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0:38

Hello, and thank you for listening

0:40

to the history of World War

0:42

II Podcast. Episode 466, Odessa Has

0:45

Fallen. Last

0:49

time, we watched as the last two weeks

0:52

of September turned from the Siege

0:54

of Odessa to the Slaughterhouse

0:56

of Odessa. Both sides went

0:58

on the offensive. The Axis, because more German

1:00

troops had been brought in, and

1:02

for the Russians, simply because there

1:05

was nothing good coming from having the

1:07

enemy so close. Smashed

1:10

bodies and guns lay around

1:12

the contested defensive perimeter. Many

1:15

of those bodies that had been Soviet fighters had

1:18

come from the Navy, or Crimea, and

1:20

they had played their part in this attritional

1:23

war. But when the smoke cleared, the

1:26

enemy was still there, closing in

1:28

from the north and south, while

1:30

the western approaches were held back, but

1:33

at great cost. And

1:35

though other Germans were at the gates of

1:38

Leningrad by this point, and other Germans were

1:40

threatening the approaches to Moscow itself, the

1:42

Stavka still found the means to send

1:45

to this beleaguered city Odessa just over

1:47

12,000 soldiers, 70 large guns, 15 tanks,

1:52

and a battalion of

1:54

Kyushka rocket launchers. The

1:56

last item impressed the defenders, and knowing that

1:59

Stavka was there, himself approved the

2:01

shipment, the arrival of such weapons ran

2:03

through the rank faster

2:05

than diarrhea. Still,

2:07

as the Germans were pouring more men

2:09

in, the Soviet reinforcements did not alter

2:12

the fact that there was still a

2:14

four-to-one ratio in terms of fighting personnel.

2:16

When these reinforcements

2:19

landed at Odessa, they were cheered

2:21

by the old and young,

2:23

but no one else. But as

2:26

the city had been bombarded daily and

2:28

nightly with numerous bombing raids coming every

2:30

day, the newly arrived were

2:33

less than calm, whereas the old and

2:35

young around them acted like

2:37

it was nothing so used to the

2:39

calamity they had become. Still,

2:42

the attackers were out there, not within

2:44

the city, and that was

2:47

all that mattered. What

2:49

had helped first stall the enemy to the

2:51

north of Odessa was the landing of some

2:53

of those naval infantry in front of, but

2:56

also behind, the attacking Romanian

2:58

unit. One Soviet soldier

3:00

saw a Romanian officer speaking with a

3:03

large group of men. As

3:05

he had been separated from his unit, he wasn't

3:07

sure what to do, but he

3:09

could not let this moment pass. Taking

3:12

all of his grenades on his person,

3:14

he threw them right in the middle

3:16

of this meeting. All were

3:18

either killed or severely wounded. What

3:20

the young Russian could not know was

3:23

that this officer had been talking to

3:25

his snipers and they were deciding on

3:27

priorities. After such a

3:29

loss, the threat to the north, while

3:31

not disappearing, was thrown into

3:34

some chaos. In

3:36

short, the northern counteroffensive had netted 6,000

3:39

dead Romanian soldiers, 83 guns, just

3:43

over 1,000 rifles, sorely needed, and 127 machine guns, also

3:45

badly needed by the defenders. But

3:52

getting these men to Odessa had taken

3:54

a Herculean effort by the Stavka and

3:56

the Soviet Black Sea fleet. This could

3:58

not be the case. be done

4:00

again and again, but

4:02

for now, the front to the north was

4:05

stabilized. As for

4:08

the attackers, they too changed their

4:10

tactics. On October 5th,

4:12

an operation order went out, telling the

4:14

men how to better

4:16

defend themselves when they were attacking.

4:19

In part, this order read, the recent

4:21

offensive by the enemy, as well as

4:24

the intelligence that is available today, allows

4:26

the conclusion to be drawn that the

4:28

enemy is preparing the deployment of his

4:31

main forces. The divisions must

4:33

be ready to repel an enemy

4:35

offensive. Maybe, maybe not,

4:38

but there was another change in the air for

4:40

the Romanians. They were tired.

