Reference:
Tam H..
Firing Structures of the Sevastopol Defence Area in 1941: Analysis of the Features and Issues
// History magazine - researches. – 2018. – № 3.
– P. 78-88.
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Abstract: The author describes in this article the features of the firing structures of the Sevastopol Defense Area (hereafter referred to as the SDA) in October - November 1941. Special attention is paid not only to the issues of construction and arrangement of the firing structures of the SDA (including artillery pillbox and bulwarks, machine guns and bunkers, but as well to other types of firing points), but also a number of structural problems concerning the formation and strengthening of SDA structures, including strategic and tactical flaws and errors in the location of these firing structures, which were one of the key reasons for the subsequent defeat and capture of Sevastopol. The source base for this article is made up primarily of archival materials. The author examines the original battle plans, maps, charts, and tables. It can be positively affirmed that the comparison of the data and figures of the constructed pillboxes, bulwarks and other SDA firing points in the beginning and in the middle of November 1941, along with a careful analysis of the location of these firing structures on maps and charts, is a fundamental means of explaining a number of historical facts and formulations in the analyzed material. In the article the author comes to the conclusion that the firing structures were necessary for the defense of Sevastopol and had positive combat effects in real battles at the initial stage. At the same time, the author recognizes that in planning the construction and location of long-term firing structures there was a number of serious problems, both objective and subjective, and shortcomings that had a very negative effect on the overall combat capability of the SDA.
Keywords: bulwark, defensive area, firing construction, Coastal Army, Crimea, Defense of Sevastopol, pillbox, firing point, field-gun, flank-defense
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