The Defense of the Adzhimushkay quarry (Russian: Оборона Аджимушкайских каменоломен) took place during World War II, between May and October 1942, in the Adzhimushkay quarry [ru] named after the Adzhimushkay [ru] suburb of Kerch during Nazi Germany's occupation of Crimea.
Adzhimushkay was a small mining suburb 5 km from the city of Kerch, where a complex network of catacombs is located. Limestone was extracted there from 1830 by using both the surface quarry and the underground mines. The latter resulted in the network of tunnels (catacombs), known as the Great and Small Adzhimushkay catacombs. They were first used for military purposes by pro-Bolshevik armed groups during the Russian Civil War.
Eventsedit
When Kerch was occupied by the Wehrmacht in November 1941, a squad of Soviet partisans already operated in the catacombs. By May 1942, a counteroffensive was staged by the Wehrmacht to expel the Red Army from the Kerch Peninsula and the city of Sevastopol. The Red Army was overrun, had to evacuate the bridgehead and sustained heavy casualties. By May 19, 1942, regular fighting in the area had ended, and to ensure the evacuation of the Soviet troops across the Strait of Kerch, a defense group was left in Adzhimushkay and led by Colonel Pavel Yagunov [ru].
The group absorbed retreating soldiers, along with numerous civilians fleeing the city, and eventually grew to several thousand. When it became obvious that the bridgehead over the strait could not be held, the Adzhimushkay group found refuge in the catacombs. It is estimated that more than 10,000 fled to the Great Adzhimushkay catacombs system, and 3,000 to the Small Adzhimushkay catacombs system. The larger garrison was led by Yagunov, Parakhin and Burmin and the smaller one by Yermakov, Povazhny and Karpekin.
The catacombs were ill-suited for defense, as no supplies had been prepared there, and all wells were located outside. Any supply of water had to be taken by force since a sortie was needed to reach a well. The Soviet group attempted several counterattacks, including one resulting in the defeat of the Wehrmacht garrison in Adzhimushkay on the night of 8 and 9 July 1942. Colonel Yagunov was killed in that assault.
Most Soviet guerrillas died, as the group ran out of ammunition, food and water and resorted to extreme techniques of survival such as preparing meat of the dead livestock earlier killed in the mine entrances and gathering water condensed on the mine ceilings. The defenders also attempted to dig their own wells in the catacombs as deep as 14 m to reach the phreatic water layer.
The German forces surrounded the quarries with barbed wire fencing, blocked the entrances and exits and bombed and shelled them. General Hermann Ochsner [de], the chief of the chemical forces, proposed the use of a non-lethal irritant gas to smoke the partisans out of such hiding places, but he was denied permission to carry out the attack[1] although survivors' testimonies claimed otherwise.[2][3][4]
Adzhimushkay Defense Memorial in 2012. The plaque in the foreground states that Ivan Parakhin and other three Soviet fighters were captured alive after the Soviet defeat and later executed by Nazis in a Simferopol prison.
On October 30, 1942, German forces entered the catacombs and captured the remaining defenders. The estimates of the number of guerrilla fighters surviving the 170-day siege and final clash and their subsequent treatment by Nazis varied from 48 to 300 of the initial 13,000 of the Soviet group.
Remembranceedit
Several books and songs were written to commemorate the defense. A museum was established in the quarry in 1966[5] and the memorial complex was established in 1982.[6]
Sourcesedit
В. Кондратьев. По поводу дневников, найденных в Аджимушкайских каменоломнях // «Военно-исторический журнал», № 1, 1965.
С. С. Смирнов. Подземная крепость // Первая шеренга. М., Политиздат, 1965. с. 103—149.
Обагренные кровью. Последнее слово павших героев. / сб., сост. П. Е. Гармаш, Н. Д. Луговой. Симферополь, изд-во "Крым", 1968. стр.180-206
В. Кондратьев. Герои Аджимушкая. — М.: Молодая гвардия, 1975.
А. Рябикин. Аджимушкай // журнал «Вокруг света», № 11 (2566), ноябрь 1972.
Надписи советских воинов на стенах и записи в дневниках, найденных в Аджимушкайских каменоломнях. Май - июль 1942 г. // Говорят погибшие герои: предсмертные письма советских борцов против немецко-фашистских захватчиков (1941 - 1945 гг.) / сост. В. А. Кондратьев, З. Н. Политов. 6-е изд., испр. и доп. М., Политиздат, 1979. стр.83-91
В катакомбах Аджимушкая: Документы. Воспоминания. Статьи. Симферополь, 1982.
В. В. Абрамов. Героическая оборона аджимушкайских каменоломен. М., «Знание», 1983 — 64 с.
Н. А. Ефремов. Солдаты подземелья. Ташкент, 1983.
Князев Г. Н., Проценко И. С. Доблесть бессмертна: О подвиге защитников Аджимушкая. М., 1987—174 с.
Щербак С. М. Легендарный Аджимушкай. Симферополь, «Таврия», 1989. — 93 с.
