Battle of Crete

battle_name=Battle of Crete

Withdrawal, May 28–31

Command in London eventually decided the cause was hopeless, and ordered a withdrawal from Sfakia. Over the next four nights 16,000 troops were taken off to Egypt. A smaller number was withdrawn on a separate mission from Heraklion, but these ships were attacked en route by Luftwaffe dive bombers and suffered serious losses. On 1 June the remaining 5,000 defenders at Sfakia surrendered, although many took to the hills and caused the German occupation problems for years.

Related Topics:
London - Sfakia - Dive bomber - 1 June

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During the evacuation Admiral Cunningham was determined that the "navy must not let the army down." When army generals feared he would lose too many ships, Cunningham said that "It takes three years to build a ship, it takes three centuries to build a tradition."

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Maj. Alistair Hamilton, a company commander in the Black Watch, had declared: "The Black Watch leaves Crete when the snow leaves Mount Ida." The major himself never left the island: he was killed by a mortar round, but his men were ordered off, and reluctantly complied. The general consensus among the men was that they were letting their Greek allies down, and while most British heavy equipment was destroyed in order to keep it from falling into enemy hands, the men turned over their ammunition to the Cretans who were staying behind to resist the Germans.

Related Topics:
Black Watch - Snow - Mount Ida - Mortar

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