4th Ukrainian Front
41-455: [REDACTED] Army Group South Ukraine 230,000–255,970 men Submarine Campaign The Crimean offensive (8 April – 12 May 1944), known in German sources as the Battle of the Crimea , was a series of offensives by the Red Army directed at the German-held Crimea . The Red Army's 4th Ukrainian Front engaged the German 17th Army of Army Group South Ukraine , which consisted of Wehrmacht and Romanian formations. The battles ended with
82-684: A German 88-millimetre (3.5 in) AA gun . German 88-millimetre guns in Romanian service were themselves modified by being fitted with Romanian-produced barrel liners. Regele Ferdinand , named after King Ferdinand I of Romania , was ordered on 13 November 1926 and was laid down by Pattison in June 1927 at their shipyard in Naples , Italy. She was launched on 2 December 1928 and commissioned on 7 September 1930 after arriving in Romania. The ship
123-511: A convoy of two Italian oil tankers off the Bosporus; they depth charged the submarine, but she survived. On 14 November the German 2,793- gross register ton (GRT) oil tanker SS Ossag was torpedoed at the entrance to the Bosporus by the submarine L-23 as she was being met by the sisters. Regele Ferdinand and Mărășești escorted the minelayer Amiral Murgescu as she laid
164-584: A large aerial bomb, which fell in her fuel tanks, but failed to detonate. The bomb was extracted several days after the end of the operation. Two naval actions involving the Romanian Navy took place during the second phase of the evacuation (25 April–10 May), near Sevastopol. On 18 April, the Soviet Leninets -class submarine L-6 was twice attacked with depth charges and damaged by the Romanian gunboat Ghiculescu , numerous bubbles emerged from
205-666: A line 40 km (25 miles) east of Bucharest . Sources: This article about a specific German military unit is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . NMS Regele Ferdinand NMS Regele Ferdinand was the lead ship of her class of two destroyers built in Italy for the Romanian Navy in the late 1920s. After the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941 ( Operation Barbarossa ), she
246-414: A minefield off the approaches to Sevastopol harbor on the night of 13/14 September 1943. Two days later Regele Ferdinand attacked a submarine, possibly Shch-207 , and claimed to have sunk it. Soviet sources do not acknowledge any submarine lost on that day. The submarine S-33 made an unsuccessful attack off Yevpatoria on a ship escorted by Regele Ferdinand on the early morning of 22 September. On
287-399: A pair of French 13.2-millimetre (0.52 in) M1929 Hotchkiss machineguns were added in 1939. Two Italian depth charge throwers were later installed. During World War II, the 76-millimetre gun was replaced by four 20-millimetre (0.79 in) AA guns. In 1943, the two ships were equipped with a German S-Gerät sonar . The following year, the upper forward 120-millimetre gun was replaced by
328-559: A range of 3,000 nautical miles (5,600 km ; 3,500 mi ) at a speed of 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph). The main armament of the Regele Ferdinand -class ships consisted of five 50- calibre Bofors 120-millimetre (4.7 in) guns in single mounts, two superfiring pairs fore and aft of the superstructure and one gun aft of the rear funnel . For anti-aircraft defense , they were equipped with one Bofors 76-millimetre (3 in) anti-aircraft (AA) gun between
369-399: A single propeller , using steam provided by four Thornycroft boilers . The turbines were designed to produce 52,000 shaft horsepower (39,000 kW ) for a speed of 37 knots (69 km/h ; 43 mph ), although the Regele Ferdinand s reached 38 knots (70 km/h; 44 mph) during their sea trials . They could carry 480 long tons (490 t) of fuel oil which gave them
410-574: The fire-control system from Germany. Four destroyers were intended to be ordered, but only two were actually built. The Regele Ferdinand -class ships had an overall length of 101.9 metres (334 ft 4 in), a beam of 9.6 metres (31 ft 6 in), and a mean draught of 3.51 metres (11 ft 6 in). They displaced 1,400 long tons (1,422 t ) at standard load and 1,850 long tons (1,880 t) at deep load . Their crew numbered 212 officers and sailors. The ships were powered by two Parsons geared steam turbines , each driving
451-404: The flotilla leader Mărăști were escorting a convoy to Odessa when a submarine unsuccessfully attacked the convoy. It was quickly spotted and depth charged by Regele Ferdinand and Regina Maria with the latter claiming a kill. Soviet records do not acknowledge any losses on that date. The sisters escorted another convoy to Odessa on 16–17 December, the last one before ice closed the port. As
