More German plans for Crete

 Since four simultaneous attacks by air were not possible, General Student thought that they could attack Maleme and Canea in the morning while they would attack Retimo and Heraklion in the afternoon. The plan also included an attack by sea. The Germans took 63 small vessels and seven merchant ships. Admiral Schuster would be in command. They would bring more some heavy weapons, than an infantry battalion, pack animals with supplies. On the first day, they would land on beaches to the west of Maleme. On the second day, more would land east of Heraklion. There was concern about the British navy so they decided to land both groups the second day. 

General Student with the XI Air Corps had paratroops and assault troops in gliders. The aircraft were transports. There were four battalions of assault troops. With the paratroops there were three regiments, each having three battalions. They also had an artillery company and an anti-tank company. At the division level, they had an artillery battery, and battalions of anti-tank guns, machine guns, and pioneers. 

The corps had the 5th Mountain division and a tank battalion. The mountain division eventually won the battle for Crete. This is based on the account in "Greece, Crete and Syria by Gavin Long".

Plans for attacking Crete

 While the Germans were focused on an airborne attack on Crete, Admiral Cunningham had gotten ready to stop an attack from the sea. Three places seemed most likely. They were Canea Retimo, ad Heraklion. He thought that Kisamos Bay as well as Sitia might be used. Admiral Cunningham created three groups of cruisers and destroyers. He ordered two battleships and five destroyers to be west from Crete to protect the light ships. AS a backup, he had the aircraft carrier Formidable and two battleships at Alexandria. 

Over the night of20 to 21 May, they saw some six Italian motor torpedo boats in thr Kaso Straight. Two cruisers and four destroyers fired on the Italians and damaged four boats. 

They eventually learned about the plan to capture Crete with an airborne force. The original proposal was made by General Lohr on 1 April. The convinced Hitler that they could make an airborne attack work. GeneralLohr would be in command. They would have The XI Air Corps with glders and para troops. They also had a purely aviation formation,  the VIII Air Corps. General Student wanted to make four attacks but General Richthofen would not be able to provide air cover for four attacks. 

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

From 20 May 1941 on Crete

 In the action to the South of Canea, after Germans had captured ant-aircraft guns, the 1/Rangers along with carriers from the 1/Welch took action. Two platoons of Royal Marines arrived along with Greeks from the 2nd Regiment. With that force they were able to recapture the guns that had been lost. By the night only small groups of Germans remained. 

Durig the late afternoon, the 2/8th Battalion of Australians arrived after travaeling from Georgioupolis. They were to hold a position some 2,000 yards wide to the west of Mournies. The right was held by the Perivolians. The left had the 2/2nd Field Regiment who were also Australians. The 2nd Greek Regiment were in position adding to the line being held. This narrative will only discuss what General Freyberg knew about "at the time". 

Retimo and Heraklion were attacked during the late afternoon on 20 May. At Retimo, most paratroops were dealt with, except for a stron group on a ridge commanding the air field on the southeast. At Heraklion, all para troops were dealt with, except for groups of snipers. Still there was heavy fightig in the town. Communications were so that Freyberg was not well-informed.

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

Freyberg gets involved

 The communication problems meant that initially, General Freyberg was unaware of events. By 11am, Freyberg thought that Maleme was the most critical point. Because of that perception, the4th Brigade, except for one battalion was allocated to the division. Reports in thelateafternoon that the Germans were clearing a landing field  made the 4th Brigade seem more important. Kippenberger suggested that they should attack the prison. The attack started at 7:15pm. Kippenberger withdrew his support of the attack. By yhe morning the attackers were ordered to withdraw. 

During the night of 20 May, While the Germans held par of the Maleme airfield, British guns still covered the airfield. The Germans held some threatening positions. Because of an attack the Greek King were forced to withdraw to the hills. Some para troops had descended into the garden at the King's house. 