4:44

Tired of fighting, tired of dying, tired

4:46

of losing, tired of being embarrassed, and

4:48

they had been doing this for the

4:50

last two weeks nonstop, with

4:53

nothing to show for it. Finally

4:55

the Russians on the front lines

4:57

found themselves facing Romanian

4:59

troops who were surrendering. When

5:02

one group of 200 Romanian soldiers

5:04

surrendered, their leader had a

5:07

note on his person that read, not

5:09

wishing to spill blood on behalf

5:12

of Hitler and his sycophants, we

5:14

soldiers and officers of the Romanian

5:16

army today voluntarily surrender to the

5:18

Red Army. Brothers end the

5:20

war, turn your weapon against your

5:23

own enslavers, and kill them. Hail

5:25

the free Romanian people. When

5:28

Prime Minister Antonescu heard of this, he

5:31

was enraged and also worried.

5:34

What would Berlin think of this? Of

5:37

him. As the northern

5:39

approaches to Odessa proved stubborn, their Prime

5:41

Minister ordered an offensive from the south,

5:44

but that achieved little as the Kyusha

5:46

rocket launchers were used. With

5:49

morale low of the attackers, these

5:51

loud shrieking rockets of death, not

5:54

exactly known for their accuracy, did

5:56

the trick. The advance petered out

5:58

even before the war. it begun. As

6:02

it looked like Odessa may be around for

6:04

the onset of winter, some of the factories

6:06

started making winter clothing. This

6:08

alone raised the spirits of

6:10

the defenders. Trying

6:13

to match this enthusiasm, the

6:15

Soviet Council of People's Commissars

6:17

started to arrange the shipping

6:20

of thousands of tons of

6:22

coal, heating oil, petroleum, and

6:24

firewood to Odessa. With

6:27

the north stabilized, the Odessa District

6:29

Headquarters decided that the enemy was

6:32

a bit too close in the

6:34

south and the southwest. Thus, another

6:36

counterattack was forming up. The

6:39

coastal army asked for reinforcements and

6:41

soon received 36 companies of

6:44

troops, along with the equivalent of

6:46

35 train cars of

6:49

ammunition. To lead

6:51

the counterattack, the very capable

6:53

157th Rifle Division was

6:55

to move to the jump-off point. Meanwhile,

6:58

the 421st Rifle Division and

7:00

the 3rd Naval Infantry Regiment

7:03

were to stay in place, protecting the

7:05

northern approaches to the city. All

7:08

was set for this to go off on

7:10

October 2nd. And

7:12

yet, the wider war had

7:14

the temerity to get in the way. Not

7:17

that the Soviet troops were looking forward to

7:19

leaving their trenches and charging at the enemy,

7:21

but it was better than defeat and

7:24

death, for that would surely happen if

7:26

they were overrun. And

7:28

as much as the country and the

7:30

Stavka in particular were impressed with Odessa's

7:33

holdout, they could not ignore

7:35

that Moscow was being threatened by the

7:37

beginning of October. That Leningrad

7:39

could fall at any day, like

7:42

Kiev had just days before. Also,

7:44

the Donbass region had just been

7:46

pierced. The Crimea was threatened, and

7:48

with it, the main

7:50

base of Sevastopol, which was keeping

7:53

Odessa in the fight to lose

7:55

it, was to lose Odessa.

7:58

And there it was, the word... evacuation

8:01

was uttered, whispered by

8:03

someone. And one of those

8:05

voices was Stalin's. As

8:07

the People's Commissar of the Navy, Admiral

8:10

Kunetsov would later write, The

8:12

thoughts of Stalin in connection with

8:14

Odessa's evacuation were known to me.

8:17

He asked me to question the military council

8:19

of the Black Sea Fleet about

8:21

the expedience of leaving some of the

8:23

forces up to two divisions

8:25

in Odessa in order to hold the

8:28

city and tie up enemy forces there.

