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Hello, and thank you for listening to The History of World War II podcast, episode 501,

The Other Crimean War.

While Army Group Center and General Zhukov bloodied each other with little change in the battle lines, let's take a look

at the battle over Crimea. Again, Stalin is impatient to have all enemy troops gone from his lands,

but easier said than done. And as is my want, I'm going to James Mitchener, this subject,

by going back in time. But don't worry, we won't be there long,

but a sense of perspective will help understand the Russians' desire to retake what had been

taken from them. The Russians became concerned, or rather nervous, as touching the Crimean Peninsula

in the 16th century. As the Tartars, descendants of the Mongol Golden Horde would

leave the peninsula in raid Russian lands, looting and kidnapping Russian people to then sell them into

slavery. These incursions into Russian territory peaked in 1571 when a large Tartar army made

its way to Moscow, taking thousands of prisoners

and burning much of Tsar Ivan the Terrible's capital. Clearly, something had to be done,

...