Published on: 2026-05-12
Source: Official site of the State –
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May 12 — a date that stands for more than a military report
On May 12, Russia celebrates the Day of the victorious completion of the Crimean offensive operation by Soviet troops. Behind this date stands the history of liberation, courage, and the return to peaceful life. On this day in 1944, the point was put in the liberation of Crimea from German-Romanian troops. In the order of the Supreme Commander after the liberation of Sevastopol were the words: “Crimea is completely cleared of German-fascist invaders.” This short phrase became the result of a difficult operation, in which the army, navy, aviation, partisans, and underground fighters took part.
The Crimean offensive operation lasted 35 days. Its result was the complete defeat of the 17th Army of the Wehrmacht and the return to the Soviet Union of the most important bridgehead on the Black Sea. Today, May 12, should be perceived not as a formal anniversary, but as a day when the peninsula regained the right to a peaceful life.
A peninsula that could not be left to the enemy
Crimea had enormous military significance. While the peninsula remained in enemy hands, the southern regions of the country, maritime communications, and the actions of the Black Sea Fleet were under threat. Therefore, the liberation of Crimea was not only a matter of territory. It was a matter of security for the entire southern direction. The operation was led by experienced military commanders. Among them was Army General Fedor Tolbukhin, commander of the forces of the southern strategic direction, Army General Andrey Yeremenko
In the spring of 1944, the Red Army moved to the decisive stage of the liberation of Crimea. After months of occupation, the peninsula once again became the site of a major military operation, on which the situation on the entire southern front depended. Soviet troops acted swiftly and coordinated: one by one, cities and settlements were liberated, and the enemy lost the ability to hold Crimea as a military foothold.
On May 9, 1944, Sevastopol was liberated, and this became one of the main symbols of the entire operation: a city that was defended for 250 days at the beginning of the war, in 1944 was returned as part of a rapid offensive. But the final point was set not on the 9th, but on May 12, when the remnants of the German-Romanian group were completely defeated.
Pilots who thwarted the enemy’s escape
One of the brightest episodes of the Crimean operation is connected with naval aviation. In April 1944, Major Nelson Stepanyan, already a Hero of the Soviet Union, commanded the 47th assault aviation regiment of the Air Force of the Navy. His pilots attacked ships and barges on which the enemy tried to evacuate troops from the peninsula. According to biographical materials, during the Crimean operation Stepanyan’s regiment destroyed 8 transports, 12 fast assault barges, and 9 patrol boats. This was not just a tally. These were thwarted attempts by the enemy to escape defeat.
Among the participants in the operation was fighter pilot Anatoly Rubashin. He took part in the Crimean offensive operation and the liberation of Sevastopol, and over the years of the war carried out more than a hundred combat sorties and conducted dozens of air battles. Later, he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. Such names are no less important than the general figures: it was precisely from individual decisions, risk, and endurance that the great Victory was formed.
A view from the other side: when there are no more hopes left
The final stage of the operation was reflected in the enemy’s recollections. German General Kurt Tippelskirch, assessing the situation of the surrounded troops, wrote that the soldiers, trapped on a narrow patch of land and suppressed by continuous strikes, “having lost all hope of escaping this hell, did not hold out.” This quote shows how complete the enemy’s defeat was by May 12. For the Soviet troops, this was the day the operation was completed; for the enemy, it was the day of the final collapse of their plans to hold Crimea.
May 12 — the day of the completed Victory
Victory Day marking the successful completion by Soviet troops of the Crimean offensive is a day of gratitude to those who returned Crimea to the country. This date is about military power, but even more so about the people: commanders, soldiers, sailors, pilots, partisans, medics, signalmen, and frontline operators who fought not only for victory but also for its living testimony.
On May 12, 1944, Crimea was completely liberated. And in this word — “completely” — lies the whole essence of the date. The peninsula was no longer a foothold for the enemy. It once again became part of the country that was moving towards May 1945.
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