Coin Battle of the Caucasus

Detailed description

A little over a year from July 1942 to October 1943 to continue the operation of the Wehrmacht to seize the Caucasus. Hitler developed the operation "Edelweiss", the aim of which was to provide the Nazis control over oil and grain in the southern regions of the Soviet Union.

The combined forces of Germany and the Union of Romania and Slovakia, is significantly superior to the number of people and combat vehicles, available at the southern boundary of the Red Army. Against 112 thousand defenders of the Caucasus, about 2 thousand guns and mortars, over a hundred tanks and two hundred planes were 170 thousand soldiers, more than 4.5 thousand guns and thousands of aircraft, about seven hundred tanks of the Third Reich.

The offensive during the Battle of the Caucasus before the onset of winter in 1943 was quite successful for the Nazis. In the two months since the beginning of the offensive were occupied Stavropol, Armavir, Maikop, Krasnodar, Elista, Mozdok and Novorossiysk. Hitler's army was stopped on the way to Grozny and Tuapse.

The complication of the situation at Stalingrad forced the German command to withdraw some forces from the Caucasus to the aid of Paulus. The Soviet forces were able to stop the advance of the invaders, keep them in the Caucasus and to prevent association with Turkish troops.

The counter-offensive of the Transcaucasian and Southern fronts in January-October 1943 led to the liberation of the occupied territories. The Germans were forced to retreat, the withdrawal of troops to the west. Losses reached 600 thousand people on both sides. And while the Soviet troops were not able to destroy the Army Group "A", to carry out operations in the Caucasus, the victory cemented its leadership position on the southern borders of the country and retained control over key strategic resources.

Obverse description

In the center - the denomination of the coin in two lines: "5 РУБЛЕЙ", below - the inscription: "БАНК РОССИИ", under it - the year of issue "2014", the left and right - the stylized branch plants, right at the edge - the trademark of the coin yard.

Reverse description

Relief image of Monument fragment defenders Elkhot gate, along the rim - inscriptions, separated by two asterisks at the top: "БИТВА ЗА КАВКАЗ", at the bottom: "ВЕЛИКАЯ ОТЕЧЕСТВЕННАЯ ВОЙНА 1941-1945 гг.".