Zubkov battery in Novorossiysk

Captain Zubkov`s battery is located on a mountain slope north of Cape Penai, above the Sukhum highway that leads from Gelendzhik to Novorossiysk. Several such batteries were built in 1941 in the vicinity of Novorossiysk, but only this one has been preserved.

Construction of Battery No. 394, which later became known as Zubkov Battery, was started in July 1941. A month later, 4 100 mm naval guns were installed on the mountainside. There were also fortified cellars for ammunition, barracks for soldiers and a command post. Captain Andrey Emmanuilovich Zubkov was appointed commander of the battery.

The key task of the battery was to protect the Tsemes Bay. From the place where the Zubkov Battery was located, the entrance to Tsemes Bay was completely shot through, which excluded the possibility of German ships entering the port of Novorossiysk. During the war, no German ship ever came here. However, the battery was also active on ground targets when the fierce fighting for Novorossiysk began in August 1942.

The suppression of the Zubkov battery was the most important task for German army in this direction, so it was constantly bombed from aircraft, as well as fired from long-range artillery. More than 7,000 aircraft bombs were dropped on the battery (some weighing up to 1 ton). Zubkov`s battery made a significant contribution to the stabilization of the defense line in the Eastern quarter of Novorossiysk in the area of cement plants. This prevented the Germans from advancing along The Black Sea coast, and prevented a threat to Soviet troops from the Black Sea during the Battle of the Caucasus in 1942.

The pedestrian path in the Museum of captain Zubkov Battery goes along the mountain slope. Its length is 1.7 kilometers. Here tourists can see the ship`s guns, rangefinder post, and cellar for storing ammunition. There is also an anti-aircraft gun. These guns protected the battery`s positions during air raids.