The Third Blow
The Third Blow is a 1948 Soviet war film directed by Igor Savchenko. It tells the story of the Crimean Offensive in spring 1944, when Stalin orders the Red Army to free the Crimea from German occupation. After fierce fighting, the Germans and their Romanian allies are defeated and Sevastopol is retaken. The title refers to the third major push in Stalin’s plan for winning World War II.
This film is the first in the “Artistic Documentaries” series, meant to present an official view of Soviet history. It features large battlefield scenes and many scenes with Red Army generals and with Stalin, who is shown as the supreme commander. Aleksei Dikiy stars as the leader and was reportedly Stalin’s favorite actor to portray him; other stars include Nikolay Bogolyubov, Ivan Pereverzev, Mark Bernes, and Sergey Martinson. The score includes music by Natan Rakhlin, with original pieces by Pyotr Tchaikovsky.
Production took place at Kiev Film Studios and the film was released on 26 April 1948, running 106 minutes in Russian. It won awards at the Gottwaldov Workers’ Film Festival in 1948 and earned a Stalin Prize (2nd degree) in 1949. Arkadi Perventsev received recognition for Best Writing at the 1948 Karlovy Vary Film Festival.
Some critics have described the film as Stalinist propaganda, noting the prominent role of Stalin in the story. During the Khrushchev era, many Stalin scenes were cut, and the movie was re-released in 1965 under the title Southern Knot.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 14:29 (CET).