A final word

 Mainly due to my health, although my age is a factor, my sense is that I have reached the end of the line with blogging on the Panzer Abwehr blog.The blog has kept me writing for this long time. The benefit has been all that I have learned. There is a great deal of material there to read. I have diverse interests, in that I have done an in-depth study of the Dutch navy and ships, particularly the First Anglo-Dutch War. Y have a hard-back book, "Dutch Warships in the Age Of Sail 1600-1714".

Action on 21 May

 OI the Germans in the barracks, most were killed by the men of Captain R olfe's company from the 2/4th Battalion. A German tossed a grenade into the headquarters of the 7th Medium Regiment. The men of the 234th Medium Battery killed 175 Germans. 

By 6:15, Brigadier Chappel ordered an attack on Buttercup Field. All paratroops were gone by 9:30pm. There was some rifle and machine gun fire all night in the east. The Germans kept firing flares to bring their men together. Men from an airforce radio location post were trying to reach a safe position. 

Germans that landed in the Greek area were handled quickly. Some Germans entered the town. There was fighting during the night. Some men from the York and Lancasters came to help the Greeks. 

There some problem areas by morning on 21 May, the British could tell that the German attack was a failure. Many Germans were eliminated before the could be organized. 

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

German paratroops

 After 5pm on 20 May transport aircraft started to drop paratroops. Over a period of two hours, paratroops were dropped in time periods of twenty minutes. Ju-52 transports dropped some 3,000 paratroops. They were carried in some 240 troop transports. At least 15 transports were shot down by anti-aircraft fire. The paratroops were dropped from an altitude of about 250 feet. Many paratroops were shot as they descended, Most of the paratroops landed near the airfield or west of the town. 

About 200 paratroops were shot in the air or as they landed. The paratroops that landed in areas occupied by infantry were shot before they could collect and find their equipment. After more bombing, paratroops landed beyond the fortress area. The battalions immediately attacked the paratroops. The Black Wztch were able to clear the airfield except for some snipers. Some Germans occupied the barracks. The Scots cleared the East Wadi of Germans.

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

Heraklion defenses

 Heraklion was fortunate enough to have twelve 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns distributed around the airfield. To the southwest of the airfield there was artillery. They had nine 100mm guns and four 75mm guns. Chappel told the ant-aircraft gunners that they could fire "when they saw fit". Everyone else was to stay concealed until German bombing ended. 

Chappel only intended to have the artillery fire on the airfield if German troop-carrying aircraft landed in force or if all the anti-aircraft guns were knocked out. The Leicesters were asked to attack paratroops that landed on the airfield. They were also to attack if paratroops landed in the area bounded by the Charlies and the low ground. There was a heavy tank at the ends of the airfield. The light tanks were located to the southeast. The infantry were to attack as soon as the enemy troops landed. 

Germans bombed Heraklion from May 12th onwards. The bombing was intermittent. Bombers flew over at dawn on 13 May. A Gladiator biplane attacked five bombers. The bombers followed it down but none were shot down. Later that day, one German bomber was shot down by anti-aircraft fire. 

Some 40 German aircraft attacked on 14 May. Two Hurricane fighters had arrived the night before. They both were lost. German aircraft strafed the area on 16 and 18 May. Around this time, a German reconnaissance aircraft was shot down. 

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

The defenders of Heraklion

 Brigadier Chappel commanded the troops defending Heraklion. He had three regular British battalions as well as the Australian 2/4th Battalion, which had been in Greece. There was also the 7th Medium Regiment which was armed as infantry. There were also three untrained Greek battalions. Chappel was short of artillery. He had 13 old field guns and some 14 ant-aircraft guns. He had six light tanks with two "heavy tanks, which must have been Inf. Mk. II Matildas, although that is just a guess. Chappel was asked to hold the port and airfield at Heraklion. 

The port served the largest settlement in Crete. There was a "saddle" that ran between a high mountain in the west called Ida and a lower mountain in the east called Diete. Heraklion was a town with a wall and with a population of about 36,000. Heraklion was larger than Canea. An ancient Minoan city of Knossos was in ruins. 

