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Crossing of the Syvash (1943–1944)

The Crossing of the Syvash in the winter of 1943–1944 was the construction by sappers of the 51st Army of the 4th Ukrainian Front of a crossing over the Syvash water barrier, which in April 1944 opened the path to the liberation of Crimea. In honor of the fallen, the sappers built the first monument in the Kherson region—a 7-meter monument on the shore of the Syvash.

Overview

The Syvash is a shallow salt lagoon that the military considered an almost impassable barrier for infantry, artillery, and tanks. To liberate Crimea, Soviet troops needed to gain a foothold on the peninsula and establish a bridgehead. Under constant aerial bombardment, sappers of the 51st Army of the 4th Ukrainian Front constructed a unique crossing: initially a boat-and-pontoon bridge, later a second one near Russky Island, and an earthen dam for heavy artillery. It was thanks to this crossing that the liberation of the Crimean Peninsula was launched in April 1944.

Key Details / Subtopics

  • Construction of the crossing by sappers of the 51st Army: The establishment of the crossing began on November 1, 1943, by infantrymen of the 10th Rifle Corps of the 51st Army of the 4th Ukrainian Front. The soldiers took 4 hours to traverse the nearly three-kilometer-long boat-and-pontoon crossing route. A second crossing in the area of Russky Island was built later—it became operational on December 9, 1943. To transport heavy artillery, construction of an earthen dam began in January 1944. All construction work proceeded around the clock.
  • Working conditions of the sappers: Cold salt water that corroded both metal and the human body, a muddy bottom, storms, snow, rain, and constant enemy air attacks. The German command considered crossing the Syvash an unrealistic task, especially with vehicles and equipment, and therefore did not build fortifications on the southern shore.
  • 7-meter monument (1944): On the shore of the Syvash, sappers constructed a 7-meter-tall figure of a soldier holding a submachine gun using improvised materials—planks, rebar, Syvash clay, seaweed, and scrap parachute fabric. This was effectively the first monument to soldiers who died in the Kherson region, erected by the combatants themselves while fighting was still ongoing.
  • Mass graves and commemoration: The monument was erected over 19 mass graves where, according to petitions, approximately 15,000 service members were buried; some of the names are inscribed on the pedestal. In 1947–1948, the local and republican press wrote about the monument, and it became a tourist destination and a place of tribute for local residents.
  • "Budmonument" Commission and restoration: The technical condition of the monument was examined by a special commission including a representative of the Kyiv "Budmonument" organization, sculptor Ya. S. Razhba. The commission established a need for 200,000 rubles for restoration, which the regional authorities requested to be allocated; however, funds for restoring it to its original form with durable materials were never provided. Today, a modest standardized monument stands at the site, funded by the region's own budget.
  • Historical parallels and guides: Troops had crossed the Syvash in earlier times as well—in 1737 (Field Marshal Lacy) and in the autumn of 1920 (M. Frunze). The guide for the troops in 1943 was Ivan Ivanovych Olenchuk, a local peasant from the village of Strohanivka in Chaplynka District, who had pointed out this same path to Frunze's troops back in 1920; a second ford was shown by Vasyl Kindratovych Zaulochnyi, a resident of the village of Vasylivka in Novotroyitske District.