1 gliders were launched towards the Akrotiri Peninsula. Four of these went into the sea and others were shot down. Most of the survivors were killed or captured. More giders landed to the south of Canea. Some anti-aircrft guns were captured, but were later recaptured.

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

Germans making progress

 The New Zealand cavalry moved into the area east of Galatas and were part of a line that included the Petrol Company along with the 19th Battalion. You had the 8th Greek Regiment in the foothills. They were cut off, but were fighting well. The Germans now seemed to be holding the prison and appeared to be making a landing ground. 

There was fresh activity near the4th Brigade, commanded by Brigadier Inglis. They were east from the 10th Brigade. The New Zealand Division headquarters was in this area. German paratroops had landed near the Karatsos village. They were also landing in the vineyards "north of the coast road. They had captured the 7th General Hospital. Brigadier Inglis ordered a company from the 18th Battalion to retake the hospital, which they were able to do. The nearby 6th Field Ambulance was captured by paratroops who shot the commander. 

Communication was poor with phone lines broken and wireless communications not workin very well. That meant that General Freberg was unaware of much that had happened. 

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

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.

The second day of the attack

 The 5th New Zealand Brigade had four battalions. The 22nd Battalion had been in the "most important ground". The 22nd Battalion had taken serious losses and had mostly withdrawn. There were ony small groups of men left near the air field. At this point, the entire brigade had not launched a counter-attack, Because of the numbers of German aircraft overhead and because of unreliable communications, meant that it was not possible to organize a counter-attack. 

 To the east, the 10th Brigade, commanded by Colonel howard Kippenberger was defending a wide front. That front reached into the foothills that were to the west of Canae. The Composite Battalion defended an area extending from the coast to the foothills. They were protecting a line that was some 3,200 yards wide. In the south were the 6th and 8th Greek Regiments. With them were the New Zealand Division Cavalry, although the were reduced to fighting as infantry. The Greek regiments and the cavalry reached quite far into the foothills in the south-west. the Composite Battalion were al gunners and drivers that were not trained as infantry, although the needed to do as best they could. the 2,400 Greeks soldiers were raw recruits not well-armed and lacked training. 

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

Checking on the 22nd Battalion

 When the 23rd Battalion tried to "get in touch with" the 22nd Battalion, they were unsuccessful. Two companies were sent to help the 22nd Battalion, One comany was sent from the 23rd Battalion and another was sent from the 28th (Maori) Battalion. The Maori company had a fight with some Germans and killed about thirty. The 23rd Battalion provided cover for the22nd Battalion  The Maori company found where the 22nd Battalion headquarters has been located, although it had been abandoned. When the Maori company pulled back, they encountered the remains of one 22nd Battalion companies with Lt-Col. Andrew. The time was about 2am. 

The 21st Battalion had been given some options. They could replace the 23rd Battalion if that battalion tried to help the 22nd Battalion. They could also just hold theie ground, which is what their commander decided to do. Allen sent men to clear Xamoudhokhori and Vlakheronitissa. They clearedthe first but the second was too strong. 

New Zealand engineers were grouped into an improvised infantry unit, the N.Z.E. detachment. There was also an improvised artillery unit, the 27th Battery. They had "two English" 3.7in howitzers, three Italian 75mm guns. and four French 75mm guns. Para troops who landed near the engineers and the guns "were mopped up".

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

More action as the fight at Maleme progressed

 Lt-Col Andrew, the 22nd Battalion commander, had been awarded a Victoria's Cross in 1917. had two infantry tanks available and decided to use them. on one tank, the crew found that he gun did not work. The second tank drove to the "river flat" where the crew abandoned the tank. 

At 9pm, the Germans had some control of the western edge of the airfield as well as an another area. They also had taken hill 107 that overlooked the airfield. At this point, Lt-Col Andrew decided to withdraw the 22nd Battalion to the rear company. They would be located to the east of two ridges. By doing this, the 22nd Battalion was evacuating from a strip of land that was about a thousand yards wide "east of the Tavronitis". By dawn the next day, the remnants of the 22nd Battalion along with gunners and air force personnel were in groups moving to the east. 

