The Crimean Front ( uk, Кри́мський фронт, Krýms’kyj front) was one of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

fronts of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, which existed from January-May 1942.

Composition

It was commanded throughout its existence by Dmitr Timofeyevich Kozlov, and was made up of * 44th Soviet Army ( Stepan Chernyak), * 47th Soviet Army ( Konstantin Kolganov), * 51st Soviet Army ( Vladimir Lvov). It also had operational control over * the North Caucasus Military District, * the

Black Sea Fleet Chernomorskiy flot , image = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet , dates = May 13, ...

, * the Sevastopol Defence Region (still under siege), * the Azov Flotilla, * the Kerch Naval Base.

Actions

It was formed on 28 January 1942 by splitting the Caucasian front and included the armies then in the Kerch and Taman peninsulas and the region of

Krasnodar Krasnodar (; rus, Краснода́р, p=krəsnɐˈdar; ady, Краснодар), formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southe ...

, along with operational control over other forces. It was tasked with assisting the troops of Sevastopol Defence Area, striking at Karasubazar and threatening the rear of the Axis forces blockading Sevastopol. Its troops went on the offensive three times from February 27 to April 13, 1942, but made no significant progress, and after minor gains they were forced onto the defensive. On 21 April 1942, the troops in the

North Caucasus The North Caucasus, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, ...

were added to it. On 8 May 1942, the Germans launched an offensive on the Kerch Peninsula and recaptured it on 16 May, forcing the Soviet troops of the Crimean Front to be evacuated to the Taman Peninsula. Some troops were unable to evacuate and fought the Germans at Adzhimushkay until the end of October of the same year, with no significant stocks of food, water, medicine, arms, or ammunition. The

lost over 300,000 men in the Kerch landings, and a large amount of its heavy weaponry. The landings' failure was also a major factor in the Soviet loss of Sevastopol in July 1942, and helped make possible the German summer offensive into the Caucasus. On 19 May 1942, the Crimean Front was disbanded, and its troops given to the command of the

North Caucasian Front The North Caucasian Front or North Caucasus Front was a major formation of the Red Army during the Second World War. The North Caucasus Front describes either of two distinct organizations during the war. First Creation The first formation wa ...

. {{Fronts of the Red Army in World War II Soviet fronts