8:31

But after talking to the military council

8:33

of the Black Sea Fleet, Kunetsov would

8:35

write back to Stalin that from

8:37

their experience in serving Odessa,

8:40

any half measures were a waste of

8:42

time and resources. We

8:45

either put all our eggs in

8:47

Odessa, which could not help the

8:49

wider war or in Sevastopol, where

8:51

getting resupplied was easier and certainly

8:53

quicker. And besides, the situation

8:55

around Odessa was such even

8:58

to delay evacuation might cost

9:00

the Stavka the lives of

9:02

all those gallant defenders who

9:04

were certainly needed elsewhere. The

9:07

Stavka replied forthwith, with

9:09

the following, the soldiers and

9:11

commanders of Odessa's defensive area who

9:13

have bravely and honorably carried out

9:16

their orders are to evacuate in

9:18

the shortest possible time to the

9:20

Crimean Peninsula. This

9:22

statement shocked the soldiers around

9:24

Odessa and the civilians within.

9:27

Not that they were currently enjoying life,

9:29

but they had gotten used to, well,

9:32

all of it, the bombings, the

9:34

deprivation, the ability of

9:36

humans to adjust to their current

9:38

surroundings should never be underappreciated.

9:43

But this was Soviet Russia after all, orders

9:45

were to be obeyed. The

9:48

question was, of course, how to

9:50

evacuate without the enemy realizing what

9:53

was happening, for when they did,

9:55

the Germans and Romanians would attack with abandon.

9:57

Anytime they were able to evacuate, to

10:00

stop those forces, be they

10:02

men, equipment, planes, or ships

10:04

from forming up elsewhere to

10:06

be fighting again. The

10:09

planning committee got to work. First

10:12

they asked themselves what exactly needs to

10:14

be taken away. Crunching

10:16

some numbers, the following list was

10:19

created. The equivalent of

10:21

five divisions, their support staff, and

10:23

their weapons. The vital

10:25

parts of the remaining factory equipment

10:27

in Odessa, along with the most

10:30

qualified workers, and then the families

10:32

of the soldiers and the workers. This

10:35

was to be done, at least on

10:37

paper, between October 1st and

10:39

the 16th. Of course,

10:41

none of this factored in that, from the

10:44

second the troops left the line, even a

10:46

fraction of them, to then march back to

10:48

the city, then to the port, to then

10:50

get on board a ship and sail for

10:52

a Sevastopol, they would be

10:54

vulnerable. There would be no

10:57

trench for protection, no possibility

10:59

of a counterattack to drive the enemy

11:01

away. No, they would

11:03

have to rely on someone else, something

11:06

else. And after these men and

11:08

women had been defending themselves for weeks, to

11:10

the point, they couldn't remember a life before

11:12

this. But again,

11:14

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11:17

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the evening of October 1st, the 157th

12:45

Rifle Division left the line

12:47

to head to the port. That

12:49

night, elements of the 157th went aboard

12:52

the transport, Ukraine. The

12:55

next day, another transport took

12:57

the rest of the division away. It

13:00

had started. Of course, this

13:02

movement had to be covered. So on

13:04

October 2nd, when the remaining

13:07

men of the 157th left,

13:09

a counter-attack was carried out by the 25th Rifle

13:12

and the 2nd

13:14

Cavalry Division to the south of the city.

13:17

This was started by a 20-minute artillery

13:19

barrage of which a battalion

13:21

of the Kyusha rocket launchers

13:23

participated. After that, the men

13:26

went up and over. By

13:28

the time it was all over, the enemy here

13:31

had been pushed back some four kilometers.

