Memorial of Odessa World War 2. 411 battery.

(still under translation) The memorial of heroic defense of Odessa is on southern suburb of Odessa Ukraine where the Odessa gulf comes to an end and the high sea begins. This circumstance also was solving in a choice of seat for construction 411 coastal batteries, 412 battery settled down on other side of a gulf that has allowed to hold water area of a bay under cross fire.

411 battery has started to be under construction in May, 1934 and was ready to June, 1936 the basic volume of works, both earthen, and ferro-concrete, was carried out manually by two-thousand collective of builders. At the same time there was a training staff by mastering by complex combat material, coordination and interoperability of all divisions of the battery.

In June 1936 the governmental commission has accepted the battery with an assessment "perfectly" and ascertained, that the staff in perfection has seized combat material.

The battery consisted their three 180-mm of instruments with range of shooting up to 40 km. Except for them here there was a separate antiaircraft platoon: branch of antiaircraft guns — 3 instruments of 45 mm and branch of antiaircraft machine guns — 3 machine gun of 7,62 mm. 356 people totaled the staff of the battery.

As a whole the battery represented a complex of constructions with set of services. The constructions constructed on depth from 10 up to 23 m, were surrounded with two layers there were in thickness 30 mm, and thickness of ferro-concrete in separate seats reached up to 1 m 75 see At that time there was no the weapon, capable to destroy similar constructions.

Under thickness of the ground, iron and concrete there was a whole small town with the power station, a wireless phone, complex system of ventilation, subsoil waters, boiler installation, a water pipe, an artesian chink, steam heating, facilities for staff, constitutions for fuel, the foodstuffs and an ammunition.

On a surface, in ferro-concrete there were only instruments with the metal lodges built on from above simulating country huts for masking. All 3 cannon court yard have been connected among themselves by underground passage besides the battery had the central post which was on command to a post on the seacoast, connected by a underground course through power station (a three-tier building under the ground and concrete to three powerful diesel engines) with instruments.

The first volley on fascists 411-th battery has put in August, 9.00 5th, 1941 at that time our command has obtained the given investigations that in Akkerman fortress a plenty of hitlerites has accumulated. The commander of the battery captain Ivan Nikolaevich Nikitenko has received the order: fire of instruments of the main caliber to destroy an enemy grouping.

The height of a trajectory of flight of a shell at shooting on limiting range made 18 km, therefore, when the first shells fallen almost steeply, blew up in territory of a fortress, fascists have solved, that they are bombed with the Soviet aircraft. Protecting fire from all types of antiaircraft means has been opened, but shells continued to be torn, spreading panic and death in the enemy. The operation planned by fascists has been broken. The commander of the battery captain I.N.Nikitenko has received the thankful telephone message from Ordering Southern sector of defense of Odessa.

During defense of Odessa the large Navies of the enemy on Black sea were not, and our land forces had is insignificant not enough artillery (the little more than three instruments on 1 km of front), therefore coastal batteries have transferred fire for support of a land forces, with objective of destruction of alive force, artillery, tanks, command items and other objects of the opponent.

2119 shells are run out, on a head of the enemy has been dumped more than 200 tons of a killing cargo and destroyed more than 3000 enemy soldier and officers and a lot of combat material. On the night of October 16th the battery covered with fire of instruments a withdrawal of our armies from Odessa. That night 230 shells have been run out. In 4 ? mornings on October 16th, 1941 under the order of command the battery has been blown up (for destruction of the battery has been run out ), the staff is evacuated to Sevastopol. So 411 battery has finished the existence, having brought the worthy contribution to seven-ten-three-day defense Odessa.

The prime objective of creation of the Memorial — to immortalize memory of defenders and liberators of Odessa from fascist aggressors and military-patriotic education of youth.

Solemn opening of the Memorial took place on May 9th, 1975 in day of the 30 anniversary of the Victory over fascism. On the area in 16 hectares the original museum in the open with the developed exposition of samples of military technics and arms of the basic sorts and types of armed forces of the period of Great War of 1941-1945 has settled down.

Annually the Memorial is visited more than 200 thousand person. For years of existence the Memorial of heroic defense of Odessa, Ukraine has visited more than 7 million people, from more than 70 countries of the world.

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