The Great Patriotic War in the Crimea
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Operation Barbarossa, the codename for the WW2 invasion of the Soviet Union, began with a series of stunning victories for the Nazi Germany and their allies. By September they had advanced deep into the Soviet Union, and hundreds of thousands of Soviet troops had been killed or taken prisoner, and thousands of guns and vehicles destroyed or captured.
On the far right flank of Army Group South was the German Eleventh Army supported by the Third and Fourth Romanian Armies. Attacking out of Romania this force made rapid progress, and by 13 August 1941 the Romanians had surrounded the Black Sea port of Odessa and advance units were across the River Bug. Then on 12 September the commander of the Eleventh Army was killed and he was succeeded by General of Infantry Erich von Manstein. One of von Manstein's first tasks was to capture the Crimea and, in particular, what many considered to be the world's strongest fortress and home of the Soviet Black Sea Fleet, Sevastopol.
For the Germans it was imperative that the Crimea be captured quickly, to prevent its use as a Soviet air and sea base from which the Soviets could attack the Axis forces from the rear as they headed for the Caucasian oilfields. Also the Romanian oilfields at Ploesti which supplied a third of Germany's requirements were within range of Soviet aircraft based in the Crimea.
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After bitter fighting, desperate Soviet counter attacks and the use of the heaviest siege artillery ever seen, von Manstein's forces captured Sevastopol in early July 1942 and he was promoted to Field Marshal. The Axis victory was short lived. Following the failure of Operation Zitadelle at Kursk in the summer of 1943 the Crimea was soon cut off and the Axis garrison surrounded. By May 1944 the whole of the Crimea and Sevastopol were back in Soviet hands.
This new Great Patriotic War in the Crimea tour, led by Colonel Peter Knox begins in Odessa, looks at the struggle for the Crimea from the initial break-in battle at the Perekop isthmus, the Soviet counter attack which retook Kerch and the struggles for the great fortress of Sevastopol. |
Revised Itinerary
| Day 1 |
(Saturday): We begin with Titan HiTours VIP Home Departure Service™ to the airport. Fly London - Vienna. A visit to the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum en route to centrally located hotel. Free evening to explore Vienna. |
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| Day 2 |
Fly Vienna - Odessa, where we check into our hotel for two nights. Briefing on the Great Patriotic War in the southern Ukraine and Crimea. |
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| Day 3 |
We begin with a tour of Odessa often called the pearl of the Black Sea with architecture more Mediterranean than Russian. However Odessa has a dark history. Before WW2 a third of the population was Jewish and these Jews suffered terribly when the city was evacuated by its Soviet garrison in mid October 1941.
After lunch we visit the Jewish quarter and then the catacombs used by the Soviet partisans. |
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| Day 4 |
Travel by coach to the Crimea stopping for lunch at Kherson on the banks of the River Dneipr. After lunch we continue to the Perekop Isthmus to discuss the German break-in battle of 1941 and the Soviet counter offensive in 1943. After a refreshment stop in Armyansk, continue to Feodosia, where we shall stay for two nights. |
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| Day 5 |
Travel by coach to Kerch stopping en route to view the Parpach position which both sides used to seal off the Kerch peninsula. On arrival in Kerch we shall visit Mount Mithridate followed by a short city tour to include the city museum. After lunch we continue to the site of the Soviet landings at Eltigen and finally to the Adzhimushkay catacomb museum and memorial. Return to Feodosia. |
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| Day 6 |
Travel by coach to Sudak and visit the magnificent Genoese fortress. After lunch continue to Yalta where we shall stay for one night. Choose one of the local restaurants in this interesting city for dinner. |
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| Day 7 |
After a leisurely breakfast we visit the Livadia Palace, scene of the meeting between Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin in February 1945 that determined the structure of post war Europe. We continue along the coast to the port of Balaklava stopping en route at the German cemetery at Goncharnoe. After lunch in Balaklava we visit the Cold War submarine Pens, reminiscent of a James Bond movie, and finally to Sevastopol where we shall spend two nights. |
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| Day 8 |
In the morning we shall visit the site of Battery 35, better known as Makim Gorky 2, and Cape Khersonesus. Then we drive to the Gornaya position, Sapun Ridge and finally see the diorama depicting the final Soviet assault on the city. After lunch we complete our tour by taking a harbour cruise to see the city's fortifications from the water and view the modern Russian Black Sea Fleet and the ships of the Ukrainian Naval Forces. Farewell Dinner. |
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| Day 9 |
Tour of Sevastopol by seeing the most important of the Soviet memorials to the 250 day siege of the city followed by a visit to the museum of the Black Sea Fleet. Next we shall see the Soviet armoured train, the Inkerman position and the Malakhov Bastion. After lunch we travel to the north side of the harbour to see where the Germans launched their final surprise assault on the city. On the way we shall visit the Kalamita Fortress and Fort Stalin. Finally we visit the Common Cemetery, where the sailors from Sevastopol who perished when the Russian nuclear submarine, Kursk, floundered are buried and Zakharov Square and monument to the 2nd Guards Army. Drive to Simferopol for an early dinner followed by transfer to the airport for the late evening flight to Kiev. Overnight in a hotel in Kiev. |
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| Day 10 |
A very early start to catch the early morning flight back to London via Vienna. On your arrival at the airport Titan staff will greet you and transfer you to your Titan transport for the return journey to your front door. |
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