Malaya Zemlya (russian: Малая Земля, lit. "Small Land") was a Soviet uphill outpost on Cape Myskhako (russian: Мысхако) that was recaptured after battles with the Germans during the

Battle of the Caucasus The Battle of the Caucasus is a name given to a series of Axis and Soviet operations in the Caucasus area on the Eastern Front of World War II. On 25 July 1942, German troops captured Rostov-on-Don, Russia, opening the Caucasus region of t ...

, on the night of 4 February 1943. The episode paved way for a Soviet attack on German forces in Novorossiysk. Cape Myskhako is associated with a stand made by the 800-strong contingent of the Soviet Naval Infantry against the Germans during the

Second World War 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. The special forces were dropped during winter high storms by the Soviet Black Sea Fleet, after the unsuccessful landing attempt at Malajia Ozereevka. The landing at Malaya Zemlya had aimed to be a decoy, but after the landing at Bolshaia Ozereevka was lost in an ambush, the offensive plan was reworked and the landing site at Malaya Zemlya was made the main landing location. Upon landing to secure the beachhead, they came under a German counter-offensive with air support. The marines held their ground. The leader of the group, the Soviet Major

Caesar Kunikov Ts(a)ezar (Caesar) Lvovich Kunikov (russian: Це́зарь Льво́вич Ку́ников) (23 June 1909 – 14 February 1943) was an officer in the Soviet Naval Infantry. He served as commanding officer of a landing party that recaptured the ...

(russian: Цезарь Кунников) was mortally wounded, and was posthumously awarded the highest Soviet honor

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...

. The battle was the subject of the first book of

Brezhnev's trilogy The Brezhnev's trilogy (russian: link=no, Трилогия Брежнева) (1978–79) was a series of three memoirs published under name of Leonid Brezhnev: * ''The Minor Land'' (russian: link=no, Малая земля, lit=Malaya Zemlya, trans ...

, which exaggerated

Leonid Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev; uk, links= no, Леонід Ілліч Брежнєв, . (19 December 1906– 10 November 1982) was a Soviet politician who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union between 1964 and ...

's role in the Eastern Front.

External link

Malaya Zemlya Memorial
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malaya Zemlya Novorossiysk Battles and operations of the Eastern Front of World War II History of Kuban Leonid Brezhnev