Aleksei Kapler, Two of Twenty Million «Двое из двадцати миллионов»,
Пирогов Андрей Иоанникиевич «Крепость солдатских сердец», 1974 год
Камбулов (Колибуков) Николай Иванович: повести «Свет в катакомбах», «Подземный гарнизон», «Тринадцать осколков», «Аджимушкайская тетрадь», роман «Разводящий ещё не пришел».
Смирнов С. С. «Подземная крепость». Из сборника «Рассказы о неизвестных героях» — М.: Молодая гвардия, 1964 г.
Николай Арсеньевич Ефремов. "Солдаты подземелья". Издательство "Крым", Симферополь, 1970 г. - воспоминания непосредственного участника обороны.
The 1986 drama film Descended from the Heaven (Russian: Сошедшие с небес) was based on the novel by Aleksei Kapler. It is the story of an ordinary Soviet couple that struggles with the difficulties of post-World War II life. In the film's finale it is revealed that they perished in the Adzhimushkay Quarry, and the film is in fact a "what if" story.[7]
Referencesedit
^Halder, F., Kriegstagebuch. Tägliche Aufzeichnungen des Chefs des Generalstabes des Heeres 1939–1942.Stuttgart: Kohlhammer Verlag, 1962–1964 (entry dated June 13, 1942).
^Joachim Krause, Charles K. Mallory: Chemical weapons in Soviet military doctrine: military and historical experience, 1915-1991, Westview Press 1992, p. 92
^Victor Israelyan, On the Battlefields of the Cold War: A Soviet Ambassador's Confession, 2010, ISBN0271047739, pp. 338-339
^"Музей истории обороны Аджимушкайских каменоломен"
^"Мемориальный комплекс "Аджимушкайские каменоломни"
^Виталий Некрасов "Сошедшие с небес" - a story about Aleksei Kapler. Quote about the film:" Почти обезумевшие от жажды Маша и Сергей, расстрелянные у колодца… Любили, страдали, растили сына, в общем – жили, в послевоенное нелегкое время – только в воображении авторов фильма."
defense, adzhimushkay, quarry, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jst. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Defense of the Adzhimushkay quarry news newspapers books scholar JSTOR February 2013 Learn how and when to remove this template message Defense of the Adzhimushkay QuarryPart of the Eastern Front of World War IICrimea and Sea of AzovDateMay 16 October 30 1942LocationAdzhimushkay now within Kerch Crimea USSR45 22 52 N 36 31 25 E 45 3812 N 36 5235 E 45 3812 36 5235ResultGerman victoryBelligerents Germany Soviet UnionStrengthSeveral regiments10 000 15 000Casualties and lossesUnknown10 000 The Defense of the Adzhimushkay quarry Russian Oborona Adzhimushkajskih kamenolomen took place during World War II between May and October 1942 in the Adzhimushkay quarry ru named after the Adzhimushkay ru suburb of Kerch during Nazi Germany s occupation of Crimea Contents 1 Background 2 Events 3 Remembrance 4 Sources 4 1 Fiction 5 References 6 External linksBackground editAdzhimushkay was a small mining suburb 5 km from the city of Kerch where a complex network of catacombs is located Limestone was extracted there from 1830 by using both the surface quarry and the underground mines The latter resulted in the network of tunnels catacombs known as the Great and Small Adzhimushkay catacombs They were first used for military purposes by pro Bolshevik armed groups during the Russian Civil War Events editWhen Kerch was occupied by the Wehrmacht in November 1941 a squad of Soviet partisans already operated in the catacombs By May 1942 a counteroffensive was staged by the Wehrmacht to expel the Red Army from the Kerch Peninsula and the city of Sevastopol The Red Army was overrun had to evacuate the bridgehead and sustained heavy casualties By May 19 1942 regular fighting in the area had ended and to ensure the evacuation of the Soviet troops across the Strait of Kerch a defense group was left in Adzhimushkay and led by Colonel Pavel Yagunov ru The group absorbed retreating soldiers along with numerous civilians fleeing the city and eventually grew to several thousand When it became obvious that the bridgehead over the strait could not be held the Adzhimushkay group found refuge in the catacombs It is estimated that more than 10 000 fled to the Great Adzhimushkay catacombs system and 3 000 to the Small Adzhimushkay catacombs system The larger garrison was led by Yagunov Parakhin and Burmin and the smaller one by Yermakov Povazhny and Karpekin The catacombs were ill suited for defense as no supplies had been prepared there and all wells were located outside Any supply of water had to be taken by force since a sortie was needed to reach a well The Soviet group attempted several counterattacks including one resulting in the defeat of the Wehrmacht garrison in Adzhimushkay on the night of 8 and 9 July 1942 Colonel Yagunov was killed in that assault Most Soviet guerrillas died as the group ran out of