World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseThe Ukrainian city of Odessa was subjected to German aerial bombing on the very first day of the Axis invasion in Jun 1941. On 8 Aug 1941, the Romanian General Staff issued Directive No. 31 calling for the capture of Odessa and the defeat of Soviet forces between the Dniester River and the Tiligulskiy Estuary. Surrounded on three sides, it was originally thought by the Axis leadership that Odessa would fall quickly, but the Soviet Black Sea Fleet was able to transport reinforcements and supplies into the city, preventing the city from being truly enveloped and blunting the first offensive. The second Axis offensive began on 16 Aug, seeing initial success in the first few days, but by 24 Aug, heavy casualties forced the attacks to pause for a few days. On 15 Sep, Soviet troops began to fall back to the southeast toward the city, and on the following day Romanian troops captured the heights northwest of the Gross-Liebenthal district of Odessa. In early Oct, Soviet leadership in Moscow had decided to sacrifice Odessa and instead deploy its defenders to protect other areas of the Soviet Union. Through the first two weeks of Oct 1941, the Black Sea Fleet evacuated 121,000 troops and civilians, 1,000 trucks, and 20,000 tons of ammunition; meanwhile, anything that could not be evacuated was sabotaged by the Soviets to prevent Axis use. The evacuation was complete in the evening of 15 Oct, and on the following day Romanian troops entered the city. In the battle for Odessa, the Romanians suffered 17,729 killed, 63,345 wounded, and 11,471 missing. The Soviets suffered 16,578 killed and missing and 24,690 wounded.

ww2dbaseOdessa was to be occupied by German and Romanian forces until Apr 1944. During the occupation, approximately 280,000 citizens, mostly Jews, were massacred or deported. After liberation, Odessa was among the first four Russian cities to receive the honor Hero City in 1945.

Siege of Odessa Timeline

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