Occupation of Odessa lasted 907 days. During this time, tens of thousands of civilians and military personnel were killed. Many were forced to flee not only from the invaders, but also from those who took the side of the enemy and began to participate in mass crimes against ordinary citizens.
The liberation of Odessa made it possible to put an end to the actions of the invaders. It took place during March-April 1944 and was called the Odessa operation, which was part of the offensive movement of the Soviet troops.
Odessa operation
A military operation was carried out by the 3rd Ukrainian Front with the support of additional forces. R. Ya. commanded them. Malinovsky. The purpose of the operation was to defeat the forces of the coastal group of the enemy, which were concentrated between the Southern Bug and the Dniester. And free the coastBlack Sea and the city of Odessa. The Dnieper-Carpathian offensive was carried out from 1943-24-12 to 1994-17-04. The day of the liberation of Odessa entered this period of the offensive of the Soviet troops.
The situation before the start of the operation
Odessa was occupied in October 1941 by German-Romanian troops. By January 1944, the troops of the Red Army began their operation, in connection with which the German command decided to liquidate the administration of the Romanians in Odessa and send their troops into the city. This led to mass arrests and executions. Bodies of dead people hung on poles and trees for several days.
The liberation of Odessa became possible due to the fact that the Red Army was able to reach the shores of the Southern Bug and capture the German crossings. For the Wehrmacht troops, holding the port of Odessa was of great strategic importance, since it was used to communicate with the occupied Crimea.
The day of the liberation of Odessa was postponed due to the creation of a solid defense by the Germans. To do this, they used the old defensive structures of the Soviet troops, which in 1941 were able to hold the city for two and a half months from the enemy entering it.
Side Forces
The liberation of Odessa was extremely important for the USSR, as it would have deprived the Germans of the opportunity to transport their forces through the port. About 470 thousand military personnel were involved in the operation. At their disposal were more than 400 tanks and self-propelled guns, 12 thousand artillery and mortars, more than 400 aircraft. Most of the people and weaponsbelonged to the 3rd Ukrainian Front.
The liberation of Odessa could not be allowed by the German and Romanian troops, who made every effort to prevent this. The total number of their troops was about 350 thousand soldiers. They were part of the German and Romanian divisions. Of the equipment, they had 160 tanks and guns, more than 3 thousand mortars and guns. Aviation consisted of 400 German aircraft and 150 Romanian aircraft.
For the troops, the banks of the rivers (the largest Southern Bug and Dniester, small Tiligul and others) became the main line of defense. The strongest defense center was Odessa itself, in which the "Fortress of the Fuhrer" was located.
The confrontation of the Red Army from the Wehrmacht was concentrated as follows:
- tanks and artillery were located in Odessa, Nikolaev, Berezovka;
- along the rivers, bays, lagoons placed infantry;
- Minefields and obstacles were created on the western shores of the Southern Bug, as well as around Odessa.
Main Events
The liberation of Odessa in 1944 began with the crossing of the Southern Bug River. The forces of the 3rd Ukrainian Front had to confront the armies of the Wehrmacht and Romania. During the first weeks of March, Soviet troops managed to approach the banks of the river. By March 18, the crossing of the Southern Bug began, which proceeded quite rapidly and ended on the 28th. The Germans were not ready for such a turn of events, and the Ukrainian troops launched an equally rapid offensive to the south.
Having moved to the other side of the river, the Soviet troops liberated Nikolaev on the same day. This led to the fact that the German army was forced to start a retreat, and the liberation of Odessa from the Nazi invaders became a very real task.
By the beginning of April, the enemy was surrounded, which became possible due to the Soviet control of Razdelnaya and Ochakova stations.
By April 9, Soviet soldiers appeared in the northern regions of Odessa. On the night of April 9-10, a night assault was carried out in cooperation with local partisans, and by morning the city was liberated. Then the offensive went west, towards the Dniester.
The Ukrainian front was able to go to the left bank of the Dniester and liberate Transnistria, Moldova. During this time, the Germans lost about 37 thousand soldiers, some of whom were killed in battle, and some were taken prisoner.
Stages of the liberation of the Odessa region
The liberation of Odessa in 1944 was not limited to the city. The entire region was liberated from the German-Romanian occupiers.
Steps to free the area:
- From March 5 to March 22, the Uman-Botoshansk operation took place, as a result of which the northern lands of the Odessa region were recaptured.
- From March 6 to March 18, at the end of the Bereznego-Snigirevskaya operation, the Southern Bug was crossed. The Odessa operation began, which took place from March 28 to April 10. Further, until August, there was a tactical pause in the offensive.
- From August 20 to August 29, during the Yassko-Chisinau operation, the Izmail region, which is today part of the Odessa region, was recaptured.
Liberation of the city
It is already known that April 10 is the day of the liberation of Odessa. In order to make this possible, incredible efforts have been made. The enemy managed to organize the strongest defense, using the difficult natural terrain, water barriers. In addition, at that time there was disgusting weather, which made it difficult to get to the city on the road.
The approach to the city began on April 4th. Soviet troops gradually crossed all water barriers, which consisted of the Tiligul, Adzhal, Bolshoi Adzhal estuaries. By April 9, separate units reached the northern outskirts of the city, and the assault on Odessa began, which took place simultaneously from land, sea and air.
When the guards entered Odessa, fierce battles began for each house, which lasted all night. By the morning of April 10, the fighting had reached the central streets of the city. The banner of the Red Army hoisted over the opera house became a symbol that the city was liberated. The price of this operation was thousands of dead soldiers and civilians who could not see the final victory over fascism.
Memorable places in Odessa
The liberation of Odessa (April 10, 1944) is reflected in many books, memoirs, documentaries. In the city itself there are many monuments, memorials dedicated to this event.
Main monuments and their locations:
- monument to R. Ya. Malinovsky in the park on Preobrazhenskaya street;
- memorial "Wings of Victory" onApril 10th Square;
- memorable place (Melnitskaya street, building 31), where on 1944-09-04 partisans defeated a column of German troops;
- memorable place (77 Preobrazhenskaya Street), where V. D. Avdeev;
- mass grave (Tiraspol highway) for ten soldiers who died on 1944-10-04 during the liberation of the city together with their captain Gavrikov;
- mass grave with an obelisk (Shkodova Gora) in memory of 56 victims of fascism, who were shot by retreating punishers on 1944-09-04;
- grave of M. M. Bad at Fairgrounds.
Odessa streets in honor of the liberators
April 10 (the day of the liberation of Odessa) for many people will remember for a lifetime. In order to honor the memory of the liberators of the city, streets were named after them.
Names of servicemen after whom the streets in Odessa are named:
- V. D. Avdeev-Chernomorsky (Kyiv region);
- M. I. Nedelin (Kyiv region);
- V. D. Tsvetaev (Ilyichevsk district);
- I. I. Shvygin (Primorsky district);
- I. A. Pliev (Ilyichevsk district);
- N. F. Krasnov (Kyiv region);
- V. I. Chuikov (Kyiv region).