13:34

And the equivalent of four

13:36

remaining battalions of infantry were

13:38

now dead. Not

13:41

that everything went smoothly. As

13:43

the Soviet tanks and infantry dashed

13:45

forward, the tanks pulled ahead. Good

13:48

news, they were able to destroy

13:50

more enemy equipment. Bad

13:52

news, as they turned for home,

13:54

realizing they had no support of infantry

13:56

with them, they found that

13:58

the Romanians had some set up anti-tank

14:00

traps they had to go through to

14:03

get home. But as before,

14:06

though tanks were lost, after the enemy retreated

14:08

from this fight as well, the

14:10

remaining tanks hooked up a few dozen

14:12

Romanian guns and

14:14

towed them back to Odessa. The

14:18

evacuation continued, but that meant fewer

14:20

fighters on the line. The

14:23

only remedy for this was

14:25

a pullback, thereby shortening the

14:27

line, thereby adding more bodies

14:29

to this shorter line, relatively

14:32

speaking. The question was, when

14:34

would the enemy discover the move, and

14:37

how would they react? And

14:40

then, when it was probably needed

14:42

most, not that this had been planned,

14:45

General Sifranov had to step

14:47

down due to illness. Simply

14:50

the strain had been telling, and his

14:52

mind and body gave out. He

14:55

was replaced by General Petrov, who,

14:57

with a glance of fresh perspective,

14:59

altered the evacuation plan. This

15:03

was on October 5th, and the plan was for

15:05

the main line to hold, even

15:07

to fake counter-attacks, but this time,

15:10

not leaving their trenches, and to

15:12

do this until October 15th. When

15:15

darkness came on the 15th, the men

15:17

were to pull back to the city,

15:19

embark, and leave this hell

15:22

that had been their home. The

15:24

details were worked over endlessly, but

15:27

most importantly, the secrecy of this

15:29

plan was paramount. So

15:32

instead of counter-attacks, supply

15:34

trucks loaded down would be sent to

15:36

the front, as if food was being

15:38

brought to the main line. In

15:41

truth, most of these bags were full

15:43

of dirt. Only the top

15:45

layer had flour in it, and a

15:47

hole was punched in the bag, so

15:49

its contents would spell out, supposedly confirming

15:52

the shipment, as clearly the men of

15:54

the front lines were not going

15:56

anywhere. And this worked

15:58

brilliantly. The Romanian snipers, or

16:01

forward men, would see these trucks,

16:03

see the white substance spill out, and

16:06

report back to HQ that the enemy's

16:08

front lines were being resupplied,

16:11

obviously intending to stay through

16:13

the winter. The

16:15

same was being done with transport ships. Bags

16:18

of flour and wood stoves were being brought

16:20

in to help with the coming winter. As

16:23

for those sections of the line told to head

16:25

for the port, the men there got

16:27

in one last trick on

16:30

the enemy. Upon receiving the

16:32

stoves, instead of just putting them in

16:34

the dugout or shack, they took the

16:36

time to start fires in them, the

16:39

smell of smoke wafting towards the enemy.

16:42

As the excess troops were jealous of

16:44

the enemy's heat, it would have infuriated

16:46

them to know that there was no

16:48

one enjoying that comfort.

16:51

Thus, the stage was set. Each

16:54

night about five transport ships would

16:56

leave Odessa, carrying away men

16:59

and equipment of the rear areas of

17:01

the front line. They

17:03

would leave at night, but still

17:05

be protected by fighters overhead and

17:07

gunboats alongside, and they would

17:09

make for a sevesta pool. None

17:12

of those ships were lost. On

17:16

October 1st and the 11th, 51,690 men, 208 artillery pieces,

17:18

868 vehicles, 162 tractors, and

17:28

18,000 metric tons of equipment

17:30

left Odessa. And

17:32

though the initial departure was not picked up by

17:35

the enemy, they surely noticed

17:37

these items being shipped to the

17:39

Crimea. The jig was up. The

17:41

Germans and the Romanians around Odessa

17:44

finally went on the offensive. On

17:47

October 9th, the Axis attacked along

17:49

the entire Odessa Front, but

17:52

were beaten back. Simply, the

17:54

defenders fought like furies. Waiting

17:56

for their call to head to the port, they were

17:59

not going to die. Now just before

18:01

the great escape that that was

18:03

not a part of the plan.

18:06

But. The attackers were back the next day.

18:09

On October tenth, the axis if a tree

18:11

was back, but this time. There.

