Couple of points:


1.) My actual forces on the Crimea are rather weak. 3 German Infantry Divisions and half a dozen Romanian and Italian divisions of dubious fighting value.
2.) To effectively bottle up the Red Army on the Crimea I would have to defend the two crossings on the northern coast with at least six divisions, so it's not like I'd save a lot of troops anyway.
3.) I really didn't like the idea of an open flank 300 miles behind my forward lines in the Stalino area. A breakthrough in this area, followed by an 80-mile advance would enable the Russians cut the main railway in the south.
4.) The more cities and towns I hold the harder it gets for the Red Army to replenish their manpower pool.
5.) The Crimea yields another 20 victory points to my tally. I need 290 VP for an automatic decisive victory, so 20 VP isn't bad for a rather 'easy' objective.
6.) I plan on supporting my 1942 spring/summer offensive towards Stalingrad with an attack from the Crimea towards the Kuban. The capture of Novorossiysk and Krasnodar would net me another 30 VP and win me the war even if I failed to take Stalingrad.


"...late afternoon the Air Tasking Order came in [and] we found the A-10 part and we said, "We are going where!? We are doing what!?"

Capt. Todd Sheehy, Hog pilot, on receiving orders during Operation Desert Storm