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your first year at lifelock.com. Hello,

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and thank you for listening to

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the history of World War II

0:43

podcast, Episode 463. Attrition,

0:47

a game the entire country can

0:49

play. Last time

0:51

in mid-August 1941, while

0:54

the rest of Army Group South was pushing east,

0:56

winning more than losing, the

0:58

Romanians and Germans were struggling

1:00

to take Odessa, the Black

1:03

Sea port city. Though the

1:05

Axis launched wave after wave, through

1:07

grit and at times personal sacrifice,

1:10

the attackers were kept at bay,

1:13

then again, they weren't done

1:15

attacking. Nor were the

1:17

Soviets done defending. And what

1:19

transpired next was simply a contest

1:21

of wills. And normally, those fighting

1:24

for hearth at home are

1:26

willing and thus able to

1:28

endure more. The next day,

1:30

August 16, just east of

1:32

the two estuaries that are due north

1:34

of Odessa, the invaders

1:36

broke through, specifically infantry supported

1:39

by tanks. This was

1:41

in the Shitzley area, but that

1:43

was irrelevant, as Colonel Osipov and

1:45

his first regiment of naval infantry

1:48

were ready. The colonel and his men

1:50

had already mixed it up with the invaders

1:52

and had prevailed. But today

1:55

was a new day. The

1:57

Romanian troops and tanks pushed back.

2:00

The first barrier and believed momentum

2:02

was on their side. But then

2:05

the naval infantry backed by border

2:07

guards rushed at this latest threat,

2:09

but instead of simply engaging them

2:12

to so be units surrounded the

2:14

enemy. This. In itself brought

2:16

the Romanians up short stay. Expected

2:19

a straightforward fight means if they

2:21

one disengagement well they could just

2:23

continue wine. But. That's not

2:26

what had just happened. now. They

2:28

were surrounded on all sides so

2:30

the question to them was do

2:32

we dare push further into enemy

2:34

territory? Do we fight our way

2:36

out? Or do we sit tight

2:39

knowing we have created a bridge

2:41

has. Fortunately it or not, that

2:43

decision. Was. Taken out of their

2:45

hands, The naval, infantry

2:47

and border guards all rustin at

2:49

the same time not allowing the

2:52

Romanians to focus solely on one

2:54

section. Within. A short time

2:56

the men of the Romanian bridge has.

2:59

For. Either dead or captured.

3:01

It. Literally no longer exist.

3:03

Meanwhile, the defenders also captured

3:05

eighteen guns, three tanks, and

3:08

one armored cars to go

3:10

along with their two hundred

3:12

surviving prisoners. But

3:15

they would be other moments of

3:17

desperate heroism on the battlefield. d

3:19

Four hundred and Twelve coastal Battery

3:21

was told of an enemy battery

3:23

of heavy artillery setting up indeed

3:25

billie area area this is to

3:28

the east of were Colonel a

3:30

sip of and his naval infantry

3:32

carried out their latest victory. Clearly

3:34

the idea was to set up

3:36

these large guns in support of

3:39

another attempt in that same area

3:41

for Odessa. This. Could not

3:43

stand. The large remaining

3:45

guns were just offshore and us

3:47

spotted by a Soviet patrols that

3:49

was east of Odessa. As the

3:52

guns were setting up, the defenders

3:54

had to react swiftly or soon

3:56

their comrades on the front lines

3:58

would be a boon. Rated. For

4:01

what the Soviets needed work exacting

4:03

coordinates if they just started firing

4:05

the all of the enemy guns

4:07

in that area might go often.

4:09

Reprisal. As the Soviets worth

4:11

currently winning, they did not want

4:14

much. To. Change. So.

4:16

A man from the Four Hundred

4:18

and Twelve Coastal Battery volunteered to

4:20

slip out of the fighting, go

4:23

into No man's land and report

4:25

back where the shells needed to

4:27

land. He. Did so but

4:29

as time was an issue he

4:31

do not sneak back before his

4:33

comrades on the crew. Opened.

