of December 7/8 the cruisers Krasnyi Kavkaz and Krasnyi Krym escorted a convoy of five transports carrying, among other men and supplies, 1,200 men of the 782nd Rifle Regiment, which had embarked at Poti. When its arrival was complete by December 15 the division added 11,197 personnel to the fortress garrison, along with artillery (18 76.2mm regimental guns, 16 76.2mm mountain guns, and eight 122mm howitzers), 146 50mm and 82mm mortars, plus antitank guns. Personnel replacements and new weapons also arrived in this convoy, allowing the commander of Coastal Army, Maj. Gen. Ivan Petrov, to partly restore his existing forces in the front lines and retain the 388th as a central reserve, based at Inkerman. The Eleventh Army launched its second assault on the fortress on December 17 with a short artillery barrage at 0610 hours to the surprise of the Soviet forces who were not expecting an attack during winter. While the assault struck all four of the Sevastopol defense sectors it soon became apparent that the main thrust was against Sectors III and IV, north and northeast of the port. The 40th Cavalry Division and the 773rd Rifle Regiment were sent to Sector IV, while the 778th moved to Sector III. The Sector IV commander, Maj. Gen. V. F. Vorobev, planned a counterattack before dawn on the 18th and had his coastal batteries and field artillery shell the German positions. However the Germans got their attack in first, hitting the 40th Cavalry and the 8th Naval Infantry Brigade. The 773rd was in an isolated position on the right flank of the 8th Brigade and came under attack around 0900 hours, first by aircraft and artillery and then by the 16th Infantry Regiment of 22nd Infantry Division, supported by assault guns, and was routed, falling back nearly 5km and losing contact with the 241st Rifle Regiment of 95th Rifle Division on its right, which soon found itself surrounded. At dawn on December 19 the assault was resumed, particularly against Sector III, where the 778th Regiment held positions in the Kamyshly Ravine. The next day the Germans broke through at several points defended by the 40th Cavalry and the 773rd Regiment. At the end of the day General Petrov assigned the 778th and 782nd Regiments to Sector IV to bolster the 773rd. The German attacks on December 21 were intended to complete the conquest of the fortress, but failed to