battle for the Caucasus, the enemy managed to approach the foothills of the Caucasus Range and the Terek River. However Soviet army was able to stop this offensive in time, the Nazis suffered significant losses here, in fact, most of the German army was destroyed. Hitler's hopes for Turkey's help were not justified either.

The second part of the battle for the Caucasus was the counteroffensive of the Soviet troops. They not only recaptured the territories previously occupied by the enemy, but also completely liberated North Ossetia, Kabardino-Balkaria, the Rostov Region, the Stavropol Territory and other regions. Oil and grain reserves became ours again, and this gave a huge advantage in the course of hostilities.

But still, despite the serious successes of our troops, the main goal that Stalin set for the Soviet army - to capture and destroy the Germans in the Kuban - was not achieved. The Germans relocated to the Crimea, but the Caucasus again became ours.

The meaning and results of the battle for the Caucasus

The significance and results of the battle for the Caucasus are great. The Soviet army not only began to return the occupied territories and captured people, but also very noticeably strengthened its power. Now she could fight on equal terms with the enemy. The liberation of such an important strategic region as the Caucasus is one of the greatest victories of the Soviet Union in the Great Patriotic War. The further victorious march of our army, now to the West, began precisely with the victory at Stalingrad and the battle for the Caucasus.

The history of the battle for the Caucasus - how the situation developed on the fronts before it began, what was the alignment of forces. How was the first stage of the battle for the Caucasus, the victories and defeats of the Soviet command. What is famous for the second stage of the battle in the Caucasus, the main battles and results.

The battle for the Caucasus 1942-1943 is a serious turning point in the course of the war

The battle for the Caucasus was decisive for the outcome of the Great Patriotic War. Lose the Soviet Union this battle and, quite possibly, the entire Second World War would have been lost. It was one of the longest and lasted from July 25, 1942 to October 9, 1943.

Time is relentless. Today, there are very few veterans of the Second World War - participants in that great struggle against the enemy. They are trying with might and main to surround them with care and attention, especially on memorable dates of these events. Poems are dedicated to heroes, in which their exploits are sung. Children's drawing competitions are held on the theme of the battle for the Caucasus, where children often depict warriors with orders and medals. These pictures once again remind us of how important it is to protect the world.

Heroes and ordinary participants in the battle for the Caucasus can be seen in the photo on May 9 during the procession of the Immortal Regiment.

This victory came at a great cost to us. What we call a "battle" was in reality a series of military operations. The battle for the Caucasus has a strategic division into two stages - the first was defensive (during 1942), and the second offensive (from the beginning of 1943).

The military-political situation in the first half of 1942

The beginning of the military campaign of 1942 for our country developed unsuccessfully. Serious miscalculations were made in planning and conducting operations along the entire length of the Soviet-German front.

Previous events

Having carried out several successful operations in the winter of 1941, in particular, near Moscow, Yelets, Rostov and others settlements, the military leadership of the Soviet Union made erroneous conclusions about the unpreparedness of the Wehrmacht army for military operations in winter conditions(which was partly true). The military potential of the Nazi group on the Eastern Front as a whole was greatly underestimated.

Attempts to seize the initiative in the winter and spring of 1942 by conducting many private offensive operations led to failure. Thus, the Rzhev-Vyazemsky, Smolensk, Kharkov operations, also in the Crimea, the battle for the Demyansk cauldron and others in a number of cases were marked by local successes. As a result, the Soviet troops even managed to capture part of the territories, but on the whole they ended in failure with a huge number of losses in manpower and equipment.

By the summer, the Red Army switched to positional defense. Another strategic mistake was the assumption put forward by the Soviet command that summer campaign the Nazis will again develop in the old directions (Moscow, Leningrad), relegating the southern one to secondary importance. It was there that the main battles were expected. The attack on the Caucasus came as a surprise.

Significance of the Caucasus during the war

By 1942, Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltic states, Crimea, Donbass were lost, Leningrad was in the blockade. The economic base of the USSR has narrowed. A number of industrial areas were lost, and the evacuated enterprises have not yet reached the required capacity. Significant agricultural areas were lost. As a result, steel production decreased by 10 million tons, grain harvest more than 3 times. Do not forget about a significant reduction in the mobilization resource due to the loss of vast territories.

Under the prevailing conditions for the Soviet Union, the North Caucasus and Transcaucasia turned out to be key industrial and agricultural regions. They accounted for 86.5% of the all-Union oil production, 65% of natural gas, 56.5% of manganese ore. In addition, the trade route through the Persian Gulf, Iran and the Caspian Sea was the second after the Northern Sea Route for Lend-Lease supplies.

