Airplanes over Moscow. File photoMOSCOW, July 8The liberation of Odessa from the Nazis in 1944 took place thanks to the brilliant assault on the city carried out by the Red Army — this is told by archival documents published in the new multimedia historical section «Odessa gained freedom» on the website of the Russian Ministry of Defense. Publication of declassified documents about the liberation of Odessa, about the atrocities of the Nazis in relation to Odessans, about the exploits of Soviet soldiers-liberators, it is aimed at protecting and protecting historical truth, at countering falsifications of history, emphasizes the Russian military department. the success of the Red Army in defeating the coastal group of Nazi forces between the Southern Bug and Dniester rivers, and allowed the release of the strategically important city and port on the Black Sea coast — Odessa. The Black Sea Fleet was able to relocate to the northwestern region of the Black Sea basin shouting ships and aircraft, which created a threat from the sea to the Crimean enemy group already blocked from land; conditions were created for further operations in Moldova, Romania and the Balkans. For the liberation of the city, many units and formations were awarded orders, and 27 of the most distinguished were awarded the honorary title of «Odessa».The Nazis did not consider Ukrainian collaborators as equals, follows from the archiveThe operation began on the night of March 27, when the armies of the right wing and the center of the 3rd Ukrainian Front began to expand the previously captured bridgeheads. The success of the operation was facilitated by the deep coverage of the southern enemy grouping by the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front. On March 28, Soviet troops liberated Nikolaev. The German troops, under the pressure of the threat hanging over the flank and rear of their grouping, were forced to begin a retreat towards the Dniester River. On March 30, on the left wing of the front, the troops of the 28th Army liberated Ochakov with the help of an amphibious assault and launched an offensive against Odessa. The documents published in the section show that the 8th Guards and They were operated by a cavalry-mechanized group of Lieutenant-General Issa Pliev, whose task was to reach the Dniester estuary behind enemy lines, thereby cutting off his retreat and supply routes. The 5th Shock Army was in the main direction and was advancing towards the city from the northeast along the Black Sea coast.The Nazis destroyed temples in order to blame the USSR for this, they showed the archives. Parts and subunits had to overcome four well-equipped lines of defense, the system of which is described in the materials on studying the combat experience of the 5th shock army. Already on the first line, less equipped, the fighters and commanders of the Red Army had to show incredible courage and skill in order to overcome it: «The first defensive line, very beneficial for defense, was the line along the western bank of the Tiligul Estuary.» In an effort to delay the advance of the Soviet troops here, the enemy mined the approaches to the estuary and destroyed the only crossing, blowing up all the bridges on the 3.5-kilometer dam. «The enemy's positions on the towering western bank were very strong,» the documents noted. However, despite this , Soviet soldiers «not waiting for the repair of bridges on the dam, on the night of 1.4.44, in a strong blizzard, they crossed the Tiligulsky estuary ford along the isthmus flooded with spring flooding between the estuary and the sea. The depth of the water in some places reached the shoulders, furious machine-gun and mortar fire attacking the enemy's positions on the move, the infantry units drove him out of the occupied coast and firmly entrenched themselves on it. As the published pages of the description of the Odessa-Dniester operation testify, the commanders of the units also relied on the support of Soviet citizens living near Odessa: «Guides were taken from the local population, the villages adjacent to the city, who knew the city and the enemy's fortifications well.»
The declassified document showed that Hitler's allies knew about the plans of the USSROn the evening of April 9, 1944, units and formations of the 5th shock army began to storm the northern outskirts of Odessa. On the night of April 10, the troops of the 8th Guards and 6th Armies joined the street fighting from the north-western direction, having made a flank maneuver. «Having broken the resistance of the enemy, as a result of the assault, the troops of the left wing of the front (5th shock army, 8th guards and 6th armies) at 10:00 10.4 captured a strong German defense stronghold on the Black Sea coast, a large industrial center, a railway hub, an important port on the Black Sea and the regional center of Ukraine, the city of Odessa, «according to the combat report of the headquarters of the 3rd Ukrainian Front dated April 10, 1944. The lines from the combat log of the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front confirm that the assault on the city was carried out brilliantly, as a result of which the Nazi invaders suffered enormous damage: «During the same time, more than 5,000 soldiers and officers were destroyed, 1,100 people were taken prisoner.» The Red Army also took a significant number of trophies, among which only tanks alone — 169, and guns — 273. In total, as a result of the successful actions of the Red Army, the Nazi troops lost 160 thousand soldiers and officers near Odessa. By order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief Joseph Stalin on May 1, 1945 Odessa was declared a hero city, and by the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of May 8, 1965, for outstanding services to the Motherland, courage and heroism shown by the inhabitants of the city in the fight against the Nazi invaders, the hero city of Odessa was awarded the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal «.
The Ministry of Defense published documents on the liberation of Nikolaev in 1944