East of the 22nd Battalion was the 23rd Battalion. They looked down on the main road. The 21st Battalion looked down on the 23rd Battalion. Gliders and para troops had landed in the 23rd Battalion, but they "were soon killed or dispersed". They estimated that they had killed some 400 Germans in the air or on the ground. They continued to control their area and their machine guns and mortars were firing at the beaches and the east side of the airfield.

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

More of the 22nd Battalion fight

 Part of a rifle company from the 22nd Battalion was in place, defending the airfield at Maleme. The platoon on the far left. They had to hold a line that was 1,400 yards long. fourteen German gliders landed on that line followed by German Para troops.  The anti-aircraft gun crews were overcome. The platoon fought on until the middle of the afternoon. By dusk, the platoon commander was wounded as were the last of his men. The survivors were captured. 

The other units in the 22nd Battalion were holding on "at the eastern side of the airfield and the slopes on the south side of the main road". The main road was on the south side of the airfield. There were small enemy groups between, to companies and between the 22nd Battalion and the 21st Battalion. 

Paratroops had landed at Pirgos. They were "in the streets and on the flat roofs". The paratroops were not doing well. The men i the first to arrive were shot before they landed. THe second group suffered the same fate. There were only small groups of Para troops in the open drains and in the vineyards, trying to combine with others so thy could get organized. 

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

The 22nd Battalion fight

 Some o the paratroops were to the southwest of Pirgos. The seem to have overrun a platoon of the headquarters company. The real concern was men who had landed out of the battalion, but that was all. 

A few had landed in the 22nd Battalion. They stopped runners involved in communications. 

The west riverbank was the center of the landing. About six gliders as well as twenty paratroops landed in Campbell's company. Most in the gliders were killed. The Germans who were on the west river bank crossed the bridge over the river. They went into the RAF "offices and camp." British non-combatants had to pull back towards the 22nd Battalion headquarters. 

Men from Campbell's right platoon were forced to fall back. That caused a gap to open between Campbell's company and Johnson's company. Campbell's men managed to hold. When Campbell realized that the battalion headquarters had withdrawn, he decided that he should also withdraw.The withdrawal started at 3am. The platoons moved separately. One platoon that was moving alongside the river ended up being captured. 

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

19 and 20 May 1941 on Crete

 British fighter strength on Crete was disappearing by 19 May 1941. That was when the enemy started the attack on Crete. A larger than normal number of German fighters and bombers hit the Suda Bay and Malema area. The airfield at Maleme was bombed, as was Canea and the anti-aircraft guns. They succeeded in destroying many anti-aircraft guns. Freyberg was observing the action and could hear transport aircraft and could see them flying in from the sea.

After the bombing had stopped, some 75 gliders were seen to have landed. Of these, perhaps 45 were to the west of the airfield. There were actually small groups of gliders. They were south and east of the airfield and were scattered between Suda and Maleme.

One effect of the bombing was that al signal wires fro the New Zealand Division headquarters were broken. The lines to Freyberg's headquarters were only repaired by 11am. The 22nd New Zealand Battalion was located at the air field. If the Germans could take the airfield, they would be able to land transport aircraft with soldiers.  Some 400 to 600 paratroops landed near the 22nd Battalion. There were also some gliders in the area defended by the battalion.

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

Ready for the attack on Crete

 Heavy bombing of Crete defenses commenced on 13 May 1941. Every night, British fighters flew to the airfield at Retimo to escape bombing of Maleme and Heraklion. British intelligence warned of an attack on Crete on 17, 18, or 19th May. There could be 25,000 to 35,000 by air and some ten thousand by sea. It was expected that the Germans would try to take Maleme, Canea, the valley to the south, and Retimo. It was thought that the initial strike would include one hundred bombers an fighters followed by 600 aircraft "dropping waves of paratroops. 

