siege of odessa

The Siege of Odessa, also known to the Soviets as The Defense of Odessa, lasted from 8 August until 16 October 1941, during the early phase of Operation Barbarossa , the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II.

Odessa was a port on the Black Sea in the Ukrainian SSR. On 22 June 1941, the Axis powers invaded the Soviet Union. In August, Odessa became a target of the Romanian 4th Army and elements of the German 11th Army.

Due to the heavy resistance of the Soviet 9th Independent Army and the rapidly formed Separate Coastal Army, supported by the Black Sea Fleet, it took the Axis forces 73 days of siege and four assaults to take the city. Romanian forces suffered 93,000 casualties, against Red Army casualties estimated to be between 41,000 and 60,000.

The siege ended in a costly Axis victory, but the Red Army troops succesfully evacuated the region.