The Battle of Crete (1941) | First mass use of German Paratroopers (Fallschirmjäger)

Over the course of 11 days in May of 1941, the beautiful Greek island of Crete was the scene of a fascinating battle between its Allied defenders and the German invaders. Taking place relatively early in the war, both sides were clearly still adapting to the new, dynamic form of warfare that would
come to characterise the Second World War. However, the most interesting aspect of this battle
might be that it provides a prime example of snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.

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Why would the Germans even want to capture Crete? This is a fair question, especially since the invasion took place only a month before the German invasion of the Soviet Union. While it could be argued that the island has a significant strategic value due to its central location in the eastern Mediterranean, it certainly cannot have been a top priority for the Germans. In all reality, it is likely that Germany was simply in a winning mood, being seemingly invincible after overrunning most of the Balkans (namely Yugoslavia and Greece) in the weeks prior.

German generals regarded Crete as an excellent opportunity to use their new superweapon once more: the fallschirmjäger, or paratroopers. So far, they had been incredibly successful in the invasion of the Netherlands and Belgium and they had also played a part in the invasion of Norway. Also, capturing an island by air would be a nice first. Hitler eventually agreed, but only on the condition that the activities on Crete would not interfere with Operation Barbarossa.

While the Germans were optimistic about their chances, the Allies were even more confident and rightly so. The Germans were planning a surprise attack, but thanks to the efforts of the excellent Polish and British decoders, Allied command had managed to intercept the Luftwaffe’s Enigma-encrypted radio communication in the weeks leading up to the attack. The Allied commander in Crete, general Bernard Freyberg, had been receiving strictly confidential reports about the imminent German attack from early May and was asked to organise his defences accordingly, although he was not allowed to share the information with any of his staff members.

From German communications, it also became clear that they severely underestimated the Allied military presence on the island. While they assumed that around 10.000 poorly trained troops were present, the real number of Creforce troops approached 40.000 and included many well-trained ANZAC-units, soldiers from Australia and New Zealand. The Allies were setting a trap, and Germany was about to walk right into it. A decisive German defeat would also show that German troops were not invincible, dealing the Germans a massive morale blow In the process.

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