The balance of forces and means before the start of the first stage of the battle for the Caucasus

For Nazi Germany, the Caucasus was also vital, mainly due to the lack of oil and oil products. The technical equipment of the army grew, and so did their consumption. Own German industry coped with difficulty. Even the captured oil-bearing territories of Europe, as well as the production of synthetic or "ersatz fuel" from coal, alcohol, benzene, and others, could hardly meet the needs.

The plans of the German command

During the unsuccessful Kharkov offensive operation Soviet troops, the Nazis went to the Don and occupied Rostov. On the basis of the fascist army group "South", two army groups were created - "A" and "B".

Group "A" included 3 armies - one tank and two infantry. Their task at the first stage was to force the Don, to occupy part of the Kuban, the North Caucasus, the eastern coast of the Azov and Black Seas. On the second, they were supposed to go around the Main Caucasian Range from the west and east and go through the passes to the Transcaucasus. In addition, with access to the border of Turkey to force her to enter the war with "Soviet Russia".

Field Marshal List was appointed commander. He was instructed to solve the combat mission by the consistent implementation of the plan Operation Edelweiss. Later, List was recalled from the front by Hitler and a new commander, Colonel General Kleist, was appointed in his place. Thus, from November 1942, the reins of government passed to him.

Group "B" was intended for an attack on Stalingrad. Obviously, the Stalingrad direction was initially secondary.

3 fronts were deployed in the Caucasian direction: Southern, North Caucasian, Transcaucasian.

Southern Front had 5 armies in its composition, the task of which was to prevent the crossing of the Don and the development of an offensive against the Kuban and the Caucasus. General Malinovsky was appointed commander.

North Caucasian Front consisted of one army and two separate corps. They were tasked with defending the northeastern and eastern coasts of the Black and Seas of Azov. The commander was Marshal of the Soviet Union Budyonny.

Transcaucasian Front as part of two armies and one cavalry corps, he defended the Black Sea coast with our naval bases located in Georgia. Part of the forces was located in northern Iran to cover the Iranian-Turkish border.

All three fronts were not fully equipped, there were problems with logistics.

The Black Sea Fleet experienced difficulties in connection with the loss of the Crimea and the main base - the city of Sevastopol. At this time, Novorossiysk became its replacement. In addition, enemy aircraft from the airfields of the Crimea caused significant damage.

The Caucasus, as a theater of operations, began to be equipped as early as 1941, but the work was extremely slow and inefficient. In addition, nothing was done in terms of fortification on the passes of the Main Caucasian Range. It seemed that they were not going to fight in the mountains at all. Everything had to be corrected in a short time and already in the course of hostilities.

Developments in the defense of the Caucasus

By July 25, Wehrmacht formations unexpectedly reached the Don. The Soviet units had to urgently prepare for defense.

The alignment of forces at the 1st stage of the battle

The superiority of Army Group A over the troops of the Southern Front turned out to be as follows:

• in personnel by 1.5 times;
• in tanks by 9.3 times;
• in airplanes by 7.7 times.

The superiority necessary for an offensive with a forcing of a water barrier, the enemy had only in tanks and aircraft. But the troops of the Southern Front defended a strip 320 kilometers wide, the forces were stretched out. There was no opportunity to form strong second echelons and reserves. All these prerequisites led to the fact that the Nazis in some places, by skillful maneuvering, were able to create the necessary advantage.

German offensive

In the first two days, the Nazis in some sectors of the front managed to force the Don and break through the defenses. Further, developing the offensive, enemy formations reached Bataysk. In some places, prerequisites arose for the encirclement of parts of the Southern Front. In addition, with the release of German tank units in the steppe, it became possible to cut the front into two parts.

Under these conditions, our command decided to retreat. However, due to the rapid advance of the Nazis, an organized retreat, and even more so a maneuverable defense, did not work out for our troops. The retreat turned into a rout. Thus, the combat capability of the Southern Front was partially lost, therefore July 28th it was disbanded and included in the North Caucasus.

After this date, there was a partial regrouping of both our and German troops. The Nazis continued to rapidly develop the offensive and by the end of August 19, they had practically completed their immediate task. Most of the Kuban was captured, the cities of Maykop, Stavropol, Armavir, Elista, Krasnodar fell. The Soviet troops suffered heavy losses. The Azov flotilla was forced to evacuate and subsequently became part of the Black Sea Fleet.

Fights for Novorossiysk, Malgobek and in the foothills of the Main Caucasian Range. Defense of Tuapse

The Red Army was able to organize serious resistance only on the outskirts of Tuapse, thereby preventing the encirclement of a large grouping of our troops and blocking the path to the Black Sea.

