World War: Two Guesses on the Crimea

Crimea is no Crete. It is three times as big as Crete. It is a peninsula, not an island. It is a center of trade, the linchpin of a whole sea, not just an olive grower's paradise. It boasts a great naval base, not just a great, bare bay. It has several bristling military airports, not just four improvised plane-patches. Its fortifications have been planned for years, not mere days.

If the Germans attacked Crimea last week believing it was another Crete, they had a second guess coming.

The attackers opened up with nocturnal bombing. At midnight they sent a wave of tanks...

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