Overview - the Battle for Crete

The Battle for Crete in May 1941 was one of the most dramatic battles of the Second World War. Over 7500 New Zealanders, along with British, Australian and Greek troops and Cretan civilians, tried to fight off a huge German airborne attack; they almost succeeded.

It was a heavy defeat for the Allies. Over 3500 men were killed, and 15,000 captured. There were 671 New Zealanders among the dead, and 2180 were taken as prisoners of war. German victory came at a huge cost: nearly 4000 Germans died and over 2500 were wounded; more than 350 aircraft were damaged or wrecked. German casualties were so heavy that paratroopers were never again used on such a scale in an airborne assault.

Mediterranean hot spots

Greece and Crete map, 1941

Crete and Greece had some strategic importance in the Mediterranean. Greece was a gateway to the Balkans and the Cretan harbour of Suda Bay was the best in the eastern Mediterranean. The war in Europe had been raging for over a year when attention turned there. Neither side had done much to secure the area until late in 1940, when the Italians attacked Greece. A few months later, the Germans surged through Yugoslavia. The Allies had hastily sent forces to fight off the invaders, but they were outgunned and outnumbered.

During April 1941, the Allies raced south through Greece. Among them were New Zealanders, as part of a Commonwealth force with the Australians. Over 50,000 Allied troops were evacuated at the end of the month. Nearly 300 New Zealanders had been killed in the few weeks of fighting, and 1800 captured.

To Crete

Major General Bernard Freyberg, the commander of the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force, took charge of ‘Creforce' - more than 42,000 British troops (including 10,000 Greek soldiers). There were more than 7700 New Zealanders, including 28 (Maori) Battalion for whom the experience on Crete would become especially significant.

In the rush of the withdrawal from Greece, the British had abandoned most of the essential and heavy equipment. Soldiers had their personal weapons, but ammunition and stores were in short supply; there were barely the tools for preparing the much-needed defensive positions. Big weapons – tanks and guns – were few and far between. Airfields at Maleme and Retimo, and the aerodrome at Heraklion, had no aircraft, for the British needed resources elsewhere in the region.

In these circumstances, the job of defending Crete would be tough. Even the few strengths were potential weaknesses. The port and the airfields would become dangerous if they fell into German hands. Both were vital to the Allies' supply of equipment and air support so they could not be destroyed.

A German invasion was expected, and the Luftwaffe bombed and strafed the Allies all though May. There was some discussion among the German high command about whether to take the island or focus efforts on the Soviet Union, but Hitler agreed that Crete should be invaded as it would not disrupt his plans in eastern Europe. The capture of Crete also had advantages for the Germans. It would give them a good base in the Mediterranean and stop the British using the island as a base to mount bombing raids against the Romanian oilfields that were so vital to the German war effort. It would also make it more difficult for the British to get into the Balkans.

Air attack

Map of German assault on Crete

By deciphering encoded German messages, British intelligence had learned of German plans for an invasion of Crete. The only question was when, and what the balance between sea and air would be.

The Allies on Crete had expected the attack for several days in mid May. They knew of the German delays that pushed the assault from the 15th, to the 17th, and then finally to the 20th. The Allies were ready, but the sight of the enormous airborne invasion stopped them in their tracks. Hundreds of planes lumbered through the sky, disgorging German paratroopers into the area around Maleme and the township of Chania from dawn on May 20. Later in the day, paratroopers dropped into the area around the airfields at Retimo and Heraklion.

The Germans had underestimated the strength of the defenders, and their casualties mounted quickly. Many paratroopers died before they could reach the ground; others, their equipment tangled in trees, were mown down as they struggled to release themselves. In one German battalion alone, about two-thirds of the men were dead before the day was over. By the end of the first day, the Germans had a foothold near Maleme. Many paratroopers had landed in the undefended area west of the Tavronitis River and around Chania. They had gained less than they expected, and morale at German headquarters in Athens was low. It was decided to throw everything into the attack on Maleme the next day because reinforcements could not be sent in without control of the airfield. There were also plans for a seaborne invasion.

German domination

The German decision to concentrate on Maleme bore fruit. On 21 May it became clear that the New Zealand infantry battalions defending the airfield and the key high ground overlooking it had withdrawn. The airfield was virtually in German hands even though it was still under artillery fire.

The Allied withdrawal from the Maleme airfield was the decisive event in the entire battle for the island - and it would prove controversial for those involved. The German transport planes could begin landing troops. They did so from late in the day on 21 May - mountain troops who went straight into battle and tipped the balance the German way.

German dominance in the air left the defenders facing impossible odds. After six days of hard fighting the Allies had little choice but to evacuate. Parts of Creforce pulled back to Sfakia on the south coast, and from here about 16,000 troops left the island over four nights. A separate evacuation took the non-Greek defenders from Heraklion, only to lose many in bombing attacks on the way to Egypt.

Those who remained were taken prisoner and would spend the rest of the war in camps, first in Italy and then in Germany or Poland. Some escaped from captivity, taking to the hills and eluding capture for the rest of the war. Cretan civilians took huge risks feeding and helping these men. Others who escaped were picked up by submarines, or made it to Egypt. A few returned to Crete to work with the anti-German resistance.