An airfield was located some three miles east of the town. The airfield was in the coastal plain. Chappel's men were located in an area about four miles by two miles, with the longer area being from east to west. The 2/Black Watch held the airfield. The Australian 2/4th was around two hills the Auatralians called "the Charlies". That area had many boulders that the Australians would use as protection for fighting. 

Germans near Retimo from 27 to 29 May

 The Germans from Suda arrived at Retimo in the afternoon on 29 May. They pushed back police from Crete and Greek infantry. They joined Wiedemann's men at Perivolia. In the evening, the group from Suda was joined by two tanks. On the 30th, they attacked Australians to the east of Perivolia. In the battle, the Germans claimed to have captured about 1,200 Australians. The Germans spoke with Campbell after the battle. Campbell had been intent on surrendering before any more fighting. 

Two German parachute battalions had landed on the positions held by the two Australian battalions. Some 3,000 Greek soldiers and aunit of some 800 police from Crete supported the Australians. The German parachute drop did not go as planned. The Germans were in a confused state on the early part of the second day. Colonel Sturm and his plans were captured. Many of the paratroops were killed or taken prisoner. That left two groups of Germans. The group in the east was on the defensive. The other group was caught between an Australian battalion and the police from Crete. 

The Australian historian suggests that there was a missed opportunity on the afternoon and night on 21 May. The Australians and Greeks might have been able to defeat the Germans at Perivolia. He also suggests that Campbell should have had a brigade headquarters and should have had someone else command his battalion. 

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

More German action from 21 May

 Men with Colonel Sturm landed among strong Australian positions. They were "completely destroyed". Kroh's group on Hill A was hit by a strong attack that came from the west. They managed to beat the attack back. This was the attack by Channel's men. Moriarity's group attacked at around 9am. Kroh's men were pushed back. They went to the Olive Oil Factory. They were able to hold out against more Australian attacks. They managed to free 56 parachute riflemen who had been taken prisoner. On the other hand, there is no Australian record of such a rescue. Wiedemann's men had been bombed by German aircraft. His men had managed to extend their position at Perivolia. 

The survivors of the III/2nd Battalion were stuck in sturdy houses in Perivolia. The survivors of the I/2nd occupied the strong Olive Oil Factory. A supply depot for the men in the factory was set up in the hills some five miles to the east. The depot had a defensive force to fight off Greek soldiers and guerillas. German records did not mention that Kroh's men were pushed out of the Olive Oil Factory with most of them being taken prisoner.

During the night of 27-28 May, left the Suda bay area, headed towards Retimo. They broke through rearguards on the way. They were slowed until mountain troops took Vamos. 

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

The German situation as of 29 May

 Colonel Sturm was a 52 year old had commanded the 2nd parachute Regiment during the attack on Corinth. The regiment had three groups. Major Koch was to land to the east side of the airfield. His assignment was to capture the airfield. Colonel Sturm planned to land in between the airfield and the Wadi Platanes. Capitain Wiedemann "would come down in between the Wadi Platanes and Perivolia". His assignment was to take Retimo. 

The Germans did not land as planned. Major Koch's group landed east of the airfield. Major Koch and his immediate companions were landed some three miles east on very rocky ground. Many men were injured on landing. One group that landed close to the airfield. Australians on Hill A fired on these Germans. One company lost all their officers. The group took heavy losses before the had gotten their weapons. The men of this group had landed in strong enemy positions. Major Koch joined them and was in place on Hill A. He hoped to stage an attack against the airfield by the next day. of Wiedemann's group, two companies with the artillery crews and the heavy weapons landed as planned. Wiedemann pulled what he had together and moved west. He took Perivolia and reached the edge of Retimo. He held a perimeter around Perivolia. The police from Crete kept the Germans in Perivolia. 

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

Events at Retimo after men left the 2/11th battalion area

 Wen Captain Honner's group jponed the lager group from the battalion, they found that Honner had the only map, a Greek map. It was a good thing, because they used the map as they traveled during the next three months. Lt. Murray joined the group with his pioneer platoon. When he saw the German attack, he led his men over the hills until he joined the battalion group. Murray had heard from a naval officer about landing craft being at Ayla Galini, which was on "the south coast". 