4:35

Up. Either way, he got

4:37

the information to them and just

4:39

eighteen shells later, D. Soon

4:42

to be online, enemy battery

4:44

was a smoldering rak. The.

4:46

Naval Infantry would live to

4:48

fight another day. Going

4:50

back to the shit sweet area,

4:52

the small towns around there changed

4:55

hands on August sixteenth and seventeenth

4:57

and fact several times. When

5:00

the Soviets return to the areas,

5:02

they saw the equivalent of two

5:04

regiments of dead Romanian troops lying

5:07

around. Point. Is the fighting

5:09

was staying away. From. Odessa.

5:12

It stands to reason that with

5:14

so many bodies lying around with

5:16

nothing to show for it the

5:19

attackers which shifted the axis of

5:21

their attack and sure and asked

5:23

later on August sixteenth it looked

5:25

as if Romanian forces were building

5:27

up near Could Garlic due west

5:29

of Odessa. Just. In front

5:31

of the outer perimeter they wanted

5:33

to drive south and end up

5:36

on the southern coast just below

5:38

the target city is this could

5:40

be achieved, the the entire western

5:42

perimeter would be weekend and us

5:44

opened up to a large scale

5:46

offensive. But having

5:49

seen what was coming, the

5:51

Army reserves were tapped to

5:53

make this latest problems go

5:55

away. They. were considered is it

5:57

should come to it. expendable

6:00

As this was outside the Odessa area

6:02

and win or lose, these men might

6:04

not make it back. As

6:07

the sun went down on August 16, these

6:10

men moved out. It was hoped

6:12

that a night march would put

6:14

them within striking distance before the

6:16

sun rose and they were seen. But

6:19

as this was too important to put all

6:21

the regs in one basket, the

6:23

defenders had another formation gather and

6:25

follow upon the army reservists, yet

6:28

they weren't going to help the

6:30

first group with their objective. No,

6:33

they were to position themselves

6:35

just east of Kaguarli, again

6:37

due west of Odessa, just

6:39

to make sure, if the reservists

6:42

lost, that the Romanians could not

6:44

march directly on the city and,

6:46

two, if the reserves won,

6:48

then they could help encircle and

6:50

slaughter the enemy. If

6:52

this technique was good enough for Berlin

6:55

to surround and slaughter, then it was

6:57

good enough for Moscow. And

6:59

whether it was the night march, the

7:02

audacity, or a combination of both, the

7:05

building remaining attack force was

7:07

surrounded and cut to pieces. Clearly

7:10

Budapest and Berlin were getting

7:12

frustrated. If they tried

7:15

to attack Odessa anywhere along the

7:17

coastline, then Soviet ships would bombard

7:19

the would-be attackers. But

7:21

advancing away from the coast didn't

7:23

help much either. Thousands

7:26

of attacking troops were dead and

7:28

the city and its people within were

7:30

still defiant. The

7:34

reason for noticing this buildup of

7:36

Romanian troops to the west of

7:38

Odessa was that there had been

7:40

an even larger attack in the

7:42

same area just days ago. And

7:45

at the time, the Soviet troops on the spot

7:47

would have to do. There was no

7:49

more time to bring in more men. Two

7:53

days prior, August 15, the

7:55

Romanians had gathered two divisions and 70

7:57

tanks when they moved

7:59

out. they easily pushed aside

8:01

the first resistance encountered. But

8:04

then they ran into the 25th

8:06

Rifle Division, which was actually missing

8:08

one regiment. The Soviet

8:11

division absorbed the blow, but instead

8:13

of panicking and running away, they

8:15

launched counterattacks, time, and again,

8:18

anything to throw off the

8:20

clearly planned attack. One

8:23

of the earlier counterattacks was carried

8:25

out by the 4th Rifle Company,

8:27

and they were supported by the

8:29

31st Rifle Regiment's Mortar Company. But

8:32

as these riflemen were one of the first to go

8:34

in, and the Romanians were

8:37

still relatively fresh and confident, soon

8:39

this Soviet rifle company was

8:42

themselves surrounded. Which

8:44

is when junior lieutenant V.P. Simonic,

8:46

in command of the Mortar Company,

8:48

ordered his men to fire on

8:50

the approaching Romanians. The

8:53

attackers were not approaching the Mortar Company,

8:55

no, they were heading for the soon

8:58

to be overwhelmed rifle company, but Simonic

9:00

was having none of that. Seeing

9:03

his comrades pinned down by a

9:05

few well-positioned machine gun nests, Simonic

9:07

grabbed a Mortar, moved a

9:10

ways away, lined up his shots,

9:12

and, one by one, decimated

9:14

the larger threat to the riflemen.

