Video: The Fall of Crete
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IGNORED WARNINGS ACCIDENT WAITING GRAVE MISCALCULATION AGAINST ALL ODDS FAILURE FIASCO DISASTER GREAT BLUNDERS IN HISTORY THE FALL OF CRETE
Stan Watt As dawn broke over the Mediterranean Island of Crete on May 20th, 1941 , Germany launched the most daring airborne offensive of World War II. Hitler was determined to drive out the 30,000 British and Dominion troops holding the island. Wave after wave of German aircraft appeared over Crete . The sky filled with heavily armed paratroopers taking the defenders on the ground by surprise.
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Stan Watt Despite reliable reports that the main German invasion would come from the air, British General Freyberg , Crete's Commander was convinced they would come from the sea. His commander, General Wavell could not provide the forces for an adequate defense. Crete was given little air protection. The few remaining fighters had been withdrawn to Egypt the day before the attack. The result was catastrophic, the British suffered heavy casualties and were forced to evacuate Crete leaving thousands who became prisoners. The Eastern Mediterranean was now controlled by the Axis severely restricting British naval operations. The British could no longer send reinforcements to Egypt via the Mediterranean.
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Stan Watt The British lost valuable troops who could have been employed elsewhere. This prompted some in the British high command to ask if a more fundamental blunder had been made trying to defend Crete in the first place. When Italian dictator Benito Mussolini declared war on Britain on June 10th, 1940 . He was determined to make the Mediterranean his sea.
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Stan Watt Within a matter of hours, Italian planes bombed the island fortress of Malta which straddled the sea routes to Alexandria and the Suez Canal. They also bombed the British naval base at Gibraltar which guarded the entrance to the Mediterranean. The British Mediterranean fleet responded by intercepting and seizing any Italian ships it could find. The Royal Air Force also bombed Italy's industrial cities of Turin and Milan . Led by Marshall Graziani , Italian troops invaded British occupied Egypt from neighboring Libya : Italy's North African colony.
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Stan Watt But in four days the Italians came to a halt without major reinforcements they could not take on the British troops based in Egypt . Mussolini then turned his attention to the Balkans and invaded Greece on October 28th, 1940 . He launched his attack from Italian occupied Albania . But the Greeks were stubbornly resisted. By the end of 1940 , they force the Italians 30 miles back into Albania . At sea, the battle had also turned against Italy . In November, 1940 , a daring carrier-launched raid by Royal Navy Swordfish torpedo bombers disabled a large part of the Italian battle fleet. The fleet had been anchored in Toronto , an important mainland base. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill had long realized the importance of the Balkans. He was eager to form an alliance with Yugoslavia , Greece and Turkey . But Greece declined the offer. It did not want to provoke Hitler . It accepted only a small British garrison on Crete which was deployed in November, 1940 . By now, Hitler was planning Germany's invasion of Russia scheduled for spring 1941 . To ensure success, he wanted to secure the invasions southern flank. So Hitler launched the diplomatic offensive to persuade the Balkan States to join the Axis. It was not long before Hungary , Romania , Slovakia , and Bulgaria agreed. Yugoslavia took a bit more time. But eventually signed on Marched 25th, 1941 . In December, the British expelled the Italians from Egypt and drove them out of Libya's eastern province, Cirenaica . A complete Italian army of 130,000 men was destroyed. To help his beleaguered ally, Hitler sent a small ground force. This was led by General Erwin Rommel . The German Air Force also helped Italy attack the British Mediterranean fleet and it's base at Malta . It was now obvious that the Greeks were Hitler's next target. They reluctantly accepted an expeditionary force of British and Dominion troops drafted from Egypt . While this force was on it's way to Greece , the Italian Navy try to intercept one of the convoys. It was met head on by the British Mediterranean Fleet off Cape Magapan. The Italians were completely outclassed. They lost three cruisers and two destroyers, the British lost just two aircraft. On the previous day March 27th, 1941 , there was a coup in Yugoslavia ; it's pro-Axis factious government was overthrown. Hitler was furious and immediately ordered an invasion, it was called "Operation Punishment". On April 6th, the center of Belgrade , Yugoslavia's capital was reduced to rubble by bombs. German troops stormed into Yugoslavia . The ill prepared Yugoslav army could not withstand the German blitzkrieg. After a week, Yugoslavia could take no more. At the same time, German forces pressed into Greece . By midday April 27th, 1941 , the Swastika was flying over the ancient ruins of Athens . The British expeditionary force was hastily evacuated, some of the troops went back to Egypt . But the majority were sent to Crete . Churchill was convinced that Crete was the key to the Eastern Mediterranean. He told General Archibald Wavell , the British Commander-in- Chief in the Middle East that the island had to be held at all costs. But Churchill knew Crete was poorly defended and vulnerable to attack within easy range of Axis airforces in Greece . He was sure the Axis powers would try to seize the island. He told Wavell to ship in more artillery and tanks. But Wavell had none to spare. His army in Libya had been weakened when troops were sent to Greece . In March, Rommel had taken advantage of this and driven the British back into Egypt . Wavell was also faced with two more campaigns: driving the Italians out of their East African territories and quashing a pro-Axis revolt in Iraq which erupted early in April. Crete would have to held with existing ground assets and any support the Royal Navy could provide, Wavell's decision would prove fatal.
