Battle of Kerch Peninsula, 1942
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Modern Era
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one comment
| Erich von Manstein versus D.T. Kozlov: A German army under Manstein assaults a Soviet army while besieging another, both under Kozlov. Can Kozlov blunt the attack long enough to exploit Manstein’s precarious position fighting two fronts? Click on the image below to view.
Compared to other German masterpiece battles of maneuver in World War II such as France, Kiev and Gazala, Kerch Peninsula is an unknown. The Eastern Front 1941-2 witnessed stunning German successes, resulting in massive prisoner tallies. Superior German combat doctrine was partly responsible but each battle was won individually by an individual commander in an individual set of circumstances. Each victory, including that in the Kerch Peninsula, was a masterpiece in its own right.
Manstein utilized a simple maneuver of warfare to win this battle: envelopment of a single flank. The battle was won so decisively because Kozlov was convinced the major push would come in the north and also because the major push was so swift and well-supported.
 First of all, a note on the Soviet casualty figures given. All available sources were consistent in stating that 170,000 Soviet solders were captured with no regard towards killed or wounded. Based on the typical Soviet-German casualty ratio for this stage of the Eastern Front, Soviet killed and wounded should be twice that of the Germans. I therefore doubled the German casualty figures and determined it to be the minimum number of Soviet killed and wounded.
This battle was a frustrating one to animate. For starters, modern battles undermine the “artful” nature of this website’s because the formations are so distinct; for example, that box is not just an infantry unit, it is the 57th infantry division. Due to this simple fact, I can not just place units in the best manner to illustrate tactical concepts because I am restrained by the knowledge of exact locations of exact formations. This is an impossibility in this medium; formations become separated, partly destroyed, deployed in smaller formations etc., and this is not consistent with the site’s goals. The goal of these animations is to teach tactics and strategy. The positions of each formation range from exact to approximate and should only give the viewer an idea of what role they played in the battle; if you desire more precise information, consult primary documents such as unit diaries.
The other frustrating aspect of animating this battle is the troubles I had finding sources for this battle. The dispositions of most formations are based on Russian maps (fortunately I have basic knowledge of the Russian language and was able to make great use of them) but the quality of sources is not high enough. I have reached a stage where my standards for source quality are very high. Regardless, this is a solid animation and should shed some much needed light on the Crimean Campaign. Enjoy. - Jonathan Webb Tell a Friend:
            Tags: aircraft, armour, eastern front, envelopment of a single flank, erich, german, germany, kerch, kozlov, manstein, modern, romania, romanian, russia, russian, second world war, soviet, soviet union, tanks, world war two
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One Comment to “Battle of Kerch Peninsula, 1942”
Well done! I discovered your site from wikipedia’s Battle of Marathon page as a “related link”. As an avid military history fan, your website is brilliant! Thanks.
Arul
By alex arul on Jul 16, 2009 at 6:07 am