Newly strengthened with the arrival of additional German and Romanian troops, the 11th Army began the Crimean campaign on 18 October 1941. This resulted in an order by Stavka for the Soviet Black Sea Fleet to evacuate the garrison that defended Odessa and for that evacuated garrison to join the defense of the Crimean peninsula. The objective of the operation was the elimination of Sevastopol, the main port of the Soviet Black Sea Fleet which had proven to be of considerable value to the Soviet forces, specifically during the Siege of Odessa. Another target on the Crimea was the access to the Kerch Peninsula, which would grant the Axis another access point to the Caucasus region.