Evening star., 1942-06-09
Sevustopol

SSNASAVHOi
The intensive pounding of sevas-
topol, now In It's fifth day, indicates
a move by the German high COM
mand which military experts have
foreseen ever since the German re-
capture of Kerch, which gave them
a potential springboard across the
narrow straits from the Crimea into
the Caucasus.
Before any such invasion Is at
tempted, however, the Germans must
reduce Sevastopol, the strongly for
titled Russian naval and air base
on the opposite side of the Crimean
peninsula The siege of Sevastopol
has been going on ever since the
Germans overran the Crinea at the
end of last October. At that time,
mass assaults were made upon the
fortress, but were repulSed with tre-
mendous losses. Sevastopol has
proved as hard nut to crack as 1t
did in the Crimean War of almost a
century ago, when it held out
against Britain and its allies for
over year Indeed, the task for the
present German beSiegers Is in some
ways even more difficult, because
Sevastopol is still open by sea and
can be continually reinforced with
troops and supplies.
This makes it all the more neces-
sary for Germany that it be reduced
One of the great handicaps to a
German invasion of South Russia
and the Caucasus is overextended
land communications. The only
way that problem can be solved is by
gaining command of the Black Sea,
thereby making it possible to trans
port men and supplies by water from
Rumania and other Balkan bases.
But hitherto the Black Sea has been
dominated by the Russian Navy.
RuSSia's Black Sea fleet is, in itself,
not especially formidable, consisting
as it does of one antiquated battle
ship, few cruisers, and SiZeable flo
tillas of destroyers and submarines.
Yet Germany has virtually nothing
to oppose it, and cannot directly do
so. as long as neutral Turkey refuses
entrance through the Straits to Axis
Warcraft.
The alternative is to orphan" the
Russian Black Sea fleet by depriving
it of its indispensable bases. Last
autumn, the Germans got two of
these when they captured Odessa
and Nikolaiev. Sevastopol is the
only remaining first-class base with
adequate dockage and repair facili-
ties. 1t is likewise situated about
midway in the Black Sea, so that
the Russian fleet can still command
the entire area. If Sevastopol
should fall, the Russian fleet would
be reduced to the second-class base
OF NovoroSsiisk, on the Caucasian
coast, which in turn is only 10 miles
from Kerch and thus vulnerable to
a German land thrust from the
Crimea. With Novorossiisk gone, the
Russian fleet could depend only on
Batum. a commercial port at the
extreme eastern end Of the Black
Sea, 500 miles east of Sevastopol. 1t
could still be refueled and provis-
ioned there, but could be neither
docked nor repaired. Under such
handicaps, it is hard to see how the
Russian Navy could maintain its
grip over most of the Black Sea,
which thenceforth would become
fairly safe for the transport of Ger
man troops and supplies under guard
OF light craft, submarines and air
planes.
That is the larger objective at
which the Germans aim in their re-
newed assaults on Sevastopol There
is also the need of abolishing
dangerous threat to their flank in a
drive across Kerch. Until the whole
Crimea is in German hands, their
land communications will not be
secure But the Russian resistance
is stubborn and the fortress is very
strong. The Germans have reason to
know that they are engaged In a
difficult operation.