In early 1944 Stalin told his Admirals "The time has come for the fleets to conduct more active operations at sea." They would not disappoint him. The sailors of the Northern Fleet began more active submarine operations, some reaching the coasts of Norway. The White Sea Flotilla began more aggressive escort patrols, conducting nearly 1800 patrols in the final years of the war.
By Patrick Hughes, Sword of the Motherland
Article and photographs copyright Patrick Hughes, 2002
When the German battleship Tirpitz began raiding the northern convoys, the British worked with the Russians in an effort to sink her. The closest Soviet attempt was made by submarine K-21. Torpedoes were fired but the attack was unsuccessful.
Other actions of the Northern Fleet consisted of small scale amphibious landings, and the retaking of Soviet coastal areas with the help of the Red Army. The main objective was the town of Petsamo. The fortified town soon fell after a determined attack by the Soviet naval infantry. Three other landings were carried out as the force moved along the coast.
New naval facilities were soon constructed. This allowed sub-chasers and torpedo boats to travel deeper into hostile territory and take the battle to the enemy. By the end of 1944 the northern theater of operations was dominated by Soviet Forces.
The Northern Fleet was not the only one to hear Stalin's order. In the Baltic the fleet also went on the offensive, both to support army advances and to destroy German shipping. At first these operations were limited to occasional submarine sorties and torpedo boat actions. The situation around Leningrad and Luftwaffe domination of the skies over the Baltic made it too dangerous to risk the larger combatants. The battleships remained in port to provide fire support for the Red Army until the siege was lifted.
Only after Leningrad was relieved did the surface fleet venture forth. The sailors that had been assigned to fight as infantry during the siege were retruned to their ships, their first mission would be to support the Red Army advance along the Karelian Isthmus and take several Finn held islands. The battleship October Revolution would lead this force with the support of the Ladoga Naval Flotilla. The battles in the Baltics resulted in the destruction of some two dozen Axis ships, and in the retaking of the Karelian region. It also forced Finland out of the war. Now the navy could concentrate their efforts against the remnants of Army Group North which was trapped in the Baltic republics.
As the Red Army drove to cut off the German force, the pilots, torpedo boats and submarines of the navy fought valiantly to keep them trapped in the region. Most Axis shipping during this time was for re-supply, but as the force became cut off they began to conduct evacuations using any seaworthy vessel they could obtain.
The submarines of the Baltic fleet braved the minefields of the region to strike at these vulnerable vessels. Some like S-13 and L-3 were successful and sank several transports including the Wilhelm Gustloff and Goya with some 6000 people on board. Many others never returned. They fell victim to the mines, Luftwaffe or the new German escorts that prowled the area.
The dangerous environment made it difficult for the small craft of the navy to make any serious impact. The men of naval aviation made up for this deficiency by conducting reconnaissance, launching bombing raids and torpedoing enemy ships.
Closer to the front, sailors of the Dneiper River Flotilla moved inland with the Red Army. They provided assistance in crossing rivers as well as combat and reconnaissance duties. Elements of the unit even found their way to Berlin for the final battle.
The Red Navy
Part Two of a Three Part Series.
(Part One can be found in Volume 1 Issue 2 October 2002)
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In 1944 the Black Sea Fleet had been preparing for their largest offensive operation yet - the liberation of the Crimea. The naval campaign was primarily conducted with submarine and torpedo boats, as Stalin had ordered the larger units like the battleship Sevastopol and cruiser Voroshilov to keep clear of the fighting. The sea battle began with night attacks by the torpedo boat crews. In this way they were much less vulnerable to air attack and surface gunfire.
Their first mission was to destroy the Axis cargo ships re-supplying the German forces in the Crimea. Their second was to lay mines along critical shipping routes. A few of the small boats even mounted Katyusha style rockets to launch shore bombardments.
