Day-by-Day Timeline of Events
Thursday, September 25th, 1941
The Crimea finds itself cutoff from the rest of the Soviet Union by German Army forces made up of German Army Group South.
Sunday, November 16th, 1941
By this date, Lieutenant-General von Manstein and his German 11th Army take most of Crimea with the exception of Sevastapol.
Friday, September 26th - November 26th, 1941
Over the course of two months, Soviet Major-General I.Y. Pretov and his band of 32,000 Independent Maritime Army soldiers set up a vast network of defenses at the fortress in Sevastopol. The defense consists of three well-defended rings.
Wednesday, December 17th, 1941
Lieutenant-General von Manstein launches a major offensive against the Soviet soldiers holed up in the Sevastopol fortress.
Friday, December 26th, 1941
Manstein's offensive gains substantial ground, piercing the first two Soviet defensive rings.
Friday, December 26th, 1941
Soviet naval forces land army troops near Kerch.
Sunday, December 28th, 1941
More Soviet forces land near Kerch via amphibious transports, bolstering Red Army power in the area.
Sunday, December 28th, 1941
In the face of growing Soviet Army opposition, von Manstein calls off his offensive on Sevastopol.
Thursday, January 1st - January 31st, 1942
Over the course of the month, three Soviet armies, under the command of Major-General D.T. Kozlov, are called to the newly created "Crimea Front".
Wednesday, April 1st - May 31st, 1942
Over a two month period, German forces are resupplied and strengthened before a major offensive - Operation Bustard - to remove the Soviets from the Kerch peninsula. Among the resupply deliveries are 33 massive artillery pieces meant to destroy the Soviet defensive works at the fort in Sevastopol.
Friday, May 8th, 1942
Lieutenant-General von Manstein launches his assault.
Thursday, July 2nd, 1942
The Soviet city of Sevastopol officially falls to the Germans.
Friday, May 15th, 1942
Manstein's offensive results in the taking of the Kerch peninsula from the Soviets.
Friday, May 15th, 1942
Sevastopol is cutt off from the rest of the Soviet Union by German Army elements.
Friday, May 15th, 1942
Manstein begins planning his next major offensive to take Sevastopol - this becomes Operation Sturgeon.
Tuesday, June 2nd, 1942
600 German artillery guns open fire on Sevastopol.
Sunday, June 7th, 1942
The German artillery guns cease fire on Sevastopol. The bombardment on the Soviets has spanned five days.
Saturday, June 6th, 1942
The German Luftwaffe is called in to bomb Sevastopol.
Sunday, June 7th, 1942
The German 11th Army begins their assault on Sevastopol from the north at 2:30AM.
Thursday, June 11th, 1942
The German-allied Romanian Mountain Corps and 30th Army Corps launch their attack on Sevastopol.
Friday, June 12th - June 16th, 1942
The German offensive against Sevastopol is repulsed by the 180,000 or so Russian soldiers holed up in the city.
Wednesday, June 17th, 1942
Manstein launches another assault on Sevastopol.
Saturday, June 27th, 1942
The Romanian and German army forces capture key hilltop positions near Sevastopol.
Sunday, June 28th, 1942
German forces reach the outskirts of Sevastopol.
Sunday, June 28th, 1942
By this date, over 90% of the Soviet defensive fortifications have fallen to the Germans.
Tuesday, June 30th, 1942
Evacuation of Russian soldiers from Sevastopol begins with help from the Soviet Black Sea Fleet under Vice-Admiral F.S. Oktyabrsky.
Wednesday, July 1st, 1942
One last German push secures strategic positions throughout the city of Sevastopol.
Thursday, July 2nd, 1942
The last of the Soviet forces are evacuated by sea leaving little to stop the German onslaught.
Saturday, July 4th, 1942
Sevastopol officially falls to German control.
Saturday, July 4th, 1942
German control and the subsequent round up on the city nets some 90,000 Soviet army prisoners of war.
