Following the invasion of the Soviet Union by German forces on 22 June 1941, "Armenia" was requisitioned by the Soviet Navy for use as a transport and hospital ship. By late October 1941 the German Wehrmacht's 11th Army, under General Erich von Manstein, had cut off the Crimean Peninsula, laying siege to Sevastopol. For the Soviets, the only way in or out of the beleaguered city was by sea. In early November "Armenia", painted with the large red crosses of a hospital ship, was tasked with removing wounded Russian soldiers, medical personnel, and civilians from Sevastopol.