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Battle
of Crete WW2
On the morning of 20th May, 1941, Germany launched an
airborne invasion on Crete under the code name Operation
Merkur, which can be translated as Operation Mercury.
Prelude
The British had occupied the island of Crete when the
Italians had invaded Greece on October 28, 1940. After
the German intervention in Greece, the 57.000 allied
troops in that country were chased from the mainland of
Greece. The Royal Navy evacuated many of them, some to
Crete to bolster its 14,000-man garrison. By May 1941,
the defense consisted of 10.000 men in 11 Greek militia
battalions. The British expanded their defense to 30,000
men, though in many cases the men lacked heavy equipment.
Because of constant bombings from mainland Greece, the
R.A.F withdrew its planes to Egypt. leaving the Luftwaffe
with air superiority. New Zealand General Bernard
Freyberg was appointed commander of the British, Greek,
Australian and New Zealand forces on the isle of Crete on
April 30.
Possession of the island provided the Royal Navy with
excellent harbors in the eastern Mediterranean. From
Crete, the Romanian airfields were within range. Also,
with Crete in British hands, the Axis south eastern
position would never be safe, a vital necessity before
starting Operation Barbarossa.On April 25 Adolf Hitler
signed the directive No.28 ordering to take Crete.
The battle
On the morning of May 20, German paratroopers
landed at 08.00 near Maleme and Chania to take the vital
airfields. The next wave landed at Rethimnon and
Heraklion. The landings were preceded by 3 hours of heavy
bombing, which put most anti aircraft guns our of action.
German landings were hampered by heavy losses. At Maleme,
the paratroopers jumped into heavy infantry fire. The
German paratroopers were unable to recover their heavy
weapons, which had landed with separate parachutes. At
Cania the Germans suffered many jump casualties due to
the very rocky terrain. The next wave of the airborne
landing took place at about 16.00 at Rethimnon and
Heraklion. Its purpose was to seize the local airfields.
These groups ran into even heavier infantry fire than the
group at Maleme.
General Freyberg refused to commit his reserves. Towards
the evening of May 20, the Germans at Maleme were slowly
pushing back the British from Hill 107, which overlooked
the all important airfield.
In the following night, Royal Navy vessals penetrated
into the waters north of Crete, forcing back the first
German naval convoy. But on May 21, Axis planes scored
several hits on the British ships. Nevertheless, British
vessels intercepted the axis convoy at 23.00 hour around
Cape Spaha, sinking several vessels. But on May 22, an
all out attack by the Luftwaffe drove away the British
ships.
On May 22, the Germans landed additional troops on the
beaches of Maleme and west of its airfield. At 16.00,
enough control had been established to enable parts of
the 5th Mountain Division to land at the airfield. To
this end the Luftwaffe provided the paras with continuous
close air support. From that point on, the Germans were
able to constantly fly in additional weapons and troops.
The Germans captured the island in 10 days, but at heavy
cost. 6,600 German soldiers, including one in four
paratroopers, lay dead on the battlefield. The Allied
soldiers were evacuated by the Royal Navy during four
desperately dangerous consecutive nights between 28 and
31 May, with British Commandos providing cover. About
17,000 escaped; probably more were killed, captured or
went missing.
Conclusion
The invasion got known as the first airborne
invasion in history, but that honor goes to the German
paratroop assault on the Hague on May 10, 1940. Hitler
was so shocked by German losses, that he never approved
of a third large airborne operation again. Ironically,
the allies took up the lessons and put them to good use
at the Normandy invasion.
