Retreat to Sphakia

Less than a month after launching Operation Marita, mainland Greece was under Axis control. Hitler then shifted his focus to Crete where the Allies had retreated. On May 20th, the largest airborne assault in history was launched on the northern …

1941-05-27

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Less than a month after launching Operation Marita, mainland Greece was under Axis control. Hitler then shifted his focus to Crete where the Allies had retreated. On May 20th, the largest airborne assault in history was launched on the northern coast of the island. One week later, and despite tremendous losses, German troops managed to push the Allies towards the southern coast. For the defenders, only one thing remained: evacuation.

Sfakia, 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

Greek

Game Type: Standard

Board Type: Desert

Website Access: Available