The Battle of Yakutsk, part III
The final attack of the war was launched in the early hours of the 1st of July 1948. Generals Fleischer, commanding the Norwegian paratroopers and Crocker, commanding the British 7th armoured would be the two main commanders on the Allied side. On the Soviet side Soviet leader and Field Marshal Zhukov himself commanded the few Red Army companies still in fighting shape.
Fleischer had decided that he wanted to carry out an attack from two-sides and had therefore despatched one of his companies to move silently around the town hall so that the soldiers could attack the Red army forces in the rear without the Soviets knowing of their presence before the attack began. With the arrival of the armoured forces Fleischer also had the possibility to carry out the attack with fewer losses on the Norwegian side. Crocker and Fleischer had worked together before and both generals worked well with each other. This had made it possible for the two to agree on a joint attack. So the paratroopers would not just be launching an attack form two-sides, they would also get armoured support.
As Fleecier signalled for the attack to begin, he was hoping that the forces he had dispatched to the rear of the town hall had arrived as planned. Fleischer had suffered from communication problems during the entire operation, and since he dispatched the company he had had no contact with his soldiers. But Fleischer knew that the captain commanding the company was a very experienced veteran and therefore he felt secure that one way or other his soldiers would be able to carry out the attack as good as possible. In reality the company had arrived in their positions already three hours before the attack began, and now they were sitting still and waiting for the frontal assault to be launched.
Norwegian paratroopers fighting in Yakutsk on the 1st of July 1948
As the Norwegian paratroopers moved forward towards the town hall the Soviet forces inside opened fire with all they had, this was what Crocker was waiting for. As soon as his tankers could spot the Soviet soldiers firing they could get their tank guns into position and just minutes after the Soviets had opened fire the British opened fire with their tanks. For the Soviet defenders this was not what they had expected as shells rained through the town hall building the Soviets started to suffer casualties, and soon the Red Army soldiers became more interested hiding from the tank guns than trying to stop the paratroopers. This made it possible for the Norwegians to cross the open square in front of the town hall with few casualties. As soon as they reached the other end of the square the Norwegians soldiers started tossing hand grenades in through the windows and doors and all the holes that had been created by the shells fired from the tanks. The same moment the British tanks moved into the square, firing their guns and continuing the shelling of the building.
As the company on the rear could hear the fighting increase in front of the town hall, they moved slowly and silently forward, reaching the an open, unguarded window at the rear of the building, and they managed to climb inside unseen by the defenders. This was not to last for long though. As the moved into the next room, they were faced with a prepared Soviet position and a furious gunfight began.
Outside on the front of the building the British armoured tanks had managed to remove all the barricades the Soviets had created and had now driven almost to the main entrance. While the tanks kept the Soviet defenders occupied, the Norwegian paratroopers were moving quickly into the building through windows, doors and holes in the wall. Moving quickly the Norwegians found that most of the first line Soviet defenders had been killed or had already run away, the Norwegians faced little hesitance as they managed to set up a command post in the main hall. Feeling that he was gaining the momentum Fleischer quickly dispatched companies around the building to take command of as much of the building as possible while the Soviet defenders were still shell-shocked and with little will to fight.
Norwegian soldiers manning a machine gun during the fighting outside the Yakutsk town hall
As the Norwegians gained control over more and more rooms, Fleischer was at long last able to link up with his company that had been attacking the building from the rear. Having been pinned down for a long time by a strong Soviet position, the Norwegians were only able to move forward again when they linked up with forces coming from the front and attacking the Soviet position on the side were it had few defences.
Fleischer now had the increasing problem with what to do with all the surrendered Soviet soldiers. As the Norwegians moved forward more and more Red Army troops surrender instead of fighting. But there were also some who fought to their death, and increasingly angered by the mounting casualties. Fleischer asked Crocker to use his tanks and send a barrage into the second floor of the town hall. Crocker was sceptical because he feared it might hit the Norwegian soldiers, but Fleischer stated that the risk was acceptable and as such the british armoured started firing a 15 minutes long barrage on the second floor. When the Norwegians moved forward again after the shelling had ended, they found few men alive and were quickly able to secure the second floor with few casualties. But Zhukov was nowhere to be found. Fearing that he had lost the Soviet leadership Fleischer wanted to have the Allied air forces to destroy the building totally, but then suddenly one of the Norwegian soldiers found a hidden door leading down to the basement.
In the basement there had been prepared several defensive position, but the Soviet forces had few defenders left and the Norwegian forces quickly overwhelmed the first defensive line. But then Zhukov launched his final attack. Having kept a strong reserve of NKVD Commissars, Zhukov now sent them forward. Taken back by the attack, the Norwegians were forced to flee for safety and leave the basement. Fleischer was furious and instead of staying behind as he should as divisional commander, he leap into the battle commanding a strong attack countering the NKVD forces. As the Soviet forces slowly started to give way, Fleischer sent forward more and more troops and at last after having fought in the basement for 36 hours the Norwegians forces broke through and the last few Soviet defenders surrendered.
The Allied bombing and shelling of Yakutsk had left few buildings still standing, and after the battle most of the city were in ruins
Stepping forward Field Marshal Zhukov, the last leader of the Soviet Union, was pale in the face and a small wound in his right shoulder, surrendered the city of Yakutsk. The battle had succeed and the Allied soldiers now control the last important city of the Soviet Union, and soon Allied Supreme Commander Montgomery was able to tell the world leaders that the Allies control all of the Soviet Union.