🗓 On April 10, 1944, exactly 8️⃣0️⃣ years ago, the forces of the Third Ukrainian Front under the command of Army General Rodion Malinovsky ousted Nazi German and Romanian invaders from Odessa.

🕯 The Nazi occupation of the city lasted 907 days. During this period, approximately 200,000 people died in Odessa and in the region. Many of them fell victim to mass bloody massacres and brutal executions. About 78,000 people were deported to Germany for forced labour; plants and factories were destroyed; and over 2,000 buildings, including hospitals and schools, were blown up or burned down.

During their retreat, German and Romanian troops shot at ordinary people, including the elderly, women and children and mined the most important buildings, plants, the power station and the seaport.

⚔️ The Red Army inflicted a crushing defeat on the enemy with over 27,000 soldiers and officers killed and more than 11,000 taken prisoner. The enemy also lost 952 artillery pieces, 443 tanks and assault guns, and 97 ammunition and food depots.

The liberation of Odessa by the Red Army disrupted supplies to the German army group in Crimea and opened the way to an offensive towards the Balkans.

During the entire period of occupation, local citizens resisted the Nazis. After the city was captured, they went into catacombs. During the war, Odessa underground fighters and partisans destroyed over 5,000 enemy soldiers and officers, 248 motor vehicles, and saved about 20,000 Soviet citizens from being forcibly exported to Germany.

In honour of the liberation of Odessa, 324 artillery pieces made 24 salvoes in Moscow.

🎖 The honorable title of Odessa units was conferred on 27 formations and units that distinguished themselves during the operation. The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to 14 people and over 2,000 people received Soviet orders and medals.

On May 8, 1965, Odessa was officially declared Hero City.

#Victory79

8️⃣0️⃣ years ago, on April 11, 1944, the Soviet troops liberated Kerch, one of the oldest Russian cities located on the eastern tip of the Crimean Peninsula, from Nazi invaders. During the Great Patriotic War, it was the site of the most brutal fighting between the Soviet and Nazi troops; it was captured back and occupied again, but never truly surrendered.

The German troops first captured the city in November 1941, but the next month, it was liberated during the Kerch-Feodosia landing operation. In May 1942, despite the desperate resistance put up by the city’s defenders, the Nazis took Kerch again.

▪️ The invaders almost wiped Kerch off the face of the earth, destroying more than 85 percent of the buildings. The population decreased from 70,000 to 6,500 people. The anti-tank trench near the local village of Bagerovo earned a sinister reputation as a war crime scene. In November and December 1941, 7,000 people were shot and tortured there, including 245 school-age children. The Nazis cynically fed them poison during a “picnic.”

The Soviet soldiers who defended the Adzhimushkay Quarry north of Kerch went down in history as true heroes. They protected the numerous civilians, who took refuge in the catacombs. According to various estimates, from 10,000 to 15,000 people were trapped underground. The German forces laid siege to their shelter, bombed them and used poisonous gas trying to bury them alive. Almost the entire garrison of Adzhimushkay perished, but was not defeated.

🌟 In April 1944, the Soviet troops began the Crimean Offensive, which ended with the complete liberation of the peninsula from the invaders. The fact that a Soviet landing force managed to seize the bridgehead on the northeastern outskirts of Kerch in late 1943 contributed to the success.

🎖 For the outstanding heroism shown by its defenders, Kerch was awarded the honorary title of Hero City. More than 140 people who demonstrated exceptional courage in the battles for Kerch were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.