9:17

This took care of the machine guns, but

9:19

the Romanian infantry was still approaching. It's

9:23

not clear if Simonov ever saw an

9:25

American Western movie, but what

9:27

did he do next? He grabbed up two

9:29

pistols, raised them, and his

9:32

voice, telling his men, follow me.

9:34

Then he ran at the Romanians

9:37

closest to the trapped riflemen, firing

9:39

all the while. His men

9:41

followed and did the same. The

9:44

Romanians, shocked, ran away, and the

9:46

rifle company was saved. Simonov

9:48

was awarded the highest honor of

9:51

his country. Hero of

9:53

the Soviet Union. Near

9:55

This fighting, another rifle company of the

9:57

Soviet 25th, Rifle Division was at the.

10:00

By a Romanian battalion. So,

10:02

approximately seven hundred and fifty

10:05

Romanians against one hundred and

10:07

fifty seven dissenters. The

10:10

Romanians were near before even be

10:12

noticed, so the rifleman has seconds

10:14

to prepare, as did the battery

10:17

protecting them. When the

10:19

Romanians came in and pierced the

10:21

defensive lines, because of their numbers,

10:23

they were able to swing wide

10:25

on either side. But. Junior

10:27

Lieutenant K. T. Least he and

10:30

his artillery men took advantage of

10:32

this and blasted the flanks of

10:34

their own comrades with canister routes.

10:37

When a canister aspired, it

10:39

disintegrates and what's inside iron

10:42

balls or lead pieces start

10:44

to flare out depending on

10:46

the distance. When it's contents

10:48

hit a massive soldiers, the

10:51

damage is severe, widespread and

10:53

lethal. Just ten,

10:55

two tanks were spotted, obviously

10:57

hoping to support the Romanian

10:59

battalion. So the artillery cruise

11:01

quickly switched to armor piercing

11:03

shells and focusing on accuracy,

11:05

not their nerves or the

11:07

screams of their comrades, the

11:09

two tanks were quickly taken

11:11

out. Beside. The

11:14

to smoldering tanks at least three

11:16

hundred and thirty Romanian troops lay

11:18

on the ground Dad. Another.

11:21

Local Victory. A

11:24

bit to the north east of

11:26

this fighting, so closer to been

11:28

to the north west of Odessa.

11:30

One battery to had to fire

11:32

sells for nineteen hours straight as

11:35

the Romanians kept coming. And.

11:37

In parts, their plan was to

11:39

be fired upon. So. The

11:41

Romanian artillery to could spy out

11:43

the Soviet locations and fire on

11:45

them. But due to

11:47

the moving of the guns constantly,

11:50

the Soviet artillery team's not only

11:52

stopped the infantry charge, but knocked

11:54

out twelve heavy guns of the

11:57

enemy. The batteries lieutenants was awarded

11:59

the. order of Lenin. Not

12:03

that everything went the Russians way. Back

12:06

on August 16, in the

12:08

Kagarlek area, the Romanians had figured

12:10

out enough to take advantage of

12:13

Odessa's defensive perimeter. Recalling

12:15

the half-circle protractor turned down on

12:18

the left corner description that was

12:20

the Black Sea Coast line here,

12:23

Romanian troops came at this area from

12:25

due north. Thus, they did not hit

12:28

the line dead on, but rather at

12:31

an angle, and if they penetrated

12:33

the outer line, then the Russians

12:35

further down this half-circle to the

12:37

southwest from Odessa would be cut

12:39

off from the city. The

12:42

weakened 25th Rifle Division was the

12:44

intended target, so when this was

12:46

figured out, they fell back. Sure

12:49

enough, the Romanians got through to the

12:51

25th Rifle, who were soon fighting just

12:54

to stay within the defensive perimeter.