Sandover passed out money along with a few biscuits. The battalion was divided into two groups. WSandover leed one group and Honner led the other group. 

Campbell was still intent on surrendering, seems strange, because the Australians were typically energetic and were not given ti giving up. Campbell was on Hill D. Campbell had a white flag made and sent runners to the various groups, telling them that he intended to surrender. They were to go to the "north-west corner of the airfield and show white flags. The Australians turned their some 500 German prisoners loose. The Australians lost about 120 men killed. They had buried about 550 dead Germans. 

The Australians had captured the German commander, Colonel Sturm. They heard that they had been attacked by the 2nd Parachute Rifle Regiment, which had just two battalions. 

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

Captain Honner's fight late on 29 May

 Captain Honner's company was very weak. He had a little more than forty men. He was reinforced by the men of the anti-aircraft platoon. He was told to move into place on the west ridge. Sandover told Honner to retreat if they were attacked by a large force of Germans. Honner still had men in the Platanes wadi with a Bren gun. They in place to protect Honner's "line of withdrawal". Honner took the rest of is men and occupied houses on the ridge in positions between the ridge and the sea. After an hour, German infantry and tanks attacked. The Australians waied  while the tanks got close and then opened fire with the Bren gun. The heavy Bren gun fire caused the tanks to drive onto the hill on the south side. There were already men with machine guns on motor cycles there. The Germans then drove south of the road in the direction of the wadi Platanes. Honner ordered his men to withdraw to keep from being cut-off. Honner ahd his headquaters men and the antiaircraft platoon away, along the beach. Honner ordered Corporal Cunningham with his twelve men to rejoin the main part of the company. Cunningham leap-frogged while firing at Germans that were south of the road on the hill.  

After Cunningham and his men arrived at the Wadi Platanes, Honner' company pulled out towards Sandover's battalion headquarters. Sandover had just called Campbell and told him that he wanted to take his men to the hills. Sandover told his men that they could surrener or move into the hills. Sandover led a group of officers and enlisted men. There first move was to a gully that was behind the Greeks. 

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

The situation at Retimo as of 29 May

 As of 29 May at Retimo, they only had a day of food left. Campbell had men patrolling the geach at night. The patrol was to signal the letter A, presumably in Morse code. This was to get the attention of any British ships. So far, they had never gotten a reply. In the morning, Honner reported that he could hear many motorcycles "warming up" past Perivolia. The ridge where Honner's company was located was taking mortar and artillery fire. At 9:30, they saw three tanks with about thirty motorcycles behind them. This group had some light field guns with them. Later, Campbell was told that there were German tanks in back of the 2/11th Battalion. There were also German tanks "in the valley behind Hill D."

Campbell decided that given what was happening, they would only be able to protect the Retimo airfield for another hour. Campbell thought that since the navy Lt. Haig was ordered to Sfalia, that Sfakia must be where they would be evacuated. It would take three days to reach Sfakia. The men at Retimo could not travel to Sfakia. They could not just move into the mountains and expect Crete villagers to feed them. 

Campbell decided that they should surrender. Campbell called Sandover and told him what he thought. Sandover did not want to surrender. He would tell his men to destroy theie weapons and take to the hills.

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

From 29 May

 Major Hooper had been with the Greek forces. He informed Campbell that the Greeks were reporting that there was a large German group approaching from the east. They seemed to be coming from Heraklion. The Greks heard that the Germans had occupied Maleme and Heraklion. There were four Greek battalions seeking refuge in the mountains. Campbell still believed that he was to keep protecting the airfield at Retimo. Campbell told the whole 2/11th Battalion to occupy the positions where the 4th Greek had been. Sandover asked that Honner's company be ale to stay where they were, looking down at the Germans in Perivolia. He wanted to keep the artillery where they were on Hill B. During late afternoon, the Germans had started firing at the road junction at Platanes road junction, to get the range. By midnight, the Greeks reported that Germans were coming from the west. Some 300 Germans on motorcycles were now in Retimo.

Campbell was reduced to listening to the BBC for news about events in Crete. The BBC characterized that Crete was shakey. There was only enough food at Retimo for one day.

