Post #2865

#Victory80 🌟 On August 5, 1941, the heroic defence of Odessa — the operation of the Red Army and the USSR’s Black Sea Fleet to defend the city from the Nazi invaders during #WWII. In the early days of Germany's aggression against the Soviet Union, Odessa and its suburbs became the frontline. By early August 1941, the enemy troops encircled the city; its glorious and heroic defence lasted for 73 days. Hitler wanted his forces to break through the Soviet defence lines along the Dniester and seize Odessa. Romanian and German troops mounted their first assault against the city on August 20, 1941, but the Red Army managed to stop the enemy offensive (17 divisions and 7 brigades) and keep them at a distance of 10 to 14 kilometres from the city’s outskirts. Up to 100'000 Odessa residents contributed to preparing the city to fight against the Nazis. Home front workers, including women and teenagers, put enormous efforts every day to build defensive structures: digging trenches, installing barbwire, and erecting barricades. The city’s defenders planted 40'000 mines and dug over 250 kilometres of anti-tank ditches. Almost 38'000 Odessa residents moved to the catacombs to launch a resistance movement behind the Nazi lines. The partisans destroyed 5'000 enemy soldiers and officers, derailed 27 enemy trains carrying military assets, and bombed 248 vehicles. Although the enemy outnumbered Odessa’s defenders, they deterred the Nazi invasion for two months. Owing to their courageous efforts, the Supreme High Command managed to redeploy substantial military forces and equipment to defend Crimea and Sevastopol — Black Sea Fleet’s base. According to varying estimates, the enemy lost over 160'000 soldiers and officers, approximately 200 planes and some 100 tanks in the Battle for Odessa, which made it harder for the Nazi Army Group South’s right wing to advance further east. 🎖 On May 1, 1945, Odessa became one of the first Hero Cities alongside Leningrad, Stalingrad, and Sevastopol, as per an executive order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. #WeRemember#GreatPatrioticWar