Odesa's Maze-Like Catacombs Could Be Bad News For Russian Invaders
Odesa's catacombs could prove vexing for Russian invaders just as they have for other enemies in conflicts past.
BY JOSEPH TREVITHICK MARCH 15, 2022
THE WAR ZONE
Pictures from within the Odesa Catacombs overlaid on to of a map of a section of the tunnel network.ПОЛИЩУК ДЕНИС АНАТОЛЬЕВИЧ / ADAM JONES / MOTIK20071 VIA WIKIMEDIA / VIA VIA
From the very beginning of the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine nearly three weeks ago, there have been persistent fears that Russian forces might attempt to capture the strategic Black Sea port of Odesa. Indications that a flotilla of Russian warships, including large landing ships, has taken up positions offshore, together with Ukrainian authorities saying that dozens of missiles hit targets in and around the city just tonight, have prompted new concerns that some kind of ground assault may come sooner rather than later. Ukrainian officials have already taken a number of prudent steps to fortify the city against amphibious landings and other attacks. But should invasion come, it is Odesa's vast and ancient catacombs deep below the city that could prove particularly vexing for Russian invaders.
Officially, the Odesa Catacombs comprise at least 2,500 kilometers, or just over 1,550 miles, of generally interlinked tunnels running under the city, as well as into outlying areas. Portions of the Catacombs are known to exist at three different depths at least, with the deepest being 60 meters, or almost 197 feet, below sea level, and there are at least 1,000 documented entry points. It is one of the world's largest known underground networks.
VIA KATAKOMBY.ODESSA.UA
A map of just a portion of the Odesa Catacombs.
When construction of the first tunnels under Odesa began is not entirely clear, but they may date back to the 17th Century. Artwork can be seen on the walls of some parts of the Catacombs that is at least from the 19th Century. Their existence is largely linked to the demand for coquina, a kind of limestone that is made up in significant part by fossiled invertebrate shells. Coquina extracted from these underground quarries was key to the growth of the city prior to the 20th Century and was entirely unregulated, which helps account for the extent of resulting Catacombs.
By Tyler Rogoway
Posted in THE WAR ZONE
Soviet authorities curtailed the extraction of coquina from underneath Odesa after the 1917 Revolution, but the Catacombs remained a fixture in Odesa. Smugglers and other criminal elements, who had already made use of the labyrinth over the years, continued to do so. During the ensuing Russian Civil War, civilians hid in the tunnels from the fighting, and it seems more likely than not that the tunnels had been used in this way before then, as well.
The catacombs continued to provide shelter for civilians during World War II. They gained more notoriety during that conflict for their use, in part, as a base of operations for Soviet partisans fighting Nazi forces in the region. In 1969, a Museum of Partisan Glory was established in a part of the Catacombs Nerubayske, a village some six miles northwest of the center of Odesa, to commemorate this period, and the activities of partisans under the command of Vladimir Molodtsov-Badaev, an official Hero of the Soviet Union, in particular.
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/44745/odesas-massive-maze-like-catacombs-could-be-bad-news-for-russian-invadersThe partisan museum was the only part of the Catacombs officially open to the public during the Soviet era, which continued to be the case after Odesa became part of independent Ukraine following the collapse of the Soviet Union. However, there remains plans to use the tunnels in case of attacks, including during a nuclear war.