It did not take long for the actions of these small ships to have a serious effect on the Wehrmacht. Supplies reaching the Germans slowed to a trickle as fewer ships began to get through. As the situation worsened the German garrison attempted to evacuate some of their forces by sea. During the evacuation they were savagely attacked by naval aircraft and torpedo boats. The loss of the large ships Totila and Teja along with some 4000 personnel were said to be especially hard for the Germans to bear.
When Sevastopol was finally liberated the Red Navy shifted their operations further westward in an attempt to destroy more Axis shipping. The Danube River Flotilla was also formed and placed under the command of Admiral S.G. Gorshkov. It would be tasked with supporting the Red Army as it advanced into Romania.
Throughout August 1944 naval aviation forces bombed several strategic Romanian ports and cities. The main concentrations of Axis shipping were located at Sulina and Constanta. As the Red Army approached, the Danube Flotilla (which had been operating on the Dnister river) was tasked with taking the Danube river delta and landing marines. The attack resulted in the capture of several thousand Axis soldiers before the flotilla continued upstream. By August 27th the Romanian river flotilla surrendered, its navy did the same soon after. All organized hostilities ended in the Black Sea two weeks later.
Even so, the Danube flotilla continued to assist the Red Army as it pushed further upstream. Elements of the flotilla found themselves all over the region from Yugoslavia to Hungary. The 1st Guards Armored Boat detachment gave fire support to army units fighting around Belgrade, advance elements even found their way to Vienna. For these and other actions the unit was awarded the Order of Kutusov 2nd Class.
With the capitulation of German forces in Berlin the order was given for all Kriegsmarine units to surrender. Not all units received this order and there were isolated clashes between the Red Navy and the remaining German combatants. The attention of the Red Navy soon shifted to the Far East with plans to take action against the Japanese. Such a battle would not be an easy task for the navy. The Pacific fleet was small in comparison to the remnants of the Japanese fleet. It numbered only two cruisers, one flotilla leader, a dozen destroyers and torpedo boats, 78 submarines and 204 motor torpedo boats. Fortunately the majority of the Japanese navy was devoted to fighting the Americans.
The naval campaign was to coincide with the land invasion on August 9th. The fleet had two missions - destroy enemy shipping and cover the landing of marine forces. The fleet had little difficulty in their first mission, as most of the Japanese merchant fleet had been sent to the bottom earlier in the war. The few remaining ships were easy targets.
The amphibious landing would be another matter. They would be made by the 355th Infantry Division, 13th Marine Brigade and 355th Marine Battalion of the Pacific fleet. The first objectives of this force were the taking of the ports of Yuki and Rasin. There were taken with little difficulty. It was the seizure of Seishin that presented a greater problem as the Japanese rushed more reinforcements to the area. The men of the 355th Marine Battalion fought heroically and repelled over a dozen night assaults before taking the city two days later.
River monitors of the Amur flotilla followed up the successes of the Army by moving up the Sungari river. There they helped land troops at Chiamussu and Sansing, and then headed for Harbin.
The Japanese attempted to stop the flotilla's advance by collapsing railroad bridges and setting up other obstacles, but their ships were soon defeated. With the Kwantung army in retreat the Red Navy decided to conduct landings on the Kuril islands. These were accomplished without incident. The war came to an end shortly after this operation with the dropping of the atomic bomb on Japan. The Amur flotilla and North Pacific squadron were highly decorated for their participation in this campaign.
The Red Navy had emerged from the war battered, but victorious. In the end all of the fleets and most of the river flotillas were awarded the Order of the Red Banner for their heroism. This was well deserved because the officers and men of the fleet had managed to endure the disastrous surprise attack of 1941 and eventually turn the tide against the invader. They had learned to cooperate with the army in both large and small-scale operations, and even conducted numerous amphibious landings. Although the fleet never managed to fight large open ocean battles, its contribution to the victory was by no means small. It fought in every front alongside the men and women of the Red Army, enduring every hardship with them in the hope that victory would eventually be achieved.