12:57

This could not stand, so a shock

13:00

group was thrown together, made up of

13:02

the Reserve 1st Cavalry

13:04

Division, the 136th Reserve Regiment,

13:06

and two battalions of the

13:09

95th Rifle Division. The

13:11

fact that this force was made up of so

13:13

many reserve units shows how much

13:15

Safranov was at the bottom of his barrel,

13:18

though not yet scraping it. However,

13:22

it happened, probably a lack of

13:24

cohesion and not enough artillery to

13:26

assist, this shock group not only

13:29

failed, but was decimated. The

13:31

survivors amounted to about 25 men

13:34

left in each company, and they had started

13:36

out with just over 100. This

13:40

did not bode well. Odessa had

13:42

that few men in reserve now, and

13:45

the enemy was still nearby.

13:49

What kind of fun is waiting for you at Kings

13:51

Island? The holy cow

13:53

is way too high and here comes the drop! Kind

13:55

of fun! That's

13:59

making me awesome! But it was on

14:02

August 17th, common sense,

14:05

or reality, decided to take

14:08

the day off. The

14:27

incursion just covered, a clear

14:29

Romanian local victory boosted the

14:31

morale of the attackers. So

14:33

on the 17th, offenses were

14:35

launched at both ends of

14:37

Odessa's perimeter and at its

14:39

center, with tanks leading the way. Maybe

14:42

because of the loss of the day

14:44

before, this much larger attack was staved

14:47

off by the desperate Russians. Nothing

14:50

in war has to make sense. That

14:53

is a constant. By

14:56

now, Bucharest was getting serious

14:58

grief from Berlin. So on

15:00

August 18th, eight divisions,

15:02

some infantry, some cavalry,

15:04

hit the entire Odessa

15:07

perimeter. Though the main

15:09

thrusts were to the north of Odessa,

15:11

near the estuaries, and to the northwest

15:13

of Odessa. Even

15:15

worse, the fighting near Kagarlek was

15:17

still going on. This

15:19

was more than the defenders of

15:21

Odessa had dealt with thus far.

15:24

Just to the right of Kagarlek

15:27

from the Romanian perspective, infantry advanced,

15:29

with tanks in front of them,

15:31

60 tanks in

15:33

front of them. But there was

15:35

a surprise in store for the Russian defenders.

15:38

These tanks had flamethrowers mounted on

15:40

them. But the Russians had

15:43

a surprise of their own prepared.

15:46

These fire-breathing tanks came on, but

15:48

just before opening up, they had

15:51

to drive across a relatively open

15:53

area. Russian artillery took advantage

15:55

of this and opened up

15:57

first. The tanks took their hits.

16:00

But kept comment wanting to

16:02

getting close enough to use

16:04

their flame throwers against those

16:06

troublesome enemy infantry. Just

16:08

as the tanks were about to

16:10

let loose with their flames, hundreds

16:12

of Russian soldiers lying down and

16:14

cuts in the ground quickly stood

16:16

up and threw molotov cocktails. Some.

16:19

Of these men were burned alive,

16:21

but many of the leading tanks

16:23

were also set aflame. But

16:26

the hell the attackers were going

16:28

through wasn't over quite yet. With

16:32

the Romanian takes not sure what to

16:34

do to be soviet as I take

16:36

artillery battalion under captain D I a

16:38

car ski urged his team's on. Before

16:41

the tanks. Gotta wait. Twenty five

16:43

more of them. Were. Ruined.

16:46

One. Tank crew took out for takes

16:48

alone so it was cheered by their

16:50

comrades. And yet.

16:53

There. Was still fresh. Hell waiting.

16:56

For. The Romanians. With.

16:59

The Romanian tanks and infantry retreating

17:01

at least hear the Russians were

17:03

inspired enough to go after them.

