Commando action at Odessa

According to Krylov's memoirs:

Does anyone have more information on this?

I just received confirmation from my Ukrainian contact about this unsuccessful German commando action against Odessa's civilian airfield. It indeed happened on 10 Aug. 1941. The airplane (probably a Junkers Ju 52) was captured.

There was an attempt of an airborne assault on the previous day. German paratroopers - reportedly wearing Red Army uniforms - were dropped in Sverdlovo
area. This action was also neutralized by Soviet forces.

Gen. Dénes

Thanks Denes.

I can also confirm the other event:

Hi Guys,

About thirty years ago I bought a book called "Assault from Within" by (I think) Georg von Konrat.

It claimed to be the memoirs of a German Brandenberger special operations trooper.

As far as I remember, it contained no reference to this particular story. However, it did mention a land operation by Brandenbergers against Odessa in 1941. However, I have always dismissed it as fiction, not least because it made absolutely no mention of Romanians being present at Odessa and because it mentioned the use of Tiger tanks in 1941, which is at least a year too early.

Personally, I shall take a lot of convincing that either story is true. Firstly, I have never seen any reference to it in any book on the Brandenbergers - and these are sometimes full of very fanciful tales for which there is no evidence.

Secondly, I don't think it likely that the Germans would use their special forces in an area where they had no ground of their own to support them.

Thirdly, no history of the German paratroops I have seen seems to mention plans for such an operation. At this time German parachute forces were recovering from their mauling on Crete less than three months before. (However, I think the 22nd Air Landing Division was in the area operating in a conventional ground role with Manstein's 11th Army at about this time, so it might be worthwhile checking a history of this formation. It used gliders, not parachutes.)

Cheers,

Sid.

I would like to revive this old thread.

If anyone has further information on the purported German landing operation(s) nearby Odessa, please let us know. Infirming the story is welcomed, too.

Gen. Dénes

This post has been edited by Dénes on June 10, 2007 06:11 pm

Could you give me more details about this memoirs ?!
Full title, publishing house, ~price, etc.
Thanks !

1. The FJ supposition is entirely correct. At the early stages of Barbarossa only the Brandenburg FJ Platoon operated. On June 25th 1941, during the battte to capture Lemberg, the parachute platoon under Leutnant Lutke carried out Operation Bogdanov, jumping to secure two railway bridges on the Lida-Molodechno line.

I have no idea, and no proof of a FJ Airborne operation during August 41, performed by regular FJR troops. They were all busy after Kreta, as Sid said, and preparing for the invasion of Malta, an operation that never took place.

Regarding the second supposition, perhaps someone with more proper knowledge of the glider borne ops could shed some more knowledge. The 22nd LLSturm Rgt is not my area of expertise.

2. Regarding the early Brandenburger ops, in the first stages of Barbarossa, I submit to you below 2 pages from a WP. As you can see, the 7th Kompanie, before being resent to Yugoslavia, has been active in breaking the frontline for the Army Group North, during its breakthrough for the Baltic states.

Have an excellent evening.

Cheers,

Al

Pic 1 - Brandenburger Units



Pic 2 - Brandenburger actions. Please note that these were inputed in pen/pencil. That means that the ops were designated at unit level, and not carrying the official name (if it would have been so, it would have been pasted sheets of typed paper, properly stamped at company level).



This post has been edited by Alexei2102 on June 10, 2007 08:58 pm

Could you give me more details about this memoirs ?!
Full title, publishing house, ~price, etc.
Thanks !

Marshal N. Krylov, 'Glory Eternal. Defence of Odessa 1941', Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1972.

Gen. Dénes

I've just learned that there was a failed airborne operation in the Odessa area on Sept. 28, 1941. Four Ju 52s of KGr.z.b.V. 104, towing DFS 230 assault gliders, were caught by Soviet fighters and shot down one by one.
Does anyone know any further details?

Gen. Dénes

Hi Denes,

Given that the Odessa perimeter was relatively small and the few Soviet fighters there were tasked defensively, one wonders if there would have been time to spot, intercept and down four Ju52s before they dropped their loads.

Furthermore, given that the Romanian besiegers had been on the defensive since the Soviet landing a week before, one wonders what a few dozen paratroopers could usefully have done inside the Soviet perimeter without obvious outside support.

I remain sceptical, but you seem to have found a potentially verifiable source for the Ju52 losses, so I shall follow this with interest.

Cheers,

Sid.