Galatos

By May 24th the Germans had formed a cohesive front; they began advancing east toward Chania. On the 25th, they ran into the bulk of the Allied forces and launched a general attack. Surprised to discover the Germans had artillery, …

1941-05-25

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By May 24th the Germans had formed a cohesive front; they began advancing east toward Chania. On the 25th, they ran into the bulk of the Allied forces and launched a general attack. Surprised to discover the Germans had artillery, the Allied formations began to crumble and quickly pulled back. Galatos, now the center of attention, fell after a fierce fight. Reacting as quickly as they could the Allies mounted a counterattack with their remaining forces in the area, including a few light tanks. They succeeded in evicting the Germans, but that same night, they were ordered to fall back when news came that the Fallschirmjägers had captured Daratsos.

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

Game Type: Standard

Board Type: Countryside

Website Access: Available