All the soldiers on the island were ready for the invasion, but the ant-aircraft guns were in almsot constant action. The aircraft were concentrating on the ships in Suda Bay. Starting on 19 May, guns fired an umbrella of exploding shells over the pier where cargo was being unloaded. That plan was effective in protecting ships and the jetty. 

The fact was that there were not enough guns to protect against heavy air attack. Retimo had no anti-aircraft guns. Heraklion had 4-3in guns and ten Bofors 40mm guns "initially". fortunately, up to 20 May, only 6 gunners were killed and 11 were wounded. All guns damaged up to 20 May were repairable.

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

The Retimo sector in May 1941

 The Australian Brigadier Vasey commanded the force defending Retimo. The priority was to protect the harbor nd the airfield. He also needed to prevent the Germans from landing in Georgioupolis Bay. This was some seven miles to the west. There were two Australian battalions at Retimo. Two more Australian battalions were at  Georgioupolis Bay. Heralion was defended by a larger force. The force consisted of four British battalions, one Australian battalion, along with three Greek battalions. 

Maleme had the New Zealand Division with Brigadier 

Puttick. That included the 5th Brigade with 3,156 soldiers. There was also the 10th Brigade. The 10th Brigade had 1,989 New Zealand soldiers, 2,498 Greek soldiers along with a group of 36 New Zealand soldiers. The New Zealand 20th Battalion was nominally in the 10th Brigade, but wasactually controlled by the New Zealand Division. They had 10-75mm guns and 6-3.7in howitzers along with two infantry tanks and ten light tanks. 

The 4th New Zealand Brigade was the "Force Reserve". They had 1,563 soldiers.

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

Deployment plans for a larger force

 As we might expect, plans were made to defend the island. Near Maleme, they wanted to defend the airfield and the beach, which was quite long. The 5th New Zealand Brigade was positioned to protect Maleme and the beaches, which ere close. The 10th Brigade was set to hold a position that faced to the west and that sat on the"coastal plain". The 4th Brigade wasto the east of Galatas. They needed to be ready to move in whatever direction they were needed. 

To the west was a Greek regiment, the 1st. They had 1,030 recruits, with only 600 rifles, with a weak group of officers. They also had a New Zealand battalion aong with some New Zealand officers and NCO's. There were also 45 police and a good home guard unit with a mixture of weapons including shotguns.

General Weston had the Suda Bay-Canea defense force. They were to protect the harbor and base. To the east of "Duda Point" were some improvised Australian battalions and other improvised units.

They were to guard against paratroops and try to keep them from moving into the town. A group was also positioned on the Akrotiri Peninsula.

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

Events in April to May 1941 involving Crete

 A ship policy was created as a result of air raids. They would only use fast ships that could arrive at night, unload, and be underway, out of danger by morning. That meant using cruisers and destroyers capable of 30 knot speed. They would arrive, ready to unload, by 11:30pm. They would leave by about 3am. 15 ships were used from 29 April to 20 May. The brought in 15,000 tons of "stores". 8 of the ships were sunk or damaged. This amount was not sufficient to meet the needs, but it was what was possible.

It seemed that holding Crete was not possible in the face if this scale of air attack. As of 19 May, Suda Bay had 13 damaged ships. Aport in the south of Crete would have helped, but the absence of unloading equipment and lack of roads precluded the use of southern ports.

Meanwhile, the New Zealand Division was increased. A 10th Brigade was added. Howard Kippenberger was appointed as 10th Brigade commander. Brigadier Inglis became the 4th Brigade commander.

