The invasion was launched to round off Hitler’s Balkan Campaign against Crete in May 1941. The Island was important to Britain’s control of the Eastern Mediterranean and Churchill was determined that the Island would be held.
The British garrison was largely made up of New Zealand and Australian troops who had been evacuated from Greece, with little more that what they stood up in. On the other hand the German Commander, Kurt Student, had overwhelming air superiority, which negated the Allied naval superiority. But the Germans had almost fatally underestimated the number of Allied troops.
While British, New Zealand and Australian soldiers, however, showed what they were capable of, the battle for Crete was eventually won through sheer nerve, the confidence of the German soldier in his superiority and the power of the Luftwaffe. That said, the cost in killed and wounded was such that Hitler would never again contemplate another large airborne operation.
Introduction and Acknowledgements
Chapter 1. Crete and the Mediteranean
Chapter 2. Fallschirmjäger and the Invasion Plans
Chapter 5. The Prison Valley Drop
Chapter 6. The Defence of Rethymno
Chapter 7. The Defence of Iraklio
Chapter 8. Reinforcements and Counter-Attack
Chapter 9. The Battle of Galatas
Chapter 10. Souda Bay and 42nd Street
Chapter 11. Withdrawal and Evacuation
Chapter 12. The Abduction of General Kreipe
Chapter 13. The Airborne Invasion Tours
Appendix I. Victoria Cross Citations
Appendix III. Orders of Battle