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

Events from the night of 27 to 28 May

 Lt. Haig arrived with a lighter that carried "two days rations for Retimo". Haig had left Suda before he had gotten Freyberg's message to Campbell. The message was about the pending withdrawal of the entire force. They plan was to leave Crete during the night of 28 to 29 May. Small groups would provide cover for the withdrawal and try to mislead the Germans. The men should move at night and lay still during the day. The men should embark from the east end of Plakias Bay during the night of 31 May to 1 June (the anniversary of the Battle of Jutland). The location should be hidden from the enemy. The men need to arrive at "firat light" on 31 May and need to take cover. They needed to figure out to handle the wounded men. They were to give their prisoners to the Greeks. Freyberg had decided that the German air superiority meant that they needed to leave Crete.

Food and ammunition were dropped at Retimo from the air. They may have dropped Freyberg's message, but it was not seen. A message was dropped at Retimo on the 29th, probably in the dark. The message used Australian slang, trying to be secure if the Germans found the message. The message told the men at Retimo to fight their way down to the coast in the south. The men at Retimo never saw that message or a  second message. 

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

Jackson's company withdraws

 Jackson's company moved out at 9pm. They carried one wounded man on a stretcher. Other wounded men were walking along in the group, in the middle. They managed to reach the beach without being seen. The Gerans were using a wrecked aircraft for cover for machine guns. Two machine guns started firing at the Australians. The men lay in the water behind "a slight bank". 

After fifteen minutes, the machine guns stopped firing. Jackson realized that they could not keep moving east because of the machine guns. He decided to back through the German rear. They walked to the west until they reachedv the edge of Retimo. By now, the men were very tired. The entered a substantial villa and spent the night there. Two wounded men who could not travel were left in the villa "with a medical orderly". 

The rest of the men crossed the road. They moved up into the foothills. They crossed behind the Germans. They rejoined their battalion on the middle of 29 May.About seventy men had attacked the Germans. Of those, some twelve men were wounded. 

Campbell decided they were not strong enough to make another attack. They needed to cocentrate on defendin the airfield at Retimo.

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

Action on 28 to 29 May

 By the time that the Australians moved into houses, the Germans had withdrawn from them. After dawn, they had captued a German who ran into one of the houses. The Germans fired an anti-tank gun at one house. That caused the Australian platoon to move to another house. By early afternoon, the Germans bombed one house but did not attack it. 

The Germans constantly fired machine guns at the houses from the church and from the side towards the sea. No one was hit, but the houses had many bullet-holes. That created a good deal of dust. Jackson planned to pull out that night. They would follow the wadi to the beach. Once they were on the beach, they would push through the enemy line to the east. 

Jackson had no way of sending a message to battalion headquarters. He thought that the headquaters would know where they were by the gunfire. The battalion commander, Sandover, Sandover thought Jackson would try to breakout during the night, under cover of the darkness. He had the artillery fire on the German positions as soon as darkness fell. The Australian artillery fired most of their ammunition at that time. 

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

The attack on 28 May

 Captain Wood's company would try and take the houses. These were to the east from where the rads joined. A platoon was to follow Wood and cover their left. The companies of Honner and Gook were to send out patrols and stage attacks on German machine guns. Those companies were to withdraw at dawn.

Jackson's company moved forward at 3:29 under cover of darkness. Despite a request not to shoot while the Australians moved forward, the Greeks fired at St.George's. The Australians faced heavy German fire.  They took the crossroads and followed the Wadi in the direction of the sea. Wood's company moved forward and fired mortars at the houses. They ran into grenades and mortar fire. Wood and two platoon commanders were wounded. Wood was mortally wounded. At Wood's direction, Lt. Scott fired the Very light signal that they would withdraw. 

The Australian companies east of Perivolia were taking German machine gun fire. The companies were able to withdraw before dawn, but Wood's company had only 43 men left. 

Men from Jackson's company had seen the Very lights, Jackson and his officer's had not seen the signal. He decided to move into houses in Perivolia, which were in German occupied territory. There were no Germans there, and the Australians would stay in the houses during the cday on 28 May.

