JuneβJuly [3] 35, men 78 guns 31 aircraft [4] 27, JuneβJuly , men [3]. Axis land forces reached the Crimea in the autumn of and overran most of the area.
The only objective not in Axis hands was Sevastopol. Several attempts were made to secure the city in October and November A major attack was planned for late November, but heavy rains delayed it until 17 December Under the command of Erich von Manstein , Axis forces were unable to capture Sevastopol during this first operation.
Soviet forces launched an amphibious landing on the Crimean peninsula at Kerch in December to relieve the siege and force the Axis to divert forces to defend their gains. The operation saved Sevastopol for the time being, but the bridgehead in the eastern Crimea was eliminated in May After the failure of their first assault on Sevastopol, the Axis opted to conduct siege warfare until the middle of , at which point they attacked the encircled Soviet forces by land, sea, and air.
The German Air Force Luftwaffe played a vital part in the siege, its 8th Air Corps bombing the besieged Soviet forces with impunity, flying 23, sorties and dropping 20, tons of bombs in June alone.
The intensity of the German airstrikes was far beyond previous German bombing offensives against cities such as Warsaw , Rotterdam or London. The Luftwaffe sank or deterred most Soviet attempts to evacuate their troops by sea.
