German Airborne Invasion of Crete | 1941 | World War 2 Documentary

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This film is a documentary on the German airborne invasion of Crete (Operation Mercury) in 1941 and its eventual fall in ten days. It emphasizes the German victory over British, New Zealander and Australian forces rested in superior air power. The film presents complete tactical picture with animated maps, describes defenses of major Cretan cities and includes scenes of German parachute jumping, German troops in action and the British evacuation.
About the German invasion of Crete:
On the morning of 20 May 1941, Germany launched an airborne invasion of Crete under the code name Unternehmen Merkur (Operation Mercury). Greek and Allied forces, along with Cretan civilians, defended the island.

After one day, the Allied troops were confident that they would prevail against the German invasion. The next day, through miscommunication and the failure of Allied commanders to grasp the situation, Maleme airfield in western Crete fell to the Germans, enabling them to fly in reinforcements and overwhelm the defenders. The German invasion lasted about 10 days.

The Battle of Crete was unprecedented in three respects: it was not only the first operation where German paratroops (Fallschirmjäger) were used on a massive scale, but also the first mainly airborne invasion in military history, the first time the Allies made significant use of intelligence from the deciphered German Enigma code, and the first time invading German troops encountered mass resistance from a civilian population. Because of the heavy losses, the German high command cancelled further large-scale airborne operations. In contrast, the Allies were impressed by the potential of paratroopers and started to build their own airborne formations.
Über Unternehmen Merkur:
Das Unternehmen Merkur war eine Operation im Jahr 1941, die deutsche Fallschirmjäger zur Einnahme der Insel Kreta durchführten, und zugleich die erste große Luftlandeoperation der Geschichte. Nach der Einnahme Griechenlands im Verlauf des Balkanfeldzuges 1941 wurde das von alliierten Truppen verteidigte Kreta durch die deutsche Wehrmacht erobert und blieb bis 1945 besetzt.
German Airborne Invasion of Crete | 1941 | World War 2 Documentary

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