Invasion of Crete

[Ian Tannahill]

Giday everyone,

Today is the sixty-second anniversary of the invasion of Crete. Accordingly, given our interest in the Fallschirmjäger, I thought that it would be appropriate if we each spared some time during our day to remember the brave Fallschirmjäger who died during the invasion as well as those who have since passed away.

All the best,

Ian

[werner geier]

lets not forget they were slaughtered, because - against better military knowledge - herr student wanted to impress herrn hitler with this little outdoors picknick ...

[Óscar G]

Hello everyone:
Pleased to "see" you again, Ian! A great idea. This wants to be a tribute to those who fought and died there. The following pic taken from the "Denkmal" comes from a good website. There appear some god shots showing in images how the German presence in Crete was.

http://home.online.no/~vestil/crete/kreta1/index.htm




I´ve always been impressed by several events happened there 62 years ago (von Blücher brothers, as an example), but I´d like to remember that lived by Major Helmut Derpa and told by Beevor in "Crete,the Battle and the Resistance". On 22 May Heidrich, commander of FJ3, waiting for reinforcements from Maleme, ordered to attack the hills surrounding Galatás. Derpa (II./FJ3) tried to convince him that his men would run the risk of being annihilated. Then, as von der Heydte describes, Heidrich lost his temper with Derpa accusing him of being just a coward. Derpa, a sensitive and well-mannered person, told him that it was just for his men; he wasn´t afraid of die. Derpa attacked and was killed in combat. If he had survived he would have been propably martial courted…
Too many mistakes, too many lifes… just 62 years ago.
Regards. Óscar

[jimuk]

and let us not forget they were casualties on both sides!

[Kurasier84]

HI,
here a piece of history, which might be interesting for you.
The Völkischer Beobachter ( Wiener Ausgabe) from 25. Mai 1941
Westkreta in deutscher Hand


Best Regards
Christoph

[John Hodgin]

Good points everyone.

Yes Ian, I woke up thinking of the anniversary today, a somber and important date for us all.

Well said Oscar, "Too many mistakes, too many lives."
Happens all too often in war.

Werner, I think of the Fallschirmjäger that were dropped DIRECTLY on top of New Zealand troops that didn't have a fighting chance, their weapons were in containers and not with them. As one of my good friends recently said, "there is no excuse for this" stupidity!

We should also remember the Australian, British, and New Zealand troops, as well as the German Mountain Troopers, all those who fought hard and well the last week of May 62 years ago.

regards,
John

[Phil_C]

62 years ago, history was being made on the battlefields of Crete, setting the tone for future wars and campaigns, such as D-Day, Suez, Die Bien Phu etc, using airborne forces for suprice and quick attacks. The number of crete veterans are getting less ever year from all sides, being British, New Zealand, Austarlian, Greek, Cretan, German Italian and the other Commonwealth troops who took part in this battle.

May we remember those who are living and dead, who died in battle and who suvived.

Regards
Phil

[JYN]

A day to remember...

A special thanks for those with whom I have been in contact who passed away and for the survivors.

Jean-Yves

[Óscar G]

What can be found nowadays in Crete? Is there any meaningful vestige of the battle? Maleme Cemetery, an "incomplete" Denkmal... What else? That said, Is the island worth a visit? (from "this" point of view)

Thanks in advance.
Óscar

[merdock]

Hi,
I lost a brave uncle on Crete he did his duty to his country ,his body was never found,i know this site is a 3rd german collectors site and that i too collect German relics.
But please on this day remember the allied troops who died ,there loss is no less than the elite german paratroopers that they faced ,most were young men who had never seen combat before, they never flinced in there duty to there country and the people of Crete will never forget there sacrifise .
The German para's were brave but the men that opposed them were no less ,they made them pay a terrible toll ,never again were the German para's able to mount a airbourne assault of such size,
they my not have been an elite but they were as good a man as any that surf this site.

Merdock

[Willi Z.]

Yes, let us honor all those who fought bravely on Crete. The attackers could never have known that due to "ultra", the Allies knew the objectives. The FJs should have never been able to suceed based on those odds and the Allies knowing their objectives. Certainly German intelligence failed terribly. Student was distressed over his losses. The Allied ranks fought bravely, let down again by their lethargic leadership.

On casualties, let's be honest and objective. The FJs suffered 50% losses..........as did Allied airborne units in Sicily and Normandy. Alot of "patriotic myth" associated with the history of the Battle of Crete. The Germans lost 2 killed for every wounded (3500 and 1700), usually in battles it is the other way around. Many factors contributed to this; trying to gather gear from drop canisters that defenders had zeroed in on, wounded FJs being murdered by non-combatants, etc. After Crete, the FJs lost the surprise of their advantage........that plus loss of air superiority plus being on the defensive after 1943 is more the reason of them not being used, rather than Hitler worried about losses. Sure the losses devasted the ranks of the 7th Flieger Divison. So did the 85% losses of the 1st Brit Airborne at Arnhem. In most accounts written in English, Arnhem is viewed as a "glorious defeat" while Crete is viewed as a "tragic victory"......

Was last on Crete in 2001. You can still find various drop zones and objectives. A few private museums, a few monuments and a few cemetaries (just being brief). You can even hike the retreat route of the Allies through the mountains and to the sea. Worth a trip to see all of that.

Willi

[WalterB]

Willi, that sounds like an epic trip. Do you have any pictures that you can show us? I would love to see any pictures. By the way, I have seen period pics of the FJ cemetary with a large diving eagle. Does that still exist?

[Brian M]

Walter, here is a site which may be of interest:
Kreta

[WalterB]

Thank you, Brian! Very interesting. It is unfortunate that the memorial is in such a state of neglect!

[merdock]

Hi,
here are the pics i took approx 15 years ago,in the back ground approx 500 yards away is the bridge i am standing on the seaward side of the bridge on the Greek airfield which is a very dangerous thing to do,
as you can see from the 1st set of pics the vegitation had been recently burnt down ,there was a lot of interesting items ,i am stood in approx the place were one of the gliders landed in the attack as seen in after the battle on the right hand side of the river bed,it is here that ifound the items that appear to be wreakage in the pics and where the aluminium piece came from,is it from a glider?more to follow.