Imperial Valley press., 1944-05-19
War Writer Sees
SevastopoI as
Nazi Graveyard
BY HARRISON SALISBURY

! SEN AO loI-Ol, Wtu., Usldy i''
Delayed d)-QUP)-This is the story
of the death of an army-the Ger
man 17th army-which was literal
ly blasted to bits on gaunt, three
mile stretch of the KherSoneS pen
inSula, waiting for evacuation ships
that never came.
Correspondents flew here from
Moscow to view the scene OF the
l7th's death under blows so ter
rible. according to our Red army
guic es, that during the last days
the Germans assigned guard over
Major General Gruner, one OF TWO
surviving generals, to prevent MS
| committing suicide.
STREWN WITH BODIES
From the red sandstone shores
of Khersones peninsula, L saw nun
dreds of German bodies htterlng
l5-foot ledge along the narrow,
rocky beach. These were the booleS
of Germans drowned attempting TO
reach boats or killed in the final
Russian charge.
That shelf was all of Russia that
remained for them to cling to Be
hind them was only the sea and
their sunken ships.
In the hot sunshine, the bodies
were bloated and the brine nae
colored them russet, mahogany,
green, and chalky white.
Some of the stiffened bodies lay
in the gently-lapping water. hands
rigid over their heads as II Salut-
ing watchers on the leoge.
other dead carpeted the three
mile stretch. Into this peninsula,
for GO hours after the final capltu-
lation of Sevastopol, were Jammed
50 COO Germans. The slaughter in
that area. roughly three miles long
and one mile wide, was epic.
$4,000 PRISONERS
When the battle was over, shortly
after 10 am. on May II. some 25,0oO
were prisoners. The others were
dead.
You couldn't walk more than a
yard or two in any direction With
out stepping on a body.
Lieutenant General Sergei Biriu-
zov. chief of staff of the fourth
Ukraine front and newly promoted
and decorated for this campaign,
told correspondents that between
April 6 and May II the Germans
had evacuated $4,000 men from the
Crimea-little more than 10 per
cent of the forces left to defend it
The battle cost the Germans four
generals-Air Lieutenant General
Boehme, commander of the fifth
army corps; Major General Gruner
commander of the 111th infantry
division; S. S. Lieutenant General
Kurt, and Major General Rein
hardt, commander Of the 98th in
tantry. Boehme and Gruner were
taken prisoner. Kurt and Reinhardt
were found dead on the battlefield
MILITARY JUNK YARD
The whole Sevastopol area looked
like a military junk yard. The
Khersones promontory was covered
with wrecked tanks and field ant
siege guns Along the shore wer
remnants of small RATS the Ger
mans had attempted to use for eS
cape.
Thousands of papers sWirled Il
the dust-passports, military docu
, mentS, letters, playing cards. In
terSpersed were other relics-Ger
man song books, prayer books, post
] age stamp albums, bullet-punctur
/ ed blouses, broken helmets, heap
of ammunition.
Russian salvage crews sWarme
! over the battlefield like ants. sort
{ ing usable parts f. ON wrecked ME
e 100 and F'W-190 .,laneS, trucks an
;. tanks
! The city of Sevastopol itself
= rubble. In Commute driv
through the. streets, I saw only fiv
buildings which appeared habitablt
, Mayor Vassely Yefrimov estimate
that 10000 civilians remain fron
the prewar populat ton of 100000.
, saw only 80 civilians.
He told us that only Is per cen
: of the city was still standing whel
the Russians abandoned it in 1884,
He now estimated about only thre
per cent still stood. About 50
houses are habitable, he said, ant
a bakery and bathhouSe have beer
set up The military has established
a 15O-bed hospital and two clinics