18:13

Was a method to their madness

18:16

versus an all out assault. To

18:18

the south of a desert, two battalions

18:20

were told to bunch up, and after

18:23

an intense artillery barrage, they charged. The

18:26

So the artillery focused on them but

18:28

no matter how many bodies were thrown

18:30

into the air, they kept coming. Soon.

18:33

The Soviet mine was pierced and

18:35

the fighting continued in the Soviet

18:37

rare areas. There was only one thing

18:39

for it. A. Countercharge with

18:42

bayonets leading the way.

18:45

This is exactly what the Twenty Fifth

18:47

Rifle Divisions and Second Cavalry Division did.

18:50

And the results: The Romanian tent

18:52

infantry division, which had come through

18:54

the initial Soviet line. Was.

18:57

Decimated. Along

18:59

with trying to figure out who

19:01

was still alive and who was

19:03

not in the Romanian tempt infantry

19:05

divisions, Axis Hq was trying to

19:07

also figure out how could an

19:09

army be evacuating and yet fighting

19:11

the same as before. Do. They

19:14

have more men's or not. This

19:16

didn't make sense. Does! On

19:18

the day after this repulsed Romanian

19:20

radio men announced to the world

19:23

that the final assault on Odessa.

19:26

Would. Be postponed until the Spring

19:29

of Nineteen Forty Two. The.

19:31

Romanian people were relieved, but

19:33

the Romanian soldiers. Knew.

19:36

It. Was ally. Of

19:39

course Berlin would not allow a

19:41

delay, but that's for later. And

19:43

adding to the Romanian and German

19:45

confusion on October thirteenth, the Romanian

19:48

Soviet artillery crews were told to

19:50

be ready to fire non stop.

19:53

Starting. Around October fifteenth.

19:56

as the romanians watched during the

19:58

day not seemed to have changed. But

20:01

at night, vehicles of all kinds were

20:03

carrying men and equipment from the front

20:06

line to the port. When

20:08

Axis binoculars were swung from the front

20:10

line to the city, it was business

20:13

as usual. The city's transportation

20:16

services were running, the daily newspaper

20:18

was coming out, and the schools

20:20

were open. Of course, no

20:22

children were inside, but the lights were

20:24

on, as it was in the factories,

20:26

well, though still standing. Top

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cedarpoint.com. As

21:00

the sun set on October 14th,

21:04

17 massive ships, two cruisers,

21:06

four destroyers, and four minesweepers

21:08

with many small auxiliary vessels,

21:11

arrived in Odessa. They

21:13

were to pick up Odessa's main

21:16

forces. This was the

21:18

last trip to Odessa. During

21:21

the night, the men boarded the ships,

21:23

their equipment going to another ship. The

21:26

soldiers were loathed to part with any part

21:28

of their weapons, but everything had already

21:30

been worked out. Men go here, larger

21:33

weapons and equipment go there. As

21:36

the sun rose on October 15th, the

21:38

mass of shipping off Odessa could

21:41

not be hidden. Soon squadrons

21:43

of German and Romanian planes were

21:45

sent aloft to sink those ships,

21:47

and these air raids went on

21:49

all day. To counter

21:51

this, the ship's guns and the

21:54

coastal AA artillery gave as good

21:56

as they got, or tried

21:58

to. It would be nice to have a think

22:00

that with 40 enemy planes in

22:02

the sky at any one time, to simply

22:04

shoot into the air would give one a

22:07

solid chance of hitting something. But

22:10

that's not how it works. Suddenly,

22:12

the steamship Grusia was hit. A

22:15

secondary fire was started and the men

22:17

on board her fought the fire for

22:20

hours. Meanwhile, the

22:22

worst 120 wounded were

22:24

taken off her. Then the ship

22:26

was towed out of port and told head

22:29

for Crimea and good luck. The

22:32

ship made it as the enemy

22:34

planes focused on the plethora of

22:36

targets in Odessa's port. And

22:39

on October 15th, the final

22:41

evacuation order was sent out

22:43

from the flagship, the cruiser

22:45

Chinavra Yukrana. Rear

22:47

Admiral Zhukov sent out the following

22:49

message. Begin the withdrawal

22:52

of the Odessa Defense District's troops

22:54

at 1900, 7 PM, on October 15, 1941.

