Editing Kerch (section)

===Kerch in World War II===
[[File:Керчь. Обелиск Славы на вершине горы Митридат..jpg|thumb|{{Ill|Monument of Glory in Kerch|uk|Обеліск Слави (Керч)}}]]

On the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front of World War II]] from 1941 to 1945, Kerch was the site of heavy fighting between [[Red Army]] and [[Axis powers|Axis]] forces. After fierce fighting, the city was taken by the [[Germany|Germans]] in November 1941. On 31 December 1941, the [[302nd Rifle Division (Soviet Union)|302nd Mountain Rifle Division]] recaptured the city following a naval landing operation at Kamysh Burun, to the south of the city, five days earlier.<ref>{{cite book|last=Forczyk|first=Robert|title=Where the Iron Crosses Grow|publisher=Osprey Publishing|place=Oxford, UK|year=2014|pages=103, 110}}</ref> In 1942 the Germans occupied the city again. The Red Army lost over 160,000 men, either killed or taken [[POW]] at the [[Battle of the Kerch Peninsula (1942)|Battle of the Kerch Peninsula]]. On 31 October 1943 another Soviet naval landing operation was launched. Kerch returned to Soviet control on 11 April 1944.

The German invaders killed about 15,000 citizens and deported another 14,000 during their occupation. Evidence of German atrocities in Kerch was presented in the [[Nuremberg trials]]. After the war, the city was awarded the title [[Hero City (Soviet Union)|Hero City]].

The [[Defense of the Adzhimushkay quarry|Adzhimushkay]] [[catacombs]] in the city's suburbs were the site of [[guerrilla warfare]] against the occupation. Thousands of soldiers and refugees found shelter inside and were involved in counterattacks. Many of them died underground, including those who died of numerous alleged poison gas attacks. Later, a memorial was established on the site.