ammunition food and water and resorted to extreme techniques of survival such as preparing meat of the dead livestock earlier killed in the mine entrances and gathering water condensed on the mine ceilings The defenders also attempted to dig their own wells in the catacombs as deep as 14 m to reach the phreatic water layer The German forces surrounded the quarries with barbed wire fencing blocked the entrances and exits and bombed and shelled them General Hermann Ochsner de the chief of the chemical forces proposed the use of a non lethal irritant gas to smoke the partisans out of such hiding places but he was denied permission to carry out the attack 1 although survivors testimonies claimed otherwise 2 3 4 nbsp Adzhimushkay Defense Memorial in 2012 The plaque in the foreground states that Ivan Parakhin and other three Soviet fighters were captured alive after the Soviet defeat and later executed by Nazis in a Simferopol prison On October 30 1942 German forces entered the catacombs and captured the remaining defenders The estimates of the number of guerrilla fighters surviving the 170 day siege and final clash and their subsequent treatment by Nazis varied from 48 to 300 of the initial 13 000 of the Soviet group Remembrance editSeveral books and songs were written to commemorate the defense A museum was established in the quarry in 1966 5 and the memorial complex was established in 1982 6 Sources editV Kondratev Po povodu dnevnikov najdennyh v Adzhimushkajskih kamenolomnyah Voenno istoricheskij zhurnal 1 1965 S S Smirnov Podzemnaya krepost Pervaya sherenga M Politizdat 1965 s 103 149 Obagrennye krovyu Poslednee slovo pavshih geroev sb sost P E Garmash N D Lugovoj Simferopol izd vo Krym 1968 str 180 206 V Kondratev Geroi Adzhimushkaya M Molodaya gvardiya 1975 A Ryabikin Adzhimushkaj zhurnal Vokrug sveta 11 2566 noyabr 1972 Nadpisi sovetskih voinov na stenah i zapisi v dnevnikah najdennyh v Adzhimushkajskih kamenolomnyah Maj iyul 1942 g Govoryat pogibshie geroi predsmertnye pisma sovetskih borcov protiv nemecko fashistskih zahvatchikov 1941 1945 gg sost V A Kondratev Z N Politov 6 e izd ispr i dop M Politizdat 1979 str 83 91 V katakombah Adzhimushkaya Dokumenty Vospominaniya Stati Simferopol 1982 V V Abramov Geroicheskaya oborona adzhimushkajskih kamenolomen M Znanie 1983 64 s N A Efremov Soldaty podzemelya Tashkent 1983 Knyazev G N Procenko I S Doblest bessmertna O podvige zashitnikov Adzhimushkaya M 1987 174 s Sherbak S M Legendarnyj Adzhimushkaj Simferopol Tavriya 1989 93 s Vsevolod Abramov Kerchenskaya katastrofa 1942 M Eksmo 2006 ISBN 5 699 15686 0 Fiction edit Aleksei Kapler Two of Twenty Million Dvoe iz dvadcati millionov Pirogov Andrej Ioannikievich Krepost soldatskih serdec 1974 god Kambulov Kolibukov Nikolaj Ivanovich povesti Svet v katakombah Podzemnyj garnizon Trinadcat oskolkov Adzhimushkajskaya tetrad roman Razvodyashij eshyo ne prishel Smirnov S S Podzemnaya krepost Iz sbornika Rasskazy o neizvestnyh geroyah M Molodaya gvardiya 1964 g Nikolaj Arsenevich Efremov Soldaty podzemelya Izdatelstvo Krym Simferopol 1970 g vospominaniya neposredstvennogo uchastnika oborony Lev Kassil Ulica mladshego syna The 1986 drama film Descended from the Heaven Russian Soshedshie s nebes was based on the novel by Aleksei Kapler It is the story of an ordinary Soviet couple that struggles with the difficulties of post World War II life In the film s finale it is revealed that they perished in the Adzhimushkay Quarry and the film is in fact a what if story 7 References edit Halder F Kriegstagebuch Tagliche Aufzeichnungen des Chefs des Generalstabes des Heeres 1939 1942 Stuttgart Kohlhammer Verlag 1962 1964 entry dated June 13 1942 Medical Aspects of Chemical Warfare by the United States Department of the Army p 52 citing Krause 1992 Joachim Krause Charles K Mallory Chemical weapons in Soviet military doctrine military and historical experience 1915 1991 Westview Press 1992 p 92 Victor Israelyan On the Battlefields of the Cold War A Soviet Ambassador s Confession 2010 ISBN 0271047739 pp 338 339 Muzej istorii oborony Adzhimushkajskih kamenolomen Memorialnyj kompleks Adzhimushkajskie kamenolomni Vitalij Nekrasov Soshedshie s nebes a story about Aleksei Kapler Quote about the film Pochti obezumevshie ot zhazhdy Masha i Sergej rasstrelyannye u kolodca Lyubili stradali rastili syna v obshem zhili v poslevoennoe nelegkoe vremya tolko v voobrazhenii avtorov filma External links editAbarmov Vsevolod 2006 Kerchenskaya katastrofa 1942 The Crimean Catastrophe 1942 in Russian Moscow Eksmo ISBN 5699156860 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Defense of the Adzhimushkay quarry amp oldid 1121625016, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