23:00

Complete the embarkation on the night

23:02

of October 15th, slash 16th. Coastal

23:05

Army Major General Petrov was in

23:08

command of the withdrawal and embarkation.

23:11

And finally, I demand from

23:13

the commanders and commissars of the

23:15

formations and their units under their

23:18

personal responsibility that all

23:20

property, material and supplies which

23:22

are impossible to evacuate to

23:25

be destroyed. Take along

23:27

with yourselves sidearms and crude

23:29

weapons. Destroy facilities of

23:32

the government and strategic significance

23:34

according to the plan I've

23:36

confirmed. To help with

23:38

the last final evacuation, the day

23:41

before October 14th, 20 bombers

23:44

left Crimea and bombed

23:46

the airfields around Odessa.

23:48

They were formerly Soviet property, but now

23:51

being used by the enemy. As

23:53

air power was the only way to stop these

23:56

ships, once the men were aboard, it

23:58

was the best and only way to to give

24:00

the transports a fighting chance. And

24:04

on October 15th, at 7pm, the

24:07

Romanian troops around the main defensive line

24:10

began to withdraw. A

24:12

group of men were selected from each

24:14

formation and told to keep an eye

24:16

out as the majority of them marched

24:18

towards Odessa. Meanwhile, the

24:20

guns of the Black Sea Fleet did

24:22

their part to hide the sound of

24:25

men and trucks leaving the line.

24:28

When the men of the hard fighting 25th, 95th, and 421st Rifle Divisions

24:30

entered the practically empty city,

24:36

they found on the ground lines

24:39

made out of lime or ground chalk

24:41

to indicate where they should go. They

24:43

should go to the ports to

24:46

freedom. At exactly

24:48

11pm, the men started up the

24:50

boards that put them on the transport in front

24:52

of them. There was no talking,

24:55

only movement. Movement was the

24:57

one thing that could save

24:59

them now. One member

25:01

of the Odessa Defense District's Military Council

25:04

was there, and he wrote

25:06

this years later. I still

25:08

clearly see silent men trudging along

25:10

and climbing aboard the ships, so

25:12

burdened with ammunition that it is

25:14

surprising that a man could move

25:16

with such a load. They were

25:18

marching for kilometer after kilometer, and

25:21

also at night. Some of

25:23

the soldiers couldn't even climb out the gangway and

25:26

collapsed under their burdens. Red

25:28

Navy sailors and petty officers without

25:30

waiting for an order helped them

25:32

get up, having donned the

25:35

soldiers' weapons and packs onto

25:37

their own shoulders. When

25:40

a transport became full, it was push-pulled

25:42

out to sea to wait for

25:44

the rest. This made room for the next

25:46

transport ship to get into place. At

25:50

9pm, the rear guard battalions still at

25:52

the main line started to

25:54

back up. The guns of the

25:56

coastal artillery and ships kicked up their

25:58

part in this pretense.

26:02

The men, bone tired but

26:04

expected, kept arriving at the ships

26:06

until 3am. When all

26:08

the men were at the port, combat engineers

26:11

began to mine all the roads leading

26:13

to the port. As

26:16

this was going on, specially selected

26:18

teams went around the city and

26:20

destroyed everything of military value. And

26:23

for an added touch, more than

26:25

100 delayed action mines were put

26:28

around the airfield, the port itself,

26:30

the electrical power station, and other

26:32

such places the enemy was sure

26:34

to visit first upon entering the

26:37

city. But it

26:39

was the NKVD building that received

26:42

an unusual amount of explosives.

