The feat of Soviet soldiers in Eltigen marked the beginning of the liberation of Crimea, and the proud words "Tierra del Fuego" became a symbol of unparalleled courage and glory.
Instructions
Step 1
Eltigen, translated from the Crimean Tatar - "land of heroes", fully justified its name. A tiny piece of land, a bridgehead three kilometers along the front and one and a half kilometers deep, became a place of manifestation of the mass heroism of Soviet soldiers. In the fall of 1943, a favorable situation emerged for the expulsion of the German fascist invaders from the territory of the Crimean peninsula. By this time, the Taman Peninsula and the Perekop Isthmus were completely cleared of the enemy. Fascist German troops in the Crimea were blocked from land. The headquarters of the Supreme High Command decided to strike at the Crimean grouping from the north and east. The North Caucasian Front was ordered to cross the Kerch Strait. The operation was named Kerch-Eltigen. Its plan provided for the simultaneous landing of the main landing force north of Kerch and the auxiliary landing in the Eltigen direction south of Kerch. In the first throw of both landings, battalions of the Black Sea Fleet marines marched. The Eltigen landing was to capture the port of Kamysh-Burun, take the 117th Guards Division there and, together with the divisions of the main landing, liberate the Kerch Peninsula.
Step 2
On the day of landing on November 1, the stormy sea, sandbanks and enemy fire prevented the landing craft from approaching directly to the coast. Soldiers parachuted into the water at times 100-150 meters from the shore. To get to the coast, the paratroopers had to throw their duffel bags, dry rations, and often boots, leaving only weapons and ammunition. The landing took place under heavy enemy fire. On the first night about three thousand people landed on the coast, the loss of personnel reached one and a half thousand fighters. Over the next two days, about four thousand more soldiers, 11 guns, about 40 tons of various cargoes managed to land on the bridgehead. The captured bridgehead was shot through by enemy fire from the shore, it was subjected to constant air raids and artillery shelling of enemy ships.
The bridgehead was named "Tierra del Fuego", which fully reflected the situation at the landing site. The first echelon of the main landing was successfully landed north of Kerch by the end of November 3. Then the ships of the Azov Military Flotilla established a crossing, which constantly transferred reinforcements, weapons and ammunition to the bridgehead. Despite this, the main landing was unable to advance beyond the Yenikalsky Peninsula and at the end of November went on the defensive. In this regard, the position of the Eltigen landing party deteriorated significantly. He could not take the port of Kamysh-Burun, in connection with which the landing of the 117th division was canceled.
On the night of December 7, 1943, by order of the command, everyone who could move, and this is more than one and a half thousand paratroopers, went to the breakthrough. Breaking the enemy ring, they reached Kerch overnight and, unexpectedly striking the Nazis from the rear, they reached Mithridates and the adjacent streets. Then they fought for four more days.
Step 3
However, from the general point of view of that time, the Kerch-Eltigen landing operation was one of the largest landing operations of the Great Patriotic War. Although the Soviet troops at that time did not manage to liberate the Kerch Peninsula, the Kerch-Eltigen landing operation had an important military-political significance: as a result, significant enemy forces were pulled from the Perekop direction and his intention to deliver a counterattack on the advancing troops of the 4th Ukrainian Front was thwarted.