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#1732771873872492-790: The Crimea. During the following months, the Red Army pushed back the Wehrmacht in southern Ukraine , eventually cutting off the land-based connection of 17th Army through the Perekop Isthmus in November 1943. The Wehrmacht was able to successfully hold on to the Crimea even after it had been cut off by land due to their ability to supply it via the Black Sea. Holding the Crimea was considered important as its loss would negatively affect
533-577: The Romanians began laying minefields to defend the route between the Bosphorus and Constanța; the minelayers were protected by the destroyers. After the evacuation of Odessa on 16 October, they began to clear the Soviet mines defending the port and to lay their own minefields protecting the route between Constanța and Odessa . On 1 December Regele Ferdinand , her sister ship Regina Maria and
574-739: The Romanians lost three cargo ships. The partially successful evacuation of Axis troops from the Crimea earned the commander of the Romanian Navy, Rear Admiral Horia Macellariu , the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross . Between April 14 and May 13, 1944, a total of 120,853 men and 22,548 tons of cargo were evacuated by sea from the Crimea: - 36,557 Romanians, of whom 4,262 were wounded - 58,486 Germans, of whom 12,027 were wounded - 723 Slovaks - 15,391 Soviet volunteers - 2,581 prisoners of war - 7,115 civilians In Soviet propaganda, this offensive
615-537: The attitude of Turkey and put Romanian oilfields under risk of Soviet air attacks. Aside from Soviet landings across the Kerch Strait and in the north-eastern sector near Sivash at the end of 1943, the Soviet Army largely ignored the Crimea for the next five months. Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist was removed from the command of Army Group A (from April 2: " Army Group South Ukraine ") on March 30, 1944. He
656-400: The biggest problem was an unexploded bomb that pierced the port oil tank, causing a major leak. At 09:30 she was engaged by Soviet coastal artillery, but suppressed them with her counter fire. About an hour later, her captain radioed for help, shortly before the final attacks destroyed her radio room and damaged her starboard fuel lines; despite passing oil hand-to-hand in a bucket brigade ,
697-660: The city outskirts towards the end of April and the city fell on 9 May, less than a month after the start of the offensive. The Axis sea evacuation to Constanța was attacked by Soviet land-based bombers. The evacuation of the Crimea in April–May 1944, under the code name Operation 60,000, was the most complex and extensive operation of the Romanian Navy during the Second World War. From 15 April to 14 May, numerous German and Romanian warships escorted many convoys between Constanța and Sevastopol. The scale and importance of
738-453: The convoy passed Jibrieni , Regele Ferdinand spotted a submarine's periscope and depth charged the submarine after evading a pair of torpedoes . The ship reported spotting debris and an oil slick; she may have sunk M-59 . During the winter of 1941–1942, the Romanian destroyers were primarily occupied with escorting convoys between the Bosporus and Constanța. On the nights of 22/23 and 24/25 June, Regele Ferdinand , Regina Maria and
779-552: The depths after each attack, before being finished off by the German submarine hunter UJ-104 . During the night of 27 April, a convoy escorted by the Romanian gunboat Ghiculescu , the German submarine hunter UJ-115 , one R-boat , two KFK naval trawlers and 19 MFPs (including the Romanian PTA-404 and PTA-406 ) engaged the Soviet G-5-class motor torpedo boats TKA-332 , TKA-343 and TKA-344 , after
820-608: The end of World War I and the re-purchase of two Aquila-class cruisers from Italy, the Romanian Government decided to order also two modern destroyers from the Pattison Yard in Italy, as part of the 1927 Naval Programme. The design was based on the British Shakespeare -class destroyer leaders , but differed in the arrangement of their propulsion machinery. The guns were imported from Sweden and
861-719: The evacuation of the Crimea by the Germans. German and Romanian forces suffered considerable losses during the evacuation. The Germans took control of the Crimean Peninsula after the Crimean Campaign in 1942. During late 1943 and early 1944, the Wehrmacht was pressed back along its entire front line in the east. In October 1943, the 17th Army withdrew from the Kuban bridgehead across the Kerch Strait into
