Red Army 318th Guards Rifle Division in the Battle for Novorossiysk, September 1943

September 16, 2025 - Reading time: 4 minutes

318th Guards Rifle Division soldiers fight in the ruins of Novorossiysk, September 1943.

Soviet 318th Guards Rifle Division soldiers with PPSh-41 submachine guns fighting German defenders in the ruins of Novorossiysk, September 16, 1943.

This powerful wartime photo captures Red Army soldiers of the 318th Guards Novorossiysk Rifle Division during the fierce street battles for Novorossiysk on September 16, 1943. Armed with PPSh-41 submachine guns, the troops are seen storming German positions hidden among the shattered ruins of the city’s buildings.

The Battle for Novorossiysk was one of the key operations of the North Caucasus Campaign. After months of fighting to contain the German bridgehead on the Taman Peninsula, Soviet forces launched a decisive offensive in September 1943. The 318th Guards Division, formed from earlier units distinguished in combat, played a central role in breaking through German defenses in the port city.

Street fighting in Novorossiysk was brutal and costly, with Soviet infantry clearing buildings one by one under heavy fire. Yet the liberation of the city was of great strategic and symbolic importance, securing the Black Sea port and paving the way for the final liberation of the Kuban region.

The photo, taken by Soviet war correspondent Leonid Bernstein, was widely published in the press, including Izvestia newspaper on September 18, 1943, becoming one of the iconic images of the Red Army’s advance.

Technical photo data:
📍 Location: Novorossiysk, USSR
📅 Date of photo: September 16, 1943
📝 Event: Battle for Novorossiysk, North Caucasus Campaign
📷 Author: Leonid Bernstein (Soviet war photographer)
📚 Sources: visualrian.ru, Izvestia No. 221 (September 18, 1943)