Battle of Crete

battle_name=Battle of Crete

Day one, May 20

At 8:00 a.m. on May 20 German paratroopers landed near Maleme and Chania, secondary airfields built to support the island's main airbase at Heraklion. Of the initial forces, the majority were mauled by Allied forces placed near the airfields, in particular many of the gliders following the paratroops were hit by mortar fire within seconds of landing. Those who did land were wiped out almost to a man by the Greek and Commonwealth defenders.

Related Topics:
May 20 - Maleme - Chania - Heraklion - Mortar

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Ironically, a number of German forces had landed off-site near both airfields, as is common in airdrops, and set up defensive positions to the west of the Maleme airfield, and "Prison Valley" in the Chania area. Although both forces were bottled up and failed to take the airfields, they were in place and the defenders had to deploy to face them.

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Greek police forces and cadets were also in action, with the First Greek Regiment (Provisional) defeating an incursion by the 95th Gebirgs Pioneer Battalion at Kastelli. Meanwhile, the 8th Greek Regiment and elements of the Cretan forces severely hampered movement by the 95th Reconnaissance Battalion on Kolimbari and Paleochora, where Allied reinforcements from North Africa could potentially be landed.

Related Topics:
Kastelli - Kolimbari - Paleochora

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Everywhere on the island, Cretan civilians, armed and otherwise, joined the battle with a savagery unexpected by either side. In one notable incident, an elderly Cretan beat a German parachutist to death with his walking stick. This was not an isolated case, and many Germans met their end by knife or club in the Cretan olive groves and villages. Once they had overcome their shock at such unprecedented resistance from a civilian population, the Germans reacted with equal ferocity.

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A second German wave arrived in the afternoon, one group attacking Rethimnon at 4:15 p.m. and another at Heraklion at 5:30. As with the earlier actions, the defenders were waiting for them and inflicted heavy casualties. As night fell, none of the German objectives had been secured. The risky plan — attacking at four separate points to fully use surprise rather than concentrating on one — seemed to have failed, although the reasons were unknown to the Germans.

Related Topics:
Rethimnon - Heraklion

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Towards the evening of May 20, the Germans at Maleme were slowly pushing back the New Zealanders from Hill 107, which overlooked the airfield. The commanders in Crete decided to throw everything into the Maleme sector the next day.

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An eye-witness account of the events which lead to the German occupation of Crete can be found in the book Operation Mercury by M. G. Comeau (MM). Comeau recorded details and sketches, at the time, in a Collins Midget Diary and was present on Hill 107 (Kavkazia) as the gliders landed.

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Among the paratroopers who landed on the first day of the battle was former world heavyweight champion boxer Max Schmeling, who held the rank of Gefreiter (private first class) at the time. Schmeling survived the battle and the war.

Related Topics:
Boxer - Max Schmeling - Gefreiter

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