The Battle of Taganrog. 8-14 June 1918.
After the Treaty of Brest Litovsk the war in East-Europe seemed over, but it was far from it as the Red Army kept attacking Ukraine and German occupational forces. So it was decided by Germany to push even farther into Russia in an attempt to fully clear Ukraine from Red insurgents when they can’t get support from Soviet Russia.
On 1 May 1918 Ukrainian forces supported by Germany occupied Taganrog, the only Soviet sea port left in the Azov Sea, and from there moved upon Rostov-on-Don in Russia proper, which they occupied a few days later but chose to stop as Red resistance by the Red Kuban Army builded up.
A naval landing force created from auxiliary and civilian vessels was scraped together which would land about 7 thousand men of various Brigades and 3 artillery batteries supported by a machine gun detachment along the Mius Peninsula, in conjunction with this the Kuban would effect a diversionary attack on Rostov-on-Don with about 10.000 men.
Upon landing the men would be supported by about 500 local militia whom would help them occupy the port facilities and local railway junction, from which they would link up with the Kuban Army to recapture Rostov-on-Don.
The original date of the landing on the night of 6-7 June was postponed to 8-9 June due to bad weather which already would’ve been a bad sign at this point if it weren’t that when they actually tried to land they found the clearing was too shallow and had to wade to shore for a long distance, severely lengthening the time needed get into action.
At the same time the small flotilla started to bombard supposed German positions, alerting the defenders.
The Red’s managed to take the entire peninsula but couldn’t break through to Taganrog itself as they kept being harassed by the 7th Bavarian Cavalry Brigade.
By 11 June two Ottoman Cruisers Gamidiye and Mecidiye tried to enter the Estuary in an attempt to destroy the Azov flotilla but the tides didn’t let them close enough, around the same time the Red’s tried a two pronged attack to attempt the surrounding of the defenders but they didn’t know the Germans received reinforcements under Major General Arthur Bopp whom formed them into a force ready to attack.
This strike force advanced already on 12 June 6 kilometers, pushing back the Red Forces who dug into a local forest on the Mius Peninsula, the defenses weren’t allowed to complete however as the Germans bypassed the understrength Left Red flank completing the Soviets encirclement by the evening, they tried to escape by the boats which they came but during the panic a few thousand men were left behind along with their boats, the rest escaped or were sunk by the Turkish flotilla.
Total losses would amount to about 6000 Red Army soldiers of which reportedly 2000 were executed after capture by the Germans. The Germans lost 39 killed, 2 missing and 134 wounded.
Thr next day the Azov flotilla attempted to return and sink the still left behind landing ships so the Germans couldn’t use them but the plan failed and most were sunk by the Ottoman ships.