Malaya Zemlya

Malaya Zemlya was a Soviet uphill outpost on Cape Myskhako, situated westward from Tsemes Bay on the Black Sea, that was recaptured after battles with the Germans during the Battle of the Caucasus on the night of 4 February 1943. The episode paved way for a Soviet attack on German forces in Novorossiysk.

Cape Myskhako is associated with a stand made by the 800-strong contingent of the Soviet Naval Infantry against the Germans during the Second World War. The special forces were dropped during winter high storms by the Soviet Black Sea Fleet, after the unsuccessful landing attempt at Malajia Ozereevka. The landing at Malaya Zemlya had aimed to be a decoy, but after a second landing at Bolshaia Ozereevka was lost in an ambush, the offensive plan was reworked and the landing site at Malaya Zemlya was made the main landing location. Upon landing to secure the beachhead, they came under a German counter-offensive with air support.