Operation “Störfang” began on June 2nd with a five day artillery barrage and air bombardment. Manstein hoped the shelling would demoralize the city’s defenders, but was disappointed. When his infantry attacked on June 7th it met fierce resistance. Troops failed to achieve most of their objectives and later lost ground to determined counterattacks. The Soviet commander, Admiral Yumashev, had ordered his men to defend every inch of ground to the death. In his words: “If Sevastopol is destined to fall it must cost the Germans 100,000 men. If you force them to pay that price, your sacrifice will not have been in vain.”

MAP by Erich von Manstein

The first goal of the operation was to take the north part of the fortress between the Belbek Valley and Severnaja Bay. Despite a week of setbacks, a 5 kilometres breach was opened in the front lines and the heights of the southern Belbek Valley were occupied. Given a position from which to operate German and Rumanian troops began to attack the large forts and hundreds of smaller defensive structures around them. On June 13th Fort Stalin fell, followed over the next few days by several others including some of the strongest Soviet positions. The rest were taken in turn despite a desperate defence.

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When Maxim Gorky's 12 inch guns were finally knocked out on June 17th the fort’s 1000 soldiers fought on regardless forcing the Germans to root them out one by one. The fight lasted all that day and late into the evening until the remaining defenders sent a message to Soviet battle headquarters. It read simply: "We're getting ready to blow ourselves up. Farewell". They made good on their promise and by the time the complex was cleared there were only 50 soldiers left alive; all of them severely wounded or unconscious.

The same day the Adler Heights were seized by the 1st Mountain Division allowing 30th Corps to advance from Kamari. The Soviets fought bitterly to close the gap in their lines, but were unable to prevent the fall of Bastion II on June 24th and the resulting breach of Sevastopol’s outer defensive ring. The defenders could not recover and were forced to withdraw to their final positions around the city itself. Three days later the German 4th Mountain Division took the heavily fortified positions at Kegel bringing the Axis forces to the outskirts of Sevastopol.

While the port and city came under withering fire from artillery and small arms the remaining Soviet defensive positions were attacked. On the 30th, following a violent Stuka attack, Fort Inkerman was taken and shortly thereafter the remainder of the Sapoun Heights. Fort Malakov, made famous in the Crimean War, fell the following day. Romanian troops took control of the city and port of Balaklava capturing 10,000 prisoners in the process.

Sevastopol was surrounded and subjected to a rolling barrage of fire from guns of all calibres. General von Manstein was determined to flatten every last building hoping to show the enemy that ".... they can not expect to exact a further toll of blood from us in house to house fighting". The shelling and air bombardment levelled all but a handful of structures forcing the remaining defenders to fall back to the Khersones Peninsula where many of them fought and died until the Germans finally eliminated all resistance on July 4th.

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