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| A stunned General: Student looks shocked as he speaks to the nazi parachutists who survived the invasion of Crete. Note their facial expressions, a Pyrrhic victory for Hitler's chosen ones. (postcard issued with the nazi propaganda magazine Der Adler) |
General
Student visited us almost immediately after the fall of Canea. Had
fourteen days really elapsed since I had last seen him issuing orders in
Athens?
He had visibly altered. He seemed much graver, more reserved, and older. There was no evidence in his features that he was joyful over the victory — his victory — and proud at the success of his daring scheme. The cost of victory had evidently proved too much for him. Some of the battalions had lost all their officers, and in several companies there were only a few men left alive.
. . . The battle for Crete was to prove the overture to the great tragedy which reached its climax at El Alamein and Stalingrad. For the first time there had stood against us a brave and relentless opponent on a battleground which favoured him.
On this occasion things had gone well with us, but it seemed almost a miracle that our great and hazardous enterprise had succeeded. How it did, I cannot say to this day. Success had suddenly come to us at a moment when, as so often happens in war, we had ceased to believe in the possibility of success.
My interview with General Student was brief and to the point. In answer to his questions I concisely reported our experiences in the attack and told him of our losses. When I had finished he grasped me firmly by the hand and held it for a long time. “I thank you,” was all he said; but the grasp of his hand and those three short words were quite sufficient for me.
- See more at: http://ww2today.com/28th-may-1941-the-germans-count-the-cost-of-crete#sthash.3s6pt6Aj.dpuf
He had visibly altered. He seemed much graver, more reserved, and older. There was no evidence in his features that he was joyful over the victory — his victory — and proud at the success of his daring scheme. The cost of victory had evidently proved too much for him. Some of the battalions had lost all their officers, and in several companies there were only a few men left alive.
. . . The battle for Crete was to prove the overture to the great tragedy which reached its climax at El Alamein and Stalingrad. For the first time there had stood against us a brave and relentless opponent on a battleground which favoured him.
On this occasion things had gone well with us, but it seemed almost a miracle that our great and hazardous enterprise had succeeded. How it did, I cannot say to this day. Success had suddenly come to us at a moment when, as so often happens in war, we had ceased to believe in the possibility of success.
My interview with General Student was brief and to the point. In answer to his questions I concisely reported our experiences in the attack and told him of our losses. When I had finished he grasped me firmly by the hand and held it for a long time. “I thank you,” was all he said; but the grasp of his hand and those three short words were quite sufficient for me.
- See more at: http://ww2today.com/28th-may-1941-the-germans-count-the-cost-of-crete#sthash.3s6pt6Aj.dpuf
The German invasion of Crete in May 1941 stands as a landmark in the
history of airborne warfare.
Up until that point, airborne operations
had been used mainly in a tactical and operational context to seize key
objectives in advance of the ground forces, such as the seizure during
the Balkan campaign of the bridge over the Corinth Canal on the 26 April
1941, and the seizure of the Belgium fortress of Eban Emael on the 11
May 1940.
The German invasion of Crete (codenamed Operation Merkur,
or Mercury, after the Roman God of communication, travel and thievery –
the counterpart of Hermes, the messenger of the Gods in Greek
mythology) has been the only strategic airborne operation aimed at
attacking and occupying such an important target.
The operation was the
brainchild of Generalmajor Kurt Student, the commander, and fanatical
proponent of the airborne arm (the Fallschirmjäger) who believed that the paratroopers could operate in their own right and not merely be used to support the Wehrmacht.
The Battle for Crete was a German victory but a costly one.
Out of an
assault force of just over 22,000 men, the Germans suffered some 5,500
casualties, of which 3,600 were killed or missing in action.
Almost a
third of the Ju52s used in the operation were damaged or destroyed.
The
Allies suffered almost 3,500 casualties (of which just over 1,700 were
killed) and almost 12,000 were taken prisoner.
