Kuban bridgehead

The Kuban Bridgehead
	Part of the Battle of the Caucasus on the Eastern Front of World War II
	; Map of July–December 1943 positions of the Eastern Front. The Kuban Bridgehead starts by Novorossiysk
Date	1 January – 9 October 1943
Location	Taman Peninsula
Result	German–Romanian-Slovak withdrawal to Crimea
Belligerents
Germany; Romania ; Slovakia	Soviet Union

The Kuban Bridgehead (German: Kuban-Brückenkopf), also known as the "Goth's head position" (Gotenkopfstellung), was a German military position on the Taman Peninsula, Russia, between the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea. Existing from January to October 1943, the bridgehead formed after the Germans were pushed out of the Caucasus. The heavily fortified position was intended as a staging area for the Wehrmacht which was to be used to renew attacks towards the oil wells of the Caucasus. Axis positions in the bridgehead were repeatedly subjected to large Soviet offensives, but none ever comprehensively broke the Axis defensive lines. The bridgehead was abandoned when the Red Army breached the Panther–Wotan line, forcing an evacuation of the German forces across the Kerch Strait to Crimea.

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