Airdrop over Rethymno

A second German wave arrived in the afternoon. At 16:15, 2nd Fallschirmjäger Regiment airdropped over Rethymno airfield; but like others in Crete, they all landed scattered along the coast. Elements of the 3rd Battalion quickly managed to regroup and move …

1941-05-20

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A second German wave arrived in the afternoon. At 16:15, 2nd Fallschirmjäger Regiment airdropped over Rethymno airfield; but like others in Crete, they all landed scattered along the coast. Elements of the 3rd Battalion quickly managed to regroup and move toward Rethymno, where they ran into fierce Resistance from the Australian battalions that had taken position on the hills south of the airfield; the town's civilians and the Greek 4th and 5th Regiments just added to the invaders' difficulties. Cut-off from the rest of Crete, outgunned and surrounded, the Australians went on to hold the German invaders off for 9 days before Lieutenant Colonel Ian Campbell, commander of the 2/1st Battalion, ordered his men to surrender. Even then, many men of 2/11th Battalion, instructed by Major Sandover to either surrender or evade capture, managed to make it to the hills, and, protected by local Cretans, eventually escaped to Egypt.

Rethymno, Crete

The Battle of Crete was fought during the Second World War on the Greek island of Crete. It began on the morning of 20 May 1941, when Nazi Germany began an airborne invasion of Crete. Greek and other Allied forces, along with Cretan civilians, defended the island. After one day of fighting, the Germans had suffered heavy casualties and the Allied troops were confident that they would defeat the invasion. The next day, through communication failures, Allied tactical hesitation and German offensive operations, Maleme Airfield in western Crete fell, enabling the Germans to land reinforcements and overwhelm the defensive positions on the north of the island. Allied forces withdrew to the south coast. More than half were evacuated by the British Royal Navy and the remainder surrendered or joined the Cretan Resistance. The defence of Crete evolved into a costly naval engagement; by the end of the campaign the Royal Navy's eastern Mediterranean strength had been reduced to only two battleships and three cruisers.

Wikipedia: Battle of Crete

German

Australian / Greek

Game Type: Standard

Board Type: Countryside

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