| WW2
HISTORY DATA |
| Pearl
Harbor Overview |
| Pearl
Harbor Japanese Forces |
| Pearl
Harbor Japanese Aircraft |
| Battle
of the Coral Sea, 7-8
May 1942 |
| Doolitle
Raid on Japan, 18 April 1942 |
| Battle
of Midway, 4-7 June 1942 |
| Guadalcanal
Campaign, August 1942 - February 1943 |
| Guadalcanal-Tulagi
Invasion, 7-9 August 1942 |
| Battle
of the Philippine Sea |
| Battle
of Iwo Jima
Battle
of Okinawa |
| Japan
Capitulates WW2
Japan Planes - List of
Aircraft |
| Battleship
Bismarck,
Graf
Zeppelin |
| Battleships
Tirpitz, Scharnhorst
, Admiral
Graf Spee |
| WW2
Luftwaffe Planes - List
of Aircraft |
| U-Boats
Types 1, 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D |
| Kriegsmarine
Submarines Types U-Flak, 7A, 7B,
7C, 7C/41, 7C/42, 7D, 7F |
Kriegsmarine
Submarines: U-Boats
Type 9A, 9B, 9C, 9C/40, 9D, 14 |
| Kriegsmarine
Submarines: Type XXI , Type XXIII |
| Grand
Admiral Karl Donitz, Erich Raeder |
HMS
Prince of Wales
Battleship, HMS Repulse,
HMS
Ark Royal,
HMS Hood Battlecruisers |
| Battle
of the River Plate, Battle
of Dunkirk, Battle
of the Atlantic |
| Normandy
Invasion, June 1944 |
| Normandy
Invasion ,Crossing the English Channel on
D-Day, 6 June 1944 |
| Normandy
Invasion- The D-Day Landings, 6 June 1944 |
| USN
WW2 Admirals,
USN
WW2 Cruisers List |
| Imperial
Japan Navy Admirals |
| Japan
WW2 Fighters- Mitsubishi Zero |
| USN
Battleships - Indiana Class,
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Class, Tennessee Class, Colorado Class,
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Iowa Class, Montana Class |
| USN
WW2 CRUISERS |
| USN
WW2 Torpedo Bomber -
Douglas TBD-1 Devastator |
| USN
WW2 Fighters: Brewster
F2A Buffalo, Curtiss F9C
Sparrowhawk |
| Grumman
F3F, Grumman F4F Wildcat, General Motors
FM-2 Wildcat |
| LOCKHEED
P-38 LIGHTNING
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TWIN MUSTANG |
| REPUBLIC
P-47 THUNDERBOLT |
| NORTH
AMERICAN P-51 MUSTANG |
| Boeing
B-17 Flying Fortress, Boeing
B-29 Superfortress
|
| Consolidated
B-24 D Liberator |
| North
American B-25 Mitchell, Martin
B-26 Marauder |
| Junkers
Ju 87 Stuka
Dornier
Do 215 Ju-188 |
| Dornier
Do 17, Dornier
Do 335 Pfeil Junkers
Ju 88 |
| Messerschmitt
Bf 109,
Messerschmitt
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| RAF
List of aircraft, Avro
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| Focke-Wulf
Fw 200 Condor, Heinkel
He 111 |
| Focke-Wulf
Fw 190, Junkers
Ju 52 |
| De
Havilland Mosquito, Vickers
Wellington |
| Fairey
Swordfish
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Tempest
Hawker
Hurricane
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|
| Operation
Stalingrad , Operation
Barbarossa |
| Third
Reich Organization and people |
| German
Africa Corps |
| Field
Marshal Erwin Rommel - Desert Fox |
| Maus
(Tank) - Panzer VIII WW2 world
largest tank |
| Panzer
3 III, Panzer
4 IV, Tiger
1, King
Tiger 2 |
| T-34
Soviet medium tank |
| List
of tanks WW1, WW2, Modern |
|
| MODERN USN
/ WORLD AF/NAVY DATA |
| USN
Aircraft Carriers USS
Kitty Hawk, Enterprise, John F. Kennedy,
Nimitz, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Carl
Vinson, Theodore Roosevelt, Abraham
Lincoln, George Washington, John C.
