Mount Sapun or Sapun Ridge (russian: Сапун-Гора, uk, Сапун-гора, crh, Sapun dağı, Сапун дагъы) is a 240 m high ridge to the southeast of

Sevastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

, situated on the disputed

Crimean peninsula Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

. It became the site of heavy fighting during the siege of Sevastopol (1941-1942), and also during its liberation in 1944. When defending Sevastopol the Soviet troops held the Sapun Ridge and could observe German movements to the city from the south. It took

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previou ...

nearly 2 weeks of desperate fighting to take control over these positions in late June 1942. As a consequence, Soviet troops had to evacuate from Crimea. In 2 years, on the final stage of the

Crimean Offensive The Crimean offensive (8 April – 12 May 1944), known in German sources as the Battle of the Crimea, was a series of offensives by the Red Army directed at the German-held Crimea. The Red Army's 4th Ukrainian Front engaged the German 17th Ar ...

the assault of Sapun-gora on 7 May 1944 was successful for Red Army. On 9 May 1944, just over one month after the start of the battle, Sevastopol fell. German forces were evacuated from Sevastopol to

Constanța Constanța (, ; ; rup, Custantsa; bg, Кюстенджа, Kyustendzha, or bg, Констанца, Konstantsa, label=none; el, Κωνστάντζα, Kōnstántza, or el, Κωνστάντια, Kōnstántia, label=none; tr, Köstence), histo ...

. Later in 1944 the first monuments to the Soviet warriors on this place were erected, in 1959 the

diorama A diorama is a replica of a scene, typically a three-dimensional full-size or miniature model, sometimes enclosed in a glass showcase for a museum. Dioramas are often built by hobbyists as part of related hobbies such as military vehicle mode ...

showing the assault of the German fortifications was opened.

External links

The Monuments of Sevastopol
{{Authority control Eastern Front (World War II) Battles and operations of the Soviet–German War History of Crimea Crimea in World War II World War II memorials in Ukraine Landforms of Crimea Hills of Ukraine Landforms of Sevastopol World War II sites in Ukraine Ridges of Russia Ridges of Europe Cultural heritage monuments in Sevastopol Objects of cultural heritage of Russia of federal significance