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

Thinking about attacking Perivolia from 27 to 28 May

 Captain Honner decided to personally take a message to Campbell and to receive new orders. He had a written message stuck in his waist. He had two men follow him, about five minutes apart. If he was hit, one of them could carry the message to Campbell. Honner essentially crawled across the half mile where there was no cover. Germans in Perivolia were firing at him. Honner was not hit, but both men following him were hit. 

They had no smoke available to provide cover. medical officer Ryan spoke with Sandover. Flying a red cross flag, the medical officer took stretcher bearers with him. The used German wheeled stretchers. Ryan was worried about getting so close to the German positions to retrieve their casualties. Willoughby's men were all dead. The Germans were pointing their machine guns at them and they motioned for them to move away. They were able to bring back the Australian wounded.

Since they had lost both tanks and had little artillery ammunition, Campbell ordered them to attack Perivolia at night. It would be the next night.

Another factor was that the 2/11th Battalion had run out of mortar bombs. Many Australians were using captured German weapons. Sandover's plan was to send two companies along the road into Perivolia. Sandover wanted Captain Jackson's company to take the crossroads and then push to the sea.

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

The attack at Perivolia on 27 May

 Honner decided that they could not afford to wait, even though he expected to lose men. Honner sent a section of nine men to a low stone wall, about 50 yards forward. The wall surrounded a well. The wall was about 25 yards from the Germans. They had a Bren gun to cover the larger attack across an open area. The section men moved along a hedge towards the wall. The leader was shot right before reaching the wall. The man with the Bren gun was also shot. When a man carrying the Bren gun was shot, another man would pick it up. The last man with the Bren gun was shot short of the wall. A strecher bearer went out and went to the first man shot. that man was dead and the stretcher bearer thought that they were all probably dead. The stretcher bearer stayed low and waited to be rescued, which was about an hour later. Honner's men then were going to try "the other side". Lt. Bayly led a group forward along a dich leading to the main ditch. Everone but Bayly in the front group was hit by fire. Capt. Gook's runner "was also hit". He told them that Roberts and his men were lying low at he end of the ditch. There were snipers in houses. It seemed to be too difficult to leave the ditch, but if they stayed there, they could wait indefinitely.

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

Action at Retimo on 27 May

 On 27 May, at dawn, the two tanks arrived at the scene. Each of the tanks had an Australian infantry officer as commander. As the left tank approached the German position, a shell hit the tank and set it on fire. The men in the other tank did not know that Australian infantry had crawled to the farthest ditch, and the tank fired on them "causing two casualties". The infantry waved to the tank, showing themselves to the Germans. After driving forward some thirty yards the tank hit a land mine. The exploding mine caused the tank to lose a track. After moving forward a few more yards, the tank was stuck in sand. A mortar bomb hit opened the turret hatch. Another mortar bomb hit blew the fingers off the tank commander's hand as he tried to close the turret hatch. Another mortar bomb hit "disabled his guns". The commander and one crew member, both with wounds, crawled to a safe position. The commander and crew of the other tank stayed in the tank until it was night. 

Honner decided that with both tanks disabled, he did not want to attack. Captain Gook reached Honner and told him that he could not find his most forward platoon. Gook looked around and decided that his forward platoon must have attacked and had gotten into Perivolia.Honner decided that he needed to attack and rescue Roberts' platoon or tack advantage of his success.

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

Continued action at Retimo from 26 May

 At Retimo, the Australians had some 500 German prisoners. The were penned in a cage on the south side of Hill D. 

One major issue was the lack of ciphers at Retimo. Freyberg had to send unencrypted messages by radio. If they needed to send sensitive information they would need to use some other means of communication. The main possibility was news about loading the men at Retimo on ships for a withdrawal. One major event on 26 May was the arrival at Retimo of Lergessner. He came from Canea and told about the failed action by the Rangers. He told Campbell that they were not talking about a withdrawal as of yet.

Another major accomplishment was that they got the second tank working. Campbell took the second tank to Sandover. They planned another attack on Perivolia. This attack would be made by two companies. Honner's company was reduced to 60 men, but they planned to give him some transport drivers as reinforcements. They managed to sneak forward to "the farthest ditch". They were abot 75 yards from the German positions. 

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