The Royal Navy suffered 1
aircraft carrier, two battleships, six cruisers and seven destroyers
badly damaged and another three cruisers and six destroyers sunk with
the loss of over 2,000 men. The RAF lost some forty-seven aircraft in
the battle.
Exactly how many Greek soldiers and Cretan civilians died
during the fighting will never be known.
As a result of the huge losses suffered by the Fallschirmjäger in
Crete, it was forbidden by Hitler to mount any large-scale operations
in the future and apart from a few small-scale operations, mainly served
as elite infantry for the rest of the war.
The fact that the operation
was undertaken just three weeks after the fall of Greece is a testament
to the flexibility, ingenuity and determination of the Germans who had
to overcome immense logistic difficulties.
However, the German operation
had been placed in serious risk from the start by hasty planning
(Student should have landed the Fallschirmjäger farther away from the airfields, concentrated on one or two points and brought the convoys over during the day when the Luftwaffe
could have covered them adequately), overconfidence, an overestimation
of the local population’s sympathies with the invaders, inadequate
intelligence and poor reconnaissance.
The proper objective for the Fallschirmjäger
was probably Malta, with Crete and Cyprus to follow, as Malta was the
key to the central Mediterranean and to the narrow bottleneck that
Allied east – west traffic and Axis north – south traffic had to pass to
supply their respective forces in North Africa. Taking Malta could have
resulted in Rommel and the Afrika Korps being in the Nile delta and on
the banks of the Suez Canal.
Finally, it delayed the start of Operation
Barbarossa by some six weeks, although the exact impact of that cannot
be quantified as a delay to the proposed 15 May start date would have
been necessary anyway due to the late spring rains and thawing of the
winter snow.
British operations on Crete were hampered by the poor shape many units
found themselves in after the campaign in Greece, indecision,
misunderstanding, a lack of information (at least when the fighting
started) and poor communications in the chain of command, both on Crete
itself from Crete to Egypt.
The order to Freyberg to preserve the
airfields for the future use of the RAF (which they never did) proved to
be an example.
The importance of the Ultra intercepts was diluted by
not revealing the exact source of the information to Freyberg who
continued to focus on the threat of an amphibious attack.
There was no
clear-cut plan of defence, and what was undertaken was done so at the
last minute. The defence of the island was improvised and with the
British at full stretch in the rest of North Africa and the Middle East,
the men and material necessary for the defence of Crete could not be
spared.
None of the commanders involved at the higher levels of command
came away with laurels (with the exception of Cunningham who appreciated
the impact of airpower on naval power and the strategic consequences
for the Allies of a British defeat at Crete and the possibility of a
shift in the naval balance of power in the Mediterranean) and showed too
little aggressiveness, as their appreciation for the situation always
lagged behind events, something that never hindered the Germans as their
leaders led from the front.
There was also considerable interference
with Wavell’s command from London, specifically Churchill,
that was recorded by Major General Sir John Kennedy, Chief of
Operations for the General Staff, saying “I don’t see how we can win the
war without Winston, but on the other hand, I don’t see how we can win
it with him.”
Baron
von der Heydte, who had
fought with the 3rd Parachute Regiment at Crete recalled his meeting
with General Kurt Student, the German parachute commander, on 28th May 1941 in his book "Daedalus Returned: Crete 1941"
Baron
von der Heydte: Daedalus Returned: Crete 1941 - See more at:
http://ww2today.com/28th-may-1941-the-germans-count-the-cost-of-crete#sthash.3s6pt6Aj.dpuf
General
Student visited us almost immediately after the fall of Canea. Had fourteen
days really elapsed since I had last seen him issuing orders in Athens?
He had visibly
altered. He seemed much graver, more reserved, and older. There was no evidence
in his features that he was joyful over the victory — his victory — and proud
at the success of his daring scheme. The cost of victory had evidently proved
too much for him. Some of the battalions had lost all their officers, and in
several companies there were only a few men left alive.
