While commanding his men to resist the Soviet attack in the city, Major Weber made a phone call to Lieutenant General Sponneck.
"General!" Major Weber reported amidst the sound of gunfire and explosions: "The enemy has broken through our defense line. We can only persist in resisting in the city. Feodosia will be lost!"
"What did you say? The fall of Feodosia?" Lieutenant General Spanek was so surprised that his jaw almost dropped: "How did this happen? It has only been more than an hour since they launched the attack!"
"General!" Major Webb reported: "They put wheels on the bottom of the boat, and I think there are some motors similar to cars, which allows them to not only travel in the sea but also wash ashore, so there is no beach landing, they directly
Drive the ship and rush to our position!"
Hearing this, Lieutenant General Sponneck understood what had happened.
"Hold on!" Lieutenant General Sponneck ordered: "No matter what, we must hold Feodosia until reinforcements arrive!"
"Yes, General!" After hanging up the phone, Major Weber looked out the window and shouted to his subordinates: "They are coming from here, machine gunner..."
Lieutenant General Sponneck immediately got in touch with Manstein.
Manstein was as stunned as Spanek when he heard the news.
In fact, Manstein's state at this moment should not be described as "astonished" but rather as anger.
"I order you to hold for 15 hours!" Manstein said: "It is not a difficult task for a reinforced battalion to hold for 15 hours on the beach, but you only held for one hour! God, this is almost the Russians
The time it took for them to put down the landing craft and row ashore shows that they escaped as soon as possible. I have every reason to believe that they did not fulfill their responsibilities as an imperial soldier!"
"No, General!" Sponneck retorted: "I know my men, they are not people who are afraid of death, especially Major Webb..."
"Forget it, Lieutenant General!" Manstein interrupted Sponneck: "They were supposed to hold for 15 hours waiting for reinforcements to arrive, but they only held for one hour, and you call it bravery?"
Sponneck didn't know what to say. After all, his subordinates had indeed lost important positions. Any explanation seemed to be an excuse at this time.
After a moment of silence, Lieutenant General Spenneck suggested: "General, I think we have to withdraw to Feodosia now, I mean the 46th Division, otherwise we will be surrounded by the Russians!"
Lieutenant General Sponneck thought that Manstein would agree to this suggestion, but unexpectedly, Manstein flatly rejected it.
"No, Lieutenant General!" Manstein replied: "You cannot retreat, not even a step, otherwise more Russians will land in Kerch, and then we will be in the dilemma of being attacked from both sides by the enemy. All our efforts
It’s all in vain!”
"But General, the crisis in Feodosia..."
"I will solve this problem!" Manstein said: "Let them use the darkness and buildings to deal with the enemy inside the city. Although the Russians successfully landed, we destroyed the port facilities, which meant they could only land limited infantry.
Heavy equipment cannot be landed. Once the Romanian 4th Mountain Brigade arrives, we can drive them back to the sea!"
Sponneck hesitated and replied: "Yes, General!"
"This time, don't screw up again, understand?" Manstein said: "Contact your subordinates in Feodosia and tell them to hold on!"
"Yes, General!"
After putting down the phone, Sponeneck stared at the map in front of him in a daze.
He knew that it was useless to say anything. Manstein would not give up Kerch and allow the 46th Division to retreat under any circumstances, even if the 46th Division was likely to be surrounded.
Sponeneck knew the dangers involved.
The first was that Feodosia could not hold out for long.
Although Manstein was partly right in this regard, the Russians were unable to land large amounts of heavy equipment after destroying the port facilities.
The problem is that the Russian naval infantry brigade attacking Feodosia... This unit was called the "Black Devil" by the Germans because they wore black navy uniforms. They are an army with good quality and strength. Although they are large
Most even wore sailor hats instead of helmets.
On the other hand, it is because Feodosia is a Russian place, and the people there support the Russians and will provide intelligence to Russian soldiers.
Therefore, it is almost impossible to rely on Major Weber's remnant troops to deal with the Russian army in Feodosia for a long time, which has absolute superiority in strength, geography, and culture.
Secondly, Lieutenant General Spanek did not believe in the combat effectiveness of the Romanian army.
Taking these factors into account, Sponecker's judgment is opposite to Manstein's.
He did not believe that the German army could hold out until reinforcements arrived and drove the enemy into the sea. He believed that it was more likely that the Russian army would quickly occupy Feodosia, while engineers repaired the ferry at the port and landed heavy equipment ashore to consolidate the defense of Feodosia.
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When the Romanian 4th Brigade arrived, they were helpless against the Russian troops who relied on buildings to defend Feodosia.
Then, once the Russian tank troops landed in Feodosia, that was the beginning of the German tragedy:
First, the Russian tank troops will defeat the Romanian Mountain Brigade and completely surround the 46th Division on the Kerch Peninsula, unable to move.
Then, the Russian tank troops will continue to advance north, defeating the unsuspecting reinforcements rushing to Feodosia.
Once the Russian tank troops arrive and occupy Chankoy, it will create an extremely unfavorable and even terrifying situation.
The German 11th Army will be divided into three parts that cannot reinforce each other: the Kerch Peninsula, the Crimean Peninsula, and reinforcements outside the Crimea.
Once the German troops on the Kerch Peninsula and Crimean Peninsula were surrounded, they would have no way to retreat unless they could swim across the Black Sea in such temperatures.
That will be the end of the 11th Army. The entire army will collapse, and all the Russians have to do is use their tank troops to advance 100 kilometers to Zhankoy... If the speed is fast, it will only take one day.
But what could Sponeneck do?
Convince Manstein?
No, at this time Manstein had already fallen into the idea of quickly taking over the Crimean Peninsula and then attacking in the direction of the Caucasus and could not escape. At the same time, because of his previous victory, he firmly believed that every German army could block a hundred enemies with one attack.
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Therefore, it is impossible for him to agree to let the 46th Division retreat and resolve this crisis.
After thinking for a while, Lieutenant General Spenneck ordered the adjutant: "Pass the order and retreat!"