May 1942

Eastern Front

In the Crimea, the 11th Army prepares to wipe out the Soviet forces at Kerch and capture Sevastopol. Manstein has decided to deal with the Kerch concentration first, deploying the bulk of his strength here and leaving only thin covering forces to screen Sevastopol. Operation BUSTARD is aimed to strike the 44th and 51st Armies in their exposed forward positions, encircling the mass of the two armies on the narrow isthmus. The Crimean Front deploys 249,800 ne. For the operation Manstein has assembled the XLII, Rumanian VII and XXX Corps, a force of 5 German and 2 Rumanian infantry divisions, 1 panzer division and 1 Rumanian cavalry division. To the west the LIV Corps covers Sevastopol.