. . . The
battle for Crete was to prove the overture to the great tragedy which reached
its climax at El Alamein and Stalingrad. For the first time there had stood
against us a brave and relentless opponent on a battleground which favoured
him.
On this
occasion things had gone well with us, but it seemed almost a miracle that our
great and hazardous enterprise had succeeded. How it did, I cannot say to this
day. Success had suddenly come to us at a moment when, as so often happens in
war, we had ceased to believe in the possibility of success.
My interview
with General Student was brief and to the point. In answer to his questions I
concisely reported our experiences in the attack and told him of our losses.
When I had finished he grasped me firmly by the hand and held it for a long
time. “I thank you,” was all he said; but the grasp of his hand and those three
short words were quite sufficient for me.
General
Student visited us almost immediately after the fall of Canea. Had
fourteen days really elapsed since I had last seen him issuing orders in
Athens?
He had visibly altered. He seemed much graver, more reserved, and older. There was no evidence in his features that he was joyful over the victory — his victory — and proud at the success of his daring scheme. The cost of victory had evidently proved too much for him. Some of the battalions had lost all their officers, and in several companies there were only a few men left alive.
. . . The battle for Crete was to prove the overture to the great tragedy which reached its climax at El Alamein and Stalingrad. For the first time there had stood against us a brave and relentless opponent on a battleground which favoured him.
On this occasion things had gone well with us, but it seemed almost a miracle that our great and hazardous enterprise had succeeded. How it did, I cannot say to this day. Success had suddenly come to us at a moment when, as so often happens in war, we had ceased to believe in the possibility of success.
My interview with General Student was brief and to the point. In answer to his questions I concisely reported our experiences in the attack and told him of our losses. When I had finished he grasped me firmly by the hand and held it for a long time. “I thank you,” was all he said; but the grasp of his hand and those three short words were quite sufficient for me.
- See more at: http://ww2today.com/28th-may-1941-the-germans-count-the-cost-of-crete#sthash.3s6pt6Aj.dpuf
He had visibly altered. He seemed much graver, more reserved, and older. There was no evidence in his features that he was joyful over the victory — his victory — and proud at the success of his daring scheme. The cost of victory had evidently proved too much for him. Some of the battalions had lost all their officers, and in several companies there were only a few men left alive.
. . . The battle for Crete was to prove the overture to the great tragedy which reached its climax at El Alamein and Stalingrad. For the first time there had stood against us a brave and relentless opponent on a battleground which favoured him.
On this occasion things had gone well with us, but it seemed almost a miracle that our great and hazardous enterprise had succeeded. How it did, I cannot say to this day. Success had suddenly come to us at a moment when, as so often happens in war, we had ceased to believe in the possibility of success.
My interview with General Student was brief and to the point. In answer to his questions I concisely reported our experiences in the attack and told him of our losses. When I had finished he grasped me firmly by the hand and held it for a long time. “I thank you,” was all he said; but the grasp of his hand and those three short words were quite sufficient for me.
- See more at: http://ww2today.com/28th-may-1941-the-germans-count-the-cost-of-crete#sthash.3s6pt6Aj.dpuf
General
Student visited us almost immediately after the fall of Canea. Had
fourteen days really elapsed since I had last seen him issuing orders in
Athens?
He had visibly altered. He seemed much graver, more reserved, and older. There was no evidence in his features that he was joyful over the victory — his victory — and proud at the success of his daring scheme. The cost of victory had evidently proved too much for him. Some of the battalions had lost all their officers, and in several companies there were only a few men left alive.
. . . The battle for Crete was to prove the overture to the great tragedy which reached its climax at El Alamein and Stalingrad. For the first time there had stood against us a brave and relentless opponent on a battleground which favoured him.
On this occasion things had gone well with us, but it seemed almost a miracle that our great and hazardous enterprise had succeeded. How it did, I cannot say to this day. Success had suddenly come to us at a moment when, as so often happens in war, we had ceased to believe in the possibility of success.
