When Army Group South crossed into the Soviet Union, no part of its orders included taking the Crimea. The plan was, once Soviet forces in the Ukraine were destroyed west of the Dnepr River, peripheral areas could be taken bloodlessly in subsequent mop-up operations. That changed when Soviet planes based in the Crimea began raiding the vital Axis oilfield in Romania. On 23 July, Hitler therefore raised the capture of the Crimea to the status of a "priority" mission.

World at War, No. 89, (April-May 2023), pages 6-24