17:06

For. The one hundred and sixty for

17:08

survival regiments. The game was afoot. Even

17:10

their staff members got caught up in

17:13

this, grabbed the rifles and started running

17:15

at the backs of their enemy. Going

17:18

beyond their territory. within hours,

17:20

one thousand, two hundred Romanian

17:23

troops were surrounded. And.

17:25

Slaughtered. There was no time.

17:28

For. Mercy. The leader

17:30

of the battalion that did the most damage. Was.

17:33

A twenty two year old. He

17:35

also was awarded the title

17:37

hero. Of the Soviet Union, But

17:41

there was one more deadly

17:43

indignation the retreating Romanians would

17:45

have to endure. As

17:48

the attack had been a long

17:50

a rail line, Sti Soviet former

17:52

to train number Twenty One came

17:54

down the tracks and found itself

17:56

in the middle of this Romanian

17:58

retreat. There was only one. The

18:00

for it the men and guns

18:02

on a train we're ready to

18:04

and a shot. What enemy troops

18:06

came into view. Overall.

18:09

The single action. Lasted

18:11

for fifteen hours. The

18:13

Romanians were certainly expecting

18:16

something different, but instead.

18:18

Suffered. Another, the seat with many

18:20

of their men and much of their

18:22

equipment. Now gone. Something.

18:25

Had to give Something had to

18:28

change. So Bucharest not sure what

18:30

to do, went back to forming

18:32

an attack from the Black Sea.

18:35

But. As diligent as

18:37

the Russian troops and artillery

18:40

crews had been, their reconnaissance

18:42

pilots were just as determined.

18:45

The. Romanian transports when they came

18:47

the next day, staring loads

18:49

of infantry coming right at

18:51

Odessa. Were. Charging into.

18:54

Another Trump. Greetings.

18:59

Everyone from Central Virginia. It's so let's

19:01

see here. I hope you enjoyed the

19:03

interview with Mr. Bell because I enjoyed

19:06

that a lot. The book is amazing.

19:08

You really do learn a lot about

19:10

ah how humans brains works. In all

19:12

this is only was I certainly do

19:14

encourage it's a check it out arms.

19:16

Were. It was a pleasure to read.

19:18

So let's see here I've got a

19:21

couple of members saw on Tomlinson from

19:23

Horncastle main concern and the Uk saw

19:25

that you very much as he hears

19:28

whole. Miss. Lewinsky from Leesburg, Virginia

19:30

Paul as I butcher the last name.

19:32

you know I didn't mean it because

19:34

we're we're neighbors were both in Virginia

19:36

so I'd I apologize. As far as

19:38

donations see, here are a hundred or

19:40

so south from or ago I. Said

19:44

to donation any was asking about a church

19:46

amount. It's yes, I do have some of

19:48

those. So if you're in the U S

19:50

or you can just go on the

19:52

website and order a mug. If you're outside

19:55

the U S, just shoot me an email

19:57

Ww Iii podcast at G. email.com.

20:00

They A this is my name I

20:02

live here. How much would it cost

20:04

a sip? The my here I tell

20:06

you You say yes or no and

20:08

we're off to the races or not,

20:10

you know pressure. Anyways, My. Last

20:12

week. But not least, li I

20:14

don't think they're two words on

20:17

Christopher Matthews. He donated and. Became.

20:19

A member said christopher you are my

20:22

new best friend and he has from

20:24

men are creek Queensland Australia so thank

20:26

you very much Christopher It's and I'm

20:29

as you can tell I mean the

20:31

Saudis are just giving everything they've got

20:33

to to stop as but more importantly

20:36

if you zoom out as we typically

20:38

touched on before we got to Odessa,

20:40

it really is messy nabbed the overall

20:43

attacked fan of Army Group South so

20:45

we'll just see how it goes. but

20:47

we all know how this. Is

20:49

gonna and but still examples of

20:52

of their defiance. Him very inspiring.

20:54

Obviously to day things are very

20:56

different. We're not going to touch

20:59

that because that's politics. This this

21:01

is history. Take.

21:03

Care everyone. Supports.

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