Prison Valley

The first wave of gliders from Gruppe Mitte's (Center Group) 3rd Fallschirmjäger Regiment had a number of bold objectives: Hauptmann Altmann's men were tasked with silencing a dangerous anti-aircraft battery in the Akrotiri peninsula, while the men of Oberleutnant Genz …

1941-05-20

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The first wave of gliders from Gruppe Mitte's (Center Group) 3rd Fallschirmjäger Regiment had a number of bold objectives: Hauptmann Altmann's men were tasked with silencing a dangerous anti-aircraft battery in the Akrotiri peninsula, while the men of Oberleutnant Genz were to knock out another anti-aircraft battery and a wireless station south of Hania; concurrently, Oberst Heidrich's Paratroopers would take Galatos and establish a defensive position on the hills surrounding the town. Although scattered during their airdrop, Altmann's men eventually managed to capture their objective, only to find this battery to be a dummy! Meanwhile, two of Genz's gliders released early over Hania while a third exploded in mid-air, when caught in ground fire; but the others successfully landed near their anti-aircraft objective, and Genz detachment put their MG34 machine guns to good use, quickly overrunning the outgunned battery's defenders. They then attempted to reach the wireless station but were blocked by 1st Ranger Battalion and Bren gun carriers of Royal Welch Fusiliers. As for Heidrich's paratroopers, they managed to set foot on some of the hills around Prison Valley, but Brigadier Puttick's New Zealanders and light tanks counterattacked pushing them back into the valley.

Galatos, 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

British / New Zealand

Game Type: Standard

Board Type: Countryside

Website Access: Available