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 ...

front Front may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''The Front'' (1943 film), a 1943 Soviet drama film * '' The Front'', 1976 film Music *The Front (band), an American rock band signed to Columbia Records and active in the 1980s and e ...

s 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 Dmitry Timofeyevich Kozlov (russian: Дми́трий Тимофе́евич Козло́в; October 23 (November 4) 1896, Razgulyayka, now in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast – December 6, 1967, Minsk) was a Soviet military commander. Life 1914–1941 ...

, and was made up of * 44th Soviet Army ( Stepan Chernyak), * 47th Soviet Army (

Konstantin Kolganov The first name Konstantin () is a derivation from the Latin name ''Constantinus'' (Constantine) in some European languages, such as Russian and German. As a Christian given name, it refers to the memory of the Roman emperor Constantine the Great. ...

), * 51st Soviet Army ( Vladimir Lvov). It also had operational control over * the

North Caucasus Military District The North Caucasus Military District was a military district of the Russian Armed Forces, which became in 2010 the Southern Military District and lately also included the Black Sea Fleet and Caspian Flotilla. It comprised the Republic of Adygeya, ...

, * 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 Azov Flotilla or Azov Naval Flotilla was the name given to several Russian naval forces operated on the Sea of Azov as part of the Imperial Russian Navy, by both the Soviets and the White Russians during the Russian Civil War, and as part of ...

, * 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 Kerch ( uk, Керч; russian: Керчь, ; Old East Slavic: Кърчевъ; Ancient Greek: , ''Pantikápaion''; Medieval Greek: ''Bosporos''; crh, , ; tr, Kerç) is a city of regional significance on the Kerch Peninsula in the east of ...

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 south ...

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