Great Blunders in History will return in a moment. The History Channel now returns to Great Blunders in History.
Stan Watt At the beginning of May, 1941 , the Luftwaffe dominated the skies over the Eastern Mediterranean. Only Crete seem to stand in the way of Germany's complete control of the area. Hitler wanted to attack the island as soon as possible, the only problem was how? The powerful British Navy was dominating the waters of the Eastern Mediterranean. A sea-borne invasion seemed impossible. But General Kurt Student , an experienced and highly motivated Luftwaffe parachute officer proposed a novel solution. Before the war, Germany had two elite Airborne Divisions. One of paratroopers and one trained to land by plane or glider. These had already helped overrun Holen in Norway . They had also overwhelmed British forces at the Corinth Canal in Greece . Student proposed that these two elite divisions should be deployed to capture Crete . Hitler was enthusiastic, the plan proceeded. It would be the largest such operation ever attempted. Nearly 1500 aircraft and 15,750 men would be deployed, another 7,000 troops would come by sea. The objective was to seize the three airfields on the island with paratroopers. At Maleme , Retimo , and Heraklion further troops would be flown in and fan out across the island. The German planners were confident unaware that their high command had underestimated the strength of the island's garrison. They believed that they would have to deal with no more than 8,000 men. They were saved by blunders committed by the British. There were some 41,000 troops on Crete including 11,000 fully armed Greeks, a few aria fighter planes and some worn out tanks. The garrison was commanded by Major General Bernard Freyberg , a career soldier who had won the Victoria Cross in World War I. As soon as he arrived on Crete , Freyberg began urging Wavell to send more tanks and artillery. He also asked for greater air and sea support. Freyberg knew his men could not hold out for long against an attack. He actually told Wavell that if the defenses were not strengthened, it might not be worth trying to keep Crete in British hands. At the end of April, 1941 , Wavell learned through the ultra code breakers in England that the German's planned an air invasion of Crete . He immediately passed the information to Freyberg , but Freyberg was unaware of the precise source of the intelligence and thought the main German assault would come from the sea. He sent forces to defend Crete's northern shore not the airfields identified by the code breakers. This was a monumental blunder. During the first three weeks of May, the Luftwaffe virtually blockaded Crete . Only 3,000 tons of vital equipment and supplies out of 27,000 tons shipped from Egypt arrived to safely. There were only six hurricanes and a few obsolete fulmers(ph) and gladiators to defend Crete .
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Stan Watt The Luftwaffe bombed the island more or less at will. On May 9th, the bombing intensified in anticipation of the main attack scheduled for 11 days later.
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Stan Watt To avoid destruction, the remaining RAF Fighters flew back to Egypt on May 19th, leaving their ground crews behind on Crete . RAF Middle East command assured Freyberg the planes would soon return. No effort was made to destroy the runaways. This would be another fatal blunder.
Great Blunders in History will return in a moment. The History Channel now returns to Great Blunders in History.
Stan Watt The Germans attacked Crete at first light on May 20th, 1941 . Student's men were confident laughing and joking as they flew in low over the island. The Luftwaffe first struck the airfield at Maleme .
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Stan Watt These attacks were followed by waves of transport planes carrying thousands of paratroopers.
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Stan Watt Even though Maleme was lightly defended by a small number of New Zealand troops and the handful of tanks, they put a tremendous fight. There were many German casualties from hand-to-hand combat.
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Stan Watt As further German landings took place, intense and bloody fighting rage along the north coast of the island. Both the defenders and the paratroopers inflicted heavy losses on each other.