The further plans of the command of the German Army Group "A" consisted in a simultaneous offensive along three main transport arteries:

• along the Black Sea coast Anapa-Poti-Batumi;
• through the Main Caucasian Range in the direction of Sukhumi-Kutaisi;
• from the east, bypassing the ridge through Pyatigorsk-Prokhladnoye-Ordzhonikidze in the direction of Grozny, Makhachkala and Baku.

The Soviet leadership took a number of measures to increase the combat capability of the troops. First of all, the Transcaucasian Front was reinforced with two rifle corps and eleven separate rifle brigades from the Stavka reserve. A number of formations were transferred from the Makhachkala and Baku region to occupy defensive lines along the Terek and Urukh rivers.

At the end of August, Lavrenty Beria arrived in the Caucasus to carry out general leadership in the preparation of defense. According to his instructions, work was carried out on the engineering equipment of protective lines, strongholds, units of engineering barriers on the passes of the Caucasus Range, the engineering and sapper group was significantly strengthened, and the main mountain roads were prepared for collapse, flooding and destruction.

On August 19, the offensive of the German troops resumed with simultaneous attacks on Anapa and Temryuk and the Taman Peninsula. The first time to take Anapa did not work. The Germans succeeded only on 31 August. At the same time, they cut off parts of the Marine Corps from the main forces on the Taman Peninsula. As a result of partially successful actions on September 11, almost the entire Novorossiysk.Subsequent attempts to capture the city were completely unsuccessful. His the defense lasted almost a year.

On August 23, 1942, attempts began to attack Mozdok. The city fell two days later. Later, having crossed the Terek, the Germans managed to advance 10 km with heavy losses. However, this offensive was not continued. A little further they managed to go along the Prokhladnoye-Ordzhonikidze-Grozny railway in the direction of the Grozny oil region. However, the troops did not let them go further than Malgobekanashi. The Nazis were forced to go on the defensive in this sector as well.

Simultaneously with offensive operations in the Grozny and Novorossiysk directions, the Wehrmacht organized attempts to cross the Main Caucasian Range. The soldiers of the German 49th mountain rifle corps even managed to plant a fascist flag on Elbrus. In February 1943 he was removed from mountain top and installed Soviet.

Toward the end of September 1942, the situation in the North Caucasus relatively stabilized, thanks to successful actions in the defense, and also due to the transfer of part of the German forces to the area of ​​the Battle of Stalingrad. The offensive potential of the enemy was exhausted. Therefore, by the end of September, the Germans made only separate attacks in the Novorossiysk and Grozny directions.

On September 25, 1942, an attempt was made to advance towards Tuapse. After five days of stubborn fighting, there was a danger of capturing the city, but the enemy was stopped by two counterattacks. Subsequently, the Germans made two more attempts - in October and November, which also failed. As a result of prolonged positional defensive battles, the enemy was stopped and forced to switch to defense in December 1942.

At the end of October, a series of successful actions allowed the enemy to capture Nalchik and Gizel. The Soviet command partially minimized these losses when they freed Gizel with counterattacks and the encirclement of a large group of Germans.

In addition, in a number of sectors of the front of the Mozdok direction during November, the prerequisites for counter-offensive operations were created. However, due to miscalculations in the development of the operation and misjudgment until mid-December, the enemy failed to break into the defense of the Nazis. The offensive was delayed until January 1943.

Results of the 1st stage of the battle for the Caucasus

The first stage of the battle for the Caucasus in 1942 turned out to be very difficult and bloody for the Red Army. Our troops suffered heavy losses. Despite their stubborn resistance, the enemy continued to advance inland. The main positive results of the first stage of the battle for the Caucasus can be considered as follows:

• operation "Edelweiss" failed, the Caucasian nut was too tough for Hitler;
• the Germans never succeeded in capturing the oil-bearing regions of our country;
• The Wehrmacht was unable to break into the Middle East;
• Turkey never entered the war;
• the enemy lost more than 100 thousand killed.

The defeat of the German group during the counteroffensive

By January 1943, the Red Army managed to create an advantage in manpower and equipment in the zones of operations of the Southern and Transcaucasian fronts.

The alignment of forces at the beginning of the 2nd stage of the battle

In numerical terms, the superiority was:

• in personnel by 1.4 times;
• in guns and mortars by 2.1 times;
• in tanks by 1.8 times;
• in airplanes by 1.7 times.

There were some problems with the rear support of the fronts. First, difficult terrain, unstable weather. Secondly, the main ways of delivering materiel and personnel from the depths of the country were possible only by sea. Therefore, the main burden fell on the Caspian Flotilla and, to a lesser extent, on the Black Sea Fleet.