My interview with General Student was brief and to the point. In answer to his questions I concisely reported our experiences in the attack and told him of our losses. When I had finished he grasped me firmly by the hand and held it for a long time. “I thank you,” was all he said; but the grasp of his hand and those three short words were quite sufficient for me.
- See more at: http://ww2today.com/28th-may-1941-the-germans-count-the-cost-of-crete#sthash.3s6pt6Aj.dpuf
He had visibly altered. He seemed much graver, more reserved, and older. There was no evidence in his features that he was joyful over the victory — his victory — and proud at the success of his daring scheme. The cost of victory had evidently proved too much for him. Some of the battalions had lost all their officers, and in several companies there were only a few men left alive.
. . . The battle for Crete was to prove the overture to the great tragedy which reached its climax at El Alamein and Stalingrad. For the first time there had stood against us a brave and relentless opponent on a battleground which favoured him.
On this occasion things had gone well with us, but it seemed almost a miracle that our great and hazardous enterprise had succeeded. How it did, I cannot say to this day. Success had suddenly come to us at a moment when, as so often happens in war, we had ceased to believe in the possibility of success.
My interview with General Student was brief and to the point. In answer to his questions I concisely reported our experiences in the attack and told him of our losses. When I had finished he grasped me firmly by the hand and held it for a long time. “I thank you,” was all he said; but the grasp of his hand and those three short words were quite sufficient for me.
- See more at: http://ww2today.com/28th-may-1941-the-germans-count-the-cost-of-crete#sthash.3s6pt6Aj.dpuf
 | |||||||||
| The back of the postcard issued with a copy of the nazi propaganda magazine Der Adler |
General
Student visited us almost immediately after the fall of Canea. Had
fourteen days really elapsed since I had last seen him issuing orders in
Athens?
He had visibly altered. He seemed much graver, more reserved, and older. There was no evidence in his features that he was joyful over the victory — his victory — and proud at the success of his daring scheme. The cost of victory had evidently proved too much for him. Some of the battalions had lost all their officers, and in several companies there were only a few men left alive.
. . . The battle for Crete was to prove the overture to the great tragedy which reached its climax at El Alamein and Stalingrad. For the first time there had stood against us a brave and relentless opponent on a battleground which favoured him.
On this occasion things had gone well with us, but it seemed almost a miracle that our great and hazardous enterprise had succeeded. How it did, I cannot say to this day. Success had suddenly come to us at a moment when, as so often happens in war, we had ceased to believe in the possibility of success.
My interview with General Student was brief and to the point. In answer to his questions I concisely reported our experiences in the attack and told him of our losses. When I had finished he grasped me firmly by the hand and held it for a long time. “I thank you,” was all he said; but the grasp of his hand and those three short words were quite sufficient for me.
- See more at: http://ww2today.com/28th-may-1941-the-germans-count-the-cost-of-crete#sthash.3s6pt6Aj.dpuf
He had visibly altered. He seemed much graver, more reserved, and older. There was no evidence in his features that he was joyful over the victory — his victory — and proud at the success of his daring scheme. The cost of victory had evidently proved too much for him. Some of the battalions had lost all their officers, and in several companies there were only a few men left alive.
. . . The battle for Crete was to prove the overture to the great tragedy which reached its climax at El Alamein and Stalingrad. For the first time there had stood against us a brave and relentless opponent on a battleground which favoured him.
On this occasion things had gone well with us, but it seemed almost a miracle that our great and hazardous enterprise had succeeded. How it did, I cannot say to this day. Success had suddenly come to us at a moment when, as so often happens in war, we had ceased to believe in the possibility of success.
My interview with General Student was brief and to the point. In answer to his questions I concisely reported our experiences in the attack and told him of our losses. When I had finished he grasped me firmly by the hand and held it for a long time. “I thank you,” was all he said; but the grasp of his hand and those three short words were quite sufficient for me.
- See more at: http://ww2today.com/28th-may-1941-the-germans-count-the-cost-of-crete#sthash.3s6pt6Aj.dpuf