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Stan Watt Off the coast, the Royal Navy played havoc with the German troop carriers and landing craft. Roughly 4,000 men were sent to their death. None of the airfields were captured on the first day. The German high command was closed to despair. It all seemed to be going horribly wrong.
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Stan Watt But Student persuaded them to fly in more reinforcements. The following day, things changed dramatically. The Luftwaffe attacked and sank two British cruisers and three destroyers. The battleship Warspite although not sank was put out of actions for a long time as were several escort vessels. There were 2,000 Royal Navy casualties. Worst on the 2nd day of the German assault, Student's paratroopers succeeded in capturing the airfield at Maleme . Reinforcements were soon landing on the undamaged airstrip. Some 18,000 men were flown in during the next week together with heavier weapons.
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Stan Watt Pressure on the British defenders increased.
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Stan Watt Total German air supremacy made the deployment of troops and communication of orders increasingly difficult for the British. Elsewhere, the Germans faced stubborn resistance from Freyberg's troops. But the increasing confusion and growing German strength were exhausting the British.
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Stan Watt Eventually, on May 26th, six days after the initial German assault, Freyberg signaled Wavell that defeat was staring him in the face. Wavell arranged for the Royal Navy to evacuate the garrison. The troops defending Candia and Heraklion were removed first. The rest of the force withdrew to the small port of Sfakia on Crete's south coast, harassed all the way by the German paratroops. For three nights the Royal Navy struggled to get as many men off Crete as possible, some 17,000 escaped. By daylight, however, the Luftwaffe pounded the British ships sinking another cruiser and three more destroyers, several other warships were damaged. The German paratroopers continue to press on and remove any remaining resistance.
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Stan Watt By June 1st, it was all over. Over 11,000 British troops failed to get out of Crete and were taken prisoner. Nearly 2,000 more were killed or missing. For the Germans, the assault on Crete had been spectacular and unique success. For the British it had been a total disaster. It could all have been so different.
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Stan Watt If the British had had proper air cover and if Freyberg had not ignored intelligence reports, the German invasion might have failed. For the German forces, the victory had one unexpected result, the paratroopers suffered more than 15,000 casualties; 7,000 were killed. They also lost well over 150 aircraft, many of them Junkers JU 52 Transports, the Luftwaffe's workhorse. This plane was the primary means of German air resupply and the airforces main training aircraft. Uphold by these losses and men in planes, Hitler ordered that no more major airborne assaults be mounted. For the rest of the war, the German paratroopers fought largely as ordinary infantry.
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Stan Watt Ironically, the German occupation of Crete did not have the strategic significance both Churchill and Hitler believed it work. British naval operations in the Mediterranean were curtailed and supply convoys to Egypt were routed around Africa. But the position of Malta astride the Axis supply lines to North Africa remained much more important. Malta Island held out against Axis air bombardment for the next 15 months until the Axis forces were finally driven out of Egypt and Libya . Crete proved to be expendable. A fundamental British Blunder was to try to hold it in the first place. For the thousands of allied troops who could not escape the island and were sent to Axis prisoner of war camps, these realization increased their bitterness.
Narrated for The History Channel by STAN WATT The Producers gratefully acknowledge the co-operation of American Pathe News BBC Worldwide Television Library Gaumont British News Grinberg Film Libraries Inc. Hulton Getty Imperial War Museum ITN Library of Congress, Washington D.C. The National Archives, Washington D.C. Naval History Society Pentagon, Washington D.C. Paramount News Public Records Office, London Reuters Television Library Production Facilities BARNES TRUST TELEVISION Music DE WOLFE Music Advisor ALAN HOWE Dubbing GEMINI AUDIO Researchers GREG CHIVERS GILL SHEPHERD Production Assistants FRANCES BAKER VERONICA PEERLESS On-Line Editor MATT ROBERTS Graphics WIL MOBBERLEY KEVIN SNOAD Editor RICHARD WALKER Research Director GEORGE MARSHALL Script Writer and Historical Advisor NICOLAS WRIGHT Editor-in-Charge and Military Consultant CHARLES MESSENGER Line Producer RON GLENISTER Executive Producer for The History Channel JOSEPH LA POLLA Producer/Director JONATHAN MARTIN Executive Producer PHILIP NUGUS Produced by Nugus/Martin Production Ltd for The History Channel ©MM Nugus/Martin Production Ltd A presentation of H THE HISTORY CHANNEL
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