The Soviet Black Sea Fleet (1943) – Organisation, Dispersal, Command –

Abstract

"In 1943, the Soviet fleet in the Black Sea was clearly superior to its opponents (Germans, Italians, Romanians, Bulgarians), but there were no major naval confrontations in this theatre of war. In most confrontations, starting in 1941, the Soviet naval forces suffered losses and were forced to retreat. The Romanian intelligence services had data on the organisation of the Soviet fleet, the dispersal, the commanders, the naval constructions and the ways of action. At the end of 1943, when the Red Army was on the offensive and had begun the landing in Crimea, the Romanian-German naval forces started an operation to supply the defenders, and later, in 1944, an evacuation of their own troops. Despite the vulnerabilities, the Soviet fleet did not attack decisively, so the withdrawal by sea was relatively organised and saved more than 120,000 soldiers and civilians."