Part 7/13:
The Strategic Importance of the Black Sea: Control over the Bosphorus Strait was crucial. An invasion through Turkey would risk alerting Stalin to the German intention to attack the Soviet Union, ending the element of surprise that was pivotal in the success of Operation Barbarossa.
Limited Infrastructure and Supply Lines: Germany's logistical capacity was already stretched thin in the Soviet Union. Supplying new forces arriving through Turkey via the Bosphorus would have been complicated, especially considering potential Allied interdicts and the difficulty of maintaining supply lines across hostile terrain.