German ship Totila
Encyclopedia
The Totila was an German cargo ship, which sank on May 10, 1944, near Khersones
, during the Axis evacuation of the Crimea, killing up to 5,000 German and Romanian soldiers.
The Totila was the former Hungarian cargo ship Magyar Vitez built in 1942 and confiscated by the Germans in 1944.
In 1944 the 17th Army
was cut off by the Red Army in the Crimean Peninsula. At first, Hitler didn't allow the 235,000 German and Romanian troops to be evacuated over sea, but on April 11, the evacuation began.
Together with the Teja, the Totila reached Khersones on May 10, and both ships were immediately loaded with German and Romanian soldiers and then headed back to Constanța
. They survived a first attack by a formation of 20 Soviet aircraft, but at 09:30, Totila was hit by three bombs during a second attack by 21 Soviet planes. The ship, with 3,000 German and 2,000 Romanians on board, sank very fast. Teja and the escort ships couldn't stop to help the survivors. At 14:45, a new formation of 11 A-20s appeared and hit the Teja, which sank with some 4,000 men on board. The three escort ships saved some 400 men and continued the trip to Constanța.
The claim that most soldiers saved themselves by swimming back ashore is very unlikely. The exact number of casualties will never be known, but the sinking of these two ships is one of the greatest maritime disasters of all time. In total, some 8,000 men might have lost their lives in this incident.
Khersones
Khersones can refer to:*Chersonesos, archeological site in Ukraine*Khersones , tall ship from Ukraine, a Russian coastal tanker...
, during the Axis evacuation of the Crimea, killing up to 5,000 German and Romanian soldiers.
The Totila was the former Hungarian cargo ship Magyar Vitez built in 1942 and confiscated by the Germans in 1944.
In 1944 the 17th Army
17th Army (Germany)
The German Seventeenth Army was a World War II field army.-Commanding officers:* General der Infanterie Carl-Heinrich von Stülpnagel * Generaloberst Hermann Hoth...
was cut off by the Red Army in the Crimean Peninsula. At first, Hitler didn't allow the 235,000 German and Romanian troops to be evacuated over sea, but on April 11, the evacuation began.
Together with the Teja, the Totila reached Khersones on May 10, and both ships were immediately loaded with German and Romanian soldiers and then headed back to Constanța
Constanta
Constanța is the oldest extant city in Romania, founded around 600 BC. The city is located in the Dobruja region of Romania, on the Black Sea coast. It is the capital of Constanța County and the largest city in the region....
. They survived a first attack by a formation of 20 Soviet aircraft, but at 09:30, Totila was hit by three bombs during a second attack by 21 Soviet planes. The ship, with 3,000 German and 2,000 Romanians on board, sank very fast. Teja and the escort ships couldn't stop to help the survivors. At 14:45, a new formation of 11 A-20s appeared and hit the Teja, which sank with some 4,000 men on board. The three escort ships saved some 400 men and continued the trip to Constanța.
The claim that most soldiers saved themselves by swimming back ashore is very unlikely. The exact number of casualties will never be known, but the sinking of these two ships is one of the greatest maritime disasters of all time. In total, some 8,000 men might have lost their lives in this incident.