Defense of the Adzhimushkay quarry
Part of the Eastern Front of World War II
Memorial of Adzhimushkay
Date May 16, 1942 - October 30, 1942 Location Adzhimushkay, Crimea, USSR Result Axis victory
Combatants
Germany	Soviet Union
Commanders
	P.M. Yagunov, M.G. Povazhniy
Strength
Several regiments	10000 - 15000
Casualties
Unknown	10000+

The Defense of the Adzhimushkay quarry (Russian: Оборона Аджимушкайских каменоломен, Oborona Adzhimushkajskih kamenolomen) was an episode of the Eastern Front of World War II that occurred between May and October 1942. The Eastern Front of World War II was the theatre of war covering the conflict in central and eastern Europe from June 22, 1941 to May 9, 1945. ... Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead... May 16 is the 136th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (137th in leap years). ... 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ... October 30 is the 303rd day of the year (304th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 62 days remaining. ... 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ... Motto: Процветание в единстве - Prosperity in unity Anthem: Нивы и горы твои волшебны, Родина - Your fields and mounts are wonderful, Motherland Capital Simferopol Largest cities Simferopol, Eupatoria, Kerch, Theodosia, Yalta Official language Ukrainian. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany_1933. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union. ... Crimea was the scene of some of the most bloody battles in World War II. The Germans suffered heavy casualties as they tried to advance through the isthmus linking Crimea to the Ukrainian mainland at Perekop in the summer of 1941. ... Combatants Germany, Romania Soviet Union Commanders Erich von Manstein Filipp Oktyabrskiy, Ivan Petrov Strength 350,000+ 106,000 Casualties at least 100,000 killed, wounded or captured. ... The Battle of Caucasus is a generic name for a series of operations during the Great Patriotic War. ... Combatants Red Army Wehrmacht 17. ... The Eastern Front of World War II was the theatre of war covering the conflict in central and eastern Europe from June 22, 1941 to May 9, 1945. ... Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead...

History

Adzhimushkay is a small village located 5 kilometers from the city of Kerch, near which a complex network of catacombs is located. Starting from 1830, limestone was extracted there, both in quarries and in catacombs. Over the years, a complex underground network was created, encompassing Great and Small Adzhimushkay catacombs. These catacombs were already used during the Russian Civil War by pro-Soviet armed groups. Also, when Kerch was first occupied by the Wehrmacht in November 1941, a squad of partisans operated in the catacombs. Kerch (Ukrainian: , Russian: , Crimean Tatar: , Old East Slavic: Кърчевъ) is a city (2001 pop 157,000) on the Kerch Peninsula of eastern Crimea, is an important industrial, transport and tourist centre of Ukraine. ... The word catacomb comes from Greek kata kumbas (L. ad catacumbas), near the low place and originally it meant a certain burial district in Rome. ... A small cinder quarry A dimension stone quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. ... The Soviet partisans were members anti-fascist resistance movement which fought against the occupation of the Soviet Union by Axis forces during World War II. At the end of June 1941, immediately after the Germans crossed the Soviet border, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolshevik) (see...

By May 1942, a massive counteroffensive was staged by the Wehrmacht in order to expel the Red Army both from the Kerch Peninsula and the city of Sevastopol. Because the Soviet high command neglected erecting extensive defenses, the Red Army was overrun and had to flee, sustaining heavy casualties. By May 19, 1942 the battle was over. The Cimmerian Bosphorus of antiquity, shown on a map printed in London, ca 1770 Landsat satellite photo Kerch Strait. ... now. ... The short forms Red Army and RKKA refer to the Workers and Peasants Red Army, (in Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия - Raboche-Krestyanskaya Krasnaya Armiya), the armed forces first organized by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War in 1918. ... May 19 is the 139th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (140th in leap years). ... 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ...

In order to ensure the evacuation of the troops across the Kerch strait, a defense group was left in Adzhimushkay, led by Colonel P.M. Yagunov. This group picked up numerous retreating soldiers and eventually grew to several thousand troops, along with numerous civilians fleeing the city. When it became obvious that the bridgehead could not be kept, the defenders decided to take refuge in the catacombs. It is estimated that more than 10,000 survivors fled to the Great Adzhimushkay catacombs and 3,000 in the Small catacombs. The bigger garrison was led by Yagunov and the smaller one by Povazhniy.

The catacombs were ill-suited for defense, as there were no supplies prepared 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. Later on, the defenders dug their own wells in the catacombs, as deep as 14 m, in order to reach the phreatic layer. Despite these conditions, the Red Army attempted several sorties, including one that led to the defeat of the Wehrmacht's garrison in Adzhimushkay on the night of 8 to 9 July 1942. In this assault, Colonel Yagunov was killed. For the Scottish football team, see Motherwell F.C. The Whole Earth Lectronic Link (or The WELL) is one of the oldest virtual communities still online. ... The term phreatic is used in geology to refer to matters relating to underground water below the water table (the word originates from the Greek phrear, phreat- meaning well or spring). The phreatic zone is the layer(s) of soil or rock below the water table in which voids are...

However, the situation of the defenders was becoming critical, as they were running out of ammunition, food and water. Moreover, the German forces started to use explosives and toxic gases^[1] to end the resistance. On October 30, 1942, German forces finally entered the catacombs and captured the remaining defenders. Of the 13,000 or so people who took refuge in the catacombs, only 48 were alive at the end of the 170 day siege. October 30 is the 303rd day of the year (304th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 62 days remaining. ... 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ...

Aftermath

This dramatic event was heavily popularized after the war. Several books and songs were written to commemorate the event. A museum was erected in the catacombs in 1966, and a memorial opened in 1982. The memorial at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii commemorates American dead from wars in the Pacific. ...

Notes

June 13 is the 164th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (165th in leap years), with 201 days remaining. ... 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ...

References and links

• Great Soviet Encyclopedia
• V. Abramov, The Crimean Catastrophe, 1942., Eksmo, 2006, ISBN 5-699-15686-0.
• http://info.crimea-portal.gov.ua/
• http://travel.kyiv.org/crimea/