One of the most notable and most successful defensive battles of the beginning of the war was the defense of Odessa. It was not only a collective feat of many thousands of people, but also a unique defensive operation.It has no analogues in world history, including in the defense of naval bases. The book tells about these unique features.Odessa could well become both the second Tobruk and the first Stalingrad. The book tells about many catastrophes and victories unknown to the reader. The reader will learn why the Soviet fighter aviation lost more aircraft during its relocation from Odessa to the Crimea than during the entire period of participation in hostilities, and why for the Romanians the introduction of units of the 1st Panzer Division into battle on August 18 turned into a "catastrophe near Karpovo". He also learns about the last, October offensive of the Romanians on Odessa, which has never been mentioned in Soviet and post-Soviet literature.When describing the hostilities, the surviving reports, orders, records of negotiations and other archival documents of that time were used to the maximum, helping the reader it is better to feel the drama of the events taking place.For the first time, the book tells the story of the creation, adoption and implementation of the evacuation plan of the Primorsky Army, which changed three times. Much attention is also paid to the reasons for Stalin's change of leadership in the defense of the city, which, two weeks after the start of the defensive operation, was transferred from the army command to the fleet.