Stennis, Harry S. Truman, Ronald Reagan,
George H.W. Bush |
| USS
Abraham Lincoln CVN72 USS
Enterprise CVN65 |
| USN
Cruisers 1 - USS
Ticonderoga, Vincennes, Valley Forge,
Thomas S. Gates, Bunker Hill, Mobile Bay,
Antietam, Leyte Gulf, San Jacinto, Lake
Champlain, Philippine Sea, Princeton,
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| USN
Cruisers 2 - USS
Chancellorsville, Cowpens, Gettysburg,
Chosin, Hue City, Shiloh, Anzio,
Vicksburg, Lake Erie, Cape St. George,
Vella Gulf, Port Royal |
| USN
Destroyers
United
States Navy |
| Amphibious
Assault Ships - LHA/LHD/LHA(R) USS
Wasp, USS Essex, USS Kearsarge, USS
Boxer, USS Bataan, USS Bonhomme Richard,
USS Iwo Jima, USS Makin Island, USS
Tarawa, USS Saipan, USS Belleau Wood, USS
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| SSN
Attack Sumbarines 1
USS
Seawolf, Connecticut, Jimmy Carter,
Virginia, Texax, Hawaii, North Carolina,
Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Memphis,
Bremerton, Jacksonville, Dallas, La
Jolla, City of Corpus Christi,
Albuquerque, Portsmouth, Minneapolis-St.
Paul, Hyman G. Rickover, Augusta, San
Francisco, Houston, Norfolk, Buffalo,
Salt Lake City, Olympia, Honolulu,
Providence |
| SSN
Attack Sumbarines 2
USS
Pittsburgh, Chicago, Key West, Oklahoma
City, Louisville, Helena, Newport News,
San Juan, Pasadena, Albany, Topeka,
Miami, Scranton, Alexandria, Asheville,
Jefferson City, Annapolis, Springfield,
Columbus, Santa Fe, Boise, Montpelier,
Charlotte, Hampton, Hartford, Toledo,
Tucson, Columbia, Greeneville, Cheyenne |
| SSBN
Fleet Balistic Missile Sumbarines
USS
Georgia, USS Henry M. Jackson, USS
Alabama, USS Alaska,USS Nevada, USS
Pennsylvania, USS Kentucky, USS
Tennessee, USS West Virginia, USS
Maryland, USS Nebraska, USS Rhode Island,
USS Maine, USS Wyoming, USS Louisiana,
USS Ohio |
| USN
Frigates,
USN
Patrol Ships,
USAF
Plane List |
| Anti-submarine aircraft - P-3C
Orion S-3B
Viking |
| USN
FIGHTERS |
| A-10
/ A10 Thunderbolt II |
| F-5
Freedom Fighter,
F-20
Tigershark |
| F-4
Phantom II
F-86
Sabre, A-4
Skyhawk, A-6
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| F-14
Tomcat F-15
Eagle F15, F-16
Fighting Falcon, |
| F-18
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F-22
Raptor
F-35
Joint Strike Fighter
|
| CH-46
Sea Knight, CH-53
Sea Stallion |
| H-3
Sea King MH-53
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| SH-60
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Iroquois |
| AH-1
Cobra, UH-60
Black Hawk,
HH-60
Pave Hawk Helicopter |
| AH-64
Apache |
| B-52
Stratofortress
F-111,
AC130
Gunship |
| B-1
Lancer |
| B-2
Spirit |
| F-117
Nighthawk
|
| U-2
Dragon Lady
, SR-71
Blackbird |
| RQ-1
Predator |
| Panavia
Tornado |
| Tornado
F3
AV-8
Harrier |
| Pre/Post
WW2 USSR Russia Planes -
List of Aircraft |
| Pre/Post
WW2 RAAF Australia Planes
- List of Aircraft |
| Pre/Post
WW2 SWEDEN Planes - List
of Aircraft |
| F-22
Raptor,
F-35
Joint Strike Fighter JSF |
|
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