26:45

The thought of their counterparts or

26:47

access officers going over NKVD files

26:50

to suddenly die under an avalanche

26:52

of mortar and stone gave

26:55

these men a grim

26:57

smile. The night

26:59

of October 15th crawled on and in

27:02

those hours some 35,000 men left

27:05

the line, walked to a

27:07

ship, and climbed aboard. Only

27:09

then at 5.10am, now October 16th, did

27:14

the artillery stop firing. The

27:16

harbor was soon empty. Next,

27:19

the artillery crews blew up their own

27:21

guns and together with the demolition teams

27:24

boarded the last of the ships. With

27:27

this done, the mine layer

27:29

BT-15 dropped mines into the

27:31

city's harbor and around

27:33

its perimeter. The

27:36

sun continued to rise on that October

27:38

16th and the Romanians, tired of the

27:40

nonstop artillery of the enemy, let

27:43

loose themselves. This went

27:45

on until noon. Then, access

27:47

aircraft flew over the city and were

27:50

shocked by the stillness

27:52

of it. Then the

27:54

plane spotted the convoy leaving Odessa. Yet,

27:57

as there had been so many ships coming

27:59

and going, For the last two weeks, this

28:01

was ignored, at first.

28:04

In the early afternoon, Romanian troops were

28:07

sent closer to the main lines. When

28:10

no resistance was reported, they

28:12

moved closer. What they found

28:14

were empty trenches, but the

28:16

stoves were still going. When

28:19

this was reported to HQ, every

28:21

axis plane that could fly was

28:23

ordered to take off and go

28:26

after that convoy spotted earlier. Obviously,

28:28

that held the last of

28:31

Odessa's defenders, but the Soviets

28:33

were ready for this. As

28:35

the 56 enemy planes approached the

28:37

convoy, the Black Sea Fleet

28:39

put everything it had into the

28:41

air. Actually, most of

28:43

them were already there anticipating this

28:46

move by the Germans and Romanians.

28:49

Just over 50 Soviet fighters approached

28:52

the advancing bombers and fighters. There

28:55

was no less than 23 major air

28:57

clashes that day. At least 17

29:00

axis planes were shot down. A

29:03

fire from the ships below took out

29:05

another three. The Soviets lost

29:08

six fighters. Then

29:11

a German torpedo plane struck the last

29:13

ship of the convoy, the Bolshevik. Though

29:16

she was mostly empty, acting as

29:18

a reserve should some other ship

29:20

be struck. Before she

29:22

went down, its skeleton crew was

29:25

rescued. As for the remaining ships,

29:28

every single one of them made

29:30

it to the Crimea. At

29:33

10 PM, the convoy arrived at

29:35

Sevastopol. During the first 16

29:38

days of October, the fleet had

29:40

brought out of Odessa 111,000 soldiers,

29:44

of which 31,000 were wounded. 15,000

29:47

civilians, 462 guns, 19,000 metric tons of ammunition,

29:49

24 tanks and tankettes, 16

29:58

armored cars, 3,000 civilians. 625 horses,

30:00

just over 1,000 vehicles, 500 automobile agents, and almost

30:02

10,000 metric tons

30:08

of equipment from Odessa's

30:10

various factories. Oh,

30:13

one more thing was left behind by the

30:15

evacuees. Posters. Posters

30:18

plastered all over the city. First

30:20

explained to those who were left

30:23

behind, not just in Odessa, but

30:25

in the Ukraine overall, why

30:27

the Stavka ordered this evacuation,

30:30

it was simply a military

30:32

reality. But it ended

30:34

with, victory will be ours. We will

30:36

hound the enemy until they are no

30:39

more. And then it asked for those

30:41

left behind to do the same. Let

30:44

death lie in wait for the

30:46

foe in each building, yard, street,

30:48

and roads, large and small. Zooming

30:52

out, the siege of Odessa had

30:54

tied down 300,000 Romanian troops and

30:56

ever more German

30:59

soldiers. And those still standing

31:02

would need time to recover. As

31:05

for the wider war, the Odessa port

31:07

can now be used to send supplies

31:09

to the Wehrmacht further east much

31:12

faster. Of course, I would

31:14

hate to be one of the first ships

31:16

to enter Odessa's harbor after

31:18

the takeover or maybe

31:20

enter the NKVD building.