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#1732771873872902-463: The flotilla leader Mărășești covered the laying of defensive minefields off Odessa. After Sevastopol surrendered on 4 July, a direct route between the port and Constanța was opened in October and operated year-round. On 14 October Regele Ferdinand was attacked and missed by the submarine M-32 . The submarine Shch-207 unsuccessfully attacked Regele Ferdinand and Mărăști as they escorted
943-437: The funnels and a pair of 40-millimetre (1.6 in) AA guns. The ships were fitted with two triple mounts for 533-millimetre (21 in) torpedo tubes and could carry 50 mines and 40 depth charges . They were equipped with a Siemens fire-control system which included a pair of rangefinders , one each for the fore and aft guns. The 40-millimetre guns were replaced by two German 3.7-centimetre (1.5 in) AA guns and
984-420: The harbour. Regele Ferdinand arrived at Sevastopol harbour during the early morning of 11 May and loaded troops before departing later that morning. Soviet air attacks began at 06:00 and lasted until 10:30. The exposed troops and her AA gunners suffered the most from strafing of her decks by aircraft and bomb splinters, but one bomb struck the bridge and killed two officers. Other hits started small fires, but
1025-511: The intervention of Heinz Guderian saved his life. He was dismissed from the army on 31 January 1945. The German and Romanian formations suffered the loss of 57,000 men, many of whom drowned during the evacuation. The sinking of the Totila and Teja on 10 May alone caused up to 10,000 deaths. In total, the German losses at sea amounted to five cargo ships, one tanker, three tugs, three lighters, three motorboats and four submarine hunters, while
1066-414: The night of 9/10 November, the sisters escorted minelayers as they laid a minefield off Sevastopol. The minefield was enlarged between 14 and 16 November as Regele Ferdinand and Mărășești covered the minelayers. Successful Soviet attacks in early 1944 cut the overland connection of the Crimea with the rest of Ukraine and necessitated its supply by sea. In early April another offensive occupied most of
1107-405: The operation can be attested by the usage in combat of all four Romanian destroyers, the largest Axis warships in the Black Sea. The last phase of the evacuation (10–14 May) saw the fiercest combat, as Axis ships transported, under constant attacks from Soviet aircraft and shore artillery, over 30,000 troops. Of these, 18,000 were transported by Romanian ships. On 11 May, the German tanker Friederike
1148-485: The peninsula and encircled Sevastopol. The Romanians began evacuating the city on 14 April, with their destroyers covering the troop convoys. Four days later, the 5,700 GRT cargo ship SS Alba Julia was unsuccessfully attacked by the submarines L-6 and L-4 . Shortly after the latter submarine missed with her pair of torpedoes, the freighter was bombed and set on fire by Soviet aircraft. Other ships rescued her passengers and crew after they abandoned ship, but
1189-608: The peninsula was Amiral Murgescu , carrying on board 1,000 Axis troops, including the German General Walter Hartmann . In a meeting with Adolf Hitler in Berchtesgaden, 17th Army commander Erwin Jaenecke had insisted that Sevastopol should be evacuated and his cut off Army of 235,000 men withdrawn. After the loss of the Crimea, he was held responsible, arrested in Romania and court-martialed. Only
1230-642: The rest of the Romanian Navy. Before being renamed Likhoy on 20 October, the ship was commissioned into the Soviet Navy on 14 September as part of the Black Sea Fleet , along with her sister. She was struck from the navy list on 3 July 1951 after she had been returned to Romania with her sister on 24 June. The sisters rejoined Mărăști and Mărășești when they were assigned to the Destroyer Squadron upon their return. Regele Ferdinand
1271-513: The ship ran out of fuel early the following morning and had to be towed a short distance to Constanța. Regele Ferdinand was damaged during a Soviet airstrike on Constanța on 20 August with 47 men killed. After King Michael's Coup on 23 August, Romania declared war on the Axis Powers . Regele Ferdinand remained in harbour until she was seized by the Soviets on 5 September together with
Crimean offensive - Misplaced Pages Continue