Both fronts had the task of encircling the enemy with coordinated strikes, supported by the Black Sea Fleet and two air armies, and not letting the enemy out of the North Caucasus and the Kuban. It was not possible to complete this task until the end.

The German command understood the complexity of the situation. On the Stalingrad direction Nazi German troops suffered a crushing defeat. There was a risk of getting another encirclement of Army Group "A" in the North Caucasian direction. Therefore, the decision was made to retreat. It was planned to be carried out by a sequential withdrawal to pre-selected lines, of which there were four, with the cover of strong rear guards (classic maneuverable defense).

In early January, units of the Wehrmacht began to retreat. In the beginning, the situation was favorable for the Germans. They managed to significantly break away from the Soviet troops. At this stage, our command did not have a sufficient number of mobile formations that could constrain the maneuver by actions on the flanks. There were only cavalry corps that could not cope with this task.

The Nazis managed to get ahead of our units and formations by several days. Therefore, it was decided not to disperse forces and means, but to concentrate on the right flank and go to possible retreat routes.

In the first weeks of the persecution, Pyatigorsk, Kislovodsk, and Mineralnye Vody were liberated. On January 21, Stavropol was cleared of fascist units. And yet, squeezing the enemy out of the North Caucasus was unprofitable, he had to be locked up, and our troops acted belatedly. Under these conditions, the Northern Group of Forces of the Transcaucasian Front on January 24 was reorganized into the North Caucasian Front under the command of Lieutenant General I. I. Maslennikov.

The Red Army failed to immediately capture Bataysk, Krasnodar, near Tuapse the battles took on a protracted character. There were not enough forces to block the retreat of the Nazis to Rostov.

In the current situation, plans required adjustments. As a result, the Soviet command decided to focus its main efforts on preventing the enemy from retreating to Rostov, the Tamansky Peninsula and withdrawing to the Crimea through the Kerch Strait. In addition, it was necessary to capture Krasnodar as soon as possible.

On February 14, Rostov was liberated. Almost simultaneously, to the south, our troops defeated the encircled Krasnodar enemy grouping and liberated the city itself.

In the sky over the Kuban from 17 to 24 April the largest air battle unfolded, from which the Soviet aviation emerged victorious.

Decisive battles on the Taman Peninsula

The withdrawal to the Taman Peninsula could not be prevented. In this sector, the front narrowed and the enemy managed to condense the battle formations. Our troops met stubborn resistance. The Nazis concentrated on the peninsula a group of 400 thousand. At any cost, they wanted to keep this bridgehead. On its territory, the Nazis erected a well-known defensive line - the "blue line".

Soon the protracted Novorossiysk-Taman operation began, which became the final one in the battle for the Caucasus.

The fighting continued there. from February to October 1943. Nevertheless, some successes were achieved by the enemy formations here. After the start of the offensive of our troops in Ukraine in September of the same year, the Nazis managed to evacuate from the Taman Peninsula to the Crimea over two hundred thousand personnel, all horses, equipment and supplies of materiel.

In early February, an amphibious landing was carried out south of Novorossiysk. Marines managed to capture part of the territories coastal strip. Subsequently, this bridgehead will be called "Small Land". Fierce fighting there continued until the liberation of Novorossiysk. It happened only on September 16th.

By October 9, 1943, the Taman Peninsula was completely liberated. Thus ended the battle for the Caucasus.

The inhabitants of the mountain regions helped our army as guides. The maps of that time did not fully reflect the mountain roads and trails. In addition, a paper map could not replace an experienced highlander.

After summing up the results of this great historical battle in May 1944, the Medal "For the Defense of the Caucasus"

Results of the 2nd stage of the battle for the Caucasus

The second stage of the battle for the Caucasus as a whole turned out to be positive for the Soviet Union. The results are:

• all the republics of the North Caucasus, most of the territory of the Kuban, the eastern coast of the Black and Azov Seas have been liberated;
• returned the main sown areas, Maikop oil regions;
• inflicted a major military defeat on fascist Germany.

The negative points include the fact that the Germans managed to keep most of Army Group A, it never managed to be locked up in the Caucasus.

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Our victory is woven from many battles. Among them, the battle in the Caucasus in 1942-1943 became the longest in the entire Great Patriotic War. The Russian soldier once again showed that no matter where he fought, be it the forests of the Moscow region, the swamps near Leningrad, the steppes of the Kuban or the mountains of the Caucasus, he will stand and win.

The heroic defense of the Caucasus became part of the military history of the Soviet Union, and later Russia. This battle took its rightful place in the list of feats of Russian weapons.