31:23

For the Odessans and Ukrainians in general,

31:26

the occupation would last until 1944 and

31:28

it would

31:30

be hell on earth.

31:33

Antonescu made this clear when he replied

31:35

to a letter from Hitler that read

31:37

in part, you are

31:39

right, the Slavs presents a

31:42

biological question, not an ideological

31:44

one. In the future,

31:46

there must be two races in

31:48

Europe, German and Latin. These

31:51

two races must work to decrease

31:53

the number of Slavs. We

31:55

must resort to colonization and biological

31:57

means in order to destroy the

31:59

Slavs. destroy the Slavs. But

32:03

it's worth remembering that the siege of

32:05

Odessa, the story of

32:07

Odessa, was only one

32:09

pinprick in the universe of

32:11

war that was the Eastern

32:14

Front. It was hardly over.

32:16

In fact, it had just

32:18

begun. And most of those

32:20

Russian men who escaped would

32:22

later die, taking on the men

32:24

and the machines of Army Group

32:26

South in the Crimea.

32:29

Next time, it's on to Kiev

32:32

for the siege of that great

32:34

city. How will its people

32:36

react to a hopeless situation? Stay

32:39

tuned. Greetings

32:43

everyone from Central Virginia. So I

32:45

apologize for the birds, the weather,

32:47

the thunder, cars going by. It's

32:49

like there's a conspiracy. Make

32:52

sure there is. Anyway, so let's get

32:54

on with it. I'd like to thank

32:56

some members. Let's see here. Mary Farrar

32:59

from Richmond, Virginia. I went

33:01

to a high school with a Farrar. I

33:03

wonder if there's any? Anyway, so probably not.

33:05

Thank you very much. Mary Brandon Rottam from

33:08

Chickamauga, Georgia. Brandon,

33:10

I've been to the Chickamauga battlefield

33:13

three times. My

33:15

friend is obsessed with the Civil War,

33:17

so we go there. It's an incredible,

33:19

incredible park, incredible story, incredible part of

33:22

the US Civil War. So if you don't know

33:24

anything about it, not you Brandon, I'm sure you

33:26

do, but everybody else, just

33:28

go to YouTube and check out the Battle

33:30

of Chickamauga. It is incredible. Let's

33:33

see here. Ronald Smallwood, who

33:35

is from, and I

33:37

love this, Moose Jaw,

33:39

Saskatchewan, Canada. Ronald,

33:42

you win today's contest of most

33:44

cool name of where to live.

33:47

Let's see here. And the last

33:49

one is Amaya Still from Sicklerville,

33:51

New Jersey. Amaya, I'm sorry. I

33:53

hope I got that right. And

33:56

believe it or not, no one donated. Now,

34:00

I'm really trying hard not to take that personally.

34:02

So here's what I'm going to do. If

34:05

you're probably, this is probably best if you're in

34:07

the US, if you have a business, you

34:10

can donate $30, give me a short line

34:12

to business title, what the business does and

34:14

I'll be happy to repeat it and tens

34:16

of thousands of people will hear it. Or

34:19

if you've got an ego that's almost

34:21

as big as mine and you want

34:24

to be called or you can claim that

34:26

you're a producer of the show, donate

34:28

$30, give me your name and I will

34:30

say and this show was produced by Jim

34:33

Smith, whatever from Chickamauga. So anyways, if

34:35

you want notoriety or if you want

34:38

your business to hopefully do better, send

34:41

me a donation and put a

34:44

little note on there. That

34:47

would really be appreciated. So again, I got

34:49

a dollar going to college and the beer

34:51

and the books aren't going to pay for

34:53

themselves, people. So anyway,

34:55

we're done with Odessa. I've

34:57

got a couple of ideas for

35:00

some cool standalone episodes. I'm

35:02

not sure when I'm going to throw those in. It

35:04

depends on how much research is involved. But

35:07

then we will get to Kiev and then we will

35:09

get back to Moscow. Take

35:11

care everyone.