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

Weapons sent to Crete

 Because of the artillery shortage, some artillery units were armed as infantry. General Freyberg wrote about the situation. There seem to have bee, one hundred guns sent to Crete. Fewer than that arrived at Crete. Others arrived without essential items, such as sights, ammunition, some ammunition without fuses. The gunners were a variety of men  There were regular British army, Australians or men from New Zealand. There were many clever men. In one case, a man made a sight from wood and chewing gum. Other men made charts that let them "shoot without sights or instruments."  There were no complaints and everyone got involved. Of the Italian guns, some were 75mm and others were 100mm. Of the rifles and machine guns, there were American, Italian, and British. 

While all this was being done, the soldiers were constantly attacked from the air. That included ships in Suda Bay, which had started prior to the Greek withdrawal. The unloading of ships was so dangerous, that they started using volunteers. They only stopped when the ship being unloaded was being attacked. In one case, a partially sunk ship had Bren carriers on deck that were unloaded.

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

Artillery available in May 1941

 The divisions in Greece had "lost their guns". There had been three British field and medium regiments that had also left their guns. The guns had pretty much all had been disaled when they ere left. The Britsh had always been short of guns. That meant that although there were many infantry battalions in Egypt and Palestine they could be incorporated into divisions due to the artillery shortage.

The Australians had the benefit of a considerable number of "trained" artillery regiments. The 9th Australian Division had three field regiments. One regiment was in Tobruk. The other two were in Egypt "in reserve". The 7th Australian Division also had three field regiments. There were two regiments designated as Australian corps artillery, but they had no guns.

AS of 20 May, the Australian field regiments located in Egypt had guns.. There were 36 new 25pdr guns, 59 18pdrs of varying conditions. There were also 24 4.5in howitzers. By May 31, the Australian field regiments had 60 25pdrs. They might have sent them to Crete, but they did not. Some 49 French and Italian field guns were sent t Egypt. 

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

Issues with Crete in May 1941

 One odd feature of the situation in Crete was that the Greeks had some 14,000 Italian prisoners captured in Albania. The Greeks were concerned that if the Italians were given to the British, they might violate international law. In the event, the Italians were still on Crete when the Germans attacked.

There were some small amounts of soldiers, equipment, and supplies arrived in Crete. As part of the naval base force, about 2,200 marines arrived. They had coast-defense artillery and anti-aircraft guns. Some 3.7in mountain guns and the artillery unit arrived. There were also 16 light tanks and 6 infantry tanks. Two infantry battalions arrived. They were intended to form a reserve at Retimo and Heraklion.

By 2 May, Wavell had mentioned that there was no field artillery in Crete, as all there had been had been left in Greece. General Blamey sent a message to the Australian government abut this situation. Churchill told the New Zealand prime minister that they would work to send equipment for theNew Zealand division. 

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

The RAF and The Greek king and government

 As well as the army there were men from the RAF who were not needed in Crete. The RAF presence in Crete included: 30 Squadron at Maleme with 12 Blenheim bombers, 33/80 Squadron at Maleme with 6 Hurricane fighters, 112 Squadron at Heraklion with 12 Gladiator biplane fighters, and 805 Fleet Air Arm Squadron at Maleme with six aircraft, including a mix of Gladiator biplane fighters and Fairy Fulmars.

The King of Greece and the Goverment were located at Canea, which was subjected to daily bombing. General Freyberg was concerned with their safety. Mr. Churchill liked having the King and Government in Crete because of the effect on the people of Greece and on neutral countries. The British government wanted the Greek King to stay as long as possible, although they were concerned with his safety.

General Freyberg negotiated with the King and government on 9 May. He agreed to leave the island with his government on 14 May. He prepared a message for the people of Greece that explained the reasoning. Despite that, the British sent a message telling Freyberg that the Greek King and Government should stay in Crete, even if the Germans attacked Crete. Freyberg disagreed, but told the King and the head of Government that they did not need to leave right then. 

Freyberg wanted to protect the King and Government, and had a platoon from the18th Battalion be guardians for the King and Government. Freyberg requested that the commanders in Cairo provide a ship or flying boat in readiness to evacuate the King and Government.

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