Sunday, October 09, 2022

The Germans take the Maleme airfield

 After the initial bombing, German paratroops and gliders landed in the 10th Brigade. Near Galatas and the prison, attacked by some 1,500 men. Colonel Kippenberger was going to use a "small house" as his headquarters, but he had to shoot and kill a German sniper who was in the house. 

The Greek 6th Regiment ran out of ammunition after a short time. About 400 Greek soldiers pulled back to Galatas, where Captain Forrester, an officer with the Queens,  intervened and had the Greeks holding a line with the 19th Battalion and the Composite Battalion. 

The Germans were pushing along the Prison-Galatas road. The New Zealand cavalry and the 8th Greek Regiment were out of touch". The attackers pushed into the left end of the Composite Battalion and Kippenberger's 10th Brigade headquarters. They were able to take the Germans at Galatas as prisoners by "midday". 

At 4pm, the Germans launched an attack along the prison-Galatas road, which was pushed back. Right after this, the cavalry arrived at Galatas. They had been out of touch, north oh thr resevoir.

This is based on the account in "Greece, Crete, and Syria" by Gavin Long.

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