1312-470: The sisters were dispatched to see if she could be salvaged. They put a skeleton crew aboard to operate her pumps and to stabilise her before a pair of tugboats arrived the next morning to tow her to Constanța. Adolf Hitler suspended the evacuation on 27 April, but relented on 8 May after further Soviet attacks further endangered the Axis forces in Sevastopol as they closed within artillery range of
1353-453: The three attacked and damaged the German submarine hunter UJ-104 . Ghiculescu opened fire with tracer rounds, enabling the entire escort group to locate the two Soviet MTBs and open fire. TKA-332 was hit and sunk. Over 12 Soviet aircraft were also shot down during the evacuation, including two by the minelaying destroyer escort Amiral Murgescu . The last Axis pockets in the Crimea were destroyed on 12 May. The last Axis warship to leave
1394-704: Was a joint German-Romanian group on the Eastern Front during World War II . Army Group South Ukraine was created on 5 April 1944 by renaming Army Group A . This army group saw action during the Jassy-Kishinev Operation and after taking heavy casualties was redesignated Army Group South ( Heeresgruppe Süd ) at midnight on 23 September 1944. Geographically, Army Group South Ukraine – headquartered at Slănic-Moldova – held 392 miles (680 km) of front, of which 160 were held by Romanians. Its operational area covered all of Eastern Romania, from
1435-607: Was assigned to the Destroyer Squadron , which was visited by King Carol II of Romania and the Prime Minister , Nicolae Iorga , on 27 May 1931. Massively outnumbered by the Black Sea Fleet, the Romanian ships were kept behind the minefields defending Constanța for several months after the start of Operation Barbarossa on 22 June 1941, training for convoy escort operations. Beginning on 5 October,
1476-541: Was badly damaged in May when she rescued some troops herself. Later that year Romania switched sides , but despite that the Soviets seized the Romanian ships and incorporated them into the Soviet Navy . Renamed Likhoy , the ship served until she was struck from the navy list in 1951 when she was returned to the Romanians who renamed her D21 in 1952. The ship was discarded in 1961 and subsequently scrapped . Following
1517-564: Was limited to escort duties in the western half of the Black Sea during the war by the powerful Soviet Black Sea Fleet which heavily outnumbered Axis naval forces in the Black Sea. The ship may have sunk two Soviet submarines during the war. In early 1944 the Soviets were able to cut off and surround the port of Sevastopol on the Crimean Peninsula . Regele Ferdinand covered convoys evacuating Axis troops from Sevastopol and
1558-683: Was listed as one of Stalin's ten blows . The table below is based on information from Glantz/House When Titans Clashed .: Axis losses German: Killed and missing: 31,700 Wounded: 33,400 Total: 65,100 Romanian: Killed and missing: 25,800 Wounded: 5,800 Total: 31,600 Total: Killed and missing: 57,500 Wounded: 39,200 Total: 96,700 Soviet losses Killed and missing: 17,754 Wounded: 67,065 Total: 84,819 Tanks: 171 Artillery: 521 Aircraft: 179 Army Group South Ukraine 120 tanks + 280 assault guns Army Group South Ukraine ( German : Heeresgruppe Südukraine , Romanian : Grupul de Armate Ucraina de Sud )
1599-450: Was retreating toward Sevastopol by 16 April, with remaining Axis forces in the Crimea concentrating around the city by the end of the third week of April. The OKH intended to hold Sevastopol as a fortress, as the Red Army had done during the first Crimean campaign in 1941–42. However, the fortifications of the city had never been restored and Sevastopol was not the strong defensive position that it had been in 1941. Fighting broke out in
1640-545: Was succeeded by Ferdinand Schörner . An assault across the Perekop Isthmus was launched on 8 April by elements of the 4th Ukrainian Front 's 2nd Guards and 51st Armies . The 17th Army defended but was unable to stop the advance. Kerch was reached by the Separate Coastal Army on 11 April; Simferopol , about 37 mi (60 km) northeast of Sevastopol, followed two days later. The 17th Army
1681-411: Was torpedoed and heavily damaged by Soviet submarine L-4 , preventing her participation. In total, Romanian and German convoys evacuated over 113,000 Axis troops from the Crimea, most of them (over 63,000) during the first phase of the evacuation (15–25 April). No Romanian Navy warships were lost during the evacuation, however the destroyer Regele Ferdinand came close to being sunk. She was struck by